Hello!
The information I share in this post is a summary of things to help you on your journey. Learning about your hormones and how they work is complex but when you understand it, you will see just how easy it can be to improve your health.
I first want to give a big shoutout to Andrew Gonzales at Four Peaks Crossfit in Fountain Hills. Thank you for being an awesome coach and trainer! This post is for those who want to know more about a Ketogenic diet. I put up links to help you with your research. I wanted to also bring up fasting because it also goes hand-in-hand with Keto and exercise. Do your research and never stop seeking the truth about your health.
The ketogenic diet is a great way to improve your health, but often people only associate keto with weight loss. The ketogenic diet can help with weight gain and building muscle. Keto can assist in mental focus, clarity and more energy. Keto in conjunction with intermittent fasting or long term fasting can help aide in aging, diseases and sickness all while protecting the muscles.
Our bodies make hormones in response to what we put in our mouth. It’s true that all foods have calories however the hormone response to fat is different from the hormone response to carbs/glucose. For example the hormone response to an avocado is different from the hormone response to an apple. Both contain healthy nutrients but only one will spike insulin, increase inflammation and turn on fat storage signals.
There’s an entire category of food that many people will put in the “healthy” column of their diet plan, and even go out of their way to eat more of. When you understand the hormone response to this collection of mass produced ingredients, you’ll understand why we are in the midst of a national crisis of diabetes, obesity and neurological disorders.
You should think about grains and the reasons why you should avoid them.
The problem with grains is that they are a concentrated source of carbohydrates that dramatically increases insulin in your bloodstream. It is this carbohydrate density more so than questions of “simple carbs” or “complex carbs” or “whole grains” that makes any type of grain-based food a questionable choice for health, even ignoring lectins or other natural defenses that grains have evolved to discourage animal consumption.
Many people believe that if they eat “whole grain” that makes it a healthy choice, but ultimately the amount of carbohydrates is still going to require a high amount of insulin for your body to process. Eating the wheat bran and wheat germ is going to shift the balance of simple and complex carbohydrates, and slow the digestion process down slightly, but your body will still produce the same amount of insulin, if not more, potentially over an even longer span of time, to handle the blood glucose that gets created when all carbohydrates, simple or complex, are broken down during digestion.
Virtually all foods have carbohydrates, but not all foods have the density of carbohydrates like grains. Grains, whether they include complex carbohydrates or not, contain a large dose of carbohydrates. Regardless of whether your body processes these carbohydrates fast or slow (indicated by the food’s glycemic index), this total glycemic load requires an insulin response that effectively shuts down fat burning.
It’s all about keeping your insulin low.
It’s about eating the foods that do not drive your insulin up. High insulin is what causes weight gain and prevents fat metabolism. Insulin causes inflammation and inflammation is the platform on which many metabolic diseases develop. It all starts with that hormone insulin.
Here are some other links to help you.
B’ Hydroxybutyrate and Butyrate
Glucagon and Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
Dr. Jeff Volek (Low Carb Athletes)
Find out more here at Beyond weight loss!
Mark’s Daily Apple talks more about grains.
Here is a great article on corn.
Read more about fasting here.
Disclosure
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The information on this subject is provided for informational purposes only, it is not meant to substitute medical advice provided by your physician or any other medical professional. You should not use the information I give for diagnosing or treating a health problem, disease, or prescribing any medication. I’m not a Doctor and you should consult with your health professional before making any major health changes.