#its only macro if you want it to be i dont really care about macro i just wanted to draw Big max

[crunchchute]

silly thing that i was too lazy to add a proper bg to. not a fan of some details so i might revisit the idea later

[tweedfrog]

im sorry, but reading ur last couple posts it kinda sounds like you think Ned should have been more overtly racist and bc he wasn’t grrm is racist, but on the flip side giving arya prejudice thoughts also makes grrm a racist and a bad writer? like grrm for sure has dodgy bits but you’re giving him a bit of a no win scenario here. if he had made the targs black like originally planned do you think that would have been better or worse? (1/2)

ok im going to address this point by point because there is a lot of reaching and misunderstanding here

1. I am not here to present a ‘win’ scenario for GRRMs writing. I am discussing the shortcomings of the way he writes racism and yet uses racist tropes. A lot of these are as you state ‘no win’ scenarios because he decided to craft a world where racism exists while having extremely few characters of colour in important positions, AND while using racist tropes. There are many no win scenarios simply because of this tension.

2. I dont want Ned to be a more vocally racist character? And please point out where I said that Grrm was racist because Ned wasnt portrayed as having overt anti-dornish sentiment? I stated that because GRRM created a world where racism exists everything now has to be analysed bearing that in mind. It’s the same as stating that because misogyny exists in universe male characters are possibly (and likely) somewhat misogynistic and their interactions with with women and the way they treat female characters must be analysed in such a way.

Me stating that anti-dornish racism could have been a possible reason why Ned reacted less vehemently to the deaths of Elia and her children is me analysing it within the frame-work that GRRM set up. I’m using this to point out that when white authors add fantasy racism into a story they dont see the raicst implications of what they are writing because they dont understand the way racism impacts almost everything in real life.

For example in our world when non-white children or women go missing or are murdered their deaths are much less publicized than when white women or children get murdered or go missing. So yes racism affects the way that people are treated in such scenarios and when you decide to include fantasy racism in your story you have now included all of this extra stuff and need to do work to make sure that what you are writing does not perpetuate or enforce racism.

3. I literally never said arya having racist thoughts made GRRM a racist and bad writer. I have no clue where you got that. I used Aryas remark to highlight how anti-dornish sentiment clearly exists in the North because 9 year old children dont develop racist ideas in a vaccuum.

4. Where did I ever state that everything that happens to the martells was a micro aggression? I’m also confused as to where you got the word “micro” from??? Because idk about you but things like characters not really caring about the rape and death of a non-white woman and the deaths of her biracial children, a child being shunned because they “smelled dornish” and dornish women being hypersexualised in the narrative are some pretty macro aggressions.

5. Finally you deciding to ‘not discuss the essoss stuff’ is missing one of the main points of what I am trying to say. GRRM’s writing isnt racist because sometimes bad things happen to the Martells. The combination of his writing of the dothraki as savages with no introspection when compared to the free folk, the brutal killing of many martells for shock value, the contrast between the way he portrays Lyanna and the way he portrays Elia, the exotic/erotic trope he uses when writing dornish women, the fact that he hasnt named the princess of dorne while all her male counterparts have recieved names AND backstories and the fact that he made a white character the centre of the essoss plotline and a whole host of other decisions combine to make his writing....kinda racist. If it happened one time it may be a coincidence. If it happens about 10 times its a pattern.

Would it be racist if the Starks were written as inuit and then split up? Probably - given the history of murder and brutal seperation indigenous families have faced! Would making the more visibly indigenous stark children plainer while making the more white passing stark children better looking be racist? Probably - considering the way that eurocentric beauty standards are still upheld! With GRRM his issue is that he doesn't use 1 or 2 racist tropes in isolation. That could be a mistake. He uses several in succession.

Regarding the Targaryens being Black I think that if he wrote them in exactly the same manner (unlikely given how he treats other characters of colour) it likely wouldnt be racist but that the fandom probably would take it as an excuse to be racist.

So now that weve gotten through all of that straw-man criticism about my “take” I’m actually going to suggest some ways that he could have still written about fantasy racism without accidentally perpetuating it

1. If he is going to brutally kill off Elia he needs to AT LEAST have more discussions surrounding her death. Who Elia was as a person (dont just make her a sad cardboard cut out - I want to see some background on who she was outside of being an abandoned wife and mother). One story about Elia by Oberyn isnt enough. I also want to see more societal shock about Elias death because theres a weirdly small amount. The rape and murder of the crown princess shouldve been an extremely huge scandal and should have horrified many more people.

2. Theres no real way to kill off two non white children and have their white sibling be a prophetic hero without dicey implications so Aegon needs to survive and be the actual Aegon and not a secret blackfyre. We dont know if he is a secret blackfyre or not so this may just be a case of the fandom taking an excuse to be racist and running with it

3. Have more Dornish characters that dont die brutally for shock value (Elia, Oberyn, Quentyn). Furthermore when you only have 2 povs of dornish characters,,,,and you kill one of them off, yes that is not a great look

4. Dont introduce the only WoC pov in the whole damn book nipple first and as a blatant play on the brown seductress when she has legitimate political concerns and greivances

And thats only the dornish characters! With the dothraki and most of essoss just.....anything aside from what he’s done would be better. But of course im sure none of this is actually racist writing decisions. No its simply complex characterisation of course!!1!

[ithisatanytime]

Vegetables are fucking bullshit. im not gonna proofread this, but if you want to lose weight this is literally the only thing besides surgery that will work and its not even hard at all i promise, this was not inspired by me being disgusted with fat women, as everybody knows im down with the thickness. not fat though, there is a wider range for men then women believe, but i guess they are mostly just trying to compete with each other (i dont actually believe this for a second, it is for men its just a subconscious instinct, manifesting consciously as a desire to compete or look good) i added this long as disclaimer because this is a lifelong interest of mine, i always talk about it, but i dont want some poor girl to read it and think i want her to go on a diet you are beautiful just as you are, but at the same time i didnt want past relationship girls to see me saying i was down with the thickness and think they were heavy, only one was heavy

  Dont get me wrong, i like vegetables, but they are honest to god a fucking scam. vegetables are CHEAP, especially grains and cerials, to be honest grains are less bullshit than leafy greens, but they are still kind of bullshit. you are made of fucking meat, thats what you are, all the stuff you need or pretty damn close, is found in meat, vegetables are mostly insoluble fiber, very low in calories, which despite what you have been led to believe is not a good thing. its nice to have a little roughage in your diet, but the idea that we should be eating primarily plant based food is fucking insane, and i suspect is a result of the sugar companies years long propaganda campaign against fat. for years they funded studies claming dietary fat or cholesterol caused fat to accumulate on the body, and cholesterol in the arteries, we have known since the seventies that these claims were false, but the propaganda campaign was so extensive, even doctors commonly fuck this up. you cant digest plants on your own, you need to recruit gut bacteria to ferment it in your bowels, in other words it rots in your guts making you bloated and gassy, all for just a tiny bit of calories, its ASS, because no one can live that way, your diet is failing because you arent eating enough meat. meat is food, its real food. no fucking animal would go through the trouble of evolving the necessary intelligence and hardware needed to have to KILL every single meal, if it wasnt so much better than the fucking grass and leaves that are everywhere, and grass is much easier to catch and kill than a gazelle,so why bother? because the gazelle is food, its made of the same building blocks you are, you are made of meat.

   Meat is much more readily digested in your body than plant matter, people think that meat constipates you and ive seen people say it sits in your gut for years, the opposite is true, meat is digested quickly and efficiently leaving behind almost no waste material whatsoever, meaning you arent pooping because you arent making poop, meat is digested almost completely where as plant matter is filled with fiber which passes through either completely unchanged or only mildly changed into a gel like substance in the case of soluble fiber.  but heres the real MEAT of this post (heh) fats and proteins from animal sources (meat) are far more satiating than carbs from plants, meaning a hundred calories of animal fats and’/proteins will keep you full for longer, than a hundred calories of carbs, and i can prove it, a boneless skinless chicken breast has 284 calories (very little fat but high in protein) thats less total calories than two cans of mountain dew, how long do you think you could last after eating a chicken breast vs drinking two mountain dews? there are 250 calories in a new york strip steak, thats less than two potatoes, i bet you could last all day if you ate a new york strip steak for breakfast, a potato and a half without butter or anything? you would crash by noon.

 Vitamins are fucking bullshit. as long as you get micronutrients into your body at some point, meaning you arent a third worlder who eats nothing but one kind of cheap food, you are getting vitamins, all of them, most of them and guess what, meat has literally all of the required vitamins your body needs in abundance, so long as you occasionally eat liver. but it hardly fucking matters, almost no one in the first world is seriously deficient in micronutrients (the vitamin d thing is bullshit, they miscalculated the requirements or there is some racial factor they refuse to aknowlege, because if fucking everyone is d3 deficient and doing just fine, then no one is. also d3 is found ONLY in animals, not in plants) its all about macro-nutrients FAT PROTEIN carbs, you are eating too much carbs, if you try to stop eating so much carbs you are going to fuck it up, i promise you, your body keeps track EVERY DAY, trying to maintain homeostasis, you will take one extra bite, you will measure your portions wrong, you will eat a whole goddamn cake because you are starving, your body is better at counting calories than you will ever be. so heres what you do, DONT TRY, if you have to try you will fail, you are working too goddamn hard, be realistic with yourself, a temporary diet is actually fucking meaningless, diets are for life. you cant sustain that horrible dumb ass bulshit girl magazines are trying to make you live on, NO ONE CAN, less than 6 percent of people who have lost significant amounts of weight will keep the weight off after a year. who the fuck knows after that as well, other than its certainly less than six percent. i am giving you the cheat code right now, all you have to do is take my word for it, do i seem like i spent years obsessing over this shit? because i have, heres the secret. all you have to do, nothing more, if you try to do more you are fucking up! all you have to do, is take your body weight, divide it by two, and try to get that many grams of protein per day, like your life depended on it, preferably from MEAT. preferably with fat! but honestly i dont fucking care. tbh if you are a girl, id shoot four 40-50 grams everyday, and heres the thing, please! do not go for lowfat, lean meats. you want meat with fat on it, preferably unprocessed, you can still eat hamburgers and sausages but dont make them the center piece of your diet, because they actually add fats in as part of the processing, you can stil leat it though, if you try to get your 40 grams of protein from lean meat like chicken breast alone, you will go crazy and quit, or you will just eat a bunch of carbs to make up for it. again, you want fat and protein. if for the next two months, you made it your goal to eat whatever the fuck you wanted (this is important) so long as you got 40 grams of protein a day, preferably from animal sources, preferably with fat, i promise you, not only will you lose weight like fucking crazy, but it wont even be hard at all, you will feel like you are fucking gorging yourself while slowly getting hotter. that being said, to us men, being hyper thin is not really all its cracked up to be, thats gay fashion designer shit, we like women to be soft, to contrast are hard muscular bodies.

[comicteaparty]

July 22nd-July 28th, 2020 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from July 22nd, 2020 to July 28th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

How have your reading tastes for webcomics changed over the years?

carcarchu

i think i used to read exclusively romance webcomics but now i'm really into the historical stuff. also i'm not so into the strictly straightforward stuff anymore, i need a really strong hook or something that makes it different enough to be enjoyable because i'm really tired of reading something that is indistinguishable from other similar webcomics. also i think i've gotten pickier when it comes to the quality of art and writing. there's just so much stuff to pick from now that i want to dedicate my time only to stuff that i really enjoy. i just don't have enough time to read every single webcomic i come across anymore

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

in the past I used to read a bunch of comedic absurdist humor comics (I still do) but it's been buffed out by romance . Same vein like Cara said, I'm just picking and choosing which comics I spend my time on but I do want to try to read as much as I can tho!

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I feel like I used to read LEGO comics a lot lol... I'm not sure how many of them still hold up. In terms of genre, the only comics I struggle to read are ones that are more realistic, or darker. Historical comics often fall into this, as do most horror comics.(edited)

RebelVampire

For me, my tastes haven't necessarily changed in terms of the what I like. What has changed is what I dislike. As the years have gone by, I've really been more open to at least giving comics a try before deciding they aren't for me, especially in the genres I consistently don't like like comedy. So I've gradually disliked less comics. Not to say I like them either or they're for me, but it's a step up from dislike since now I can appreciate what the comics are trying to do more. I think the bigger change for me was art styles though. While I still do have a specific sort of art preference, I've also been more open to giving certain art styles I don't normally like more of a try as well and I've found the styles I dislike (personally, not objectively in terms of talent) to be a much smaller pool than it was before.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh man, I'm the opposite. I feel like I've gotten pickier

varethane

I can't tell if I've gotten pickier or if the bar has just gotten high enough now that if I only have the bandwidth to read X number of webcomics (let's say 20 as a random example), and I'll be picking from among those which stand out to me, those 20 comics will be on a totally different level than the 20 I might have found 10 years ago

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I think I've also gotten pickier

The biggest change, I think, is that I've gotten way pickier about storytelling

While I used to be able to read a comic with subpar storytelling. I drop comics in an instant these days if the story doesn't speak to me pretty quickly(edited)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I think it's because when I started reading comics, everything was new and novel. Now there're more tropes I recognize? And more problematic things that bother me, when before I would not have noticed

Deo101 [Millennium]

I dont think I've gotten pickier, per se, I think I just have very specific tastes and many things dont fit them which feels picky? but i can enjoy all kinds of genres, I kind of go into something 1: not wanting to think 2: not wanting to be offended and 3: wanting to laugh a bit? which isnt exactly a high bar to pass, but not many things will do that for me, which isnt because I'm a picky person, its jsut cause a lot of things arent made for peope like me?

varethane

I'm not consciously looking for 'only the best quality' by any means-- if there's anything I'm really looking for, it's a sense of passion and uniqueness, that feeling that the author is having a blast with the thing they're doing. But I feel like it's gotten harder to draw my attention (and readers' attention in general) without having a certain level of skill involved

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh, same. As my art gets better so does my eye for it

varethane

....and, yeah, I guess I've also gotten tired of certain tropes. Once I read 2 or 3 webcomics that do kinda the same thing, I'm less likely to pick up a fourth with the same general premise, even if it looks like it's well-made.

(sorry isekai....)

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

I just absorb a lot of storytelling in many forms, so if the story doesn't grab me right away, I feel like I'm wasting time reading something, where I could be fulfilling my desire for more worthwhile storytelling elsewhere

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Oh true, there are so so many comics out there now

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Art quality plays into it a bit for me, but it's honestly primarily the storytelling

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Everything I read I could be reading 100 others of similar quality Really, why does anyone read my comic at all?

varethane

"good art will get readers to take a first look, good writing is what makes them stay"

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Art quality is very important to me but I've still read and loved a few stories will amateurish art

varethane

for me personally, the art's just gotta be good enough for me to not be distracted by it while I read

Deo101 [Millennium]

idk I think a lot of people stay through bad writing even if something looks good

also yeah i feel the same, about not wanting to be distracted

"does the art serve the story?" is all I really care about

varethane

art serving the story is the most important part. Art can LOOK amazing, but if the body language or expressions don't fit the story being told, it can make the writing seem worse lol

a friend of mine once referred to it as, like watching a well-written screenplay but with terrible miscast actors

Deo101 [Millennium]

mhm, cause the only words we get are dialogue, the art has to be all the descriptive language. so if theyre not describing well, a lot is missing.

varethane

yeah

Deo101 [Millennium]

or I guess some comics have narration, too

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Narration can't do ALL of the work

varethane

yeah haha

Deo101 [Millennium]

yeah, one of my professors said that a rule of thumb of his about comics is "if you can read me the words and I know whats going on, it's not good comics."

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

The art definitely serves the story (or is supposed to), but if the story is bad from the beginning, I don't care how good the art is.

varethane

I have complicated feelings on that one, because I feel like it's actually pretty rare for me to consider a 'story' bad (at least insofar as we're talking about the core ideas of the plot). Most premises (if they're not actively offensive/poorly thought through), if written out as just a skeletal outline, could work just fine. IMO bad writing is a problem of execution, most of the time, rather than concept. (hedging my language here because there's always exceptions lol)

Deo101 [Millennium]

I would say I agree with you. I think writing and story are different concepts. There is also sort of a macro/micro element to writing, as well, and either one can be messed up

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Yeah, I misspoke, what I mean by "bad story" is more "bad storytelling/writing"

but yes

carcarchu

a friend of mine once referred to it as, like watching a well-written screenplay but with terrible miscast actors

@varethane oh i have read stuff like this. like the art was INCREDIBLE really detailed renders, very consistent and technically fantastic art but so often it just devolved into shot / reverse shot talking heads and the characters didn't really emote beyond changing the position of their eyebrows so it kinda felt like watching dolls interact with each other

RebelVampire

I mulled over the fact I took the opposite route as everyone else. XD For me I think it's three factors. First, I was actually ungodly picky in my youth across the board with everything, not just comics. As such, I've missed out on a lot of things other people love. Second, with each passing year, I've come to appreciate more the work people put into their indie projects. And for me its like a show of respect in a way to acknowledge that hey, you worked on this thing I may not like, but I'll try it because you clearly love what you created (or I hope you love it). Third, and probably the bigger factor, I stuck myself in a positive feedback loop. The more I opened myself up to things and learned to not initially dislike things or be as harsh, the more I ended up finding a gem I really loved. In fact, while this is across diff industries, I'd say this has been the biggest influence for me with webcomics because so many webcomics I was like "Well I'll try it gotta be open and not just dislike it," and then I came away going "Wow this is a diamond in the rough!"

[fxckingfantasy]

ITS STILL FREEZING RAIN HERE! Which of course made for another dreary looking day. Woke up and tossed in a harry potter movie because those are always good movies for rainy sunday’s am i right? I woke up with some pretty bad anxiety. It was one of those days where i really missed the friends ive lost these past few weeks. You know those days where your brain wants to tell you that everyone hates you? Well today started off that way. I do miss the friends who ive had fallouts with and my brain was telling me “all your friends hate you now..not just the ones who have said they hate you” which is completely stupid but i cant help but have those thoughts. It was almost as if my friends read my mind because as soon as those thoughts came, I had two of my close friends text me! one of my best friends even left be a voicemail last night basically saying that no one hates me and that all my friends miss me! it was refreshing and it was a wake up call. He explained how much he cares about our friendship and how people do not approve of how i’ve been treated by my old friends but I am not alone and I have people here for me.

Something i really cherish is my friends. IVE SAID IT BEFORE AND ILL SAY IT AGAIN; HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE WHO TREAT YOU LIKE A HUMAN BEING AND NOT A DISEASE, HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE POSITIVE AND WHO CHECK UP ON YOU. HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE WHO LOVE YOU AND DON’T LEAVE YOU!!! Ive had my old friends text my mum and call my breakdowns “little shows”. Ive had my old friends text my mum and tell her “now youve seen what ive been having to deal with these past week” I was a shitty friend at times, however that gives no one the excuse to treat you like your disease and not like a human with feelings. I swear if i only hung out with people who would leave once things got bad? i would be dead right now. I owe my friends and family that stuck with me, my life and I am SO appreciative of them even though its hard for me to show it sometimes.

I did have some setbacks today. i did not keep my lunch down because i felt so ill even though it was healthy. I ended up going for a hike after that and doing a painting of one of my fav bloggers. I also decided to do some research on my body type. I decided to write down my measurements, my food and macro intake and my water intake so i can chart my progress. after the hike i made a large dinner and then i did a workout. Overall ive noticed that if i sit and have no goals for the day..i get sad and down about myself. If i write a to-do list and keep busy, i dont have time for bad thoughts. It usually keeps my BPD symptoms at bay. ALSO ON A POSITIVE NOTE, ITS BEEN 3 WEEKS SINCE IVE SELF HARMED LAST. woooo! I want to get a job soon and i think the time might be coming where ill be ready mentally for one but i dont want to jinx myself, ya feel? Hopefully tomorrow is a sunny day. I could use some sun.

[sparkleyunicornllama-blog]

Good Morning 💜

*real talk alert*

Last night was horrible for me. I was really unwell. I was in severe pain with my stomache and felt extremely sick. I was very dizzy and really lethargic at work yesterday too. It was 20°c (to british people thats like lets get naked hot) I wore layers of clothes and a big coat and shivered all day with my hands turning blue. My muscles hurt and are just cramping up with almost every movement. And no surprises but the bruises up the backs of my legs have gotten worse.

So this morning my mum had a good chat with me. She told me how ill I have started to look and that she knows I am struggling, but today as traumatic as it will be for me As I struggle through my relapse and these intense negative thoughts I have to refuel. I have to rest. In my previous relapses this has worked and its been able to break through my behaviours until my eating becomes something that resembles “normal” I have never been in any kind of formal treatment despite being hospitalised briefly a year ago when my organs were failing. So all I have ever done is focus on changing eating patterns and never actually fixing anything that goes on inside my head.

I have to try and avoid my anorexic behaviours even if I just get through today and I struggle on and I cant keep up with this. It is something to keep me going until I do start outpatient treatment next week.

I really wish things were different amd I could love normally and it would be amazing. But my whole world has begun to revolve around being skinny. Again. For a while I convinced myself that the excessive exercise I was doing was healthy. That only having certain foods was just healthy. Until this past week I was was eating relatively nothing apart from the 5 safe foods I had left. Just bland. Low calorie low fat with hardely protein. A couple of weeks back I started to loose progress at the gym. What I could lift easily dropped by 30kilo to something I struggled to get even through 1 set. And I still I continued. I only ate using a specific tiny spoon. I would only eat of a bowl that fit in my hand or a child sized plate. I told my self it was just something I liked to do. Because eating disorders, are deceitful and manipulative. For me its control, fear, guilt and anxiety and the need to feel some sense of achievement. Every person is different and everyones eating disorder is fuelled by different things as well as manifesting in different ways.

Its doesn’t fit a generic stereotype, and so there isn’t a single treatment plan that works for everyone.

I hear it all the time.. people trying to educate me on whats healthy and whats not on intakes and metabolism and whats good for you. Why treats are ok. I don’t want to be rude but honestly I know pretty much all of it. Through the almost 7 years now I have struggled with eating disorders and tried to recover on my own I have spent days educating my self on nutrition amd exercise. Vitamins and minerals. Macros and gains. Muscle building and shredding. I mean a few weeks ago I started to realise I was struggling and I had an appointment with a GP, I explained everything that was going through my head for him to say… “oh just eat 3 meals a day” … 🤔 but… what… would you tell a schitzophrenic to stop hearing voices? But according to my eating eating disorder non of that infomation is correct. Irrational right? I know my self as well as all of the scientists and people who develop and work with all these different programs know that it is true.

I know the effects it is having on my body and I know my nails are brittle and my hair is falling out. And I know it will only get worse. But for some of us, it is isn’t enough to give us the encouragement that we need to recover.

I dont want to loose my job, I honestly love it as challanging and demanding asnit is. The people I care for inspire me to keep going. Their happiness gives me happiness.

Theres things I do want to achieve in life, i want to own my home, excel in my job, travel to Japan and the world I want to get back into drawing and go to conventions.

As well as all of that I want to enjoy the little things again, Trying something that looks tasty just because, going for trips or to meals with my family amd friends. Getting a take away on my way home from work just because I fancied it. Go to a food festival actually eat the Japanese snacks I buy from conventions. Experiment with recipies. Bake with my mum and cook for my grandparents. Have a movie night with snacks or pop corn at the cinema. Eat drunk pizza toast after a night out. Just drink a cup of english breakfast tea. Maybe even be super British and dunk a biscuit in there. I want to run and enjoy it like I used to. Be proud of my gains or just accept my self. To look in the mirror without tearing my self apart. I want energy and the ability to conventrate.

We need time to process things. To overcome what it is that triggered things. How to deal with things we can’t fix. But most importantly. We need that time to love ourselves and accept ourselves. Because what size you are or your weight does not define you. At all. I don’t judge other people on those things. It doesnt change their kindness or their talents or their sense of humour or who loves them.

Eating is good for you. Exercise is good for you. But when it starts to consume your every thought or it starts to isolate you from your friends and it makes you ashamed or feel guilty. It is a problem, and you always deserve help no matter what your weight what you eat. If you feel you need to reach out you do it.

Moderation is a wonderful thing. You should enjoy the foods you love while they give you the energy to do the things your passionate about. To experience your life in the possitive way possible.

I actually started this blog as a way to keep my self motivated and focused on the possitive things. I don’t want to sit here and pretend my life is great. Because theres to much of that bullshit on social media. This is all so negative.

I’M SORRY!

Today! Bed rest for me! On my mums orders this wonderful food. I adored giant crumpets and its been years.. with salted butter of course. And a bowl of alra skyr high protein yogurt passion fruit flavour, maxi shredded wheat granola, urban fruit coconut chips, mango, apple, pomegranate and some strawbs.

Pretty much all fear foods at the minute. Terrifying, delicious but nutritious foods. In a normal adult sized bowl. The horror. But fuck eating disorders and their negativity I will enjoy day of gaming and watching films and hopefully sketching and napping. While my body does some repairing.

Body shops vanilla chai body lotion and the delicious vanilla almond Forest friends candle. The little things 👌

All of you fighting. All of you who have won. And all of you struggling. Your amazing, beautiful and deserve happiness.

You always deserve to recover in your own way at your own pace.

Stay strong and stay safe.

💜💚

I just needed to say somethings. If you read this far . Sorry I bored you to death and thank you!

[san-bika]

Old Habits Die Hard - Lance-Voltron fic

Bring on the Langst ficlets!! Many plot bunnies were had over the holidays.

***Trigger Warning - EDNOS; disordered eating in general***

****This is a paid comission, meaning someone asked for me to write this, worked with me while writing it, and paid me for it. Please see the notes regarding this fic below from the person who requested it.****

NOTA BENE - I, figandmelon, appreciate the concern for my health but the italicized text below is not mine, as I wrote above, but is the sweet girl’s who commissioned the story. She had written a rough outline and gave a me a few paragraphs to start with. I don’t have food issues and this story is not meant to promote or romanticize disordered eating. I have written a follow-up story to this to prevent any idea that this is a good thing or that I approve this. That story was not commissioned by the girl but I felt I needed to write it. Also see the unedited text below - I had fixed the grammar but my patron has asked me to revise it to what she actually wrote! Sorry!

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I am working out some food issues. Please dont take this as any kind of endorsment of disordered eating.

Food is delicious, Good, important, and healthy. Food is one of the necissities of life and it is amazing how many ways food is prepared tasty healthy, inventive good for the environment, etc. Food makes us strong and can heal us and is tied to our all culture and heritage and family.

If you start to feel diffrently about food or struggle wth eating, get help as soon as you can and avoid a long &dangerous road.

Please know this isn’t realy a headcanon I have for Lance. I see him feeling like this, yes. But I had these feelings when I was a kid and my last years in school when I had no money to buy food and just ate whatever we threw out at work. This is my way of letting go of that. Thanks.

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Rating: T - disordered eating, anxiety

Pairings: Klance (ish)

Length: 1585 words

Tags: angst, disordered eating, OCD, anxiety

Lance glanced down at a large bowl of space gelatin, blocky and trembling from the movements around the table.

It wasn’t ideal given its green coloring or gel consistency. It tasted vaguely like a sweet chicken broth, off-putting but you got over it. It wasn’t tostones or yuca or black beans and rice but you played the hand you were dealt. Lance knew that all too well.

For all of its drawbacks, the goo sure was plentiful. It was dispensed from hoses, for quiznak’s sake. And it doubled as a hydration source.

Food was a spartan necessity for Alteans; their pleasures tended to indulge their senses of touch (shape shifting in micro and macro ways was both a talent and physically enjoyable, which Lance occasionally liked to daydream about…alone if you catch the drift) and superior sight (apparently double pupils and triple retinas and lenses gave them something like super mega HD vision and millions of colors to delight in) rather than taste. Allura and Coran usually ate the goo quickly and with oh-so-perfect manners.

Everyone was eating and chatting. He lifted the spoon and licked it but felt his throat seize before dropping it into the bowl. This wasn’t going to work. And if that was the case Lance was going to do what he did best. Make a scene.

“Princess, aren’t you feeling tired?”

Allura looked up at Lance’s raised voice interrupting her quiet interlude with Shiro. “No Lance,” she said slowly, “are you? I thought the training session had an appropriate difficulty level. Perhaps you-”

“Well you should be cuz you’ve been running through my mind all day.” Finger guns. Wink. Lecherous smile. Ugh, he was the worst.

The silence was actually painful and the brunette felt all kinds of first and secondhand embarrassment for himself. But it was worth it not to worry the others needlessly.

“LANCE, why?!”

“Really, why though?”

“Come on buddy, you’re still on this?”

Allura was speechless but the twitch in her eye spoke volumes. Coran looked torn between laughing at the pun (he loved puns, dad jokes, basically anything that would make the average person or alien groan) and shaking his finger at the disrespect.

Pidge stood up with her bowl and laptop balanced in some unholy manner, her nose curled in disgust. “Well.. I’m off to my room. If I stay here for another of Lance’s pick up fails, I’ll lose my appetite and I’m a growing teen.” She hurried off still muttering. So quick to judge, Pidge?

Lance felt the red flush of shame creep up his neck. But if this was going to work, he’d need to go all in.

“Aww come on guys! I can’t be the only who sees that Allura and I are soulmates. I mean she’s like my catnip! Uhh, lion nip?”

A chorus of groans and complaints was his response. Allura was aghast, forming words without speaking, clearly ready to unleash fury on the unfortunate paladin.

But with perfect timing Coran escorted her away, clearing their perfectly clean bowls and sending an apologetic half-smile to the blue paladin. “This way, Allura, some space will do us all a world of good so we can come back and practice our flight drills in excellent form tomorrow. Space will clear our heads, isn’t that right Lance?”

The pilot wanted to laugh at the redhead’s twitching mustache but couldn’t. He just summoned an awkward smile/grimace and turned to see how well his plan was working.

Keith had started in on his second bowl of goop, eating so quickly that Lance had to look away before his stomach turned. Guess that desert shack didn’t have an etiquette book after all.

Hunk had scooted off to start dishes in the kitchen. He didn’t handle conflict too well. Man, Lance would have to do something really nice for him to make up for this ridiculousness. Maybe he could work with Pidge to set up some solo interspace video chat time with his alien rock girlfriend….

Shiro was already gone. Huh. He must actually have a crush on Allura and truly not be able to hear even the lamest of pick-up lines meant for her with any modicum of dignity. Or he must have wanted to kill Lance for the sheer audacity of hitting on the last known survivor of her species while aware it was an unrequited crush.

Yeah, Lance didn’t feel great about that either but he didn’t exactly want to tell the other Paladins that he couldn’t eat sometimes.

After Keith had downed the last of his food, he pushed his chair back and strode off with that permanent aggression to clean his bowl.

Lance noticed the faint eye roll and scoff as he walked past him and added that to all the other chips on the shoulder. Well, he was sitting with his spoon up and mouth open like some elementary school kid. He tried to adopt a more effortlessly cool pose but the hothead had crossed the room already and had his back to him.

That went well. Lance McClain, ruiner of dinner parties and cargo pilot extraordinaire.

He wilted a little as he felt the exertion of the day’s exercises. He hadn’t managed much that morning either. He needed to eat but he just… couldn’t.

Every time he lifted that spoon, he wondered if Javier had eaten dinner yet. Or if he’d gone to bed after drinking a cup of water so the little ones, Yany and cousin Carlito could. If Uncle Jorge had found a workplace that would hire him despite his disability. If Mama was taking care of herself.

Had Elisa managed to find a summer job to help Mama stretch her stamps? Were the food pantries any good this summer? Pidge and Hunk had figured out that it was sometime in July, Lance couldn’t remember. All he knew was his siblings didn’t get supplemental meals from school in July. In summer, they were on their own.

He lifted the spoon again but his growling stomach started roiling with nausea. He lowered the spoon. Of course he could have food whenever he wanted. Of course it would be like that.

Despite being the shittiest person in his family, he had found a nice cushy place where food was so plentiful, it wasn’t even a thought. People could complain about it. And even if he hadn’t found Blue, if he had been at the Garrison, he would have had three perfectly rationed, calculated, and healthy if tasteless meals plus snacks whenever he wanted.

Getting into the Garrison had been a promise. He would make it out and provide for his whole family. Even those teasing cousins who gave him a hard time about how tall and lanky he was.

They all had sacrificed enough that his absence was a loss. Mama and Papa had needed to work so hard just to pay for the testing. Now that he had effectively dropped out, all his studying and scholarships, all of his family’s money, stretched so thin with so many needs, it was all for nothing.

If he at least had dropped out and gone home, he could work. He could contribute. He could make Javier and Mama eat at least. Here his destiny was to save the world or die trying but at his family’s expense.

Always at his family’s expense.

Lance slammed the table with his closed fist, willing his frustration and other more painful things to dry up. He swallowed to prevent the nausea from making him sicker but feelings of bitterness and shame drew more tears out of him.

He dropped his head over the full, jiggling bowl. Twisting his hair between his fingers, he imagined it with cartoon eyes and a smile but it didn’t help.

He was a Paladin of Voltron. He needed to be strong to defeat Zarkon and help his family. He needed to eat.

Lance lifted the spoon from the table. He choked down a bite and clamped long brown fingers over his wide mouth. He managed to keep it down but it was a close thing.

Rather than better, he felt worse, like he had run a marathon without water. His throat burned as if the space goo was stuck in it. A headache came on around his temples. His eyes watered.

Had Mama even eaten today? Would she? Could she? Was there even food in the house?

Lance rose quickly. Thick emotion warped the air around him and he swallowed hard against his sadness. He threw the space goo in a trash receptacle and left the bowl on the table. It was a dick move but would throw off any suspicions for now. And Hunk, bless his sweet angelic nature, wouldn’t hold it against him.

Normally he would share his food with the mice but they were too damn chummy with Allura and if they told her that he skipped a whole meal, he’d definitely be questioned.

And at this point he wasn’t sure what would help him, if anything even could.

He loped off towards Blue in a haze, one hand firmly clenched around his mouth and the other around his aching stomach. He missed his mother terribly and his lion was the closest thing to her. Just sitting next to her was all he wanted.

Lance didn’t see Keith walk out from the kitchen doorway and pick up his bowl. The red paladin’s face was neutral but his keen eyes were lit with worry and disbelief.

[epgp12iimk]

Life and Fragility

by Aparajita

These are extraordinary times. Times we will remember for all our lives. The world has never stood still. We always believed that no matter what, the world will continue – we will wake up every morning, get dressed, go to work, traffic snarls will happen… there was no other way to be. But the uncertainty of this time proves otherwise to us. While the battle against the virus is just an external battle there is an equally consequential battle inside our minds. Most of us are and have been going through a roller coaster of emotions that are scary, alarming and most certainly different. We don’t quite know what to make of it and there has been no historical experience that we can tap into to understand what this is making us feel. However, the decisions we make right now are highly consequential – on one hand we feel a certain anger and frustration. And then on the other hand this is the time to connect, to build bonds with community, family, loved ones and our own selves.

We have this narrative in society about being happy and positive. It seems like the right thing to keep motivating and encouraging people. We often hear things like, “don’t be angry, be positive, be happy.” “Don’t be sad, be brave”. Doing so we create a notion that happiness and joy are the most important emotional experiences one can have. The opposite of which are the negative, bad or weak emotions – frustration, anxiety, grief, loss, fear, sadness. We become comfortable with happiness, uncomfortable with difficult emotions and we push them aside. When that begins to happen we establish and create anchor points to happiness. “if I meet my friends, im happy”, “if im appreciated by my boss, im happy”, “ if I can buy a holiday, im happy”… hence, focusing more on happiness as a goal. This is the paradox of it all though, the more we chase something, the more elusive it becomes – the more we chase happiness as a goal, the less happy we become all the time. Seeking something versus living life in acceptance and compassion. Rather than trying to find happiness, maybe it is time for us to come into ourselves, come into our emotions. Not try to brush away difficult emotions that make us feel uncomfortable – the anger, frustration, loneliness, anxiety.

It is with the same discomfort we treat the single most unquestionable reality we are faced with - death. How comfortable are we with death, talking about it, thinking about losing loved ones. Take for example the discourse between children and parents on death. Most times parents try to brush it aside, not knowing how to explain this to their young ones’s curious minds. Rubbing off their discomfort to their offspring. On the contrary being courageous with difficult emotions and addressing it with the young ones also enables them, to practice acceptance of these   – its normal to feel scared, its okay. This is how life functions, we will all die. Perhaps this is also the strongest message for these times – we need to not weigh in on our fear but rather reach inside of ourselves and find our courage. Not to brush aside, belittle or judge ourselves if we are experiencing difficult emotions. These are indeed tough times. Instead use strategies to enable us to be with our emotions in healthy ways. How we love and lead ourselves through these times, will ultimately this will enable us to bring the best of ourselves forward.  

When we are faced with difficult emotions, we either judge them or we push them aside. This could take the form of either bottling them up or brooding and getting stuck in them. Emotional agility is the ability to be with ourselves, our full emotional experience in ways that are compassionate because this is tough and these emotions are real. We need to be compassionate with ourselves and with others. We need to be curious- what is my frustration telling me about me ? What is this event triggering in me, and why? What is my guilt telling me when im interacting with my children? What does my anger tell me about what I most value? If we can move past the place where instead of pushing aside these sign posts we can be compassionate with these emotions, when we can start asking ourselves - even in the midst of fear, how can this emotion help me – be aware if it, and also not get stuck in it. What are some courageous steps i can take even in the midst of a reality that I didn’t choose and isn’t of my asking.

How do we practice emotional agility during these times?

These principles of emotional wellness remain the same, regardless of the context changing to what it is now. I suppose the only difference would be that the need for emotional agility is now more than ever so much more profound and clearer now.

“Between stimulus and response there is a space and in that space is our power to choose and its in that choice that lies our growth and freedom.” – Viktor Frankl. We didn’t choose these circumstances. This stimulus has been served to us, and this is the time we need to choose between the response.

While the narrative has been using “social distancing”, its really “physical distancing”. We still need to be able to look for quality and meaningful interactions that are important to us. We can be lonely in a crowd as well, it’s a function of whether our interactions are meaningful, its not about how many people can we surround ourselves with. Emotions are our signposts of things we most deeply care out. Example – if we are feeling lonely, what Is loneliness a signpost of ? Its telling your that you value presence and connectedness and you don’t have enough of that right now. So loneliness tells you here is something you value and you need to bring this into your life, or move in this direction. So you start asking yourself, what are some small changes I can make that are important to me, what are ways in which I can come to my experience. We need to handle these difficulties by being compassionate with ourselves.

Fear. How does fear operate ? When we feel fearful or the situation is ambigious, our mind tries to fill in the blanks of what we don’t know. We might catastrophize things, develop huge anxiety. In the endeavour to find answers, we reach out to our twitter feeds that provokes more anxiety, more fear and more emotional contagion when we subtly pick up the emotions of other people. Hence, being mindlessly stuck in our experiences. Instead, ask ourselves – is this helping me, is there an alternative way I can be engaging ? Are there things ive been meaning to do – creating a garden, reading the books that have been on that list for long, spoken to a long lost friend, do my relationships need tending – are my actions serving me, who I am as a person, the loving being that I want to be.

Consider how often we use this language – I am lonely, I am sad, I am angry. This is the normal default way in which we describe how we are feeling. But effectively we are saying- I am, all of me, 100% of me is that one single emotion, that singular experience. By language and therefore by understanding we begin to define ourselves by our emotion. But we are not our emotion, we own our emotions, they dont define us. So we want to treat our emotions with compassion and curiosity but we also don’t want to get stuck in them.

Simple strategies that can be helpful –

Instead of saying I am sad, label your thoughts, emotions, feeling for what they are .. they are thoughts, feeling , emotions. So instead of saying “I am sad” you might say – im noticing that im feeling sad, im noticing the urge to shut down the conversation with my spouse…. Im noticing the urge to keep going on my social media urge right now. You are labelling your thoughts, emotions and feeling therefore, creating a space between stimulus and response. Seeing them for what they are. So you can say, im noticing that im feeling sad, so what does that tell me about what matters to me.

We think that in order to do something, to make a contribution we have to do big things. But if you think of the need to belong, every single one of us feels that and we can half someone’s pain just by being that person’s person today. That might just be a phone call, if we can reach beyond ourselves it is healing for ourself as well as others. Tiny, small value connected actions. Even being home, physically distant, there is courage in doing that .. we are doing it because we know it’s the right thing but there is courage there in looking inside of ourselves and owning that its not that youre doing this because you have to but because that is profoundly important that you care about others.

We should also be having this conversation with our children, developing our own sense of values and character by showing up to our children’s emotions with compassion. Asking your children what are ways in why you can bring yourself to your friends. These are incredible times for us, we didn’t ask for them but we are developing our resilience and character. Simply by showing up for them, give them holding space to feel what they are feeling, that’s probably the most important way in which children can develop a sense of security in chaos.

Being granular with our emotions. Often we use very big language to describe our emotions, example; im stressed is one of the most commonly used phrase. There is a world of difference between stress and disappointment. Or stress and feeling overwhelmed , or stress and fear. What we do psychologically when we label our emotions in a more granular way is to move away from “im stressed” to “what is this emotion really”. It helps us to understand the cause of the emotion and whats the pathway forward. From a macro “im stressed” to maybe im overwhelmed. You can do something with overwhelm. You can bring in some bits of control. If my stress is loneliness, I can look for opportunities to reach out…. So emotion granularity is really important.

What can I do to find focus ?

Firstly, find what are some of those things you are doing which are sucking the life out of your day- constantly checking the Covid numbers, scrolling through social media, going down the road of epidemiological studies? As far as you can try to establish pockets of control in your life. There is lots that’s out of our control. But we control how we respond, we can control how we connect, we control how we to the best of our ability use our time off. If it means for that day simply making a list of things you want to do, or whether that control is putting your phone on silent for an hour a day, or shutting off something that is all pervasive. Sometimes it could just be shutting out all the noise – maybe you have music playing all the time, maybe some silence would be your form of exerting your control. Find out what are those 2-3 things I can be doing everyday that create some kind of routine and bring back pockets of control back in your life.  

And while we have internal battles we are also dealing with, there is real suffering – people who don’t have food, are stuck with a violent perpetrator in the house. Ask yourself, amidst my own challenges, how can we as a society support such people, that’s our capability as a community. There are many of us who would be doing this, connecting and forging bonds within the community. There are also many others and another prevalent narrative of divisiveness. Know that, that too is natural. When human beings are faced with mortality salience, anything that threatens their existence, we tend to become more us and them. These are predictable psychological responses when faced with these situations. It is not a surprise therefore that we hear nations on a blame game and communities against each other. Yet again, we will need to rise beyond these discourses into compassion for ourselves and for the community.  

We try to solve the world’s problems through our minds, but its time that we moved from there into our hearts, into our compassion, our wisdom, into our beingness.  Moving beyond right and wrong, beyond judgements and really understanding why someone might be doing what they are, that is giving in to the openness of who we can be as human being.

[seriouslyjoking-blog]

Keto Diet Plan, Myths and Truths with Dr. Dominic D' Agostino

Is Keto diet truly the savior for millions suffering from diabetes, Alzheimers, cancer, auto-immune diseases and obesity or is it yet another fad with serious side effects? Listen to Keto veteran, scientist Dr. Dominic D’Agostino who has not only been researching the Ketogenic diet but also claims its his secret to keeping up with the supermen astronauts as a crew member on NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations 22 (NEEMO 22)! Dr. Dom D'Agostino is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. He is also a research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). In this podcast, Dr. Dom shares what exactly is a Keto diet, why it actually works, who its right for and how it positively affects your body, mind, and energy. Key Questions answered and highlights: --------------------------------------------------------- 1. What is the Ketogenic diet for those of our listeners who are still scratching their heads going "Is it bacon and beef?" - A ketogenic diet is not a high protein diet, but a high fat diet. - The percentage of the calories that make up the Liberal/Modified keto diet at least 65-70% while 90% fat for Classical keto diet. - The balance of the calories (10-30%) will come from protein. - Ketogenic Diet mimics the metabolic state of fasting - When you're eating calories with the ketogenic diet ratios, your body produces these ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate) which are break down products of fat. - Ketones are an alternative fuel for your brain to function on - The true litmus test is used measure your blood ketone levels and if they're not elevated, you're not in Ketosis. Urine ketone measurements can also be valuable and less expensive to first confirm you have reached ketosis. - It's the ratio of the macro-nutrients that define the Ketogenic Diet. 2. What does your plate need to look like? What does your typical meal plan look like? - Check The Ketogenic Bible for recipes and tips!

Dr. Dom's Personal Keto Plan: Breakfast - 4 Egg Yolk Omelettes  with Spinach and Mushroom - Salad w/ Dressing (Olive Oil + medium-chain triglyceride or MCT Oil + Herbs) Dinner - Greens like Asparagus, Brocolli - Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Cook Cauliflower until soft, Put in Food Processor, Add Salt and Pepper) - Fatty fish like Salmon or Trout Dessert - Ketogenic Choco Mousse (Sugar-free concentrated Coconut milk + Dark Chocolate Baking Cocoa + Crushed Almonds + Stevia + Cinammon) If you are OK with dairy sour cream can also be used. Benefits of Ketogenic diet and why Dr. D' Agostino does it: 1. Keeps him full and suppresses appetite from breakfast to dinner 2. Helps him keep up with top performers like astronauts when task loaded 3. Gives him more motivation and drive throughout the day 4. Gets more work done 5. Deeper sleep and less sleep requirement 6. Can function on 6.5 hours sleep 7. Functions better physically  when forced into a sleep deprived state due work demands or travels 8. Cognitive resilience under sleep deprivation 9. No cravings because the food is higher in fat, it has a satiating effect. Dr. Dom follows a modified version of Ketogenic diet which has 20-30% protein and sometimes bumps protein calories a little high on weight training days.

3. Who is the ketogenic diet for? What do you recommend? How do I decide if the ketogenic diet is right for me?

- It's the standard of care for people who have seizures to follow a Keto diet especially if it's refractory to drug treatment or does not respond to drug treatment

- The Ketogenic works when drugs fail. Many of the anti-epileptic drugs have side effects.

- For weight loss & diabetes

-Helps people with Autism, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

- Generally helps women with different types of hormonal issues like acne, perimenopause and PCOS

- The ketogenic diet rapidly controls insulin and suppresses insulin which produces ketones

- By suppressing insulin, it facilitates fat burning globally and especially around the mid section - It's effective for mobilizing fat for energy. - Controls Inflammation which contributes to cancer and autoimmune - It not only helps autoimmune disorders but also age related chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or Alzheimer's disease

4. Who does it not work for?

- People with Pancreatitis, liver problems like liver cancer, fat malabsorption or kidney stones. - If a person has liver cancer, the liver does not make the ketone bodies and the ketone bodies provide the brain an alternative form of energy - If you've had or have kidney stones, use Ketogenic diet cautiously. Drink water, eat high potassium foods and consider K+ supplementation.   - If you have  fat absorption issues or have had gall bladder removed, it could be challenging to do this diet, but many have succeeded. - The whole household has to be onboard with the way you're eating. - For those who want to lose weight or control diabetes, they don't have to go on a ketogenic diet. A simple carbohydrate restriction will do, - Instead of 60 or 70% calories from carbs, simply get 20 to 30% calories from carbs. - Make sure these carbohydrates are low glycemic. Eating vegetables and whole food sources can make huge difference. - BUT, if you want results FAST, a Ketogenic diet can be a better option. - You can do a Ketogenic diet for fast results then transition to a low carbohydrate lifestyle, switch out all starches with vegetables.

5. How quickly can someone get into Ketosis without having to constantly track that? If I start today a ketogenic diet, how long will it take for me to get into ketosis?

- If you start a strict ketogenic diet today, it takes of minimum of 48 to 78 hours to really registering ketones in your blood and urine stick. - When you initiate the ketogenic diet, it's a stress to your body. Your brain start to depend glucose as its primary energy source. - Fats get converted to ketone bodies, these ketone bodies can replace glucose largely as a primary energy source - Add coconut oil, MCT, ketone supplements to quickly elevate ketones, - By supplying extra energy when sugar is limited ketones make your brain happy - It is not only alternative fuel to brain and tissues, but also functions as a signaling molecule that can inhibit anti-inflammatory pathways - Ketone bodies function to activate various genes that can boost antioxidant protection in body - It can stimulate various genes that are associated with longevity, and increase lifespan - A ketogenic diet is one way to mimic the life extending health effect of calorie restriction

6. Do you have to do the keto diet forever? Is it a lifestyle redesigned choice? Is it something you do intermittently?

- Case study of Charlie Abrahams w/ Epilepsy (see ketogenic diet movie "First do No Harm" with Meryl Streep) - An average person who wants to enhance their metabolic health for longevity effects can practice intermittent ketosis. - They can also practice  intermittent fasting (only 2x a week is needed). - No breakfast or lunch - Eat at a time restricted window like 6 pm to 10 am - Stay away from pasta, bread, potatoes, heavy starches - The longer you do keto and adhere to it it easier gets

Note: You dont have to do it all the time!

- You can stay in ketosis every 2-3 months out of a year and get major benefits- a reset in insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism.

7. Have you noticed a difference in MCT oils or does it not matter what brand you' buy?

It really doesn't matter overall, and they have done research in a lab on the various MCT oils

- MCT Oil Liquid from NOW Foods is cheapest

- Parrillo Nutrition CapTri C8 MCT Oil

- The elevation of ketones from that is 80% of what you get from a Brain Octane which is more expensive but also an excellent product

8. What other supplements are you taking for maintaining ketosis?

1. MCT oil/MCT oil powder 2. Kegenix PRIME 3. Pruvit Keto//OS 2.1 (Orange Dream) 4. KetoLogic (Find links to these products and other "approved" products/foods at Ketonutrition.org)

9. There's some buzz around telomeres and ketogenic diet. What do you know about that in your research?

- This is a hot area of study that has been incorporated in NASA missions, on ISS and on NEEMO missions. - The keto diet mimics molecular aspects of calorie (low IGF-1, mTOR, etc.) - New tools are evolving, including saliva kits that a person can do at home. These will be incorporated into our research

10. Nutritional vs. Functional Ketosis: What is the difference between the two?

- Tim Ferris found the main thing that worked for his Lymes Disease was fasting ketosis and nutritional Ketosis - Ketosis is defined by an elevation of these ketone bodies in the blood and urine. - Intermittent ketosis is ideal for people wanting health benefits, but also wanting to occasionally enjoy carb-based foods too - It's not normal to be on Keto all the time- probably NOT optimal. - I personally cycle between low carb and keto diet - Cycle your diet, stay metabolically flexible, incorporate healthy carbs with a wide variety of vegetables and smalls amounts of fruit.. - Stay away from grains - It's good not to stay in ketosis all the time; we dont know enough yet.  Seizure patients that stay in high/moderate ketosis for decades do not seem to have any overt health issues though.

11. What percentage do I need to be on to consider it a calorie restriction diet?

- For the average person, start at 10%

- Log for 2 weeks what you eat, calculate and look at the scale; If you have the same weight, divide calories by 14 -- that's how many calories per week you need to maintain body weight

12. What are some of your favorite apps? 

- Fitday

- Avatar Nutrition

Books Recommended in this Podcast:

The Ketogenic Bible: The Authoritative Guide to Ketosis

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-bible-the-authoritative-guide-to-ketosis/

The Ketogenic and Modified Atkins Diets: Treatments for Epilepsy and Other Disorders

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-and-modified-atkins-diets-treatments-for-epilepsy-and-other-disorders/

KEY LINKS:

WEBSITE: www.healerpedia.com

https://www.ketonutrition.org/

SOCIAL MEDIA

https://www.facebook.com/dominic.dagostino.1

https://twitter.com/DominicDAgosti2?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/dominic.dagostino.kt/?hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-d-agostino-156014b/

https://usf.academia.edu/DominicDAgostino

Liked what you heard? Love what I am doing with my mission of spreading the truth about how we can live healthier, happier and longer?

Then please SUBSCRIBE, RATE AND SHARE with your loved ones!! They will thank you for it :)

Till next time, wishing you health, love and joy!

[westcoastswingreno]

Keto Diet Plan, Myths and Truths with Dr. Dominic D' Agostino

Is Keto diet truly the savior for millions suffering from diabetes, Alzheimers, cancer, auto-immune diseases and obesity or is it yet another fad with serious side effects? Listen to Keto veteran, scientist Dr. Dominic D’Agostino who has not only been researching the Ketogenic diet but also claims its his secret to keeping up with the supermen astronauts as a crew member on NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations 22 (NEEMO 22)! Dr. Dom D'Agostino is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. He is also a research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). In this podcast, Dr. Dom shares what exactly is a Keto diet, why it actually works, who its right for and how it positively affects your body, mind, and energy. Key Questions answered and highlights: --------------------------------------------------------- 1. What is the Ketogenic diet for those of our listeners who are still scratching their heads going "Is it bacon and beef?" - A ketogenic diet is not a high protein diet, but a high fat diet. - The percentage of the calories that make up the Liberal/Modified keto diet at least 65-70% while 90% fat for Classical keto diet. - The balance of the calories (10-30%) will come from protein. - Ketogenic Diet mimics the metabolic state of fasting - When you're eating calories with the ketogenic diet ratios, your body produces these ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate) which are break down products of fat. - Ketones are an alternative fuel for your brain to function on - The true litmus test is used measure your blood ketone levels and if they're not elevated, you're not in Ketosis. Urine ketone measurements can also be valuable and less expensive to first confirm you have reached ketosis. - It's the ratio of the macro-nutrients that define the Ketogenic Diet. 2. What does your plate need to look like? What does your typical meal plan look like? - Check The Ketogenic Bible for recipes and tips!

Dr. Dom's Personal Keto Plan: Breakfast - 4 Egg Yolk Omelettes  with Spinach and Mushroom - Salad w/ Dressing (Olive Oil + medium-chain triglyceride or MCT Oil + Herbs) Dinner - Greens like Asparagus, Brocolli - Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Cook Cauliflower until soft, Put in Food Processor, Add Salt and Pepper) - Fatty fish like Salmon or Trout Dessert - Ketogenic Choco Mousse (Sugar-free concentrated Coconut milk + Dark Chocolate Baking Cocoa + Crushed Almonds + Stevia + Cinammon) If you are OK with dairy sour cream can also be used. Benefits of Ketogenic diet and why Dr. D' Agostino does it: 1. Keeps him full and suppresses appetite from breakfast to dinner 2. Helps him keep up with top performers like astronauts when task loaded 3. Gives him more motivation and drive throughout the day 4. Gets more work done 5. Deeper sleep and less sleep requirement 6. Can function on 6.5 hours sleep 7. Functions better physically  when forced into a sleep deprived state due work demands or travels 8. Cognitive resilience under sleep deprivation 9. No cravings because the food is higher in fat, it has a satiating effect. Dr. Dom follows a modified version of Ketogenic diet which has 20-30% protein and sometimes bumps protein calories a little high on weight training days.

3. Who is the ketogenic diet for? What do you recommend? How do I decide if the ketogenic diet is right for me?

- It's the standard of care for people who have seizures to follow a Keto diet especially if it's refractory to drug treatment or does not respond to drug treatment

- The Ketogenic works when drugs fail. Many of the anti-epileptic drugs have side effects.

- For weight loss & diabetes

-Helps people with Autism, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

- Generally helps women with different types of hormonal issues like acne, perimenopause and PCOS

- The ketogenic diet rapidly controls insulin and suppresses insulin which produces ketones

- By suppressing insulin, it facilitates fat burning globally and especially around the mid section - It's effective for mobilizing fat for energy. - Controls Inflammation which contributes to cancer and autoimmune - It not only helps autoimmune disorders but also age related chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or Alzheimer's disease

4. Who does it not work for?

- People with Pancreatitis, liver problems like liver cancer, fat malabsorption or kidney stones. - If a person has liver cancer, the liver does not make the ketone bodies and the ketone bodies provide the brain an alternative form of energy - If you've had or have kidney stones, use Ketogenic diet cautiously. Drink water, eat high potassium foods and consider K+ supplementation.   - If you have  fat absorption issues or have had gall bladder removed, it could be challenging to do this diet, but many have succeeded. - The whole household has to be onboard with the way you're eating. - For those who want to lose weight or control diabetes, they don't have to go on a ketogenic diet. A simple carbohydrate restriction will do, - Instead of 60 or 70% calories from carbs, simply get 20 to 30% calories from carbs. - Make sure these carbohydrates are low glycemic. Eating vegetables and whole food sources can make huge difference. - BUT, if you want results FAST, a Ketogenic diet can be a better option. - You can do a Ketogenic diet for fast results then transition to a low carbohydrate lifestyle, switch out all starches with vegetables.

5. How quickly can someone get into Ketosis without having to constantly track that? If I start today a ketogenic diet, how long will it take for me to get into ketosis?

- If you start a strict ketogenic diet today, it takes of minimum of 48 to 78 hours to really registering ketones in your blood and urine stick. - When you initiate the ketogenic diet, it's a stress to your body. Your brain start to depend glucose as its primary energy source. - Fats get converted to ketone bodies, these ketone bodies can replace glucose largely as a primary energy source - Add coconut oil, MCT, ketone supplements to quickly elevate ketones, - By supplying extra energy when sugar is limited ketones make your brain happy - It is not only alternative fuel to brain and tissues, but also functions as a signaling molecule that can inhibit anti-inflammatory pathways - Ketone bodies function to activate various genes that can boost antioxidant protection in body - It can stimulate various genes that are associated with longevity, and increase lifespan - A ketogenic diet is one way to mimic the life extending health effect of calorie restriction

6. Do you have to do the keto diet forever? Is it a lifestyle redesigned choice? Is it something you do intermittently?

- Case study of Charlie Abrahams w/ Epilepsy (see ketogenic diet movie "First do No Harm" with Meryl Streep) - An average person who wants to enhance their metabolic health for longevity effects can practice intermittent ketosis. - They can also practice  intermittent fasting (only 2x a week is needed). - No breakfast or lunch - Eat at a time restricted window like 6 pm to 10 am - Stay away from pasta, bread, potatoes, heavy starches - The longer you do keto and adhere to it it easier gets

Note: You dont have to do it all the time!

- You can stay in ketosis every 2-3 months out of a year and get major benefits- a reset in insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism.

7. Have you noticed a difference in MCT oils or does it not matter what brand you' buy?

It really doesn't matter overall, and they have done research in a lab on the various MCT oils

- MCT Oil Liquid from NOW Foods is cheapest

- Parrillo Nutrition CapTri C8 MCT Oil

- The elevation of ketones from that is 80% of what you get from a Brain Octane which is more expensive but also an excellent product

8. What other supplements are you taking for maintaining ketosis?

1. MCT oil/MCT oil powder 2. Kegenix PRIME 3. Pruvit Keto//OS 2.1 (Orange Dream) 4. KetoLogic (Find links to these products and other "approved" products/foods at Ketonutrition.org)

9. There's some buzz around telomeres and ketogenic diet. What do you know about that in your research?

- This is a hot area of study that has been incorporated in NASA missions, on ISS and on NEEMO missions. - The keto diet mimics molecular aspects of calorie (low IGF-1, mTOR, etc.) - New tools are evolving, including saliva kits that a person can do at home. These will be incorporated into our research

10. Nutritional vs. Functional Ketosis: What is the difference between the two?

- Tim Ferris found the main thing that worked for his Lymes Disease was fasting ketosis and nutritional Ketosis - Ketosis is defined by an elevation of these ketone bodies in the blood and urine. - Intermittent ketosis is ideal for people wanting health benefits, but also wanting to occasionally enjoy carb-based foods too - It's not normal to be on Keto all the time- probably NOT optimal. - I personally cycle between low carb and keto diet - Cycle your diet, stay metabolically flexible, incorporate healthy carbs with a wide variety of vegetables and smalls amounts of fruit.. - Stay away from grains - It's good not to stay in ketosis all the time; we dont know enough yet.  Seizure patients that stay in high/moderate ketosis for decades do not seem to have any overt health issues though.

11. What percentage do I need to be on to consider it a calorie restriction diet?

- For the average person, start at 10%

- Log for 2 weeks what you eat, calculate and look at the scale; If you have the same weight, divide calories by 14 -- that's how many calories per week you need to maintain body weight

12. What are some of your favorite apps? 

- Fitday

- Avatar Nutrition

Books Recommended in this Podcast:

The Ketogenic Bible: The Authoritative Guide to Ketosis

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-bible-the-authoritative-guide-to-ketosis/

The Ketogenic and Modified Atkins Diets: Treatments for Epilepsy and Other Disorders

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-and-modified-atkins-diets-treatments-for-epilepsy-and-other-disorders/

KEY LINKS:

WEBSITE: www.healerpedia.com

https://www.ketonutrition.org/

SOCIAL MEDIA

https://www.facebook.com/dominic.dagostino.1

https://twitter.com/DominicDAgosti2?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/dominic.dagostino.kt/?hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-d-agostino-156014b/

https://usf.academia.edu/DominicDAgostino

Liked what you heard? Love what I am doing with my mission of spreading the truth about how we can live healthier, happier and longer?

Then please SUBSCRIBE, RATE AND SHARE with your loved ones!! They will thank you for it :)

Till next time, wishing you health, love and joy!

[multifitsecurity-blog]

Keto Diet Plan, Myths and Truths with Dr. Dominic D' Agostino

Is Keto diet truly the savior for millions suffering from diabetes, Alzheimers, cancer, auto-immune diseases and obesity or is it yet another fad with serious side effects? Listen to Keto veteran, scientist Dr. Dominic D’Agostino who has not only been researching the Ketogenic diet but also claims its his secret to keeping up with the supermen astronauts as a crew member on NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations 22 (NEEMO 22)! Dr. Dom D'Agostino is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. He is also a research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). In this podcast, Dr. Dom shares what exactly is a Keto diet, why it actually works, who its right for and how it positively affects your body, mind, and energy. Key Questions answered and highlights: --------------------------------------------------------- 1. What is the Ketogenic diet for those of our listeners who are still scratching their heads going "Is it bacon and beef?" - A ketogenic diet is not a high protein diet, but a high fat diet. - The percentage of the calories that make up the Liberal/Modified keto diet at least 65-70% while 90% fat for Classical keto diet. - The balance of the calories (10-30%) will come from protein. - Ketogenic Diet mimics the metabolic state of fasting - When you're eating calories with the ketogenic diet ratios, your body produces these ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate) which are break down products of fat. - Ketones are an alternative fuel for your brain to function on - The true litmus test is used measure your blood ketone levels and if they're not elevated, you're not in Ketosis. Urine ketone measurements can also be valuable and less expensive to first confirm you have reached ketosis. - It's the ratio of the macro-nutrients that define the Ketogenic Diet. 2. What does your plate need to look like? What does your typical meal plan look like? - Check The Ketogenic Bible for recipes and tips!

Dr. Dom's Personal Keto Plan: Breakfast - 4 Egg Yolk Omelettes  with Spinach and Mushroom - Salad w/ Dressing (Olive Oil + medium-chain triglyceride or MCT Oil + Herbs) Dinner - Greens like Asparagus, Brocolli - Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Cook Cauliflower until soft, Put in Food Processor, Add Salt and Pepper) - Fatty fish like Salmon or Trout Dessert - Ketogenic Choco Mousse (Sugar-free concentrated Coconut milk + Dark Chocolate Baking Cocoa + Crushed Almonds + Stevia + Cinammon) If you are OK with dairy sour cream can also be used. Benefits of Ketogenic diet and why Dr. D' Agostino does it: 1. Keeps him full and suppresses appetite from breakfast to dinner 2. Helps him keep up with top performers like astronauts when task loaded 3. Gives him more motivation and drive throughout the day 4. Gets more work done 5. Deeper sleep and less sleep requirement 6. Can function on 6.5 hours sleep 7. Functions better physically  when forced into a sleep deprived state due work demands or travels 8. Cognitive resilience under sleep deprivation 9. No cravings because the food is higher in fat, it has a satiating effect. Dr. Dom follows a modified version of Ketogenic diet which has 20-30% protein and sometimes bumps protein calories a little high on weight training days.

3. Who is the ketogenic diet for? What do you recommend? How do I decide if the ketogenic diet is right for me?

- It's the standard of care for people who have seizures to follow a Keto diet especially if it's refractory to drug treatment or does not respond to drug treatment

- The Ketogenic works when drugs fail. Many of the anti-epileptic drugs have side effects.

- For weight loss & diabetes

-Helps people with Autism, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

- Generally helps women with different types of hormonal issues like acne, perimenopause and PCOS

- The ketogenic diet rapidly controls insulin and suppresses insulin which produces ketones

- By suppressing insulin, it facilitates fat burning globally and especially around the mid section - It's effective for mobilizing fat for energy. - Controls Inflammation which contributes to cancer and autoimmune - It not only helps autoimmune disorders but also age related chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or Alzheimer's disease

4. Who does it not work for?

- People with Pancreatitis, liver problems like liver cancer, fat malabsorption or kidney stones. - If a person has liver cancer, the liver does not make the ketone bodies and the ketone bodies provide the brain an alternative form of energy - If you've had or have kidney stones, use Ketogenic diet cautiously. Drink water, eat high potassium foods and consider K+ supplementation.   - If you have  fat absorption issues or have had gall bladder removed, it could be challenging to do this diet, but many have succeeded. - The whole household has to be onboard with the way you're eating. - For those who want to lose weight or control diabetes, they don't have to go on a ketogenic diet. A simple carbohydrate restriction will do, - Instead of 60 or 70% calories from carbs, simply get 20 to 30% calories from carbs. - Make sure these carbohydrates are low glycemic. Eating vegetables and whole food sources can make huge difference. - BUT, if you want results FAST, a Ketogenic diet can be a better option. - You can do a Ketogenic diet for fast results then transition to a low carbohydrate lifestyle, switch out all starches with vegetables.

5. How quickly can someone get into Ketosis without having to constantly track that? If I start today a ketogenic diet, how long will it take for me to get into ketosis?

- If you start a strict ketogenic diet today, it takes of minimum of 48 to 78 hours to really registering ketones in your blood and urine stick. - When you initiate the ketogenic diet, it's a stress to your body. Your brain start to depend glucose as its primary energy source. - Fats get converted to ketone bodies, these ketone bodies can replace glucose largely as a primary energy source - Add coconut oil, MCT, ketone supplements to quickly elevate ketones, - By supplying extra energy when sugar is limited ketones make your brain happy - It is not only alternative fuel to brain and tissues, but also functions as a signaling molecule that can inhibit anti-inflammatory pathways - Ketone bodies function to activate various genes that can boost antioxidant protection in body - It can stimulate various genes that are associated with longevity, and increase lifespan - A ketogenic diet is one way to mimic the life extending health effect of calorie restriction

6. Do you have to do the keto diet forever? Is it a lifestyle redesigned choice? Is it something you do intermittently?

- Case study of Charlie Abrahams w/ Epilepsy (see ketogenic diet movie "First do No Harm" with Meryl Streep) - An average person who wants to enhance their metabolic health for longevity effects can practice intermittent ketosis. - They can also practice  intermittent fasting (only 2x a week is needed). - No breakfast or lunch - Eat at a time restricted window like 6 pm to 10 am - Stay away from pasta, bread, potatoes, heavy starches - The longer you do keto and adhere to it it easier gets

Note: You dont have to do it all the time!

- You can stay in ketosis every 2-3 months out of a year and get major benefits- a reset in insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism.

7. Have you noticed a difference in MCT oils or does it not matter what brand you' buy?

It really doesn't matter overall, and they have done research in a lab on the various MCT oils

- MCT Oil Liquid from NOW Foods is cheapest

- Parrillo Nutrition CapTri C8 MCT Oil

- The elevation of ketones from that is 80% of what you get from a Brain Octane which is more expensive but also an excellent product

8. What other supplements are you taking for maintaining ketosis?

1. MCT oil/MCT oil powder 2. Kegenix PRIME 3. Pruvit Keto//OS 2.1 (Orange Dream) 4. KetoLogic (Find links to these products and other "approved" products/foods at Ketonutrition.org)

9. There's some buzz around telomeres and ketogenic diet. What do you know about that in your research?

- This is a hot area of study that has been incorporated in NASA missions, on ISS and on NEEMO missions. - The keto diet mimics molecular aspects of calorie (low IGF-1, mTOR, etc.) - New tools are evolving, including saliva kits that a person can do at home. These will be incorporated into our research

10. Nutritional vs. Functional Ketosis: What is the difference between the two?

- Tim Ferris found the main thing that worked for his Lymes Disease was fasting ketosis and nutritional Ketosis - Ketosis is defined by an elevation of these ketone bodies in the blood and urine. - Intermittent ketosis is ideal for people wanting health benefits, but also wanting to occasionally enjoy carb-based foods too - It's not normal to be on Keto all the time- probably NOT optimal. - I personally cycle between low carb and keto diet - Cycle your diet, stay metabolically flexible, incorporate healthy carbs with a wide variety of vegetables and smalls amounts of fruit.. - Stay away from grains - It's good not to stay in ketosis all the time; we dont know enough yet.  Seizure patients that stay in high/moderate ketosis for decades do not seem to have any overt health issues though.

11. What percentage do I need to be on to consider it a calorie restriction diet?

- For the average person, start at 10%

- Log for 2 weeks what you eat, calculate and look at the scale; If you have the same weight, divide calories by 14 -- that's how many calories per week you need to maintain body weight

12. What are some of your favorite apps? 

- Fitday

- Avatar Nutrition

Books Recommended in this Podcast:

The Ketogenic Bible: The Authoritative Guide to Ketosis

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-bible-the-authoritative-guide-to-ketosis/

The Ketogenic and Modified Atkins Diets: Treatments for Epilepsy and Other Disorders

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-and-modified-atkins-diets-treatments-for-epilepsy-and-other-disorders/

KEY LINKS:

WEBSITE: www.healerpedia.com

https://www.ketonutrition.org/

SOCIAL MEDIA

https://www.facebook.com/dominic.dagostino.1

https://twitter.com/DominicDAgosti2?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/dominic.dagostino.kt/?hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-d-agostino-156014b/

https://usf.academia.edu/DominicDAgostino

Liked what you heard? Love what I am doing with my mission of spreading the truth about how we can live healthier, happier and longer?

Then please SUBSCRIBE, RATE AND SHARE with your loved ones!! They will thank you for it :)

Till next time, wishing you health, love and joy!

[jfolwer4679-blog]

Keto Diet Plan, Myths and Truths with Dr. Dominic D' Agostino

Is Keto diet truly the savior for millions suffering from diabetes, Alzheimers, cancer, auto-immune diseases and obesity or is it yet another fad with serious side effects? Listen to Keto veteran, scientist Dr. Dominic D’Agostino who has not only been researching the Ketogenic diet but also claims its his secret to keeping up with the supermen astronauts as a crew member on NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations 22 (NEEMO 22)! Dr. Dom D'Agostino is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. He is also a research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). In this podcast, Dr. Dom shares what exactly is a Keto diet, why it actually works, who its right for and how it positively affects your body, mind, and energy. Key Questions answered and highlights: --------------------------------------------------------- 1. What is the Ketogenic diet for those of our listeners who are still scratching their heads going "Is it bacon and beef?" - A ketogenic diet is not a high protein diet, but a high fat diet. - The percentage of the calories that make up the Liberal/Modified keto diet at least 65-70% while 90% fat for Classical keto diet. - The balance of the calories (10-30%) will come from protein. - Ketogenic Diet mimics the metabolic state of fasting - When you're eating calories with the ketogenic diet ratios, your body produces these ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate) which are break down products of fat. - Ketones are an alternative fuel for your brain to function on - The true litmus test is used measure your blood ketone levels and if they're not elevated, you're not in Ketosis. Urine ketone measurements can also be valuable and less expensive to first confirm you have reached ketosis. - It's the ratio of the macro-nutrients that define the Ketogenic Diet. 2. What does your plate need to look like? What does your typical meal plan look like? - Check The Ketogenic Bible for recipes and tips!

Dr. Dom's Personal Keto Plan: Breakfast - 4 Egg Yolk Omelettes  with Spinach and Mushroom - Salad w/ Dressing (Olive Oil + medium-chain triglyceride or MCT Oil + Herbs) Dinner - Greens like Asparagus, Brocolli - Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Cook Cauliflower until soft, Put in Food Processor, Add Salt and Pepper) - Fatty fish like Salmon or Trout Dessert - Ketogenic Choco Mousse (Sugar-free concentrated Coconut milk + Dark Chocolate Baking Cocoa + Crushed Almonds + Stevia + Cinammon) If you are OK with dairy sour cream can also be used. Benefits of Ketogenic diet and why Dr. D' Agostino does it: 1. Keeps him full and suppresses appetite from breakfast to dinner 2. Helps him keep up with top performers like astronauts when task loaded 3. Gives him more motivation and drive throughout the day 4. Gets more work done 5. Deeper sleep and less sleep requirement 6. Can function on 6.5 hours sleep 7. Functions better physically  when forced into a sleep deprived state due work demands or travels 8. Cognitive resilience under sleep deprivation 9. No cravings because the food is higher in fat, it has a satiating effect. Dr. Dom follows a modified version of Ketogenic diet which has 20-30% protein and sometimes bumps protein calories a little high on weight training days.

3. Who is the ketogenic diet for? What do you recommend? How do I decide if the ketogenic diet is right for me?

- It's the standard of care for people who have seizures to follow a Keto diet especially if it's refractory to drug treatment or does not respond to drug treatment

- The Ketogenic works when drugs fail. Many of the anti-epileptic drugs have side effects.

- For weight loss & diabetes

-Helps people with Autism, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

- Generally helps women with different types of hormonal issues like acne, perimenopause and PCOS

- The ketogenic diet rapidly controls insulin and suppresses insulin which produces ketones

- By suppressing insulin, it facilitates fat burning globally and especially around the mid section - It's effective for mobilizing fat for energy. - Controls Inflammation which contributes to cancer and autoimmune - It not only helps autoimmune disorders but also age related chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or Alzheimer's disease

4. Who does it not work for?

- People with Pancreatitis, liver problems like liver cancer, fat malabsorption or kidney stones. - If a person has liver cancer, the liver does not make the ketone bodies and the ketone bodies provide the brain an alternative form of energy - If you've had or have kidney stones, use Ketogenic diet cautiously. Drink water, eat high potassium foods and consider K+ supplementation.   - If you have  fat absorption issues or have had gall bladder removed, it could be challenging to do this diet, but many have succeeded. - The whole household has to be onboard with the way you're eating. - For those who want to lose weight or control diabetes, they don't have to go on a ketogenic diet. A simple carbohydrate restriction will do, - Instead of 60 or 70% calories from carbs, simply get 20 to 30% calories from carbs. - Make sure these carbohydrates are low glycemic. Eating vegetables and whole food sources can make huge difference. - BUT, if you want results FAST, a Ketogenic diet can be a better option. - You can do a Ketogenic diet for fast results then transition to a low carbohydrate lifestyle, switch out all starches with vegetables.

5. How quickly can someone get into Ketosis without having to constantly track that? If I start today a ketogenic diet, how long will it take for me to get into ketosis?

- If you start a strict ketogenic diet today, it takes of minimum of 48 to 78 hours to really registering ketones in your blood and urine stick. - When you initiate the ketogenic diet, it's a stress to your body. Your brain start to depend glucose as its primary energy source. - Fats get converted to ketone bodies, these ketone bodies can replace glucose largely as a primary energy source - Add coconut oil, MCT, ketone supplements to quickly elevate ketones, - By supplying extra energy when sugar is limited ketones make your brain happy - It is not only alternative fuel to brain and tissues, but also functions as a signaling molecule that can inhibit anti-inflammatory pathways - Ketone bodies function to activate various genes that can boost antioxidant protection in body - It can stimulate various genes that are associated with longevity, and increase lifespan - A ketogenic diet is one way to mimic the life extending health effect of calorie restriction

6. Do you have to do the keto diet forever? Is it a lifestyle redesigned choice? Is it something you do intermittently?

- Case study of Charlie Abrahams w/ Epilepsy (see ketogenic diet movie "First do No Harm" with Meryl Streep) - An average person who wants to enhance their metabolic health for longevity effects can practice intermittent ketosis. - They can also practice  intermittent fasting (only 2x a week is needed). - No breakfast or lunch - Eat at a time restricted window like 6 pm to 10 am - Stay away from pasta, bread, potatoes, heavy starches - The longer you do keto and adhere to it it easier gets

Note: You dont have to do it all the time!

- You can stay in ketosis every 2-3 months out of a year and get major benefits- a reset in insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism.

7. Have you noticed a difference in MCT oils or does it not matter what brand you' buy?

It really doesn't matter overall, and they have done research in a lab on the various MCT oils

- MCT Oil Liquid from NOW Foods is cheapest

- Parrillo Nutrition CapTri C8 MCT Oil

- The elevation of ketones from that is 80% of what you get from a Brain Octane which is more expensive but also an excellent product

8. What other supplements are you taking for maintaining ketosis?

1. MCT oil/MCT oil powder 2. Kegenix PRIME 3. Pruvit Keto//OS 2.1 (Orange Dream) 4. KetoLogic (Find links to these products and other "approved" products/foods at Ketonutrition.org)

9. There's some buzz around telomeres and ketogenic diet. What do you know about that in your research?

- This is a hot area of study that has been incorporated in NASA missions, on ISS and on NEEMO missions. - The keto diet mimics molecular aspects of calorie (low IGF-1, mTOR, etc.) - New tools are evolving, including saliva kits that a person can do at home. These will be incorporated into our research

10. Nutritional vs. Functional Ketosis: What is the difference between the two?

- Tim Ferris found the main thing that worked for his Lymes Disease was fasting ketosis and nutritional Ketosis - Ketosis is defined by an elevation of these ketone bodies in the blood and urine. - Intermittent ketosis is ideal for people wanting health benefits, but also wanting to occasionally enjoy carb-based foods too - It's not normal to be on Keto all the time- probably NOT optimal. - I personally cycle between low carb and keto diet - Cycle your diet, stay metabolically flexible, incorporate healthy carbs with a wide variety of vegetables and smalls amounts of fruit.. - Stay away from grains - It's good not to stay in ketosis all the time; we dont know enough yet.  Seizure patients that stay in high/moderate ketosis for decades do not seem to have any overt health issues though.

11. What percentage do I need to be on to consider it a calorie restriction diet?

- For the average person, start at 10%

- Log for 2 weeks what you eat, calculate and look at the scale; If you have the same weight, divide calories by 14 -- that's how many calories per week you need to maintain body weight

12. What are some of your favorite apps? 

- Fitday

- Avatar Nutrition

Books Recommended in this Podcast:

The Ketogenic Bible: The Authoritative Guide to Ketosis

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-bible-the-authoritative-guide-to-ketosis/

The Ketogenic and Modified Atkins Diets: Treatments for Epilepsy and Other Disorders

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-and-modified-atkins-diets-treatments-for-epilepsy-and-other-disorders/

KEY LINKS:

WEBSITE: https://www.ketonutrition.org/

SOCIAL MEDIA

https://www.facebook.com/dominic.dagostino.1

https://twitter.com/DominicDAgosti2?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/dominic.dagostino.kt/?hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-d-agostino-156014b/

https://usf.academia.edu/DominicDAgostino

Liked what you heard? Love what I am doing with my mission of spreading the truth about how we can live healthier, happier and longer?

Then please SUBSCRIBE, RATE AND SHARE with your loved ones!! They will thank you for it :)

Till next time, wishing you health, love and joy!

[averyreadsanimorphs]

Keto Diet Plan, Myths and Truths with Dr. Dominic D' Agostino

Is Keto diet truly the savior for millions suffering from diabetes, Alzheimers, cancer, auto-immune diseases and obesity or is it yet another fad with serious side effects? Listen to Keto veteran, scientist Dr. Dominic D’Agostino who has not only been researching the Ketogenic diet but also claims its his secret to keeping up with the supermen astronauts as a crew member on NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations 22 (NEEMO 22)! Dr. Dom D'Agostino is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. He is also a research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). In this podcast, Dr. Dom shares what exactly is a Keto diet, why it actually works, who its right for and how it positively affects your body, mind, and energy. Key Questions answered and highlights: --------------------------------------------------------- 1. What is the Ketogenic diet for those of our listeners who are still scratching their heads going "Is it bacon and beef?" - A ketogenic diet is not a high protein diet, but a high fat diet. - The percentage of the calories that make up the Liberal/Modified keto diet at least 65-70% while 90% fat for Classical keto diet. - The balance of the calories (10-30%) will come from protein. - Ketogenic Diet mimics the metabolic state of fasting - When you're eating calories with the ketogenic diet ratios, your body produces these ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate) which are break down products of fat. - Ketones are an alternative fuel for your brain to function on - The true litmus test is used measure your blood ketone levels and if they're not elevated, you're not in Ketosis. Urine ketone measurements can also be valuable and less expensive to first confirm you have reached ketosis. - It's the ratio of the macro-nutrients that define the Ketogenic Diet. 2. What does your plate need to look like? What does your typical meal plan look like? - Check The Ketogenic Bible for recipes and tips!

Dr. Dom's Personal Keto Plan: Breakfast - 4 Egg Yolk Omelettes  with Spinach and Mushroom - Salad w/ Dressing (Olive Oil + medium-chain triglyceride or MCT Oil + Herbs) Dinner - Greens like Asparagus, Brocolli - Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Cook Cauliflower until soft, Put in Food Processor, Add Salt and Pepper) - Fatty fish like Salmon or Trout Dessert - Ketogenic Choco Mousse (Sugar-free concentrated Coconut milk + Dark Chocolate Baking Cocoa + Crushed Almonds + Stevia + Cinammon) If you are OK with dairy sour cream can also be used. Benefits of Ketogenic diet and why Dr. D' Agostino does it: 1. Keeps him full and suppresses appetite from breakfast to dinner 2. Helps him keep up with top performers like astronauts when task loaded 3. Gives him more motivation and drive throughout the day 4. Gets more work done 5. Deeper sleep and less sleep requirement 6. Can function on 6.5 hours sleep 7. Functions better physically  when forced into a sleep deprived state due work demands or travels 8. Cognitive resilience under sleep deprivation 9. No cravings because the food is higher in fat, it has a satiating effect. Dr. Dom follows a modified version of Ketogenic diet which has 20-30% protein and sometimes bumps protein calories a little high on weight training days.

3. Who is the ketogenic diet for? What do you recommend? How do I decide if the ketogenic diet is right for me?

- It's the standard of care for people who have seizures to follow a Keto diet especially if it's refractory to drug treatment or does not respond to drug treatment

- The Ketogenic works when drugs fail. Many of the anti-epileptic drugs have side effects.

- For weight loss & diabetes

-Helps people with Autism, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

- Generally helps women with different types of hormonal issues like acne, perimenopause and PCOS

- The ketogenic diet rapidly controls insulin and suppresses insulin which produces ketones

- By suppressing insulin, it facilitates fat burning globally and especially around the mid section - It's effective for mobilizing fat for energy. - Controls Inflammation which contributes to cancer and autoimmune - It not only helps autoimmune disorders but also age related chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or Alzheimer's disease

4. Who does it not work for?

- People with Pancreatitis, liver problems like liver cancer, fat malabsorption or kidney stones. - If a person has liver cancer, the liver does not make the ketone bodies and the ketone bodies provide the brain an alternative form of energy - If you've had or have kidney stones, use Ketogenic diet cautiously. Drink water, eat high potassium foods and consider K+ supplementation.   - If you have  fat absorption issues or have had gall bladder removed, it could be challenging to do this diet, but many have succeeded. - The whole household has to be onboard with the way you're eating. - For those who want to lose weight or control diabetes, they don't have to go on a ketogenic diet. A simple carbohydrate restriction will do, - Instead of 60 or 70% calories from carbs, simply get 20 to 30% calories from carbs. - Make sure these carbohydrates are low glycemic. Eating vegetables and whole food sources can make huge difference. - BUT, if you want results FAST, a Ketogenic diet can be a better option. - You can do a Ketogenic diet for fast results then transition to a low carbohydrate lifestyle, switch out all starches with vegetables.

5. How quickly can someone get into Ketosis without having to constantly track that? If I start today a ketogenic diet, how long will it take for me to get into ketosis?

- If you start a strict ketogenic diet today, it takes of minimum of 48 to 78 hours to really registering ketones in your blood and urine stick. - When you initiate the ketogenic diet, it's a stress to your body. Your brain start to depend glucose as its primary energy source. - Fats get converted to ketone bodies, these ketone bodies can replace glucose largely as a primary energy source - Add coconut oil, MCT, ketone supplements to quickly elevate ketones, - By supplying extra energy when sugar is limited ketones make your brain happy - It is not only alternative fuel to brain and tissues, but also functions as a signaling molecule that can inhibit anti-inflammatory pathways - Ketone bodies function to activate various genes that can boost antioxidant protection in body - It can stimulate various genes that are associated with longevity, and increase lifespan - A ketogenic diet is one way to mimic the life extending health effect of calorie restriction

6. Do you have to do the keto diet forever? Is it a lifestyle redesigned choice? Is it something you do intermittently?

- Case study of Charlie Abrahams w/ Epilepsy (see ketogenic diet movie "First do No Harm" with Meryl Streep) - An average person who wants to enhance their metabolic health for longevity effects can practice intermittent ketosis. - They can also practice  intermittent fasting (only 2x a week is needed). - No breakfast or lunch - Eat at a time restricted window like 6 pm to 10 am - Stay away from pasta, bread, potatoes, heavy starches - The longer you do keto and adhere to it it easier gets

Note: You dont have to do it all the time!

- You can stay in ketosis every 2-3 months out of a year and get major benefits- a reset in insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism.

7. Have you noticed a difference in MCT oils or does it not matter what brand you' buy?

It really doesn't matter overall, and they have done research in a lab on the various MCT oils

- MCT Oil Liquid from NOW Foods is cheapest

- Parrillo Nutrition CapTri C8 MCT Oil

- The elevation of ketones from that is 80% of what you get from a Brain Octane which is more expensive but also an excellent product

8. What other supplements are you taking for maintaining ketosis?

1. MCT oil/MCT oil powder 2. Kegenix PRIME 3. Pruvit Keto//OS 2.1 (Orange Dream) 4. KetoLogic (Find links to these products and other "approved" products/foods at Ketonutrition.org)

9. There's some buzz around telomeres and ketogenic diet. What do you know about that in your research?

- This is a hot area of study that has been incorporated in NASA missions, on ISS and on NEEMO missions. - The keto diet mimics molecular aspects of calorie (low IGF-1, mTOR, etc.) - New tools are evolving, including saliva kits that a person can do at home. These will be incorporated into our research

10. Nutritional vs. Functional Ketosis: What is the difference between the two?

- Tim Ferris found the main thing that worked for his Lymes Disease was fasting ketosis and nutritional Ketosis - Ketosis is defined by an elevation of these ketone bodies in the blood and urine. - Intermittent ketosis is ideal for people wanting health benefits, but also wanting to occasionally enjoy carb-based foods too - It's not normal to be on Keto all the time- probably NOT optimal. - I personally cycle between low carb and keto diet - Cycle your diet, stay metabolically flexible, incorporate healthy carbs with a wide variety of vegetables and smalls amounts of fruit.. - Stay away from grains - It's good not to stay in ketosis all the time; we dont know enough yet.  Seizure patients that stay in high/moderate ketosis for decades do not seem to have any overt health issues though.

11. What percentage do I need to be on to consider it a calorie restriction diet?

- For the average person, start at 10%

- Log for 2 weeks what you eat, calculate and look at the scale; If you have the same weight, divide calories by 14 -- that's how many calories per week you need to maintain body weight

12. What are some of your favorite apps? 

- Fitday

- Avatar Nutrition

Books Recommended in this Podcast:

The Ketogenic Bible: The Authoritative Guide to Ketosis

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-bible-the-authoritative-guide-to-ketosis/

The Ketogenic and Modified Atkins Diets: Treatments for Epilepsy and Other Disorders

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-and-modified-atkins-diets-treatments-for-epilepsy-and-other-disorders/

KEY LINKS:

WEBSITE: https://www.ketonutrition.org/

SOCIAL MEDIA

https://www.facebook.com/dominic.dagostino.1

https://twitter.com/DominicDAgosti2?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/dominic.dagostino.kt/?hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-d-agostino-156014b/

https://usf.academia.edu/DominicDAgostino

Liked what you heard? Love what I am doing with my mission of spreading the truth about how we can live healthier, happier and longer?

Then please SUBSCRIBE, RATE AND SHARE with your loved ones!! They will thank you for it :)

Till next time, wishing you health, love and joy!

[saureus]

Keto Diet Plan, Myths and Truths with Dr. Dominic D' Agostino

Is Keto diet truly the savior for millions suffering from diabetes, Alzheimers, cancer, auto-immune diseases and obesity or is it yet another fad with serious side effects? Listen to Keto veteran, scientist Dr. Dominic D’Agostino who has not only been researching the Ketogenic diet but also claims its his secret to keeping up with the supermen astronauts as a crew member on NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations 22 (NEEMO 22)! Dr. Dom D'Agostino is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. He is also a research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). In this podcast, Dr. Dom shares what exactly is a Keto diet, why it actually works, who its right for and how it positively affects your body, mind, and energy. Key Questions answered and highlights: --------------------------------------------------------- 1. What is the Ketogenic diet for those of our listeners who are still scratching their heads going "Is it bacon and beef?" - A ketogenic diet is not a high protein diet, but a high fat diet. - The percentage of the calories that make up the Liberal/Modified keto diet at least 65-70% while 90% fat for Classical keto diet. - The balance of the calories (10-30%) will come from protein. - Ketogenic Diet mimics the metabolic state of fasting - When you're eating calories with the ketogenic diet ratios, your body produces these ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate) which are break down products of fat. - Ketones are an alternative fuel for your brain to function on - The true litmus test is used measure your blood ketone levels and if they're not elevated, you're not in Ketosis. Urine ketone measurements can also be valuable and less expensive to first confirm you have reached ketosis. - It's the ratio of the macro-nutrients that define the Ketogenic Diet. 2. What does your plate need to look like? What does your typical meal plan look like? - Check The Ketogenic Bible for recipes and tips!

Dr. Dom's Personal Keto Plan: Breakfast - 4 Egg Yolk Omelettes  with Spinach and Mushroom - Salad w/ Dressing (Olive Oil + medium-chain triglyceride or MCT Oil + Herbs) Dinner - Greens like Asparagus, Brocolli - Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Cook Cauliflower until soft, Put in Food Processor, Add Salt and Pepper) - Fatty fish like Salmon or Trout Dessert - Ketogenic Choco Mousse (Sugar-free concentrated Coconut milk + Dark Chocolate Baking Cocoa + Crushed Almonds + Stevia + Cinammon) If you are OK with dairy sour cream can also be used. Benefits of Ketogenic diet and why Dr. D' Agostino does it: 1. Keeps him full and suppresses appetite from breakfast to dinner 2. Helps him keep up with top performers like astronauts when task loaded 3. Gives him more motivation and drive throughout the day 4. Gets more work done 5. Deeper sleep and less sleep requirement 6. Can function on 6.5 hours sleep 7. Functions better physically  when forced into a sleep deprived state due work demands or travels 8. Cognitive resilience under sleep deprivation 9. No cravings because the food is higher in fat, it has a satiating effect. Dr. Dom follows a modified version of Ketogenic diet which has 20-30% protein and sometimes bumps protein calories a little high on weight training days.

3. Who is the ketogenic diet for? What do you recommend? How do I decide if the ketogenic diet is right for me?

- It's the standard of care for people who have seizures to follow a Keto diet especially if it's refractory to drug treatment or does not respond to drug treatment

- The Ketogenic works when drugs fail. Many of the anti-epileptic drugs have side effects.

- For weight loss & diabetes

-Helps people with Autism, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

- Generally helps women with different types of hormonal issues like acne, perimenopause and PCOS

- The ketogenic diet rapidly controls insulin and suppresses insulin which produces ketones

- By suppressing insulin, it facilitates fat burning globally and especially around the mid section - It's effective for mobilizing fat for energy. - Controls Inflammation which contributes to cancer and autoimmune - It not only helps autoimmune disorders but also age related chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or Alzheimer's disease

4. Who does it not work for?

- People with Pancreatitis, liver problems like liver cancer, fat malabsorption or kidney stones. - If a person has liver cancer, the liver does not make the ketone bodies and the ketone bodies provide the brain an alternative form of energy - If you've had or have kidney stones, use Ketogenic diet cautiously. Drink water, eat high potassium foods and consider K+ supplementation.   - If you have  fat absorption issues or have had gall bladder removed, it could be challenging to do this diet, but many have succeeded. - The whole household has to be onboard with the way you're eating. - For those who want to lose weight or control diabetes, they don't have to go on a ketogenic diet. A simple carbohydrate restriction will do, - Instead of 60 or 70% calories from carbs, simply get 20 to 30% calories from carbs. - Make sure these carbohydrates are low glycemic. Eating vegetables and whole food sources can make huge difference. - BUT, if you want results FAST, a Ketogenic diet can be a better option. - You can do a Ketogenic diet for fast results then transition to a low carbohydrate lifestyle, switch out all starches with vegetables.

5. How quickly can someone get into Ketosis without having to constantly track that? If I start today a ketogenic diet, how long will it take for me to get into ketosis?

- If you start a strict ketogenic diet today, it takes of minimum of 48 to 78 hours to really registering ketones in your blood and urine stick. - When you initiate the ketogenic diet, it's a stress to your body. Your brain start to depend glucose as its primary energy source. - Fats get converted to ketone bodies, these ketone bodies can replace glucose largely as a primary energy source - Add coconut oil, MCT, ketone supplements to quickly elevate ketones, - By supplying extra energy when sugar is limited ketones make your brain happy - It is not only alternative fuel to brain and tissues, but also functions as a signaling molecule that can inhibit anti-inflammatory pathways - Ketone bodies function to activate various genes that can boost antioxidant protection in body - It can stimulate various genes that are associated with longevity, and increase lifespan - A ketogenic diet is one way to mimic the life extending health effect of calorie restriction

6. Do you have to do the keto diet forever? Is it a lifestyle redesigned choice? Is it something you do intermittently?

- Case study of Charlie Abrahams w/ Epilepsy (see ketogenic diet movie "First do No Harm" with Meryl Streep) - An average person who wants to enhance their metabolic health for longevity effects can practice intermittent ketosis. - They can also practice  intermittent fasting (only 2x a week is needed). - No breakfast or lunch - Eat at a time restricted window like 6 pm to 10 am - Stay away from pasta, bread, potatoes, heavy starches - The longer you do keto and adhere to it it easier gets

Note: You dont have to do it all the time!

- You can stay in ketosis every 2-3 months out of a year and get major benefits- a reset in insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism.

7. Have you noticed a difference in MCT oils or does it not matter what brand you' buy?

It really doesn't matter overall, and they have done research in a lab on the various MCT oils

- MCT Oil Liquid from NOW Foods is cheapest

- Parrillo Nutrition CapTri C8 MCT Oil

- The elevation of ketones from that is 80% of what you get from a Brain Octane which is more expensive but also an excellent product

8. What other supplements are you taking for maintaining ketosis?

1. MCT oil/MCT oil powder 2. Kegenix PRIME 3. Pruvit Keto//OS 2.1 (Orange Dream) 4. KetoLogic (Find links to these products and other "approved" products/foods at Ketonutrition.org)

9. There's some buzz around telomeres and ketogenic diet. What do you know about that in your research?

- This is a hot area of study that has been incorporated in NASA missions, on ISS and on NEEMO missions. - The keto diet mimics molecular aspects of calorie (low IGF-1, mTOR, etc.) - New tools are evolving, including saliva kits that a person can do at home. These will be incorporated into our research

10. Nutritional vs. Functional Ketosis: What is the difference between the two?

- Tim Ferris found the main thing that worked for his Lymes Disease was fasting ketosis and nutritional Ketosis - Ketosis is defined by an elevation of these ketone bodies in the blood and urine. - Intermittent ketosis is ideal for people wanting health benefits, but also wanting to occasionally enjoy carb-based foods too - It's not normal to be on Keto all the time- probably NOT optimal. - I personally cycle between low carb and keto diet - Cycle your diet, stay metabolically flexible, incorporate healthy carbs with a wide variety of vegetables and smalls amounts of fruit.. - Stay away from grains - It's good not to stay in ketosis all the time; we dont know enough yet.  Seizure patients that stay in high/moderate ketosis for decades do not seem to have any overt health issues though.

11. What percentage do I need to be on to consider it a calorie restriction diet?

- For the average person, start at 10%

- Log for 2 weeks what you eat, calculate and look at the scale; If you have the same weight, divide calories by 14 -- that's how many calories per week you need to maintain body weight

12. What are some of your favorite apps? 

- Fitday

- Avatar Nutrition

Books Recommended in this Podcast:

The Ketogenic Bible: The Authoritative Guide to Ketosis

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-bible-the-authoritative-guide-to-ketosis/

The Ketogenic and Modified Atkins Diets: Treatments for Epilepsy and Other Disorders

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-and-modified-atkins-diets-treatments-for-epilepsy-and-other-disorders/

KEY LINKS:

WEBSITE: https://www.ketonutrition.org/

SOCIAL MEDIA

https://www.facebook.com/dominic.dagostino.1

https://twitter.com/DominicDAgosti2?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/dominic.dagostino.kt/?hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-d-agostino-156014b/

https://usf.academia.edu/DominicDAgostino

Liked what you heard? Love what I am doing with my mission of spreading the truth about how we can live healthier, happier and longer?

Then please SUBSCRIBE, RATE AND SHARE with your loved ones!! They will thank you for it :)

Till next time, wishing you health, love and joy!

[danoninterweb]

Keto Diet Plan, Myths and Truths with Dr. Dominic D' Agostino

Is Keto diet truly the savior for millions suffering from diabetes, Alzheimers, cancer, auto-immune diseases and obesity or is it yet another fad with serious side effects? Listen to Keto veteran, scientist Dr. Dominic D’Agostino who has not only been researching the Ketogenic diet but also claims its his secret to keeping up with the supermen astronauts as a crew member on NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations 22 (NEEMO 22)! Dr. Dom D'Agostino is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. He is also a research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). In this podcast, Dr. Dom shares what exactly is a Keto diet, why it actually works, who its right for and how it positively affects your body, mind, and energy. Key Questions answered and highlights: --------------------------------------------------------- 1. What is the Ketogenic diet for those of our listeners who are still scratching their heads going "Is it bacon and beef?" - A ketogenic diet is not a high protein diet, but a high fat diet. - The percentage of the calories that make up the Liberal/Modified keto diet at least 65-70% while 90% fat for Classical keto diet. - The balance of the calories (10-30%) will come from protein. - Ketogenic Diet mimics the metabolic state of fasting - When you're eating calories with the ketogenic diet ratios, your body produces these ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate) which are break down products of fat. - Ketones are an alternative fuel for your brain to function on - The true litmus test is used measure your blood ketone levels and if they're not elevated, you're not in Ketosis. Urine ketone measurements can also be valuable and less expensive to first confirm you have reached ketosis. - It's the ratio of the macro-nutrients that define the Ketogenic Diet. 2. What does your plate need to look like? What does your typical meal plan look like? - Check The Ketogenic Bible for recipes and tips!

Dr. Dom's Personal Keto Plan: Breakfast - 4 Egg Yolk Omelettes  with Spinach and Mushroom - Salad w/ Dressing (Olive Oil + medium-chain triglyceride or MCT Oil + Herbs) Dinner - Greens like Asparagus, Brocolli - Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Cook Cauliflower until soft, Put in Food Processor, Add Salt and Pepper) - Fatty fish like Salmon or Trout Dessert - Ketogenic Choco Mousse (Sugar-free concentrated Coconut milk + Dark Chocolate Baking Cocoa + Crushed Almonds + Stevia + Cinammon) If you are OK with dairy sour cream can also be used. Benefits of Ketogenic diet and why Dr. D' Agostino does it: 1. Keeps him full and suppresses appetite from breakfast to dinner 2. Helps him keep up with top performers like astronauts when task loaded 3. Gives him more motivation and drive throughout the day 4. Gets more work done 5. Deeper sleep and less sleep requirement 6. Can function on 6.5 hours sleep 7. Functions better physically  when forced into a sleep deprived state due work demands or travels 8. Cognitive resilience under sleep deprivation 9. No cravings because the food is higher in fat, it has a satiating effect. Dr. Dom follows a modified version of Ketogenic diet which has 20-30% protein and sometimes bumps protein calories a little high on weight training days.

3. Who is the ketogenic diet for? What do you recommend? How do I decide if the ketogenic diet is right for me?

- It's the standard of care for people who have seizures to follow a Keto diet especially if it's refractory to drug treatment or does not respond to drug treatment

- The Ketogenic works when drugs fail. Many of the anti-epileptic drugs have side effects.

- For weight loss & diabetes

-Helps people with Autism, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

- Generally helps women with different types of hormonal issues like acne, perimenopause and PCOS

- The ketogenic diet rapidly controls insulin and suppresses insulin which produces ketones

- By suppressing insulin, it facilitates fat burning globally and especially around the mid section - It's effective for mobilizing fat for energy. - Controls Inflammation which contributes to cancer and autoimmune - It not only helps autoimmune disorders but also age related chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or Alzheimer's disease

4. Who does it not work for?

- People with Pancreatitis, liver problems like liver cancer, fat malabsorption or kidney stones. - If a person has liver cancer, the liver does not make the ketone bodies and the ketone bodies provide the brain an alternative form of energy - If you've had or have kidney stones, use Ketogenic diet cautiously. Drink water, eat high potassium foods and consider K+ supplementation.   - If you have  fat absorption issues or have had gall bladder removed, it could be challenging to do this diet, but many have succeeded. - The whole household has to be onboard with the way you're eating. - For those who want to lose weight or control diabetes, they don't have to go on a ketogenic diet. A simple carbohydrate restriction will do, - Instead of 60 or 70% calories from carbs, simply get 20 to 30% calories from carbs. - Make sure these carbohydrates are low glycemic. Eating vegetables and whole food sources can make huge difference. - BUT, if you want results FAST, a Ketogenic diet can be a better option. - You can do a Ketogenic diet for fast results then transition to a low carbohydrate lifestyle, switch out all starches with vegetables.

5. How quickly can someone get into Ketosis without having to constantly track that? If I start today a ketogenic diet, how long will it take for me to get into ketosis?

- If you start a strict ketogenic diet today, it takes of minimum of 48 to 78 hours to really registering ketones in your blood and urine stick. - When you initiate the ketogenic diet, it's a stress to your body. Your brain start to depend glucose as its primary energy source. - Fats get converted to ketone bodies, these ketone bodies can replace glucose largely as a primary energy source - Add coconut oil, MCT, ketone supplements to quickly elevate ketones, - By supplying extra energy when sugar is limited ketones make your brain happy - It is not only alternative fuel to brain and tissues, but also functions as a signaling molecule that can inhibit anti-inflammatory pathways - Ketone bodies function to activate various genes that can boost antioxidant protection in body - It can stimulate various genes that are associated with longevity, and increase lifespan - A ketogenic diet is one way to mimic the life extending health effect of calorie restriction

6. Do you have to do the keto diet forever? Is it a lifestyle redesigned choice? Is it something you do intermittently?

- Case study of Charlie Abrahams w/ Epilepsy (see ketogenic diet movie "First do No Harm" with Meryl Streep) - An average person who wants to enhance their metabolic health for longevity effects can practice intermittent ketosis. - They can also practice  intermittent fasting (only 2x a week is needed). - No breakfast or lunch - Eat at a time restricted window like 6 pm to 10 am - Stay away from pasta, bread, potatoes, heavy starches - The longer you do keto and adhere to it it easier gets

Note: You dont have to do it all the time!

- You can stay in ketosis every 2-3 months out of a year and get major benefits- a reset in insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism.

7. Have you noticed a difference in MCT oils or does it not matter what brand you' buy?

It really doesn't matter overall, and they have done research in a lab on the various MCT oils

- MCT Oil Liquid from NOW Foods is cheapest

- Parrillo Nutrition CapTri C8 MCT Oil

- The elevation of ketones from that is 80% of what you get from a Brain Octane which is more expensive but also an excellent product

8. What other supplements are you taking for maintaining ketosis?

1. MCT oil/MCT oil powder 2. Kegenix PRIME 3. Pruvit Keto//OS 2.1 (Orange Dream) 4. KetoLogic (Find links to these products and other "approved" products/foods at Ketonutrition.org)

9. There's some buzz around telomeres and ketogenic diet. What do you know about that in your research?

- This is a hot area of study that has been incorporated in NASA missions, on ISS and on NEEMO missions. - The keto diet mimics molecular aspects of calorie (low IGF-1, mTOR, etc.) - New tools are evolving, including saliva kits that a person can do at home. These will be incorporated into our research

10. Nutritional vs. Functional Ketosis: What is the difference between the two?

- Tim Ferris found the main thing that worked for his Lymes Disease was fasting ketosis and nutritional Ketosis - Ketosis is defined by an elevation of these ketone bodies in the blood and urine. - Intermittent ketosis is ideal for people wanting health benefits, but also wanting to occasionally enjoy carb-based foods too - It's not normal to be on Keto all the time- probably NOT optimal. - I personally cycle between low carb and keto diet - Cycle your diet, stay metabolically flexible, incorporate healthy carbs with a wide variety of vegetables and smalls amounts of fruit.. - Stay away from grains - It's good not to stay in ketosis all the time; we dont know enough yet.  Seizure patients that stay in high/moderate ketosis for decades do not seem to have any overt health issues though.

11. What percentage do I need to be on to consider it a calorie restriction diet?

- For the average person, start at 10%

- Log for 2 weeks what you eat, calculate and look at the scale; If you have the same weight, divide calories by 14 -- that's how many calories per week you need to maintain body weight

12. What are some of your favorite apps? 

- Fitday

- Avatar Nutrition

Books Recommended in this Podcast:

The Ketogenic Bible: The Authoritative Guide to Ketosis

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-bible-the-authoritative-guide-to-ketosis/

The Ketogenic and Modified Atkins Diets: Treatments for Epilepsy and Other Disorders

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-and-modified-atkins-diets-treatments-for-epilepsy-and-other-disorders/

KEY LINKS:

WEBSITE: https://www.ketonutrition.org/

SOCIAL MEDIA

https://www.facebook.com/dominic.dagostino.1

https://twitter.com/DominicDAgosti2?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/dominic.dagostino.kt/?hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-d-agostino-156014b/

https://usf.academia.edu/DominicDAgostino

Liked what you heard? Love what I am doing with my mission of spreading the truth about how we can live healthier, happier and longer?

Then please SUBSCRIBE, RATE AND SHARE with your loved ones!! They will thank you for it :)

Till next time, wishing you health, love and joy!

[boyandhisdreams]

Keto Diet Plan, Myths and Truths with Dr. Dominic D' Agostino

Is Keto diet truly the savior for millions suffering from diabetes, Alzheimers, cancer, auto-immune diseases and obesity or is it yet another fad with serious side effects? Listen to Keto veteran, scientist Dr. Dominic D’Agostino who has not only been researching the Ketogenic diet but also claims its his secret to keeping up with the supermen astronauts as a crew member on NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations 22 (NEEMO 22)! Dr. Dom D'Agostino is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. He is also a research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). In this podcast, Dr. Dom shares what exactly is a Keto diet, why it actually works, who its right for and how it positively affects your body, mind, and energy. Key Questions answered and highlights: --------------------------------------------------------- 1. What is the Ketogenic diet for those of our listeners who are still scratching their heads going "Is it bacon and beef?" - A ketogenic diet is not a high protein diet, but a high fat diet. - The percentage of the calories that make up the Liberal/Modified keto diet at least 65-70% while 90% fat for Classical keto diet. - The balance of the calories (10-30%) will come from protein. - Ketogenic Diet mimics the metabolic state of fasting - When you're eating calories with the ketogenic diet ratios, your body produces these ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate) which are break down products of fat. - ketones are an alternative fuel for your brain to function on - The true litmus test is used measure your blood ketone levels and if they're not elevated, you're not in Ketosis. Urine ketone measurements can also be valuable and less expensive to first confirm you have reached ketosis. - It's the ratio of the macro-nutrients that define the Ketogenic Diet. 2. What does your plate need to look like? What does your typical meal plan look like? - Check The Ketogenic Bible for recipes and tips!

Dr. Dom's Personal Keto Plan: Breakfast - 4 Egg Yolk Omelettes  with Spinach and Mushroom - Salad w/ Dressing (Olive Oil + medium-chain triglyceride or MCT Oil + Herbs) Dinner - Greens like Asparagus, Brocolli - Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Cook Cauliflower until soft, Put in Food Processor, Add Salt and Pepper) - Fatty fish like Salmon or Trout Dessert - Ketogenic Choco Mousse (Sugar-free concentrated Coconut milk + Dark Chocolate Baking Cocoa + Crushed Almonds + Stevia + Cinammon) If you are OK with dairy sour cream can also be used. Benefits of Ketogenic diet and why Dr. D' Agostino does it: 1. Keeps him full and suppresses appetite from breakfast to dinner 2. Helps him keep up with top performers like astronauts when task loaded 3. Gives him more motivation and drive throughout the day 4. Gets more work done 5. Deeper sleep and less sleep requirement 6. Can function on 6.5 hours sleep 7. Functions better physically  when forced into a sleep deprived state due work demands or travels 8. Cognitive resilience under sleep deprivation 9. No cravings because the food is higher in fat, it has a satiating effect. Dr. Dom follows a modified version of Ketogenic diet which has 20-30% protein and sometimes bumps protein calories a little high on weight training days.

3. Who is the ketogenic diet for? What do you recommend? How do I decide if the ketogenic diet is right for me?

- It's the standard of care for people who have seizures to follow a Keto diet especially if it's refractory to drug treatment or does not respond to drug treatment

- The Ketogenic works when drugs fail. Many of the anti-epileptic drugs have side effects.

- For weight loss & diabetes

-Helps people with Autism, Alzheimer, Parkinson, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

- Generally helps women with different types of hormonal issues like acne, perimenopause and PCOS

- The ketogenic diet rapidly controls insulin and suppresses insulin which produces ketones

- By suppressing insulin, it facilitates fat burning globally and especially around the mid section - It's effective for mobilizing fat for energy. - Controls Inflammation which contributes to cancer and autoimmune - It not only helps autoimmune disorders but also age related chronic diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, cancer or Alzheimer's disease

4. Who does it not work for?

- People with Pancreatitis, liver problems like liver cancer, fat malabsorption or kidney stones. - If a person has liver cancer, the liver does not make the ketone bodies and the ketone bodies provide the brain an alternative form of energy - If you've had or have kidney stones, use Ketogenic diet cautiously. Drink water, eat high potassium foods and consider K+ supplementation.   - If you have  fat absorption issues or have had gall bladder removed, it could be challenging to do this diet, but many have succeeded. - The whole household has to be onboard with the way you're eating. - For those who want to lose weight or control diabetes, they don't have to go on a ketogenic diet. A simple carbohydrate restriction will do, - Instead of 60 or 70% calories from carbs, simply get 20 to 30% calories from carbs. - Make sure these carbohydrates are low glycemic. Eating vegetables and whole food sources can make huge difference. - BUT, if you want results FAST, a Ketogenic diet can be a better option. - You can do a Ketogenic diet for fast results then transition to a low carbohydrate lifestyle, switch out all starches with vegetables.

5. How quickly can someone get into Ketosis without having to constantly track that? If I start today a ketogenic diet, how long will it take for me to get into ketosis?

- If you start a strict ketogenic diet today, it takes of minimum of 48 to 78 hours to really registering ketones in your blood and urine stick. - When you initiate the ketogenic diet, it's a stress to your body. Your brain start to depend glucose as its primary energy source. - Fats get converted to ketone bodies, these ketone bodies can replace glucose largely as a primary energy source - Add coconut oil, MCT, ketone supplements to quickly elevate ketones, - By supplying extra energy when sugar is limited ketones make your brain happy - It is not only alternative fuel to brain and tissues, but also functions as a signaling molecule that can inhibit anti-inflammatory pathways - Ketone bodies function to activate various genes that can boost antioxidant protection in body - It can stimulate various genes that are associated with longevity, and increase lifespan - A ketogenic diet is one way to mimic the life extending health effect of calorie restriction

6. Do you have to do the keto diet forever? Is it a lifestyle redesigned choice? Is it something you do intermittently?

- Case study of Charlie Abrahams w/ Epilepsy (see ketogenic diet movie "First do No Harm" with Meryl Streep) - An average person who wants to enhance their metabolic health for longevity effects can practice intermittent ketosis. - They can also practice  intermittent fasting (only 2x a week is needed). - No breakfast or lunch - Eat at a time restricted window like 6 pm to 10 am - Stay away from pasta, bread, potatoes, heavy starches - The longer you do keto and adhere to it it easier gets

Note: You dont have to do it all the time!

- You can stay in ketosis every 2-3 months out of a year and get major benefits- a reset in insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism.

7. Have you noticed a difference in MCT oils or does it not matter what brand you' buy?

It really doesn't matter overall, and they have done research in a lab on the various MCT oils

- MCT Oil Liquid from NOW Foods is cheapest

- Parrillo Nutrition CapTri C8 MCT Oil

- The elevation of ketones from that is 80% of what you get from a Brain Octane which is more expensive but also an excellent product

8. What other supplements are you taking for maintaining ketosis?

1. MCT oil/MCT oil powder 2. Kegenix PRIME 3. Pruvit Keto//OS 2.1 (Orange Dream) 4. KetoLogic (Find links to these products and other "approved" products/foods at Ketonutrition.org)

9. There's some buzz around telomeres and ketogenic diet. What do you know about that in your research?

- This is a hot area of study that has been incorporated in NASA missions, on ISS and on NEEMO missions. - The keto diet mimics molecular aspects of calorie (low IGF-1, mTOR, etc.) - New tools are evolving, including saliva kits that a person can do at home. These will be incorporated into our research

10. Nutritional vs. Functional Ketosis: What is the difference between the two?

- Tim Ferris found the main thing that worked for his Lymes Disease was fasting ketosis and nutritional Ketosis - Ketosis is defined by an elevation of these ketone bodies in the blood and urine. - Intermittent ketosis is ideal for people wanting health benefits, but also wanting to occasionally enjoy carb-based foods too - It's not normal to be on Keto all the time- probably NOT optimal. - I personally cycle between low carb and keto diet - Cycle your diet, stay metabolically flexible, incorporate healthy carbs with a wide variety of vegetables and smalls amounts of fruit.. - Stay away from grains - It's good not to stay in ketosis all the time; we dont know enough yet.  Seizure patients that stay in high/moderate ketosis for decades do not seem to have any overt health issues though.

11. What percentage do I need to be on to consider it a calorie restriction diet?

- For the average person, start at 10%

- Log for 2 weeks what you eat, calculate and look at the scale; If you have the same weight, divide calories by 14 -- that's how many calories per week you need to maintain body weight

12. What are some of your favorite apps? 

- Fitday

- Avatar Nutrition

Books Recommended in this Podcast:

The Ketogenic Bible: The Authoritative Guide to Ketosis

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-bible-the-authoritative-guide-to-ketosis/

The Ketogenic and Modified Atkins Diets: Treatments for Epilepsy and Other Disorders

http://healcircles.com/the-ketogenic-and-modified-atkins-diets-treatments-for-epilepsy-and-other-disorders/

KEY LINKS:

WEBSITE: https://www.ketonutrition.org/

SOCIAL MEDIA

https://www.facebook.com/dominic.dagostino.1

https://twitter.com/DominicDAgosti2?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/dominic.dagostino.kt/?hl=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-d-agostino-156014b/

https://usf.academia.edu/DominicDAgostino

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