This guide for healthcare practitioners stems from several position statements from the American Diabetes Association, as well as a consensus report, and Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes publications from 2019 and 2020. All suggest that utilizing a low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet can help reduce HbA1C and reduce medications in persons with type 2 diabetes.

The 2022 ADA Standards of Medical Care publication also states that in individuals with type 2 diabetes who are not meeting glucose targets or require glucose-lowering drugs, low carbohydrate or very low carbohydrate eating plans are a sustainable option. This is a significant change from the previous guidelines, which stated that low carbohydrate diets were not recommended as they eliminated many foods making the diet less palatable, implying that people would have difficulty with compliance to the diet.

This change also comes on the heels of the Mayo Clinic recently recognizing low carbohydrate diets as an alternative for patients with diabetes. The new Mayo Clinic Diet offers meal plans for clients including ‘Healthy Keto meals. This 180-degree shift in thinking about treating diabetes, as well as other comorbidities, is HUGE as it expands the way the medical community thinks about treatment.

The Science Behind Low Carb Diets for Treating Diabetes

Virta Health has been publishing science papers and abstracts demonstrating diabetes reversal and deprescription utilizing a low carbohydrate lifestyle for several years. In their latest abstract, outcomes from their landmark 5-year study have shown evidence that treating type 2 diabetes with a low carbohydrate diet is sustainable and can reverse this condition.

One fifth of the 169 patients in this five-year study experienced full remission of their diabetes, and one-third of patients achieved HbA1c below 6.5% without any diabetes medications, or only requiring Metformin. In addition, there were improvements in weight as well as other biomarkers, such as insulin levels.

From the two-year mark to the five-year mark, they had a 72.2% retention rate, which is incredible. These outcomes of improved glycemic control, weight loss, and retention on a very low carbohydrate diet provide even more validity for this type of eating plan for individuals with type 2 diabetes.

History of Recommended Diet Plans for Diabetics

The creation of this guide is a big step in the right direction by recognizing the benefits of low carbohydrate diets for the reversal of type 2 diabetes. This is a paradigm shift in the way of thinking that nutrition therapy for the treatment of diabetes is a “one size fits all” type of eating plan, as this mentality does not seem to be effective. Nutrition eating plans should be tailored to each specific patient’s goals.

The use of medical nutrition therapy with the plate method, described as half of the plate filled with non-starchy vegetables, one quarter of the plate is protein, and the last quarter is carbohydrate foods, does not seem to be as effective for reversal of diabetes as demonstrated by the continued growth of this condition. In a 2017 randomized controlled trial, the traditional plate method diet was compared with a very low carbohydrate diet. The outcomes showed that patients on the very low carbohydrate diet improved their glycemic control and lost more weight than the plate method group.

The low carbohydrate eating plan is one of the most studied eating plans for type 2 diabetes and has been shown to reduce A1C and reduce diabetic medications. This guide is an excellent starting place for healthcare providers to begin their education regarding this type of eating plan for their patients with type 2 diabetes.

Shortcomings of the ADA Guide

Although the publication of this guide is exciting progress, it is important to note that there are some inconsistencies and sections that need further explanation. It would be ideal for this guide to be reviewed in more detail by additional experts in the low carbohydrate community to provide more clarification for healthcare practitioners preparing to utilize it.

The authors suggest counting total carbohydrates instead of net carbohydrates.

Per the guide, total carbohydrate counting is recommended for maximal weight loss and blood glucose improvement. However, the food lists in the guide should still have fiber listed for patients who choose to count net carbohydrates.

For example, the guide reads that in a half-cup serving, blackberries have 10 grams of total carbohydrates, which would be half of the total days’ worth of carbohydrates for a patient following a very low carbohydrate diet. This could potentially discourage one from choosing blackberries as a food to incorporate into the diet. However, per the USDA half a cup of blackberries has 4.3 grams of net carbs, which would be much more reasonable to incorporate into a diet plan.

The very low carbohydrate non-starchy vegetable list states that all of the foods listed have less than 5 grams of carbohydrates per serving. However, this is not true. They have less than 5 grams of NET carbs but not total. It should be specified more clearly.

Maintaining a total carbohydrate goal of 20 grams of total carbs for 3 to 12 months is extremely difficult for most people to adhere to.

There is concern that adults will not be able to sustain that low level of total carbohydrate intake for such a long period of time, which could potentially lead to the discontinuation of the diet plan.  There is also a question as to why such a low level of total carbohydrates is necessary. In a randomized control trial, significant results were achieved for individuals with type 2 diabetes following a diet of 90 grams of total carbohydrates daily. Low carbohydrate options without such strict carbohydrate goals may be more feasible to consider for many individuals, leading to better dietary compliance and results.

The carbohydrate reintroduction phase seems like an old-school Atkins way of practice.

The guide suggests that a patient should add 5 grams of carbohydrates per week until they stop losing weight or start regaining weight. It does not specify if this increase is total carbohydrates or net carbohydrates. Why does weight determine this? What if they have not improved their A1C or deprescribed yet?

Inconsistencies in the types of fats recommended.

The types of fats recommended in the introduction of the guide are appropriate. However, in the food section of the guide, it suggests polyunsaturated fats such as canola oil as well as margarine, which are not generally recommended on a healthy low carbohydrate diet. Some of the information within the guide is inconsistent and therefore could be confusing to individuals new to this type of eating plan.

The guide does not specifically recommend blood ketone testing after the first several days to confirm ketosis.

We know this is important as bioindividuality makes everyone’s ability to get into and stay in ketosis different. Testing ensures you remain in ketosis or provides you with the information to make dietary adjustments. It is important to measure regularly to maintain compliance and it boosts motivation. Urine ketones do not provide the same level of accuracy or reliability as blood ketone measurements. Therefore, blood ketone testing would be especially beneficial for individuals following a low carbohydrate lifestyle, since a person with diabetes will need to adhere to this diet for a long time.

Final Thoughts:

As mentioned, the creation of this guide from the American Diabetes Association is a positive shift in thinking regarding the treatment for the reversal of type 2 diabetes. Virta Health has been studying and practicing this way for years, which has been shown to be significantly beneficial for patient outcomes. There are many clinical studies currently recruiting that support a low carbohydrate eating plan and its impact on type 2 diabetes as well as a variety of other medical conditions. The fact that a major health organization such as the ADA is recognizing the benefits of this type of eating plan is exciting, and we hope there is more to come. It is important to realize how essential medical nutrition therapy is for diabetes management and reversal. The diet should be uniquely tailored to each individual’s needs.

As a registered dietitian in the low carbohydrate space, I find it very promising (albeit a little slow to come) that this professional entity supports a low carbohydrate eating plan to control or reverse diabetes. And I look forward to further research in this area to help those with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar, decrease medications, decrease weight, and lead a healthier, longer life!

The post Perspectives on the New ADA Guide for Implementing Low Carbohydrate Diets appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

Although many haven’t heard of lipedema, it’s by no means a rare disease. Lipedema is a disorder impacting both fat and the lymphatic system (which removes excess fluid from the tissues), and almost exclusively occurs in women. There’s currently no concrete number of women affected by lipedema, as it’s often misdiagnosed as simple obesity. However, some estimates suggest as many as 1 in 9 women have the condition.

Poorly managed lipedema is chronic and progressive, and the effect of the disorder is multifold. Someone with lipedema may experience fat that is typically disproportionately gained on the lower body -such as the hips, buttocks, thighs, and calves – which is often tender and painful, especially when pressure is applied, as well as easy bruising in body areas affected by lipedema.

Once this “lipedemic” fat is gained, it can then become scarred. This results in nodules which causes a distinct grainy, or lumpy texture in the fat. Lipedema fat is also characteristically very difficult to lose from typical weight loss methods like calorie restriction and bariatric surgery, even if fat in other areas (like the torso) is lost easily.

The Difference Between Lipedema and Lymphedema

Because lipedema can cause swelling of the legs, it may also be misdiagnosed as a condition called lymphedema, a disorder that causes the lymphatic system to struggle with the removal of fluid from the tissues, causing swelling. This confusion can be exacerbated by the fact that lymphedema can also occur in the legs of those with more advanced cases of lipedema (called lipolymphedema). Although one can be mistaken for another, lymphedema is a separate disorder that primarily results from improper growth or damage to lymphatic nodes or vessels.

The two conditions can be differentiated by looking at how they affect the body. Lymphedema, for example, often affects only one limb, or if in both legs may affect one more than the other. If only lipedema is present, however, it occurs on both sides of the body and is symmetrical. Lipedema also causes painful fat and easy bruising in the affected areas, whereas lymphedema does not. Additionally, lymphedema causes pitting edema – meaning when a swollen area is pressed into it leaves a lasting dent, and if present in the legs, it may not be possible to pinch the skin on top of the feet (called a positive Stemmer sign). Lipedema alone, however, causes non-pitting edema – no dent is left when pressing into a swollen area because it immediately refills with fluid, and the Stemmer sign is negative as the feet are not affected.

Diagnosing Lipedema

Unfortunately, women with lipedema, if not properly diagnosed, may receive inappropriate or inadequate treatment. They may just be told that large legs run in their family, that they are not trying hard enough to lose weight, or that the pain they experience – such as when a pet or child sits in their lap – is imagined. These often-debilitating symptoms of lipedema, combined with a lack of support and understanding from those around them, potentially including their own doctor, may lead to anxiety, depression, or even eating disorders when typical methods do not reduce the lipedema-related fat. This makes the accurate diagnosis of lipedema all the more important, especially in the early stages.

What Causes Lipedema?

Currently, the causes of lipedema are unknown. However, an underlying genetic cause is suspected due to lipedema often being found in multiple family members, although no “lipedema gene” has yet been identified. Additionally, it is speculated that there is a sex hormone component to lipedema, due to it nearly exclusively occurring in women and because symptoms often first occur during hormonal changes – puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. Some researchers also theorize that lipedema may be a connective tissue disorder, due to multiple abnormalities in connective tissue being observed in those with lipedema.

Treatment Options for Lipedema

Although there is currently no cure for lipedema, there are treatment options to help address the symptoms, improve quality of life, and slow progression. Because lipedema results in swelling, strategies to reduce the amount of fluid in the legs can be beneficial. This can include the use of specialized compression garments (like compression stockings) or pneumatic pumps, lymphatic massage, and regular exercise or activity to help push fluid out of the tissues. Liposuction to reduce the amount of fatty tissue or lipedemic fat, or lipedema reduction surgery to manually remove the lipedema nodules, can also be implemented to help with mobility and body image. Other strategies can include a supportive community and psychological interventions to help those with lipedema manage living with a chronic condition, deal with anti-fat bias, or other difficulties that may come with having the condition.

Recently, a ketogenic diet has emerged as an exciting new treatment option for lipedema. Initial research and many anecdotes suggest the potential for significant benefit of ketogenic nutrition for those with the condition. When used in conjunction with existing treatment options, ketogenic diets may provide a significant step up in lipedema care beyond what has been available previously.

How Does the Ketogenic Diet Help Lipedema?

Traditionally, it was believed that “diets don’t work” for lipedema, based on limited positive outcomes from bariatric surgery, calorie-restricted diets, and even starvation in those with lipedema. The typical outcome of these extreme approaches would be meager fat loss from areas impacted by lipedema, even if fat was lost from the upper body and face. This would only serve to accentuate the body disproportion and cause the intervention to be abandoned.

However, emerging research suggests that ketogenic diets may be helpful for those with lipedema – not only resulting in weight loss in some who haven’t found success with other methods, but also notably reducing other lipedema symptoms. For example, a recent case study discussed the results of nearly two years of a ketogenic diet in a 32-year-old woman with lipedema. She not only lost 90 pounds – she also saw improvements in blood markers, experienced less lipedema-related pain, and saw improvements in her quality of life. In other words, this woman found a ketogenic diet profoundly beneficial for managing symptoms of lipedema.

A pilot study examining the impact of ketogenic diets on women with lipedema found similar results. Like the case study, participants lost weight, experienced less pain, and improved their quality of life. Interestingly, after the ketogenic phase of the experiment, participants were put back on a higher carb diet. Although they didn’t regain the weight they had lost, their pain did return to pre-keto levels within a few weeks. This result suggests that the pain relief from a ketogenic diet may not have been due to weight loss in itself.

Although more research needs to be done with larger groups of women, these initial results, combined with numerous anecdotes, suggest ketogenic diets may be uniquely beneficial for those with lipedema as part of a well-rounded treatment plan. However, this does open a question as to why ketogenic diets may be helpful if the positive results are not just a result of weight loss alone.

One paper exploring why ketogenic diets may be useful for lipedema suggested several potential reasons. One reason given was that ketogenic diets have been shown to be an effective tool for weight loss in those who are overweight or obese, which may be useful for managing the progression of lipedema as well. It was also suggested that pain reduction may be due to a decreased level of inflammation in the body when eating ketogenically. This is supported by reductions in both pain and inflammation noted in a study of the effect of a ketogenic diet on chronic pain. Alongside these and other reasons, it was suggested that keto may help reduce swelling as has been seen in those with lymphedema.

It is also possible that some benefits of a ketogenic diet for those with lipedema may be directly caused by the ketones produced by the diet. One such benefit may be related to signs of oxygen being at unhealthy low levels in lipedemic fat, a problem called tissue hypoxia. Hypoxia can cause damage and contribute to the scarring of the fat. Because ketones have been found to be protective against damage caused by hypoxia in other situations, they may be beneficial for lipedema-related hypoxia as well. Beyond possibly providing some protection from hypoxia, research in mice has also found that ketones encourage the growth of lymphatic vessels. Because one function of the lymphatic system is to move fluid out of tissues, lymphatic vessel proliferation may directly help to reduce inflammation. If these effects also occur in humans, they may contribute to the reduction in swelling and pain seen in those with lipedema who follow a ketogenic diet.

What Women are Saying About Using Keto to Manage Lipedema

There are over 14,000 women with lipedema in the Keto Lifestyle for Lipedema Facebook group and the numerous virtual courses offered by the Lipedema Project and Lipedema Simplified. From these women, anecdotal reports of how a ketogenic eating plan favorably manages lipedema symptoms abound. Here are some of their comments:

“I’ve lost 74 pounds since I began last March and feel better at 40 than I have in my entire life. I’ve got more energy, and no aches or pains. I’m thankful every day that I found Keto.”

“I just took the Keto [for lipedema] course… I had a doctor’s appointment last Wednesday. And he said that I could start walking around the house without my walker or without my cane. You know, it’s one I’ve been working towards for so long that I thought I’d never be able to walk again. And here I am, I’m walking. I mean, it’s, it’s indescribable how incredible it is.”

“I’m sitting in economy class seating…wearing Levi’s jeans that I bought and never wore (purchased years ago!)….[the] KETO [Way of Eating] is the only way. I did not fit in economy on American Airlines two years ago–had to switch seats….down 21 pounds [in 8 ½ weeks]. I am sooo happy, I could cry.”

“I’m 1 month in today and down 20 lbs. But more importantly, I feel great, [I] have stopped completely my opiate painkillers, no random stomach aches which I used to get lots of, no headaches or migraine[s] which I also had frequently. My leg pain is much better, I don’t feel so stiff, and I have a clear head. Why didn’t I do this sooner!”

“I brought my sister in on the whole effort as well. And we have had so many wonderful successes… We’ve probably cumulatively lost about 60 pounds. Inflammation is wonderful. I mean, [it’s] way down… and the ability to move around — I can cut my own toenails! — and just to be able to be able to walk and to have the energy to do more things has been wonderful.”

“Let me start by saying just a few months ago I thought I was about 2 shakes from being in a wheelchair due [to] lipedema… but because of this way of eating this was my day. I swam for an hour this morning, went to Home Depot, and was in there for about 2 1/2 hours on my feet, and I have been painting the rest of the day… taking a small break, but have more to do. I can’t believe I have been able to do all of this!!”

A Word of Caution

There are certain relatively rare medical conditions, such as a deficiency in enzymes needed for using fat for energy, that would make it dangerous to eat ketogenically for lipedema patients. (See this resource for a list of conditions). Most of these conditions are identified in childhood, but consult with your healthcare provider.

Someone with lipedema may also have other conditions which may benefit from a ketogenic diet, but which require additional medical supervision. It is recommended that individuals be closely watched by their doctor in order to reduce or adjust medication as needed. If not properly monitored, individuals may experience potentially dangerous side effects from over-medication. The most notable of these include:
• Type 1 or 2 Diabetes (or on medication for diabetes)
• Hypertension
• Epilepsy
• Cancer

Why Ketone Levels Matter

Elevated ketone levels may be a key reason why a ketogenic diet can be so effective for managing lipedema symptoms. Even though there are commonalities, each woman experiences lipedema uniquely. By monitoring ketone levels, women with this disorder can begin to learn how various lifestyle factors, such as diet, exercise, and stress, can impact their symptoms. A blood ketone monitor can be a valuable tool in the process of discovering which interventions will work best.

Summary

Emerging evidence suggests that ketogenic diets are beneficial for the treatment of lipedema by helping to reduce weight and manage other symptoms. Though there are many possible reasons for this, more research is needed to help clarify why keto is helpful and which mechanisms provide the most benefit. Some possibilities beyond weight loss include helping to reduce the inflammation and swelling that can come with lipedema or simply as a result of the ketones themselves. Although the ‘why’ is still being explored, because lipedema can be such a debilitating disorder with a profoundly negative impact on those who have it, especially if it is poorly managed, ketogenic diets present an exciting development that may offer new hope to the millions of women currently struggling with this condition.

About the Authors

Leslyn Keith. Leslyn is a certified lymphedema therapist and has been treating lymphatic and fat disorders for over 20 years. She conducted a pilot study while pursuing her doctorate in 2015 that investigated the effectiveness of a lifestyle group that promoted a ketogenic diet for participants with lymphedema and obesity. Since then, she has written two books and published several articles about the effectiveness of a ketogenic diet for lipedema and lymphedema. She currently researches, consults, and lectures on lymphedema, lipedema, and obesity nationally. Leslyn is Director of Research and Board President for The Lipedema Project and an instructor in lymphedema therapy for Klose Training and Consulting.

Siobhan Huggins. Siobhan has been on a ketogenic diet for over five years and was diagnosed with lipedema in 2021, which led her to learn more about the science of nutrition for lipedema management. She has since become the research specialist and board director of the Lipedema Project, where she focuses on ketogenic metabolism, lipedema pathophysiology, and conservative approaches to lipedema. She has been an independent researcher focusing on metabolic disease, ketogenic metabolism, and nutrition for over four years, and has given multiple presentations about the intersection of nutrition and disease with a special focus on ketogenic diets.

The post The Ketogenic Diet for Lipedema appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

Tell us about your personal journey to learning about the ketogenic diet.

I have been in healthcare for many years and always advised my patients to eat a low-fat, high-carb diet, avoid red meat, and exercise a minimum of three times per week. I too followed this advice for most of my life. In 2013, I ended up with five major medical conditions and was on five medications. I had chronic fibromyalgia preventing me from doing many tasks, as well as severe obstructive sleep apnea which had me on CPAP for over eight years. I was on three medications for hypertension, chronic supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and heart arrhythmias. I also had occasional asthma, osteoarthritis, pre-diabetes, and was chronically overweight. My ability to exercise was declining and even simple tasks became increasingly difficult. I finally came to the end of my rope and ended up at the Mayo Clinic. It was there that the revelation of the ketogenic diet came to me.

I then googled the ketogenic diet during the 2014 World Low Carb Summit from Cape Town, South Africa and I tuned in. As I listened to all the talks, frankly, I became very angry at the advice I had followed and had given my patients about diet for many years! I had followed the advice, and look what it got me: five chronic health conditions.

Being the 110% personality that I am, I returned home from the Mayo Clinic visit and went “cold turkey” onto a ketogenic diet (70% fat/25% protein /5% carbs) and went off all sugar and almost all carbohydrates, except for an occasional salad. Within six months I was off all medications. Within one year I had no medical conditions and began daily exercise. Today, I am mostly a carnivore after almost 10 years of strict adherence to this lifestyle. I teach dance aerobics classes three times per week and power lift heavy weights two times per week. I teach for four university doctoral programs, and am a Clinical Researcher for the Colorado Parkinson Foundation. Since 2014 I have read almost every book written on the ketogenic/low-carb approach, listened to almost every podcast, and read dozens of research studies. At 65, I feel I am in the best shape of my life.

How did that impact and guide you as an Occupational Therapist working with patients who have Parkinson’s Disease?

For over 40 years, I have witnessed the devastation caused by Parkinson’s Disease (PD) including the tremors, rigidity, and gradual loss of independence. By viewing lectures through the Nutrition Network, Diet Doctor, and Low Carb USA and participating in various low-carb conferences, I have learned a great deal about the science of inflammation and its effects on the biochemical and mitochondrial processes in the body and brain. I have seen the use of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction (TCR) and the ketogenic diet produce a reduction in inflammation and bring about vast changes in symptoms of PD in my patients including greater control over tremors and improved independence in activities of daily living.

In addition, due to the improvement in brain energy through the production and usage of blood ketones, I have seen improvements in symptoms of anxiety and depression in my patients with PD. Depression and anxiety are common problems in PD due to the deficits seen in dopamine production which I call the “feel good” neurochemical.

Additionally, patients with PD develop chronic metabolic conditions as they seek pleasure from sweet food items and junk foods to compensate for the loss of dopamine-producing neurochemicals that help them to feel good. By increasing the production of blood ketones (specifically BHB), patients report they feel better and have better brain function, cognition and memory with fewer cravings for sweet foods and junk foods.

What lead you to become a Certified Metabolic Health Practitioner?

I was so excited to see the formation of the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners. Finally, an organization where those of us practicing TCR with our patients can have a “home.” We can receive ongoing support, training, and recognition as we seek to support each other along with encouraging ongoing research endeavors addressing the need to fill the gaps in research and add to the body of evidence for the use of TCR in chronic disease.

What inspired you to start research using a LCHF diet for Parkinson’s Disease patients?

This is an interesting story. I was camping with some friends who are on the board of the Colorado Parkinson Foundation (CPF). They were talking about some of their medical conditions and how as they grew older, they were experiencing more and more chronic health concerns. I taught them about LCHF/KD and worked with them over the course of a year. Their health improvements were impressive. As a result, they asked me to present the approach to the entire Board of CPF. Many of the board members were so impressed, that they too adopted the LCHF approach and witnessed vast improvements in their health.

I approached the Board about the possibility of conducting research on the LCHF/KD and TCR on Parkinson’s Disease. They were overwhelmingly enthusiastic! They provided the funding needed and we recruited our study participants from their membership rolls.

How do you educate patients with Parkinson’s to adopt a LCHF diet? What has been your biggest challenge?

I have not found a website with more educational materials and videos for my patients and participants needing to adopt the TCR lifestyle than the Keto-Mojo website. I use the videos on the website for training on blood glucose and ketone testing to teach my participants and patients how to use the Keto-Mojo meter. I find the resources to be incredible and direct my patients to the site to answer any questions they might have.

My biggest challenge in PD is the apathy associated with reductions in dopamine levels as the disease progresses. It is difficult to encourage patients with PD to initiate and follow-through, especially on dietary changes that reduce the sugar, something they use to “self-medicate,” if you get my meaning. Many persons with PD struggle with sugar in their diet. So little in their experience gives them the “highs” they crave and sugar often fits the bill.

Another challenge with the ketogenic diet is the abundance of meat in the diet. Many persons with PD have issues with chewing and swallowing so adjustments need to be made to be able to keep the high fats and moderate proteins without sacrificing safety when eating.

What were the most surprising results from the pilot study?

To tell the truth, I anticipated a few of the variables improving, but I never imagined that every single variable we tested would improve significantly over 12 weeks! Every one! This, in my experience, is rather unheard of, even for a small, short-term study like this one.

All biomarkers, and I mean all of them, improved significantly (Triglycerides, HDL, Fasting Insulin, C-Reactive Protein, Waist Measurements, Weight, HgA1C). Of course, I knew these would improve somewhat but did not expect them to show statistically significant changes in 12 weeks.

More surprisingly were the changes in the UPDRS scores. The UPDRS is a scale used to assess symptoms of PD. There were significant improvements in Behavior, Mentation, and Mood scores in 12 weeks. Additionally, improvements in scores on the Depression and Anxiety scales were also seen in 12 weeks, even in the midst of COVID isolation. This was surprising.

Many of my 16 participants reported improvements in quality of life including increased willingness to socialize with others. Persons with PD often isolate themselves due to feelings of embarrassment over their symptoms or speech difficulties. Many said they were more willing to get out into society and participate (once the COVID restrictions were eased). They reported improvements in cognition and a reduction in brain fog, which is a common complaint in PD.

Based on your experience, how are the current protocols for treating Parkinson’s Disease symptoms missing the mark in terms of improving anxiety and depression symptoms?

Well, I could really write a book here! The most common treatment we have for PD is the administration of a Carbo-Levodopa medication to replace the missing dopamine neurochemical. Unfortunately, this medication has many side effects, a short half-life, variability with interference from dietary ingredients, and the schedule for dosing vary from day to day. I also feel the treatment of anxiety and depression in PD uses all the common medications used for patients who do not have PD but have depression or anxiety diagnoses. Therefore, these medications often exacerbate the symptoms and cause severe side effects like lethargy, suicidal ideation, loss of appetite, etc. There has to be a better way!

Why do you think there isn’t much evidence yet with using KD for neurodegenerative diseases? What else needs to happen for other practitioners to adopt this treatment modality?

This is a really good question and one that baffles me. With PD and Alzheimer’s Disease on the rise in our world, why are there very few research studies or talks online regarding the effects of TCR and KD on persons with neurodegenerative diseases? This, in my opinion, is a large gap. I have kept track, and for all the conferences on the LCHF/KD lifestyle I have attended in the past five years, there has not been one talk on the management of neurodegenerative diseases using this approach. Why is this? It seems the focus has been largely on diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, which is good to establish the benefits. However,  Pringsheim (2014) estimates that 50 million people worldwide suffer from neurodegenerative diseases (NDDS), and that by 2050 this figure will increase to 115 million people (para.6). This is in comparison with type 2 diabetes where according to an article by Khan (2020), the author estimates that “Globally, an estimated 462 million individuals are affected by type 2 diabetes (T2D), corresponding to 6.28% of the world’s population” (para.7).

So 115 million are affected with NDDS versus 462 million affected by T2D….maybe this is why? Nonetheless, NDDS are a significant problem and they are on the rise, especially as the population lives longer. However, longevity is not the only factor. I had one participant in my study with Young Onset Parkinson’s Diseases (YOPD). She developed PD in her early 30’s. Perhaps NDDS like T2D will become increasingly an issue in the young due to our poor diet and lifestyle starting at such a young age.

I sincerely appreciate the work of Dr. Matthew Phillips in New Zealand who encouraged me in the design of my study and allowed me to use some of his patient materials with my participants. His work in PD is ongoing and I consider him to be one of the few experts on the use of TCR and KD with PD.

You used a similar approach to a continuous remote care model with your subjects; specifically measuring dietary compliance through ketone tracking. Do you think checking blood ketones was a helpful measure for adherence to the prescribed diet?

 I sincerely appreciated the ability to Zoom with my participants as much as they needed for support and education and to encourage them to monitor their blood glucose and ketones. I only wish, in retrospect, I had had them test daily. Some of them did, but the study requirement was once a week just to monitor nutritional ketosis. This was probably not as accurate as daily testing would have been. My next study, already in the works, will use daily testing. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) felt that daily testing could possibly be “too invasive or arduous” so I had to change this to once a week. Now that I know the importance of daily testing, I will push to include daily testing in my next study.

My next study will test the effects of the ketogenic diet on cognition, various types of memory, and also include biomarkers of health. I will add the variable of the use of MCT oil. I hope to make this a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a control group and an intervention group. I hope to once again collaborate with Keto-Mojo on securing blood glucose and ketone meters for my participants and have them test daily. Exploring more of the research resources available through Keto-Mojo will be helpful as well. I am thankful for their continued focus on supporting research on this highly effective nutritional approach.

The post Meet Dr. Melanie Tidman – Researching the Effects of a Ketogenic Diet on Parkinson’s appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

However, the evidence pointing to the ketogenic diet being a possible effective treatment for bipolar disorder (BD) does not stop there. Some published case studies show some profound improvements in people suffering from bipolar disorder. And a current pilot study is recruiting participants at Stanford University Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences by Shebani Sethi, M.D. and Diane E Wakeham, Ph.D.

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterized by episodes of mania or hypomania (periods of abnormally elevated, extreme changes in mood, behavior, activity, and energy level) that cycle into sometimes severe depressive episodes. Manic and hypomanic episodes are generally considered well-controlled for most patients using combinations of psychiatric medication options. However, depressive episodes and prodromal symptoms are still very common and difficult to live with even when medicated. This poor control of prodromal symptoms by the current standard of care leads to dangerous depressive episodes that increase suicide risk and fails to stop the progression of neurodegeneration and loss of function we see in these patients.

How Does the Ketogenic Diet Help Bipolar Disorder?

Several biological mechanisms have been proposed as potential underlying causes of BD. These include mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and neurotransmitter disruption. Increasing numbers of genetic, biological, and neuroimaging studies have begun to address these hypotheses in recent years. When there is a dysfunctional biological mechanism, energy metabolism, cellular signaling, and circadian rhythms are some of the major processes shown to be impacted.

Biological mechanisms that have been proposed as underlying the disease process in bipolar disorder include mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and neurotransmitter disruption. Ketogenic diets have been found to exert effects in improving all these areas. Ketones upregulate the number and functioning of mitochondria (the powerhouses of nerve cells) which improves energy metabolism in the brain. Ketones have also been found to improve the health of cell membranes which improve neuronal firing, the storing of nutrients needed to make important enzymes and provide precursors for neurotransmitter production. This increased mitochondrial function allows neurons to upkeep general cell health and functioning.

Ketones also increase the function of endogenous antioxidant systems, such as the glutathione production. Glutathione upregulation, as seen on a ketogenic diet, helps reduce oxidative stress. And there are several documented enhancements in neurotransmitter balance and production that occur with ketogenic diets. Some of those include those neurotransmitter systems implicated in bipolar disorder pathology and include the dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine pathways as well as glutamate and GABA production.

Why do neuroinflammation and oxidative stress matter in the bipolar brain? Because they cause levels of neuronal damage that an already energy-starved brain (hypometabolism) cannot deal with. They change the environment in which neurotransmitters are made. A brain with high levels of inflammation and oxidative stress cannot maintain cell membrane health, which impairs all the things a neuron needs to do to stay healthy and work right. One of those is having enough nutrients to be able to make important enzymes required to make neurotransmitters in the first place. Poor membrane function and high inflammation contribute to this nutrient depletion, causing a worsening of disease processes and contributing to bipolar disorder.

In Summary, Why is Ketosis Beneficial in Treating Bipolar Disorder?

We don’t know exactly, but we have some good guesses coming from research on the effects of ketones on the brain.

Ketones appear to improve cell membrane function and health. The improved energy brain cells get from burning ketones as fuel may be providing more energy for this outcome. It could also be ketones’ ability to reduce levels of inflammation as a signaling body and its ability to disrupt inflammatory pathways on the molecular level. Ketones have also been shown to increase the amount of an important substance called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) which can promote cellular repair and even help improve memory function through its effects on the hippocampus. This may help reduce some of the effects of neurodegenerative processes that are seen in bipolar disorder.

And if all that is not enough, there is evidence to suggest that ketogenic diets upregulate the production of glutathione, which is our own bodies’ powerful antioxidant system, having a direct and favorable impact on levels of oxidative stress in the bipolar brain.

What I See in My Practice

As a mental health counselor who helps patients use ketogenic diets to treat mental illnesses like bipolar disorder, I only have anecdotal information on what my clients report to experience, coupled with what I observe as a clinician. What I see in people who use ketogenic diets consistently is an improvement in symptoms and functioning that they report they were unable to get from psychopharmacology alone.

I have bipolar patients who use the ketogenic diet consistently and exclusively to manage their bipolar disorder, and I have bipolar patients who use the ketogenic diet for mood stability and choose to stay on medications that include lithium. Often, but not always, my bipolar patients are able to titrate down their dosages of all medications with the help of their prescriber. But regardless of whether they are able to go down or off their medications, what I always see with consistent use is improved mood and functioning than they had prior to attempting ketogenic dietary therapy.

A Word of Caution

First, if you want to do a ketogenic diet for bipolar disorder and you are currently on medications, you really MUST have a prescriber available for medication management. Please do not attempt to do it alone. You deserve medical care. And ketogenic diets are powerful metabolic therapies that affect your medications. You can get serious side effects or a temporary worsening of symptoms that needs to be monitored by a healthcare team that includes a prescriber.

Why Ketone Levels Matter

When doing a ketogenic diet, ketones are your source of brain energy. People with psychiatric disorders are exquisitely sensitive to deficits in brain energy and it can cause a worsening of symptoms. So regular testing with a blood ketone monitor can be very helpful.

It can help patients begin to make connections between their ketone level and their mood and functioning. Ketone testing can help patients decide if they need to eat more healthy fats or supplement with MCT oil. A diabetic patient will test blood glucose and ketones in order to monitor and hopefully treat their illness. Testing is just as important for the bipolar individual using ketogenic dietary therapy to treat their symptoms.

About Nicole Laurent, LMHC

Nicole is a seasoned psychotherapist based in Vancouver, Washington who is passionate about reducing psychiatric and neurological symptoms with powerful dietary interventions. She completed her B.A. in Psychology and Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Argosy University (formally Washington School of Professional Psychology). She has additional post-graduate level education in functional nutrition and specifically in therapeutic carbohydrate restriction as a mental health intervention.

Learn more about Nicole here: www.mentalhealthketo.com

The post Can the Ketogenic Diet Help with Bipolar Disorder? appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

As the scientific evidence accumulates, it’s becoming clear that their methods are sound and their targets could be achievable.

In this profile and overview of the company and their methods, readers will learn details of Virta’s pioneering diabetes reversal method, a summary of results from their clinical trials, and actionable takeaways for better metabolic health for patients and healthcare professionals alike.

What Is Virta Health?

Virta Health is a healthcare technology organization co-founded by CEO Sami Inkinen, Dr. Jeff Volek, and Dr. Stephen Phinney in 2014 with a goal of reversing the diabetes epidemic, which costs US patients and insurance companies $400 billion in healthcare costs each year.

Before founding Virta, Sami Inkinen was a successful entrepreneur and elite competitive athlete. But not long after winning the Ironman 70.3 World Championship for his age group, he was diagnosed with prediabetes. After realizing that the prescription of “eat less and move more” wasn’t working to keep his blood sugar under control, he sought out alternative perspectives on metabolic health, which ultimately led to his partnership with Dr. Volek and Dr. Phinney.

Virta’s business model is centered around delivering results for patients with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes by reducing carbohydrates and supporting behavioral change instead of managing diabetes through medication.

To achieve this, they combine individualized carbohydrate restriction with continuous remote care techniques, which are significantly different from conventional diabetes care:

• Virta’s high-tech and high-touch approach centers around accountability, with frequent contact between patients and providers (including doctors, coaches, and other diabetes experts). Most patients might only see their local doctor once every six months, but Virta health patients can check in daily for guidance and support.
• Conventional diabetes care models rely on local relationships between patients and doctors at local clinics or hospitals. In contrast, Virta Health provides direct services to patients remotely so they can treat any patient in the country at far lower costs. They also work with healthcare providers directly and have successfully negotiated virtual care partnerships with health insurance providers like Blue Cross and Humana, government organizations like the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and employers including US Foods, Comcast, and hundreds of others.

Virta’s diabetes reversal method is radically different from traditional methods for managing diabetes and it is scalable.

The company employs medical doctors, diabetes experts, and clinical researchers. In keeping with their technology roots, Virta also employs data scientists, engineers, and operations managers. Educators, coaches, and outreach specialists round out the team.

Why Virta’s Mission Matters

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by high blood sugar, decreased sensitivity to insulin (the hormone that regulates blood sugar), and an inability to manage or control blood sugar.

Despite massive awareness and prevention campaigns, the prevalence of diabetes continues to rise every decade.

Current mainstream recommendations for preventing and managing diabetes do not seem to be slowing the growth of this disease.

Approximately 34 million Americans live with type 2 diabetes, and another 88 million have prediabetes (defined as A1C or average blood glucose over 3 months of 5.7% to 6.4%) that may develop into full-blown diabetes.

According to an expert panel put together by the American Diabetes Association (ADA), up to 70% of individuals with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes. Other evidence suggests the progression rate could be 90% or higher.

Diabetes reduces patient quality of life dramatically and puts individuals at significantly greater risk of heart disease, some cancers, Alzheimer’s dementia, and other health problems.

It’s also associated with significant costs: the average expense to patients is $9,601 per year attributed to diabetes. Their average total medical expenses are $16,752 per year, which are approximately 2.3 times higher than what people without diabetes spend on medical care.

Conventional type 2 diabetes care focuses on managing the disease with medications like insulin, in hopes of preventing its progression, as opposed to curing or reversing it. While diabetes reversal isn’t unheard of with traditional care, the rates are very low — current estimates suggest that only 1 in 50 to 1 in 200 patients are likely to experience diabetes reversal while following conventional diabetes treatment recommendations.

These numbers are bleak, but that’s why Virta’s approach has the potential to revolutionize diabetes prevention and diabetes treatment.

The Results, and Why the Virta Approach is So Successful

In a 2021 peer-reviewed study investigating the Virta method, only 3% of patients progressed to type 2 diabetes over the two-year study period. According to data from the National Institutes of Health, the usual rate of prediabetes-to-diabetes progression over two years with conventional treatment is 22%.

And in Virta’s separate two-year diabetes reversal clinical trial published in 2019, at least 38% of original participants were able to reverse their diabetes using the Virta method. Out of the 74% who completed the two-year trial, a 55% majority successfully reversed diabetes.

Not only that, but most patients achieve rapid diabetes reversal within 10 weeks, then continue to sustain their results at the one- and two-year marks.

They also found that patients stick with Virta at a much higher rate than most other medication or nutritional programs. Patient retention in the Virta program at one year was 83% percent, or between two to six times higher than most other medication or nutritional programs according to peer-reviewed evidence.

Here’s a visual summary of the results of the Virta treatment after one year compared to standard or usual care for type 2 diabetes:

How Does Virta Health Work?

At the individual patient level, Virta’s approach focuses on regular monitoring of blood glucose and ketones paired with dietary goals — specifically, reducing the intake of carbohydrates.

Statistics clearly show that many people with diabetes or prediabetes struggle to monitor blood sugar or follow dietary recommendations consistently, with an overall glucose management success rate of less than 50% for conventional approaches. To help individuals deal with these challenges, Virta builds accountability into their program by requiring regular check-ins and offering ongoing remote patient support outside of traditional doctor’s office settings.

Equally importantly, a sustainable ketogenic diet helps reverse insulin resistance, which addresses the underlying mechanisms of diabetes. Evidence suggests that this type of dietary carbohydrate reduction is the single most effective method of keeping blood sugar under control.

These practices not only result in lower blood glucose, reduced HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin, a marker that’s associated with blood sugar management), and healthy weight loss, but also decrease reliance on diabetes medications by at least 50% overall (and many patients are able to discontinue them altogether), which can ultimately reduce average yearly costs by payer (or employer) over $5000 per patient. They also decrease other health complications associated with diabetes — as long as individuals adhere to the Virta protocol and stay consistent with their new, healthier lifestyle.

Additional reasons for Virta’s success are their nontraditional company structure and novel approach to providing healthcare services. In classic startup fashion, their goal is to disrupt widespread, expensive, and less effective models of diabetes care.

Digging Into the Science Behind Virta Health

Carbohydrate Reduction and Glucose Tolerance

The Virta treatment is practically the opposite of the current mainstream recommendations for people with diabetes, such as the CDC’s position that “On average, people with diabetes should aim to get about half of their calories from carbs.”

In conventional diabetes management, doctors and experts advise patients to “count carbs to match your insulin dose to the amount of carbs in your foods and drinks” and “take additional insulin if your blood sugar is higher than your target when eating.”

While these recommendations are sometimes effective at stabilizing diabetes, it’s also not hard to see why they fail frequently. Not only do patients have to learn to count carbohydrates, but they also have to check blood glucose repeatedly, administer medications or insulin around meals (often using a syringe), measure again, and make any necessary adjustments afterward. Worst of all, for many patients, medication allows them to continue making poor nutritional choices that ultimately lead to disease progression and to do not address the root cause of diabetes itself

Consuming 50% of your calories from carbohydrates during conventional diabetes care is a high daily carb intake. While not all experts today agree on the root causes of diabetes, there is strong evidence that eating lots of carbs and sugar is associated with insulin resistance, which is one of the underlying factors that leads to diabetes as well as progression of the disease.

In contrast, on the Virta Health treatment, individuals typically consume no more than 30-50 grams of daily carbs, which would be a mere 6-10% of calories from carbs on a typical 2,000 calorie diet. To achieve greater compliance, they also monitor blood glucose and ketone levels in real time with specific target goals and receive follow up recommendations from expert coaches as needed.

The behavioral change to a low-carb diet can be challenging for some people, but it’s still less complicated than the conventional approach, which involves carb counting and administering medication to adjust to swings in blood glucose. And because a low-carb diet begins significantly restoring insulin sensitivity as quickly as 4-6 weeks, this way of eating also allows most patients to taper or even stop using their diabetes management medications, including insulin.

Nutritional Ketosis

Similar to the popular weight loss diet, all Virta participants follow a “well-formulated ketogenic diet” and restrict their daily carb intake to 30-50 grams or less.

The ketogenic diet gets its name because this type of carbohydrate reduction results in the production of ketones by the liver, also called nutritional ketosis.

Along with monitoring their glucose levels regularly to safely decrease medication, Virta enrollees also monitor their ketone levels to ensure compliance to the diet using a dual-purpose glucose-ketone monitor like this one.

Research also demonstrates that eating a moderately low-carb diet can be highly beneficial for diabetes, even without achieving nutritional ketosis.

On the Virta Health treatment, patients may experience additional benefits above and beyond regular low-carb diets, including increased weight loss, lower levels of inflammation, better food intake control, and reduced hunger.

Virta Health Study Results: Two-Year Clinical Trial Outcomes

Virta Health has sponsored two in-depth clinical trials investigating their diabetes reversal process, each lasting two years.

The first study, published in 2019, investigated outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes.

And the second, published in 2021, researched the effects of Virta’s program for preventing the progression from prediabetes to diabetes.

Prevention of Prediabetes Progression to Diabetes

In their latest pilot clinical trial published in 2021, Virta used the same ketogenic program they use to reverse type 2 diabetes, but in a slightly different population: people with prediabetes.

Of 96 participants, only 3% progressed to type 2 diabetes over the two-year study period.

While the sample size wasn’t large, these numbers are very promising compared to standard prediabetes treatments. For example, Virta’s results are significantly better than results from the National Institutes of Health Diabetes Prevention Program (NIHDPP) which resulted in higher diabetes progression rates of 8% (and 22% in an NIH control group who received “standard lifestyle” health advice recommendations for people with prediabetes).

Type 2 Diabetes Reversal

In the Virta Health trial published in 2019, 349 patients with type 2 diabetes voluntarily decided whether to try the Virta Treatment or to receive “usual care” for their condition. A total of 262 adults enrolled in the Virta program and 87 adults opted for usual diabetes care.

Of the original 262 participants following the Virta program, of whom some dropped out, an unprecedented 38% were able to sustain diabetes reversal at two years. But of the patients who actually finished the two-year study, an even more remarkable 55% majority successfully reversed diabetes.

Virta defines successful diabetes reversal based on patient levels of HbA1c under 6.5% with no medication besides metformin (a low-potency medication that reduces the amount of sugar the liver releases into the body), or without any diabetes medication at all.

Reduction in Insulin and Other Diabetes Medication

The Virta treatment group in the diabetes reversal trial also achieved:

• • A mean (average) insulin dose reduction of 81% from baseline to 2 years
  • A 61% insulin dose reduction in the group members who remained insulin users at the two-year mark
  • A discontinuation rate of 67% for all diabetes-specific prescriptions including most insulins and all sulfonylureas

Weight Loss and Changes in Other Health Markers

In the prediabetes prevention study, the majority of participants achieved and maintained 5% weight loss by the end of the two-year study.

The diabetes reversal trial found:

• • 10% mean weight loss in the Virta treatment group at 2 years, which was comparable to typical results from gastric banding — without any requirements for restricting food intake or counting calories
  • Sustained improvement of liver enzymes, steatosis (fatty liver), and fibrosis (scar tissue) in the Virta group
  • Reduced visceral fat content for the Virta group
  • Reduced markers of inflammation (hsCRP and white blood cells) in the Virta treatment group

What Are the Potential Shortcomings or Criticisms of These Trials and Methods?

The purpose of early or pilot studies like these is to determine whether a treatment deserves continued study and to learn more about how it works under relatively controlled conditions, so in that sense, both Virta trials to date were highly successful.

But while these studies were designed by experts to give as much information as possible, they still won’t provide as much insight or credibility as larger trials that are funded by third parties.

On the other hand, it’s important to understand some of the unique challenges in the context of Virta’s approach to diabetes reversal.

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are widely considered the gold standard in medicine, but because of how Virta’s diabetes treatment works, it’s simply not possible to “blind” patients to treatments or offer a credible placebo as with some experimental methods.

And with a two-year commitment, there’s a case to be made that it wouldn’t be ethical or reasonable to expect patients to stay in a randomly selected treatment group, especially when one treatment method appears to be more effective than the other (as is the case with Virta’s diabetes reversal method).

Looking at the methods themselves, not every Virta treatment patient finished either trial, but neither did all of the usual care patients in the diabetes reversal comparison.

Although the retention rate was slightly lower for Virta treatment (74%) versus the “usual diabetes care” group (87%) at two years, there were no reported adverse events to the intervention or that resulted in discontinuation for Virta patients, including no reported episodes of ketoacidosis or severe hypoglycemia requiring assistance.

It’s also worth noting that “usual care” refers to the standard diabetes treatment model that which only has a diabetes remission rate of 2% or less (some evidence suggests as low as 0.5%, or 1 in 200 patients).

The separate two-year diabetes prevention study published in 2021 showed a similar retention rate of 74% for the Virta group at two years but didn’t include a usual care control group.

Although around a quarter of participants dropped out of the Virta study by the end of the two years, these numbers are still much more promising than most other diabetes prevention programs and behavioral interventions. For example, analyses for the “gold standard” NIH National Diabetes Prevention Program have shown drop-out rates (not retention rates) of 68% at 10 months and 86.8% at one year.

The Important Lessons Everyone Can Learn from Virta Health

Patients with type 2 diabetes, prediabetes or metabolic syndrome, and similar conditions can learn plenty from Virta Health’s methods and study results.

Virta is demonstrating that their novel approach to diabetes prevention and reversal can significantly increase individual quality of life and lifespan, as well as decrease the societal burden of caretaking and associated costs.

Although behavioral support is a significant factor in Virta’s overall success, some people are also capable of following a low-carb keto diet and getting similarly dramatic results on their own or working with their doctor.

Patients with diabetes should consult a doctor well-versed in the ketogenic diet before going keto, especially if they take diabetes management medications.

For healthcare providers and anyone who seeks to improve health outcomes for patients with metabolic conditions, Virta may have even more significant lessons to offer. Their company structure, ambitious goals, and efficient virtual care process are each capable of inspiring success in other areas of healthcare.

Frequently Asked Questions About Virta Health and Diabetes Reversal

Can you reverse Type 2 Diabetes?

According to a two-year study from Virta Health, the answer is yes, it is possible to reverse type 2 diabetes. The study, published in Frontiers in Endocrinology, found that a low-carb ketogenic diet reversed diabetes in 38% of all patients who enrolled in Virta treatment and 55% of patients who completed the study.

What is the Virta program?

The Virta Health diabetes reversal program combines an individually tailored, low-carb keto diet with a novel approach to patient education, support, and remote monitoring. Virta refers to their approach as continuous remote care with behavioral change. Evidence shows it’s not only effective for reversing diabetes, but also prediabetes.

What does Virta health cost?

For patients paying out of pocket, Virta costs $249 per month with a one-time $250 charge for their Starter Kit which includes a blood glucose and ketone monitoring system. Patients could save around $5,000 per year on medication costs.

Some insurance companies cover 100% of Virta costs for plan holders, and some forward-thinking companies are even covering Virta costs for their employees. In both cases, Virta’s proven methods for preventing and reversing diabetes can substantially reduce medical costs for payers and groups.

Virta encourages health plan leaders and employers to contact them and discuss partnerships.

How do you enroll in Virta health?

Patients with type 2 diabetes and some related conditions can enroll in Virta Health by visiting their patient signup page. From there you’ll submit an application, meet an enrollment advisor, go through a medical screening process, meet with a physician, and begin a personalized treatment plan.

​​Keto-Mojo is a proud partner with Virta Health, providing them with state-of-the-art blood glucose and ketone meters for their patients and clinical research for diabetes reversal treatment. Our metabolic monitoring systems are trusted by world-class experts and available without a prescription for under $50, including everything you need to get started.

The post Virta Health Is Reversing Diabetes, Saving Lives, and Saving Healthcare Costs appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

The week before I turned 40, my husband Brad and I took a one-way flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. Neither of us had ever stepped foot in Asia but we were ready to trade our comfortable life in LA for a new adventure.

Exactly one month later, I was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Not the adventure we were hoping for.

A PET-CT scan and biopsy confirmed that I had non-small cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer spread to a tumor in the eye, two in the brain, and over a dozen in lymph nodes throughout my chest and neck. The median survival with treatment was six to eight months. It was unlikely I’d see age 41.

By that point the tumors in my neck were bulging, pressing against the skin and visible to the naked eye. I was drowning in the cancerous fluid filling my pleural cavity and couldn’t even lay down to sleep due to the choking. I’d lost the vision in my eye but at least had an explanation for the confusion, brain fog, and profound fatigue that engulfed me. The cancer quickly spread to two more tumors in my brain and more in my liver and abdomen. I was dying. My prognosis of 6-8 months seemed optimistic.

The months following my diagnosis were spent in a flurry of frantic research. I’m incredibly fortunate that I came across metabolic therapies like keto. The science seemed obvious and the research compelling. The only thing that surprised me is that I’d never heard of it before. 

I discovered keto for cancer in late 2018 and I’ve been doing keto ever since.

What motivated you to start keto?

The research I read was compelling and I knew in my heart that a therapeutic, ketogenic diet – in addition to my conventional therapy – was the best chance to prolong my life while reducing the adverse effects of conventional treatment.

What benefits/successes have you experienced?

One year after I was diagnosed, around the time doctors predicted my death, my quarterly PET-CT scan showed that I had No Evidence of Disease. Oncologists from Hong Kong to the Mayo clinic shook their heads, marveled at the results and hung my scans on the break room wall. 

Most miraculously, I’ve remained cancer free to this day.

While there’s no evidence yet that my results are typical, research has shown that my improved quality of life in the face of chemo and radiation is typical. 

I had two rounds of stereotactic brain radiosurgery (SRS) for two tumors each and the first time I wasn’t in a state of ketosis. I was sick, sweaty, and vomiting nonstop for three weeks. 

For the second round of SRS I flew to the US to pick up my Keto-Mojo and knew I was in ketosis at the time of the procedure. I’d walked home from the hospital on Friday and went to work on Monday.

My experience is not unique – I hear regularly from my friends and published research that keto and fasting almost eliminate the symptoms of chemo and radiation.

What was the hardest part?

I experienced all the same cravings as anyone changing to this way of eating. I missed bread and potatoes, fruits and margaritas. I was very lucky, though, that I never had to rely on willpower. Keto is easy when you sincerely believe that cheating will kill you.

The hardest part for me was finding information about my specific use case, keto for cancer, and, even more so, an oncologist who would read the research and support me.

After over a decade of published research on the benefits of therapeutic keto, it is still far too difficult to find resources on how to implement it even though we know that it can improve cancer outcomes.

What were the keys or top tools to your success?

Relying on commitment and not willpower was a key to my success. I knew what I wanted (an improved cancer outcome) and how to get it (therapeutic ketosis). No matter how longingly I stared at the pizza shop window on the way home, my goals were more important to me and any momentary flavor experience. I wouldn’t be able to eat pizza when I was dead. Why not stop now. 

It was also helpful for me to be first about my goals with friends and colleagues. Whenever someone kindly offered me a treat that didn’t fit my plan, I was able to politely and honestly refuse by explaining that eating it wasn’t permitted on my cancer therapy.  

Did you measure your ketones and/or glucose and if so, how did that help you?

Among the top three most important tools to my success was the Keto-Mojo meter. Deep, therapeutic ketosis for cancer requires the right balance of glucose to ketones and precise tracking that I never would have been able to achieve without the keto-mojo. 

I was living in Hong Kong when I was diagnosed and ordered the device to the U.S. a few months later. It was only after I started tracking using the Keto-Mojo that I was able to reliably achieve a sub-1.0 glucose-ketone index (GKI).

What’s your favorite keto recipe? Please provide a link if available.

Over the years I’ve collected dozens of my favorite recipes on my website. Right now, my husband and I agree that my Spicy Thai-style Dressing is a real winner and we keep it in regular rotation in the house. It’s part of how he came to adopt my keto ways despite his good health. Made from healing foods like garlic, ginger, turmeric, apple cider vinegar, tamari and almond butter, we serve this as a dressing for salads, a sauce for low carb noodles, and a dip for raw veggies. Find the recipe here and make it your own.

I often add a squirt of MCT oil for extra ketogenic goodness.

What tips or words of wisdom can you share?

Keto is a balm for the Standard American Diet (SAD). Whether you’re treating cancer, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, Type 2 Diabetes, PCOS or any metabolic disease, remembering that this way of eating is medicine can make the transition less difficult. 

Sadly, however, it is often still too difficult to find a medical practitioner aware of the latest research and educated on the best techniques.  

I’ve dedicated the rest of my miraculously-prolonged life to raising awareness of these peer-reviewed and published therapies. I began with my website, cancerV.me, and Instagram account before certifying my knowledge to help others one-on-one. It became clear to me that one-on-one help isn’t enough to spread this knowledge and am now producing a documentary, CANCEREVOLUTION  to reach more people whose lives can be changed. 

I’m so grateful to Keto-Mojo for their support in this film and for the role they played in prolonging my life such that I’m now living my very best life ever. 

The post I Was Given 6-8 Months to Live and Now I’m Cancer Free appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

This fatty liver epidemic parallels the obesity epidemic. Both conditions have similar causes: sugar, vegetable oils, and challenges with things like the regulation of the hormone insulin (i.e. metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes). 

You’re probably aware that the ketogenic diet can help with obesity. But can keto help with fatty liver too? 

You’ll learn what the science says here. First, though, let’s talk more about NAFLD.

What Is Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease?

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the buildup of excess fat (called visceral fat) in the liver (hepatic steatosis). Unlike with alcoholic fatty liver disease, the fat accumulation that defines NAFLD is not due to alcohol consumption. 

NAFLD is diagnosed via ultrasound testing, usually after the patient presents with elevated levels of the enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). Your levels of ALT and AST, also called your “liver enzymes,” are easily identified via blood tests. If more advanced liver disease is suspected, the doctor may order a liver biopsy.

Most of the time, NAFLD is not dangerous. Most people with fatty liver have neither symptoms nor complications. The danger increases, however, when simple fatty liver progresses into a form of hepatitis called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is essentially NAFLD with inflammation. When inflammation is combined with liver fat, the whole organ goes up in flames, and liver damage is inevitable. NASH also often progresses to cirrhosis, a scarring (fibrosis) of the liver which portends liver failure.

Unfortunately, the development of fatty liver is often the first, silent step of this hepatic disease process. In America, between 30 and 40 percent of the population has this condition, and one of the causes is insulin resistance, which inspires fatty acids to be released from fat cells and for sugar to build up in the blood.

Why are there so many fatty livers? The answer is simple: bad nutrition.

Causes Of Fatty Liver

There are four main causes of NAFLD, with fructose leading the way:

#1: Fructose

Fructose doesn’t just raise your carbohydrate intake, cholesterol, and blood glucose. Believe it or not, researchers are calling fructose a “weapon of mass destruction” for causing liver fat too.

Here’s how that weapon works. When you eat fructose, it heads straight to your liver to be packaged into fat molecules called triglycerides. This fat, unfortunately, tends to stick around in the liver. Multiple animal and human studies confirm: Diets high in fructose cause fatty liver.

But wait, fruit contains fructose. Does that mean fruit is bad for your liver?

Not necessarily. Yes, fruit has fructose, but, unless you’re eating lots of ripe bananas, the amounts are relatively small. The real problem is the high-fructose corn syrup that sweetens sodas, juices, cookies, and most other packaged foods. Remove high-fructose corn syrup from the food supply and you take a huge step towards stopping NAFLD.

#2: Vegetable Oils

Along with fructose, veggie oils must take some blame for the NAFLD epidemic. That’s because oils like soybean oil, corn oil, and safflower oil are high in an omega 6 polyunsaturated fat called linoleic acid. When you feed animals diets high in linoleic acid, they develop fatty liver. In one study, mice fed soybean oil developed more fatty livers than mice fed coconut oil.

#3: Obesity and Insulin Resistance

The same foods that cause fatty liver – sugar and vegetable oils – also causes obesity. High sugar consumption, in particular, leads to insulin resistance, a condition which underlies obesity, diabetes, and NAFLD.

Insulin resistance means that insulin has become lousy at managing your blood-sugar levels.  You need more insulin to do the same job. As a result, your pancreas releases more insulin, insulin levels rise, and insulin resistance worsens.

Insulin, by the way, is a fat-storage hormone, and high levels of insulin (hyperinsulinemia) contribute to both obesity and NAFLD. Unfortunately, the type of fat stored when you’re insulin resistant tends to be organ (visceral) fat, not the safer jiggly (adipose) fat.

#4: Not Enough Choline

Choline is a nutrient that helps your liver process fat. Specifically, your body requires choline to make very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles. VLDL particles, in turn, function to export fat from your liver – crucial for preventing fat accumulation.Though human trials on choline for NAFLD are a bit thin, research in animals has shown that choline supplementation reverses fatty liver disease. 

Unfortunately, most people don’t eat enough choline. That’s because the primary dietary source of choline – the egg – has been demonized for its saturated fat content. People also tend to avoid beef liver, another excellent source of choline.  Other good sources of choline include caviar!, fish like salmon, tuna and cod, and shitake mushrooms.

Can A Keto Diet Help with Fatty Liver?

The ketogenic diet is the opposite of a low-fat diet; in fact, it’s a high-fat low-carb diet best known for stimulating weight loss. On a keto diet, you follow carbohydrate restriction through eating the right macronutrients and antioxidants for your specific body (the amounts are based on your body mass index and other factors). Also, your daily calorie intake is at least 60 percent fat, 20 to 30 percent protein, and 10 percent carbs so that you maintain “ketosis,” which is when your body relies on ketones (made by your body from both body fat and fat from your diet) as its primary fuel source. 

The research on keto for NAFLD is early, but promising. The meta-analysis from clinical trials suggest:

• Two weeks of keto dieting reduced liver fat by 42 percent in 18 people with NAFLD.
• A six month keto diet reduced liver inflammation in obese people.
• A low-carbohydrate diet led to reductions in liver fat in 10 healthy people. (A more recent study, however, found that a keto diet didn’t affect liver fat in a similar population).

It seems counterintuitive that a high-fat diet would improve fatty liver. But when you look at the causes of NAFLD, it makes more sense.

First, the keto diet is low in fructose. Eliminate fructose and you eliminate a primary cause of fatty liver. Second, a whole-foods keto diet doesn’t contain vegetable oils; instead liver-friendly fats like olive oil, coconut oil, and butter are prioritized. Third, the keto diet has been shown in study after study to reverse insulin resistance and stimulate weight loss in obese people. These are also risk factors for NAFLD. 

Finally, choline is encouraged on keto, not shunned. Eggs are an ideal ketogenic food. 

The Final Word

The same things that cause obesity and cardiovascular disease/heart disease also cause fatty liver. Preventing (or reversing) fatty liver means cutting down on fructose, eliminating vegetable oils, losing body weight, and getting enough of the nutrient choline.

Early research suggests that a keto diet can reverse fatty liver,  promote healthy liver function, and improve insulin sensitivity, at least in obese populations. A proper keto diet has other beneficial effects: it’s high in choline, an essential nutrient for liver health, and, of course, it can reverse problems for type 2 diabetics. 

For more on low-carb therapy for NAFLD, check out this illuminating video with Dr. Jean-Marc Schwarz, the director of the Metabolic Research Center in Touro University California. 

Also, when considering dietary lifestyle changes, whether it’s to mitigate weight gain/excessive body mass always consult with your healthcare provider.

The post Can the Keto Diet Help with Fatty Liver Disease? appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

But first, let’s cover some basics. 

What is Keto?

The ketogenic diet is a low-carb diet where fat intake is the primary source of fuel for the body. In other words, it’s a high-fat diet with extremely restricted carb intake. When the body no longer has much in the way of carbohydrates for fuel, it turns to body fat and fats from the diet for energy. This is why it’s such a popular lifestyle to mitigate a variety of health issues, especially those that would benefit from weight loss.

Ideally, the ketogenic diet focuses on high-quality healthy fats, such as grass-fed meats, fish, healthy oils, and high-fat dairy, as well as moderate amounts of protein and low-carb vegetables. In a ketogenic state, fat loss and weight loss are easily achievable if you eat “to your macros” and your body will burn fat on an ongoing basis.

Keto is used for a variety of reasons, including to address health problems such as obesity, weight gain, epilepsy, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

What Are Hormones?

Hormones are your body’s chemical messengers that deliver messages to your cells. These messengers govern nearly every function in your body, from growth to healing to immunity to appetite. Without hormones, your cells wouldn’t know what to do. 

Every second of your life, glands throughout your body release hormones into circulation. A variety of cues tell these glands to release more or less of a given hormone. An example, using the hormone insulin, will help illustrate.

The pancreas is a gland that produces insulin, your blood-sugar boss hormone. You’ll learn more about insulin (and its link to ketosis) soon, but for now, let’s just cover how it gets released. What tells your pancreas to release insulin? If you guessed rising blood sugar, you’d be correct. A blood-sugar spike can be caused by eating carbs, experiencing stress, or even exercise. When your body detects rising blood sugar, it releases insulin to safely sequester this new blood sugar in your cells. This is a naturally occurring, defensive measure by the body to combat high blood sugar (hyperglycemia), which is a dangerous condition. 

Insulin is just one hormone example, of course. Every hormone in your body—be it insulin, cortisol, testosterone, estrogen, or progesterone—is released in response to different cues. Once released, these hormones go on to direct various cellular activities: Everything from fat-burning to the rate at which you breathe.   

Top 5 Hormones Affected by Keto

Changing your diet from a carb-heavy diet to a ketogenic diet twists a lot of internal dials, including your hormonal dials. Following are the top five hormones affected by the keto diet:  

#1: Insulin

Insulin is the key to ketosis. In addition to regulating blood sugar, insulin tells your cells to either burn or store fat. The more insulin released means more store, less insulin means burn. When you eat carbs, your pancreas releases gobs of insulin, inducing fat storage. When you go keto, your pancreas stops releasing insulin and fat-burning ensues. 

Ketones, which are naturally produced by the body to use as fuel in the absence of carbohydrates, are a byproduct of this fat-burning. Consequently, your level of ketosis is determined by your insulin levels.

Insulin, however, doesn’t always work as it should. Some folks get stuck in fat-storage mode, a condition known as insulin resistance. When someone is insulin resistant, their cells stop listening to insulin. This means blood sugar keeps rising, more insulin gets released, and (eventually) type 2 diabetes develops.

The ketogenic diet can help. Multiple well-designed studies (most notably, one sponsored by Virta Health) have shown that a supervised keto diet can reverse insulin resistance, lower blood sugar, and get patients off their diabetes medications.

#2: Cortisol

Closely linked to blood sugar and insulin is cortisol, the much-maligned stress hormone. Cortisol is released by your adrenal cortex (near your kidneys) and influences nearly every human cell. Rising cortisol levels have a number of adverse effects. It:

• Increases blood sugar levels (glucose)
• Breaks down muscle
• Stimulates fat storage
• Decreases bone building

Because cortisol spikes blood sugar (and therefore insulin), you want to keep cortisol low to promote ketosis. Keeping cortisol low means managing stress, getting enough sleep, exercising, and optimizing electrolytes like sodium and magnesium. Few people know, for instance, that low sodium is linked to high cortisol.

#3: Aldosterone

Aldosterone is the least recognizable hormone on this list, but not for lack of utility. The main function of aldosterone is to regulate blood pressure. It does this job, in part, by regulating sodium and potassium levels. When aldosterone rises (a consequence of rising insulin), it tells your kidneys to excrete potassium and retain sodium. Then blood pressure rises.

Where does keto come in? Since keto lowers insulin levels, it also lowers aldosterone. Low aldosterone is generally desirable, but comes with a poorly reported side effect: sodium deficiency. (Remember, aldosterone helps you retain sodium.) Sodium deficiency, in turn, can lead to a host “keto flu” symptoms. To prevent these symptoms, low-carb folks may need to increase sodium intake. 

#4: Thyroid hormones

Your thyroid gland does not produce one hormone, but several. Your primary thyroid hormones, called T3 and T4, act on most human cells to increase metabolic rate, regulate body weight, build muscle, strengthen bone, and much more.

Although a ketogenic diet has been shown to lower circulating levels of T3, there’s little evidence to suggest that going low-carb negatively affects thyroid function. In fact, the lower levels of thyroid hormones on keto may represent an improvement. 

“A ketogenic diet,” writes long-time ketosis researcher Dr. Stephen Phinney “seems to result in improved thyroid hormone sensitivity (i.e., it takes less hormone to produce the same effect).”

Going keto may also alleviate certain thyroid disorders. In a 2016 trial published in Drug Design, Development and Therapy, autoimmune thyroiditis patients had significant reductions in anti-thyroid antibodies after 3 weeks of low-carb dieting. 

#5: Testosterone

Testosterone is a hormone that helps you build muscle, strengthen bone, and metabolize fat. Men have about 15 times more testosterone than females, but this chemical messenger is still a significant player in a woman’s body.

One small study suggests that a ketogenic diet (combined with resistance training) raises testosterone levels in young men. This makes mechanistic sense, since the keto diet is high in the testosterone precursor, cholesterol. 

MORE: Learn about how the ketogenic diet affects menopause.

The Final Word

There are a number of hormones (chemical messengers that direct the activity of our cells) that interrelate with the keto lifestyle, including insulin, cortisol, aldosterone, thyroid, and testosterone. These interrelations appear to be positive and have health benefits, especially in relation to insulin and cortisol regulation.

Keto also lowers the hormone aldosterone, which directs your body to retain sodium. Because of this, you may need to consume more salt on a keto diet to keep your electrolytes in balance. A keto diet also causes a drop in thyroid hormones, but this may indicate enhanced, rather than depressed, thyroid function.

Finally, it’s been shown that keto raises the hormone testosterone in young men, enabling better muscle-building function.

The bottom line? The relationship between the ketogenic lifestyle and hormones is harmonious, and improved function and balance are two of the many wellness benefits that come along with eating low-carb.  

The post How Keto Affects Your Hormones appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

But first, let’s explore the basics of heart disease. 

What Is Heart Disease?

Heart disease, or cardiovascular disease, refers to problems with the circulatory system.  These problems include:

• • Insufficient blood flow to the brain (i.e., stroke)
  • The heart not pumping enough blood to meet the body’s needs
  • A buildup of plaque that narrows the arteries (this is called atherosclerosis)

Let’s talk about atherosclerosis because it’s the crux of heart disease. Atherosclerosis is often called the “silent killer” because it builds over a lifetime with no noticeable symptoms. Then one day, a heart attack occurs. Often, this event is fatal.  

The main drivers of atherosclerosis include:

• • Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) particles (they transport lipids throughout the body)
  • Inflammation
  • High blood pressure

Each of these factors contributes to heart disease in tandem with the others. The LDL particle, for instance, is the particle that burrows into the arterial wall, oxidizes, and precipitates the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.

But if inflammation is low, the plaques — which are basically clumps of immune particles — can’t form. And if blood pressure is low, LDL particles are less likely to bump into (and stick to) the arterial wall in the first place. 

Fortunately, many heart disease risk factors are within human control. Let’s explore how fasting works, then we’ll see how it might help. 

How Intermittent Fasting Works

Intermittent fasting (IF) just means an eating pattern that takes regular breaks from food intake for a period of time. It’s about time-restricted feeding and fasting periods. It really is that simple. 

Generally, when people partake in intermittent fasting, they eat a healthy diet during feeding times, whether it’s a ketogenic diet or a Mediterranean diet (which is NOT a keto diet). There is also some element of calorie restriction; it’s not eat an entire cake during your eating period, but rather proper calorie intake based on your ideal macros (based on your age, body weight, and other factors) and a lower amount of carbohydrates (sugar). In between, during the long periods without food, the consumption of clear, very low- or no-calorie liquids, especially those that keep your electrolytes and potassium up. 

The most common forms of IF are:

• • 12/12: A daily 12-hour overnight fast
  • 16/8: 16 hours of fasting, 8 hours of the day when you eat
  • One-Meal-A-Day (OMAD): All your daily calories in one sitting
  • 5/2: 5 days of normal eating with 2 non-consecutive days of 0-25% of calories
  • Alternate day fasting (ADF): Every other day you reduce calories by 75-100%

Western culture, however, isn’t big on intermittent fasting. Snacks are available 24/7. There’s always something to nibble on. 

The thing is, when you eat constantly — especially if you’re eating sugar — your blood sugar levels (blood glucose) levels stay chronically elevated. Not only does this prevent you from burning fat; it also increases your risk for most of the major diseases. In fact, a diet of constant sugar largely explains why millions of Americans are diabetic or prediabetic.

By fasting intermittently, your blood sugar and insulin levels stay low. Low insulin, in turn, signals your body to start burning fat and producing ketones. For this reason, many see ongoing intermittent fasting as an antidote to diabetes. (And diabetes is basically a bundle of heart disease risk factors).  

6 Ways Fasting Improves Heart Health

Now that you’ve learned the basics, here are six ways fasting may decrease heart disease risk. 

#1: Diabetes reversal

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder marked by high blood sugar, high insulin, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and obesity. It’s caused by high sugar diets and sedentary lifestyles, which is why America has a diabetes epidemic. Why is this important for heart health? Because diabetes and heart disease are closely linked. In fact, heart disease is the main cause of death for diabetics.

The research on fasting for reversing diabetes is early but promising. One 2018 study published in the Journal of the American Medicine Association found that 5:2 fasting significantly reduced blood sugar (HbA1c) in 70 patients with type 2 diabetes.

#2: Weight loss

Obesity is a primary heart disease risk factor. When an obese person loses weight, their heart disease risk decreases. There are a couple of ways intermittent fasting helps with weight loss. First, fasting lowers blood sugar and insulin levels — a metabolic step necessary to utilize (burn) body fat as energy. Also, many intermittent fasting regimens restrict calories. When you eat less energy than you use, you’re likely to lose weight. 

A growing body of research suggests that fasting, in various forms, is effective for losing weight. After reviewing the pertinent literature, the authors of one 2018 review concluded that “intermittent fasting was effective for short-term weight loss among normal weight, overweight and obese people.”

#3: Lower blood pressure

High blood pressure, or hypertension, has been known to increase heart disease risk for decades. It’s a widespread condition, affecting about 86 million US adults. Intermittent fasting has been shown, in multiple human trials, to improve hypertension. In one 2011 study, six months of 5:2 fasting significantly reduced blood pressure in overweight women.

#4: Lower LDL 

Think of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles as trucks carrying precious cargo — fat and cholesterol — throughout your body. But when there are too many trucks on the road, more accidents occur. In other words, a high number of LDL particles increases the risk of atherosclerosis.  

Fasting can lower LDL, at least in obese and diabetic populations. In one study, alternate day fasting lowered LDL cholesterol (a proxy for LDL particles) in obese people. It’s important, however, to differentiate between LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and LDL particle number (LDL-P). LDL-P counts the number of LDL particles per unit of blood, while LDL-C measures the amount of cholesterol (a separate molecule) within LDL particles. While they are usually correlated, LDL-P appears to track risk more accurately.

#5: Lower inflammation

When an LDL particle sticks to the artery wall, immune particles rush to the site, cause an uproar, and eventually form plaques. The point being: Without inflammation, you wouldn’t have atherosclerosis. Because of this, many protocols target inflammation to reduce heart disease risk. Even statins (best known for lowering cholesterol) have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect.

Can fasting reduce inflammation? The research suggests yes. One study published in Nutrition Journal, for instance, found that 12 weeks of alternate-day fasting decreased CRP (a marker of inflammation) in normal weight and overweight adults.

#6: Lower triglycerides and higher HDL

Triglycerides are tiny bundles of fat that circulate in the blood for energy. Lower triglycerides are linked to lower heart disease risk.

The high-density lipoprotein (HDL) molecule cruises the bloodstream to remove oxidized (or “bad”) cholesterol from blood vessel walls. Higher HDL is linked to lower heart disease risk.

Putting it all together, the triglyceride to HDL ratio has become a common tool in the CVD risk assessment toolkit. A lower ratio is correlated with lower risk. And alternate day fasting, it’s been shown, both reduces triglycerides and raises HDL levels.

What else can improve the triglyceride to HDL ratio? If you guessed the ketogenic diet, you’d be correct!

The Final Word

There are a number of benefits of intermittent fasting. If you want to take care of your heart, focus on improving your risk of heart disease. Practically speaking, this means minimizing obesity, diabetes, inflammation, high blood pressure, and high LDL. All these risk factors accompany the sugary diet and sedentary lifestyle so common in modern society. The effects of intermittent fasting should help with heart wellness.

Intermittent fasting, it’s been shown, can reverse these risk factors. And by doing so, it appears to decrease heart disease risk. More research is needed in the healthcare community and cardiology sector, however, before we can draw firm conclusions. 

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