My Keto Journey

Thanksgiving 2020, 26 November, is my official keto start date after a transition period. It took six weeks of shovelling down (and donating) all non-keto friendly foods, including non-clean and processed foods, from my shelves and fridge. I did a triage in the beginning to see what was no longer a part of this lifestyle, which I highly recommend. It is an incredible and insightful experience. Very eye opening! Sugar, in whatever form, is in practically everything and gluten or a starch or a grain creeps in a lot of things too.

It is a lot of information to learn and take in. This is also why it, as with most things in life, turns into a lifestyle practice and not a temporary diet. Unless you are an actor and changing your body for a brief project role, everything should be viewed as a long/life-term practice, geared towards healthy, natural living. This is also why the ketogenic lifestyle leans towards a paleo one--how we ate from the beginning of time.

Like many things in life it's an ongoing learning process and continued self awareness of how the body reacts to different foods. Thus the premise: "What does my body, and mind, require to operate optimally?"

My initial approach was two fold:

1) Going keto: Switching the fuel source for the mitochondria (the engines in every living cell) to operate off of fat instead of carbohydrates. Thus, the macro make-up: high fat, moderate protein, low carb.

2) Eating clean: which tends to be a by-product of the lifestyle--eating whole foods, non-processed foods (or minimally, like bacon, cheese, and some keto-friendly snacks), organic, wild caught fish, grass-fed beef, cage free chicken and eggs. And eliminating non-keto friendly foods: gluten, grain, starch, sugar, most dairy.

After this, my journey and awareness went deeper and broader.

It went deeper in understanding nutritional science and my personal bio-reactivity to certain foods.

• Fats: (omega-3 vs. omega-6, anti-inflammatory vs. pro-inflammatory). Distinguishing how much of which is in oils, nuts, seeds, dairy, protein sources and their respective macro make-ups (e.g. fish, grass-fed beef vs corn-fed beef, chicken, pork). With a view to increase omega-3 healthy fat and decreasing omega-6 fat. I notice a huge difference when I increase wild caught fish and grass-fed beef and butter, cook with coconut oil and have salads with extra virgin olive oil (avocado oil is good as well) and decrease everything else.
• Lectins: this is something else to consider and  play with as they are pro-inflammatory. If there is still a level of inflammation try eliminating them for a month. No tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and the like.
• Cooking methods: and their respective effects on changing the nutritional make-up of food.
• Your macro equation: Traditional ketogenic diet is 70/20/10 Fat/Protein/Carb, even down to 5% carb in cancer patients and severe diabetes. The rule of thumb is 20 net carbs (total carbs less dietary fiber). For me, I can operate on a 'modified' keto diet up to about 50 net carbs and still be in ketosis. This is where a ketone and glucose meter comes in real handy to measure your levels. I love my Keto Mojo. It's a blood-based meter that measures my levels with ease and accuracy. The Keto Mojo website also has a whole host of educational information.    

A broader expansion came naturally from this exercise to other areas of life:

• Personal care products
• Cleaning products
• Other products: such as the material of the mattress one sleeps on
• An awareness of EMFs (electromagnetic fields).

It's a continual learning experience and deeper awareness of how we operate optimally.

I am hugely grateful to the many people who have been there for all of these life-shaping experiences. I would be remiss if I did not give a shout out and express my eternal gratitude to my dear friend and naturopathic oncologist, Dr. Nasha Winters, and to my other keto family peeps, who introduced me to this diet and lifestyle. I highly recommend Dr. Nasha's book The Metabolic Approach to Cancer. It is a fantastic starting point and continues to be an invaluable reference. Even if you are like me and do not have cancer, epilepsy, or diabetes, it is still an eye-opening read, which brings awareness on living healthier and more natural.

It actually turned out that by changing my diet and being more aware I discovered I had an abundant amount of autoimmune symptoms and issues. By continuously educating myself, altering my diet, and testing certain foods, I have reduced and even put into remission nearly all symptoms.    

In other posts, I'll cover all of the amazing benefits that I've gotten since going keto (it has saved my life!), as well as other facets of this diet and living more naturally like practicing both intermittent and prolonged fasting, with ease.

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