Category: Keto

How To Stay Healthy While Eating Out At Brunch

8/28/2017

Who doesn’t love brunch? Just because you are eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to skip your weekly brunch with friends! It’s all about making the right choices so that you can enjoy a meal outside of your kitchen once and a while.

Here are the best choices for brunch that you should be able to find one or more of on any brunch menu:

Appetizer

Bowl of fruit - Go for the melon and/or berries which have the lowest sugar. Fruits with the greatest amount of sugar include tropical fruits such as banana, pineapple, mango - go easy on these tropical fruits.

Main Course

Eggs benedict - Request for some greens to serve as the “bun” for the eggs and skip the english muffin. Also ask for hollandaise on the side - restaurants typically smother your eggs in so much hollandaise that you can't even taste the rest of the meal. Take back the control and ask for this on the side.

Egg omelette - With lots of veggies. Again skip the breakfast potatoes or toast. If you are extra hungry then add some more fat in the form of avocado, guacamole, or cheese, or consider adding another protein like ground turkey if this is an option.

Egg white omelette - If you are not feeling egg yolks, this is also a great option. Ask to have it made with lots of veggies and hold the breakfast potatoes. Egg whites have zero fat so consider bulking them up with healthy fat such as avocado, guacamole, or cheese (if you can tolerate).

Scrambled eggs - With lots of veggies. Depending how hungry you are, you could consider adding avocado, guacamole, or cheese for some extra fat or another serving of protein such as turkey. Note: be weary of sausage or bacon which are processed meats and may also have had sugar added to them.

Eggs - When in doubt, order a side of 3-4 eggs. Poached is best because the eggs are cooked in water without any added oil.

Oatmeal - PLAIN. No added raisins/maple syrup/brown sugar/honey/agave etc. Berries are ok. This is your choice only if you are really craving something carb heavy or sweet, and if you are between this and ordering the stack of pancakes. Add some cinnamon on top to blunt the blood sugar increase that comes with eating carbs.

Drink

Prosecco - Mimosas are over-rated. Why waste any of that tiny flute space on some high sugar syrupy, over-processed orange juice? Prosecco has enough sweetness in itself, but if you must, ask for just a splash of OJ.

Dry white wine - “dry” is code for low sugar. Under all circumstances go for the drier wines such as sauvignon blanc and chardonnay. Stay away from riesling or white zinfandel tend to basically be grape juice.

Dry rose - Rose in general is pretty sweet. so a dry rose may be hard to find, but still worth asking if the restaurant has one available.

About the author: Sarah-Kate Rems is an Ivy-league trained Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner licensed in California and New York State with an expertise in preventative healthcare. She considers nutrition and exercise to be the basis of well-being and is a strong advocate for daily physical activity and maintaining a healthy diet. Sarah-Kate is also a co-founder of The Mindful Tech Lab

Burn Your Own Fat For Fuel Using Ketones

8/27/2017

Have you ever heard of a ketogenic diet? A ketogenic diet means your body is using ketones for energy production rather than sugar. Ketones are an alternative fuel source for the body, and are produced when eating a high fat and low carbohydrate diet. This type of diet is called "ketogenic" because your body is in a state of "ketosis" meaning fueled by ketones rather than sugar (aka glucose).

Here are 9 reasons why you want your body to be fueled by ketones instead of sugar:

1. You literally burn your own fat for energy
Your body can run on either glucose or ketones. Which would you choose? Well, when you look at what this actually means: Glucose is produced from the breakdown of glycogen (strings of glucose), this means you are burning glycogen to produce fuel for your body. Ketones on the other hand are produced from the breakdown of fat (fatty acids), this means you are literally burning your own fat stores to produce energy. You can make ketones from eating very low carb (sub 50 net carbs), fasting, or consuming a product that can induce or supply the production of ketones (such as MCT oil).

2. No more “Hangry”
You know that feeling when are so starving that every little thing is irritating, and you need to eat right. NOW? Terrible feeling right? Blame the carbs! After a blood sugar spike from eating carbs, this will trigger insulin whose job is to get that sugar out of your blood as fast as it can (because sugar in your blood is toxic and inflammatory), resulting in an even lower blood sugar than you started with. Low blood sugar (aka hypoglycemia) is that terrible anxiousness you are feeling. No bueno! And how do you make that feeling go away the fastest? Eating sugar. And the vicious cycle continues.

Fat is the only macronutrient that won't raise blood sugar, and therefore won't spike insulin. Yes, that means protein can also raise blood sugar when eaten in excess. That is why a ketogenic diet favors a higher fat and moderate protein intake.

3. Ketones favor less mental stress
The presence of ketones increases the production of the primary calm inducing neurotransmitter, GABA, while at the same time decreasing the primary stress inducing neurotransmitter, Glutamate. Ketones do this by assisting in the conversion of glutamate to GABA in the brain, thereby favoring a more calming state. Increasing the activity of GABA is essentially what most anti-anxiety medications aim to do as well - pretty cool you can get the same effects by just changing your diet!

4. Ketones favor a more focused state
For the same reason ketones favor calmed brain activity, they also favor a more alert and focused state. As stated above, more GABA compared to glutamate in the brain favors a less stressed state, meaning there is less “noise” in the brain, allowing for greater focus and mental clarity. This is why medium chain triglycerides (MCT) are marketed as a product that can increase focus and cognition - because they give the body ketones that can be used for fuel without having to be in actual ketosis from eating low carb.

5. Ketones are a more efficient source of energy
Ketones and glucose are both used as fuel by mitochondria to produce energy (aka ATP) - mitochondria are the part of a cell that takes fuel (either glucose or ketones) and manufactures energy from it. When comparing the output of energy produced from the use of ketones vs. glucose, more energy is produced when using ketones, thereby making it a more efficient fuel source. The presence of ketones also up-regulates the amount of mitochondria in cells, so more mitochondria means more energy produced. This is another reason for the improved focus and mental clarity seen with a ketogenic diet.

6. Ketones act as antioxidants
Research has found that ketones act as antioxidants because they protect against oxidative damage from free radicals. When ketones are used to produce energy (by mitochondria) this process does not cause the release of free radicals, as does glucose when it is used to produce energy. Free radicals aka oxidative damage cause damage to cells and aid in the development of chronic disease, cancer, cognitive decline and other brain diseases, and aging.

7. Ketones may prevent cancer growth
Compared to normal cells, cancer cells metabolize a much greater amount of glucose meaning they need more glucose to thrive. Cancer cells may preferentially use sugar to fuel their growth and proliferation, and research has shown that they may not be able to use ketones as fuel. Research has also shown greater response to chemotherapy when in a fasting state inducing ketosis. There is more research needed in this area, but ketones as a preventative measure for cancer is looking very promising!

8. Greater absorption of nutrients
Major vitamin, antioxidants, and other nutrients need to be taken with fat to be able to be absorbed. This includes Vitamin D, Vitamin E, lycopene and beta-carotene such as in tomatoes, and the B vitamins. Making sure you are taking in plenty of fats will ensure you are getting the most out of your food and supplements.

9. Ketones are neuro-protective
Fueling the brain with ketones has shown to help with brain disorders such as seizures, brain cancer, Parkinson's Disease, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and Alzheimer's Disease. There is a widely cited case of a physician who put her husband on a ketogenic diet as treatment of Alzheimer's disease and he improved within a couple of months. More research is needed on the direct effect of ketones for the prevention of diseases that affect the brain, but so far its looking very optimistic!

Side note: Ketones can supply up to 70% of the energy needed by the brain. It is true that your brain requires some glucose to function, but glucose can come from protein, it does not have to come from carbohydrates. It is a misconception that carbohydrates are necessary in your diet - they are not. Protein and fat are the two macronutrients your body definitely needs to manufacture all of the necessary components of the body.

All works cited can be found in the hyperlinks

About the author: Sarah-Kate Rems is an Ivy-league trained Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner licensed in California and New York State with an expertise in preventative healthcare. She considers nutrition and exercise to be the basis of well-being and is a strong advocate for daily physical activity and maintaining a healthy diet. Sarah-Kate is also a co-founder of The Mindful Tech Lab

What You Should Know Before Starting a Keto Diet

8/10/2017

A ketogenic diet means that most of your calories are coming from fat, you are eating a moderate amount of protein, and keeping carbs low - around 50 grams net carbs. In my opinion, when done correctly this type of diet is best for controlling and preventing chronic disease - most notably diabetes and obesity - and can make you feel awesome! Note: I advocate for a little more protein and a little more carbs than the traditional hardcore ketogenic diet (i.e. carbs under 20 grams) and I am a proponent of a cyclical ketogenic diet which means carb refeeding 1-2 days per week - more on this below and in a future post.

Here are some things to know before starting a ketogenic diet:

1. You need to increase your salt intake
When you are in ketosis your body will rapidly be shedding electrolytes, most notably sodium, from your kidneys. Unless you have a medical condition by which you are forbidden to eat salt, add sea salt or Pink Himalayan Salt to your meals, and opt for bouillon balls and/or bone broth as other ways to get salt into your body.

2. You need to increase your fluid intake
Water follows sodium, so as your kidneys are shedding off more sodium you are going to lose more water as well. Carbohydrates also hold onto water, so eating less carbs means less water stored in your body, and that you need to increase your water intake. Shoot for 2-3 liters of fluid per day at least.

3. Don’t eat too much protein
It’s hard to eat too much protein, but it is still good to know that yes, you can have too much. Too much protein can cause your body to convert the excess amino acids to sugar, and sugar triggers the release of insulin (fat storage hormone) which can lead to fat gain. A rough estimate of how much protein you should be getting is 0.7-1.0 grams per pound of body weight. More protein is needed for an individual who exercises hard daily, because more amino acids will be needed to repair the muscle that has been broken down.

4. Expect the keto "flu"
As your body switches from sugar burning to fat burning for fuel this can cause what is known as the “keto flu.” It means you may feel lethargic, foggy, and run-down. Do not worry - this will not last long but does happen when switching to this type of diet.

5. Stick to healthy fats
Ketosis does require most of your calories to come from fat, that being said, you want to stick to the good non-processed, grass-fed, natural fats. These include eggs, fatty fish, coconut oil, olive oil, full-fat dairy, avocado, and nuts. Things to definitely avoid include processed meats and processed cheeses.

6. Consider increasing carbs one or two days a week
I am a huge fan of a cyclical ketogenic diet which means you are increasing your carbs 1-2 days per week, or having a "carb-refeed." Individuals working out hard everyday or few days a week will burn through their glycogen stores faster, and may need to increase their carbs twice a week or more. The hormone leptin which helps to regulate appetite, can also become low on a ketogenic diet and is boosted up when you eat carbs. Women are especially susceptible to leptin changes and should definitely be re-feeding carbs 1-2 days a week at least. Probably the only group of individuals who may not see a benefit from increasing carbs once a week are men who do zero exercise - which hopefully fits the description of no one reading this because exercise is great for your body and mind!

7. You might develop dry eyes
This happens when you are eating very low carbs for a long time because tear production requires some glucose. This symptom actually happened to me long before I understood a keto diet could cause this, and can be very irritating and even lead to more severe eye problems. When your eyes are getting very dry this may mean you need to up your carbs a little more daily, and increase the number of days you do a carb-refeed.

Look for an upcoming most where I will go over all the benefits of a cyclical ketogenic diet :)

Sarah-Kate Rems, NP
Co-founder, The Mindful Tech Lab - Check out all of our amazing apps to help improve your life here

How To Stay Healthy While Eating Out At Brunch

Burn Your Own Fat For Fuel Using Ketones

What You Should Know Before Starting a Keto Diet

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