Keto or Paleo? Podcast on Paleo Quick Tip of the Day.

The world of nutrition and fitness, health and wellness is as fraught with fads and fashions, unfortunately, just like almost everything else.  The cutting edge thing right now is the ketogenic diet!

Forget paleo diet- in this iteration of the perfect human diet, we go beyond paleo- we don’t just go “low carb”, we go virtually no carbohydrates!  Actually, that’s not quite true: perhaps 25 grams per day of so is permissible.  One medium banana has 27 grams of carbs, so you get the idea- ketogenic is almost no carbs at all!  Even things like your daily paleo green smoothie, such as I recommend with green and cruciferous veggies, kefir and, probably contains more carbs than that, probably about 30 grams or so.  Still quite low carb, but not quite keto carb level!

On the side of the ketogenic diet, it is definitely true that this way of eating can be incredibly therapeutic!  It has been used successfully for literally thousands of years, going back to ancient Greek times, in the treatment of epilepsy.  Fasting was recommended to treat epilepsy in 400 BC!  And Jesus recommended it in the book of Mark:  And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. 

He was referring to the a young boy, who lay thrashing and foaming at the mouth, which is a symptom of epilepsy.  Now, it must be noted that fasting is, in itself- ketogenic.  If you stop eating altogether, after a certain point you will begin burning stored fat for fuel- you are then ketogenic!  It really is that simple.  Humans have been going in and out of ketosis for all of history.

The difference today is that now, in this age of agriculture as opposed to hunting and gathering Neolithic times, we are absolutely surrounded with carbohydrates, protein, and all kinds of sugars, day and night!  And, of course, it is killing us, making us fat and sick, diabetic and prone to all sorts of autoimmune disease.  Going back to a Paleo type of diet, with fat and protein, and a few natural carbs like berries or sweet potato is the antidote.

But now, since everyone likes to go to extremes, ketogenic is seen as the way to go.  My take?  Well, aside from the fact that my moniker is PaleoJay, you must know which side I will come down on, right?   Well, I do say paleo is a wonderful way to cure most ills of modern life, but a ketogenic does indeed have its place.  It is wonderful as a therapeutic tool!

I go in and out of ketosis all the time!  Intermittent fasting is an in-between way of having the best of both worlds.  You know: eat supper at around 4 PM, and don’t eat again until 10 or 11 AM the next day.  Actually, this is kind of my daily routing now, so I kind of fast every single day.  It doesn’t feel like it, but I am.  My body just starts burning fat after 4 PM, and all through the night.  

In addition, I rarely have carbs in the morning, except for my paleo smoothie, coffee with coconut oil and heavy cream, and a couple of eggs.  Maybe bacon, on a really good day!  So actually, my keto continues on until lunch/supper (I usually only eat two meals per day).  

So what I guess I’m saying is that if you have an autoimmune disease, like type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, or any of the myriad other diseases that are autoimmune, including cancer and heart disease- by all means- go on a strict ketogenic diet!  Lots and lots of fat, limited protein, (excess protein is turned into carbs by the body), and really no carbs at all.  You will pretty much be eating lots of fat, with just a bit of protein, and then fasting on top of it.  

It is a therapy.  Keto can be very effective in rectifying deep damage caused by our modern, faulty diet.  Do it until you are free of the autoimmune condition you suffer!  It probably won’t even take that long- often, modern disease can be reversed by fasting, going Keto if it will take a while so you don’t starve outright, and getting adequate sleep, sun exposure, and natural exercise.

After you are well, and happy, and ready to enjoy a healthy life? Go Paleo, young man or woman!