Mar 23, 2019
From Dr. Joseph Mercola, my friend, multiple-time podcast guest,
a guy who thinks way outside-the-box and seems to always be
discovering some new cutting-edge way to enhance human health and
longevity, and one of the world's foremost authorities on
alternative health has just written a guide to using the principles
of ketogenic eating, meal planning, and timing to treat disease,
promote weight loss, and optimize health.
The new book is called "KetoFast: Rejuvenate Your
Health with a Step-by-Step Guide to Timing Your Ketogenic
Meals". In the book, he explores the profound health benefits
that result when ketogenic living and well-planned fasting are
combined. Topics include:
-How our food is making us sick and what we can do about
it...
-The physiology and mechanisms of fasting, including stem
cell activation...
-How the cyclical ketogenic diet--with fasting
included--differs from the conventional keto diet...
-How fasting works and how safe it is for you...
-How regular one-day fasts support fat burning and
detoxification while minimizing hunger and side effects...
-How to monitor your progress with lab tests...
-And much more...
During our discussion, you'll discover:
-The fascinating history of fasting among different religions
and cultures...8:25
- Dr. Mercola's book was originally written
to learn to optimize multiple day water fasting
- Most religions integrate fasting into their practice (speaks to
its efficacy throughout history)
- It's one of the best ways to express care for your spirit,
especially when combined with meditation, gratitude, solitude,
etc.
- Therapeutic fasting:
- Calorie restriction to activate metabolic processes to catalyze
the healing process
- Fasting didn't become popular in the U.S. until the 1800's with
the natural hygiene movement
- Became more popular when Herbert Shelton popularized it in
1911
- TrueNorth Health Center
-Autophagy, and why Dr. Mercola thinks of a fast as a "free
stem cell transplant"...16:45
- Different varieties of fasting:
- Intermittent (the foundation)
- You need more than intermittent to get the max effect of
autophagy
- Fasting mimicking diet, water diet
- Hybrid of the two, minimize the harmful effects
- Autophagy:
- 3 types
- Micro
- Macro
- Chaperone mediated
- You activate autophagy with the keto fast
- Dr. Mercola does not recommend a long-term water fast
- Free stem cell transplant is what happens during the
regeneration phase, after the autophagy phase
- The magic happens during the refeed and strength rebuilding;
similar to a growth hormone injection
- Do a 42 hour fast, in which you eat 300-500 calories 2x per
week
-How fasting affects intestinal stem cell function...24:20
- Extended fasting helps reduce gut permeability by stimulating
brain/gut pathways
- Consider fasting before other treatments or supplements for
repairing the gut
- Certain supplements will inhibit autophagy: colostrum, B12
- AMP-k and mTOR
- It's your friend; The higher the better
- A nutrient sensor
- Puts your body in "repair mode"
- See Saw: AMP-k up, mTOR down, vice versa
-What nutrients you need to optimize autophagy...34:08
-How ketones protect the brain excess hydrogen
peroxide...46:00
- Fats and carbs are fuel sources; broken down by enzymes
- Oxygen receives electrons from the food you're digesting in the
form of hydrogen (which is converted to water)
- Most people are metabolically inflexible; can't burn much
fat for fuel
- Ketones increase Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate
(nADPH)
-Why Dr. Mercola changed his mind about the power of water
fasting as a metabolic intervention...50:55
- We in the 21st century are exposed to chemical and industrial
toxins not historically known to humans
- Toxins are stored in our fat
- When you fast, you release these toxins
- Cause unpleasant side effects and symptoms
- 2 phases:
- Convert fat soluble to water soluble (not a problem)
- Attach molecules to the toxin
- You need frequent refeeds to fuel the process of eliminating
the toxins and enhancing detox pathways
- A keto fast (42 hours, 300-500 calories) 2x/week is far more
powerful than an occasional multi-day water fast or even fast
mimicking diet
-What Dr. Mercola views as the "dark side of
fasting"...55:00
- Detoxification impairment
- Compliance: people just won't do it
- How Dr. Mercola recommends Ben improve his own fasting
strategy:
- Ben takes essential amino acids
for protein during extended fasts
- Don't eat meat protein (branch chain amino acids)
- Take collagen protein
- Drawbacks to long-term ketosis
- Requires significant calorie restriction
- Women can develop thyroid impairment
- You simply weren't designed to do it
- Fasting primes your body for improvement; the real magic
happens in the refeeds
-What is "keto fasting," and how cyclical ketosis addresses the
above issues...1:00:13
- You must be metabolically flexible
- Eat in a 4-6 hour window per day for 4 weeks
- Branch chain aminos: lucine, isoleucine, valine
- Eat these on the refeed, not during the keto fast
- Don't activate mTor along with autophagy
- Cyclical approach:
- Keto fast 2x/week
- Every day intermittent fast
- Strategies to deal with hunger or appetite cravings:
- Vast majority of metabolically flexible people won't feel
hungry
- Coconut oil, MCT oil, aloe gel
- Nicotine gum and sparkling water
-How sauna use supports a fasting protocol, an ideal sauna
setup, and sauna do's and don't's...1:07:45
-And much more!
Resources from this episode:
-My previous episodes with Dr. Mercola:
-KetoFast: Rejuvenate Your Health with a
Step-by-Step Guide to Timing Your Ketogenic Meals
-Meta.org for research studies
-Ben's Switzerland healing
retreat at Paracelsus
-The Complete Guide To Fasting by Jason
Fung
-TrueNorth Health Center
-My interview with Dr.
Satchin Panda
-SEED Probiotic blend
-ATP science
-Dr. Mercola’s “autophagy tea” before my nightly fast to also
limit mTor activation and increase autophagy:
-Pomegranate Pulled Apart
podcast from ATPScience
-HVMN Ketones
-"The Longevity Diet" by Dr. Valter
Longo
-Kion Aminos
-Kettle & Fire Bone Broth
-Aloe Gel
-Lucy Nicotine gum
-Saunaspace sauna
-Near infrared bulbs
-Dr. Lawrence Wilson's book "Sauna Therapy For
Detoxification & Healing"
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Do you have questions, thoughts or feedback for Dr.
Mercola or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will
reply!