My carbohydrate intake has been low, on average, for the past 13 weeks. I've had occasions where my carb intake has been greater than 100 grams, but I can count them on two hands. In general, I've been eating about 60 grams of carbs or less per day. This site is an awesome resource for the nutritional information of foods, in this case sweet potatoes.
When I first started this journey, I didn't really do anything to change my intake of fats, I simply began working on no longer being afraid of them. That is a paradigm shift that I still find I'm working on. I found that I my desire for cheese and yogurt nearly disappeared, with the exception of parmesan cheese, which I tend to crave. It's possible that for the first several weeks, my fat intake decreased. I have experimented with coconut oil a bit, mostly adding it to some baked goods, and using it to cook certain vegetables, like roasted broccoli and asparagus. The kids are not too fond of the flavor, so I'm having to be creative in using it in a manner that is not overwhelming.
But the information on coconut oil and other medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) show that MCFAs assist the body in burning excess calories, promote fat oxidation and apoptosis, induce ketogenesis, and assist in protein metabolism. Pretty awesome, right? Kinda makes you wonder why the food industry recommended that saturated fat products like palm oil and coconut oil be removed from foods during the mid to late 1980s. Of course the combination with grains was not a match made in heaven. But I sure do remember one particularly tasty cereal Kellogs made in the '80s that was comprised of a significant amount of coconut and palm oil. I used to love that stuff!
Physicians and nutritionists familiar with the fat-burning benefits of coconut oil, often prescribe tablespoon doses of coconut oil per day for obese people. It is recommended to be stirred into their coffee in the morning, added to salads in the afternoon and evening, or just eaten by the spoonful. I've tried it a few times, and it's remarkably delicious. The flavor is mild and slightly coconutty, but the oil is soothing and cooling on the tongue. Coconut butter is another delicious option.
As I research more information regarding grain-free cooking and lifestyle, I've realized that I need to up my own intake of quality fats, as well as seafood. Seafood will be the topic of another post, but for some brain-bending information on how seafood affects the brain, you can read what Dr. Jack Kruse is writing about on his blog. (Note: he is a neurosurgeon and writes from that medical perspective. The typos can sometimes drive me bananas, but I realized that as a busy medical practitioner, I can't expect his typing to be perfect. I know mine isn't!)
While doing some research on athletic performance while on ketogenic diets, I discovered this whole new topic of being a fat-adapted athlete. Mark Sisson has this great post on the topic, but I think this is the gist of it, at least for me:
"A fat-burning beast can rely more on fat for energy during exercise, sparing glycogen for when he or she really needs it. As I’ve discussed before, being able to mobilize and oxidize stored fat during exercise can reduce an athlete’s reliance on glycogen. This is the classic “train low, race high” phenomenon, and it can improve performance, save the glycogen for the truly intense segments of a session, and burn more body fat. If you can handle exercising without having to carb-load, you’re probably fat-adapted. If you can workout effectively in a fasted state, you’re definitely fat-adapted."
He even answers the question I had burning in the back of my mind the entire time I read his post, can one be both a fat-adapted athlete and a keto-adapted athlete? Is one preferable over the other? It sounds like fat-adapted is the way to go:
"A quick note about ketosis:
Fat-adaption does not necessarily mean ketosis. Ketosis is ketosis. Fat-adaption describes the ability to burn both fat directly via beta-oxidation and glucose via glycolysis, while ketosis describes the use of fat-derived ketone bodies by tissues (like parts of the brain) that normally use glucose. A ketogenic diet “tells” your body that no or very little glucose is available in the environment. The result? “Impaired” glucose tolerance and “physiological” insulin resistance, which sound like negatives but are actually necessary to spare what little glucose exists for use in the brain. On the other hand, a well-constructed, lower-carb (but not full-blown ketogenic) Primal way of eating that leads to weight loss generally improves insulin sensitivity."
So, with that, I'm going to go eat my breakfast of fresh green beans with pastured butter, scallops, shrimp, calamari, and garlic. Yum!
A couple more links in case you were interested:
When I first started this journey, I didn't really do anything to change my intake of fats, I simply began working on no longer being afraid of them. That is a paradigm shift that I still find I'm working on. I found that I my desire for cheese and yogurt nearly disappeared, with the exception of parmesan cheese, which I tend to crave. It's possible that for the first several weeks, my fat intake decreased. I have experimented with coconut oil a bit, mostly adding it to some baked goods, and using it to cook certain vegetables, like roasted broccoli and asparagus. The kids are not too fond of the flavor, so I'm having to be creative in using it in a manner that is not overwhelming.
But the information on coconut oil and other medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) show that MCFAs assist the body in burning excess calories, promote fat oxidation and apoptosis, induce ketogenesis, and assist in protein metabolism. Pretty awesome, right? Kinda makes you wonder why the food industry recommended that saturated fat products like palm oil and coconut oil be removed from foods during the mid to late 1980s. Of course the combination with grains was not a match made in heaven. But I sure do remember one particularly tasty cereal Kellogs made in the '80s that was comprised of a significant amount of coconut and palm oil. I used to love that stuff!
Physicians and nutritionists familiar with the fat-burning benefits of coconut oil, often prescribe tablespoon doses of coconut oil per day for obese people. It is recommended to be stirred into their coffee in the morning, added to salads in the afternoon and evening, or just eaten by the spoonful. I've tried it a few times, and it's remarkably delicious. The flavor is mild and slightly coconutty, but the oil is soothing and cooling on the tongue. Coconut butter is another delicious option.
As I research more information regarding grain-free cooking and lifestyle, I've realized that I need to up my own intake of quality fats, as well as seafood. Seafood will be the topic of another post, but for some brain-bending information on how seafood affects the brain, you can read what Dr. Jack Kruse is writing about on his blog. (Note: he is a neurosurgeon and writes from that medical perspective. The typos can sometimes drive me bananas, but I realized that as a busy medical practitioner, I can't expect his typing to be perfect. I know mine isn't!)
While doing some research on athletic performance while on ketogenic diets, I discovered this whole new topic of being a fat-adapted athlete. Mark Sisson has this great post on the topic, but I think this is the gist of it, at least for me:
"A fat-burning beast can rely more on fat for energy during exercise, sparing glycogen for when he or she really needs it. As I’ve discussed before, being able to mobilize and oxidize stored fat during exercise can reduce an athlete’s reliance on glycogen. This is the classic “train low, race high” phenomenon, and it can improve performance, save the glycogen for the truly intense segments of a session, and burn more body fat. If you can handle exercising without having to carb-load, you’re probably fat-adapted. If you can workout effectively in a fasted state, you’re definitely fat-adapted."
He even answers the question I had burning in the back of my mind the entire time I read his post, can one be both a fat-adapted athlete and a keto-adapted athlete? Is one preferable over the other? It sounds like fat-adapted is the way to go:
"A quick note about ketosis:
Fat-adaption does not necessarily mean ketosis. Ketosis is ketosis. Fat-adaption describes the ability to burn both fat directly via beta-oxidation and glucose via glycolysis, while ketosis describes the use of fat-derived ketone bodies by tissues (like parts of the brain) that normally use glucose. A ketogenic diet “tells” your body that no or very little glucose is available in the environment. The result? “Impaired” glucose tolerance and “physiological” insulin resistance, which sound like negatives but are actually necessary to spare what little glucose exists for use in the brain. On the other hand, a well-constructed, lower-carb (but not full-blown ketogenic) Primal way of eating that leads to weight loss generally improves insulin sensitivity."
So, with that, I'm going to go eat my breakfast of fresh green beans with pastured butter, scallops, shrimp, calamari, and garlic. Yum!
A couple more links in case you were interested:
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