Why Dr. Casey Means Changed Her Mind on Eating a Plant-Based Diet

Summary

In this discussion, the speaker reflects on their dietary journey from a plant-based diet to a more balanced, omnivorous approach, emphasizing the importance of food sourcing and quality. They highlight the negative impacts of industrial agriculture on soil health and nutrient depletion, advocating for a return to regenerative farming practices that support both human and environmental health. The conversation also touches on the role of protein in satiety and muscle maintenance, the significance of meal timing for body clock entrainment, and the personal benefits of intermittent fasting and ketone production for overall health.

Takeaways

• 🌿 The speaker's diet has evolved from being mostly plant-based to focusing on high-quality, regeneratively raised animal products and sustainably grown plants.
• 🔄 The industrialization of agriculture is identified as a significant contributor to the depletion of nutrients in our food and the decline in human health.
• 🌱 The importance of a biodiverse and healthy soil ecosystem is emphasized, where plants and animals coexist and contribute to each other's well-being.
• 🐄 The speaker advocates for a return to more natural and sustainable farming practices that involve both plants and animals, benefiting both the environment and human health.
• 🥩 The inclusion of animal products in the diet is justified by the holistic practice of food production and the nutritional benefits derived from it.
• 🌱 The speaker prioritizes protein intake for its satiating effects and its role in maintaining muscle mass and overall health, especially as they age.
• ⏱ The significance of meal timing is discussed in relation to our body's internal clock and the need for consistent eating patterns to support health.
• 🕒 The practice of intermittent fasting is adopted to promote ketosis, improve metabolic flexibility, and provide a mental and physical reset.
• 🚫 The avoidance of refined carbohydrates and sugars is stressed to maintain ketosis and overall health.
• 🧘‍♀️ The speaker highlights the importance of respecting the interconnectedness of all aspects of life, including food, environment, and human health, for a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle.

Q & A

What was the individual's dietary approach four or five years ago?

Four or five years ago, the individual was mostly plant-based.

What is identified as a major root cause of chronic illness according to the transcript?

The major root cause of chronic illness identified is the industrialization of the food system, which affects the way food is grown and manufactured, leading to depletion of nutrients.

How has the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers impacted soil health?

The use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers has led to the killing of biodiverse microbial life in the soil, which is essential for converting sun, water, and soil into nutrient-rich plants.

What is the significance of animals in creating the healthiest soil according to the discussion?

Animals are significant in creating the healthiest soil because their feces reintroduce microbial life into the soil, their urine contributes to the nitrogen cycle, and their hooves help aerate the soil without aggressive mechanization.

Why has the individual moved away from a strictly plant-based diet?

The individual has moved away from a strictly plant-based diet due to a deeper understanding of the importance of an ecosystem that includes both plants and animals for the health of the soil and, consequently, the nutrient content of the food produced.

What is the individual's current dietary focus in terms of food sourcing?

The individual's current dietary focus is on eating regeneratively raised meats and plants, sourced from relationships with farmers who use good soil practices, aiming for a sustainable and resilient ecosystem.

What role does protein play in the individual's diet and why is it emphasized?

Protein is emphasized in the individual's diet because it is highly satiating, has a high thermic effect, and stimulates the secretion of satiety hormones, which help control hunger and cravings. It also supports muscle building and maintenance, especially as the individual ages.

How does the individual approach meal timing and why?

The individual approaches meal timing to align with the body's natural chronobiology, aiming for consistent meal times and a compressed eating window to support the body's internal clock and metabolic processes.

What is the individual's current meal schedule like?

The individual's current meal schedule includes the first meal around 11:00 a.m. or noon, a midday lunch snack around 2 or 3 p.m., and dinner around 6 or 6:30 p.m., with a 36-hour fast once a week from Sunday night to Tuesday morning.

What does the individual consume during the 36-hour fast?

During the 36-hour fast, the individual consumes only water, sometimes with a bit of salt and lemon juice for electrolytes, takes certain supplements like fish oil, curcumin, magnesium, zinc, and exogenous ketones, and might have a small amount of coconut oil or milk in coffee.

Why does the individual incorporate physical activity during the fast?

The individual incorporates physical activity like walking during the fast to help generate more ketones and to make use of stored energy substrates, but avoids high-intensity workouts or weightlifting due to not replenishing amino acids or carbs post-exercise.

Outlines

00:00

🌿 Shift from Plant-Based to Sustainable Diet

The speaker discusses their dietary evolution from a plant-based diet to one that emphasizes sustainable and regenerative agriculture. They highlight the negative impacts of industrial agriculture on soil health and nutrient depletion, leading to chronic illnesses. The speaker advocates for a diet rich in nutrient-dense foods from an ecosystem that includes both plants and animals, promoting biodiversity and soil health.

05:03

🐄 The Importance of Animal Inclusion in Sustainable Farming

The speaker elaborates on the role of animals in creating healthy soil through their natural behaviors, such as grazing and waste deposition, which reintroduces microbial life into the soil. They contrast this with the detrimental effects of industrial agriculture on biodiversity and animal welfare. The speaker has moved towards consuming animal products from regenerative farming practices, recognizing the ecological balance and health benefits of such a system.

10:04

🥩 Protein Intake and Its Impact on Health

Discussing the significance of protein in their diet, the speaker notes its satiating effects and its role in hormone production that regulates hunger and fullness. They also mention the anabolic properties of protein, which are crucial for maintaining muscle mass and strength, especially as they age. The speaker's dietary approach now includes a balance of plant and animal proteins from sustainable sources.

15:05

⏰ The Role of Meal Timing in Health

The speaker addresses the importance of meal timing for aligning with the body's natural circadian rhythms, which are crucial for health. They recommend eating during daylight hours and maintaining consistent meal times to support the body's internal clock. The speaker also practices intermittent fasting, with a weekly 36-hour fast to induce ketogenesis, which they believe provides cellular and metabolic benefits.

20:07

🚫 Avoiding Refined Carbohydrates for Better Metabolism

The speaker emphasizes avoiding refined carbohydrates and sugars to maintain ketogenesis and support a healthy metabolism. They share their experience with fasting, including the use of exogenous ketones and how they monitor ketone levels. The speaker also discusses their approach to hydration and nutrient supplementation during fasting periods, as well as the benefits of light exercise like walking during fasts.

Keywords

💡Plant-based diet

A plant-based diet primarily consists of foods derived from plants, including vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and fruits, with few or no animal products. In the script, the speaker initially followed a plant-based diet but has since shifted perspectives. The diet is discussed in the context of health and sustainability, emphasizing the nutritional value and environmental impact of food choices.

💡Industrial agriculture

Industrial agriculture refers to the large-scale production of food through mechanized and chemically intensive methods. The script criticizes this approach, highlighting its negative effects on soil health, biodiversity, and the nutritional content of food. The speaker points out that industrial farming practices have led to a depletion of nutrients in the soil and the food grown on it.

💡Soil health

Soil health is a measure of the condition of soil, including its ability to support plant growth, maintain biodiversity, and promote ecological stability. The script discusses the importance of soil health in relation to agriculture, noting that traditional farming methods that maintain soil biodiversity and nutrient levels are essential for producing nutrient-dense food.

💡Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers

Synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are chemical substances used in industrial agriculture to control pests and boost crop yields. The script argues against their use, stating that they harm soil microbiology and reduce the nutritional value of food. The speaker suggests that these chemicals contribute to the chronic illness epidemic by diminishing the quality of our food.

💡Regenerative agriculture

Regenerative agriculture is a method of farming that aims to regenerate soil health, sequester carbon, and support biodiversity by using natural processes and holistic grazing practices. The script praises regenerative agriculture as a means to create a sustainable and resilient food system that benefits both human health and the environment.

💡Nutrient-dense food

Nutrient-dense food is food that provides high amounts of essential nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and proteins, relative to its calorie content. The script emphasizes the importance of nutrient-dense food for maintaining health, suggesting that the industrialization of food production has led to a decline in the nutritional quality of our food.

💡Interconnectedness

Interconnectedness refers to the idea that all elements of a system are interconnected and dependent on each other. In the script, the speaker argues for recognizing the interconnectedness of human health, environmental health, and food systems, suggesting that a holistic approach is necessary for addressing chronic health issues and environmental degradation.

💡Chronobiology

Chronobiology is the study of the effects of time on living organisms, including the body's internal clock and its impact on physiological processes. The script discusses the importance of meal timing in relation to chronobiology, suggesting that consistent eating patterns help the body maintain a healthy circadian rhythm.

💡Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is a dietary approach that involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting. The script mentions intermittent fasting as a method to improve metabolic health by giving the body a chance to use stored energy and enhance fat burning, which is supported by the speaker's personal practice of fasting.

💡Ketones

Ketones are molecules produced by the liver when the body burns fat for energy instead of glucose. The script discusses the benefits of ketones for the brain and body, including their role in providing energy during fasting and their potential anti-inflammatory effects. The speaker monitors their ketone levels and uses strategies like fasting and exogenous ketones to maintain healthy ketone production.

Highlights

The individual's diet has evolved from being mostly plant-based to focusing on food sourcing and quality, moving towards a more omnivorous diet.

A shift in understanding the root cause of chronic illness, attributing it to the industrialization of the food system rather than just diet type.

The historical context of the past century's agricultural practices, including mechanization and use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, is critiqued for depleting soil nutrients.

The importance of soil biodiversity and the negative impact of conventional farming methods on it are discussed.

The concept of a metabolically healthy plant-based diet is acknowledged, but personal dietary changes are made based on a deeper understanding of agriculture's impact.

The benefits of integrating animals and plants in agricultural ecosystems for creating nutrient-rich soil are explained.

The speaker's personal dietary shift towards regenerative, organic, and pasture-raised animal products is described.

The argument that a more traditional and regenerative agricultural system could reduce animal suffering and biodiversity loss is presented.

The idea of humans as part of a natural ecosystem, and the health benefits of aligning with this ecosystem, is explored.

The impact of disconnection from natural cycles on human and planetary health is discussed, advocating for a return to respecting these connections.

The speaker's current diet composition, emphasizing sustainably grown plants and regeneratively raised animal proteins, is detailed.

The role of protein in satiety, muscle building, and hormone regulation is highlighted.

The significance of meal timing for aligning with the body's natural chronobiology and supporting metabolic health is explained.

The practice of intermittent fasting and its benefits for metabolic flexibility and insulin sensitivity are discussed.

A personal account of a 36-hour weekly fast and its effects on ketone levels and overall well-being is shared.

The use of exogenous ketones and MCT oil as tools for supporting ketogenesis and metabolic health is mentioned.

The importance of personalizing dietary practices based on individual needs and responses is emphasized.

Transcripts

last time we talked and it's been quite

a while you were heavily into a

plant-based diet in writing this book

and continuing to learn the health real

has that changed over the last little

bit it's changed a lot for me yeah about

you know four or five years ago I was

mostly plant-based and you know I think

that as I've learned more I've moved

away from personally being plant-based I

think there's absolutely a way to have a

metabolically healthy plant-based diet

but I think

um what I've come to really understand

more is that a big root root root cause

of why we're chronically ill at this

point is that our our food is industrial

on every level from the way it's grown

to the way it's actually manufactured

and it's the industrialization of our

agriculture system that is truly not

only making the food system very fragile

and not resilient but it's also truly

depleting the nutrients from our food so

just to give people a little bit of

History like over the past hundred years

it for the sake of efficiency and food

production which you know sound great um

but it hasn't really worked out we we

basically took traditional farming

methods and said we're going to just

mechanize everything we are going to

spray the crap out of these fields with

synthetic pesticides and synthetic F

fertilizers which by the way these

fertilizers that we're spraying come

from fossil fuel fuels and we're

spraying them all over the food in the

soil so we're killing a lot of the you

know the pests quote unquote but also

all the biodiverse microbial life in our

soil and a teaspoon of soil should have

trillions of microorganisms which are

literally there to alchemize sun and

water and soil into nutrient-rich plants

but we just sterilized it we killed it

all for the sake of you know pest

control so now we have food that doesn't

have the Alchemy in the soil to create

the nutrient-rich food so food is

actually like even if we're eating a

whole food diet if it's grown in

conventional soil that's using

mechanized tilling you

know the the fields are being used year

round to produce as much as possible but

not having the the sort of Yin periods

in between where the soil can repete

itself and they're being sprayed with

synthetic pesticides and fertilizers the

food is

depleted and because that food is

becoming our bodies we are basically a

lot of the volume that we're taking in

is actually doing so much less work for

us it's doing Less in terms of giving us

the nutrients we need to build the body

and less of the nutrients for the body

to function properly so how this comes

back to sort of like vegan and and more

omnivorous is that when you really look

at what creates the healthiest soil

possible it's actually merging plants

and animals into ecosystems together so

you have the animals roaming the fields

that the plants are being grown and like

not to be too graphic but like they're

poop pooping on the soil and that is

that feces is literally filled with

microbial life that reinvigorates the

life of the soil the nitrogen and their

urine is super important for the

nitrogen cycle in the soil you've got

their Hooves gently agitating the soil

as opposed to the aggressive mechanized

kill uh tilling and so there's this

beautiful interdependency between

animals and plants that ultimately is

both really good for the animals and

it's really good for the plants because

then of course the animals are eating

you know around what we're growing for

food they're basically weeding the

fields by eating this and it's this just

this

beautiful um ecosystem that we've broken

with industrial Agriculture and when you

take that sort of down the path you kind

of realize that humans are a part of

that ecosystem too so there's there's

something around animals plants and

humans in a beautiful interdependent

ecosystem that is kind of As Natural as

it gets and both the animals and the

plants suffer when you separate so

that's kind of you know kind of really

reflecting on like what

is the most natural circle of life and

ecosystem that we could possibly create

and what that brings you towards is is

much more of I think an omnivorous

balanced you know system that is that

that is the highest qu quality possible

food so it's the essentially organic

regenerative you know

animals and plants so I've moved from

straight vegan

to obsession with food sourcing and food

quality and only want to eat plants and

animals that have been grown in a

precious pure interdependent ecosystem

that is sustainable and resilient and

because I believe that the food I'm

putting into my body if it's grown in a

sustainable resilient way that maximizes

is nutrient per gram that is ultimately

going to lead to a better body for

myself by giving my body what it needs

to function properly so that's kind of

what's moved me away and and I think

also I think I got pretty far down the

path of animal rights and you know

animal cruelty and things like that like

hey if I'm doing well on a vegan diet

you know why would I ever want to take

the life of an animal but the reality is

that over like 99% of our food in the

country is grown conventionally meaning

with the industrial agriculture the

pesticides the fertilizers and literally

nothing could be wor for biodiversity on

our planet and like holistic animal life

than industrial agriculture so you know

if you really back up and think about

the amount of we're facing a mass

extension in terms of biodiversity on

our planet right now between bacteria

fungi nematodes small you know small

animals and birds and a lot of that is

driven by the conventional agriculture

system which is where a lot of our vegan

food is coming from especially the

processed vegan food and I think a lot

lot less animals lives would be tortured

you know and and you know species ended

if we actually focused on more of a

traditional scaling a traditional

regenerative sustainable food system

that involves both animals and plants

all right so to read between the lines

it sounds like you've included more

animal products because of the farming

the ecosystem the holistic of the

practice of producing the food and for

nutrition that you're getting from it

that's exactly right yeah and I think a

big part of the why we're sick right now

is a disconnection you know our chronic

disease epidemic is fundamentally rooted

in disconnection we've ignored the

connection between the root causes of

why we're sick we've ignored the

connection between human health and

environmental health and we've done a

lot for the sake of efficiency like oh

just drug it oh just eat the packaged

food you know and none of that's really

working because the reality is that we

are as humans we're not separate from

any of this we are totally

interdependent with all of it the food

the water the air the animals the

bacteria our cells and the way forward I

think for for human health and planetary

health is respecting the

interconnectedness um which

fundamentally on a bigger sort of

spiritual level is kind of like

transcending the ego that we know is the

root of suffering and realizing that

we're all really interconnected and then

eating living in a way that respects

that rather than tries to outsmart it a

lot of why we're sick is because we

tried to

outsmart these perceived

inefficiencies like you know you know

getting getting sick having a virus oh

we just have to like manage all those

symptoms or you know oh food takes a

while to grow and prepare eat processed

food but in trying to seek efficiency

and and convenience we're actually

breaking these key cycles that are

required for our health so so to kind of

yeah wrap it up I think um anything we

can do to rebuild connection with all

these different aspects of our

fundamental Life Source you know the the

food the sun clean air clean water is

going to be helpful for our health so

it's really about respecting the

connections and not ignoring them as

we've done out of I think human hubris

over the last hundred years last time we

talked I think your diet was around 90

95% plant-based are you open to talking

about where that's at today and it's how

it's evolved to where it is sure yeah I

mean I would say I probably eat

um I still love plants and the power of

plants are incredible um the power of

sustainably grown plants so I'd say I

eat about

probably I I I aim for about you know 30

to 50 grams of protein per meal and I'd

say probably about 75% of that is coming

from animal protein I still love to get

my protein from nuts seeds beans Le

legumes um but I'm eating essentially my

diet right now is all regeneratively

raised Meats so elk bison venison

pasture raised meat pasture raised

organic eggs um pasture raised fully

pasture raised foraging

poultry um I have relationships with

some Hunters so I actually have like

little bags of you know venison that

that have literally I know the person

who has been out there um so that feels

really really good and then I get almost

all my produce from the farmers market

so relationships with farmers who I know

are using good you know soil practices

and that makes up a huge percentage of

my diet so just as many colorful fresh

fruits and vegetables as I possibly can

and then Organics nuts seeds beans and

legumes and as many spices as humanly

possible so that's kind of yeah just the

mix really just thoughtfully sourced

nutrient-rich Whole Foods that don't

have um synthetic pesticides on them you

mentioned the fact that you focus on

protein when it comes to having your

meals why is that yeah so protein I

think is such an incredible

macronutrient because it's highly

satiating and it has a high thermic

effect so it takes a lot of energy to

actually burn the protein uh when you're

digesting it um so you get kind of a lot

of bang for your buck and we know that

actually in our gut there's cells that

are nutrient sensing cells that have

these little all receptors in the gut

that can essentially taste and pick up

different amino acids from protein and

when they they touch those amino acids

they are going to secrete satiety

hormones in the body like on your behalf

to help you feel full and so you know

protein is really valuable because it's

actually the stimulant that allows your

body to make the hormones that reduce

your cravings and make you feel full um

and one thing that I think is so

interesting in the conversation right

now and the Zeitgeist is like we're

talking so much about OIC and these gp1

agonists and you know we need to have

more glp1 in the body but I just laugh

because our bodies are little glp1

factories but the way that they become

glp1 secreting factories to make us not

hungry is these nutrient sensing cells

of the gut like the L cells need to be

stimulated with the right inputs and one

of those inputs of course is is protein

and

so that's how I think about it really is

like it's both you know this incredible

piece of communication to my body that I

have gotten sort of what I need and I

can stop you know eating um and that

becomes effortless right because once

you have once those hormones are

secreted it's not a choice you're just

like you just feel full I don't want

more food so that's great about protein

the second piece is that it's it's a you

know it's an anabolic stimulus for the

body to build muscle and you know store

those amino acids and muscle cells and I

think being in my late 30s now um and

really seeing what's happening with

Women's Health which is just like really

on the decline and a lot of that I think

is because women essentially become

frail because our hormones decline

starting in our late 30s and then of

course towards menopause and one of the

things that does is essentially make us

weaker it makes our bones weaker it

makes our muscles weaker and so we have

to respond to the Natural declines that

are happening in hormones by giving in

other inputs that tell our body to stay

strong and build and one of those inputs

is protein which is going to stimulate

some of the pathways to keep this met

armor of our muscle and our you know

strong um and and and let us be you know

Warriors into our old age and so so I'm

upping my protein more as I get older

because I really want to make sure that

I'm keeping my muscle mass um you know

stable and hopefully building it over

the years to counteract the natural

declines that are going to happen all

right so prioritizing protein mixed diet

let's talk about meal timing when do you

typically break your fast in the morning

or in the afternoon and how do you look

at that and how has it evolved over the

a yeah I think about meal timing in two

Dimensions the first is that meal timing

is one of the three ways that we can

help our body essentially know what time

it is so something really interesting

about I think our chronic disease

development over the past hundred years

is that a lot of it I think is confusion

about what we would call chronobiology

the body sort of knowing what time it is

we're dial animals

meaning that we have certain biologic

activities that happen during the

daytime and certain biologic activities

that happen during the night time and

the body basically needs to be on this

two-phase clock for us to be healthy and

part of that is natural the body sort of

knows due to clock genes and things like

that what that it's day or night but

actually a lot of our external cues help

entrain those internal sort of clock

Pathways to know what time it is the

three main ways we can do that is when

we eat whether we're consistent with our

bed times and wake times um and then if

we see sunlight you know during the day

and get rid of the light at night like

those are the three ways we sort of have

to tell the body it's daytime or it's

nighttime so part of meal timing is just

about how do I tell my body we're in the

active phase of the dial cycle and we're

eating so I try to eat most my meals

during the sunlight hours basically

and try but it's hard to eat them at

fairly consistent times so my body is

sort of on a schedule and I'm not

creating kind of mass confusion if you

think about the modern world think about

it like we don't go outside that much

during the day and we have our blue

light on during the night so the body

literally is just like I'm so confused

it's sort of dark during the daytime and

it's light at night time like what time

is it we eat our meals at totally

erratic times the average American is

eating over a 15-hour window every day

so the body's kind of like it's always

the eating phase wait I thought I was

supposed to have a rest phase but you

know we're not giving it that and and

then our bed times are super

inconsistent typically in America where

you know we'll bounce around weekends

vers weekdays we don't have sort of we

don't like unlike children we don't have

a bedtime or a wake time for most of us

as adults so our bodies are in Mass

confusion chronobiologic and meal timing

is one of the ways we can support that

so I would say the way I think about it

is like how do I give my body a schedule

so usually that means eating my first

meal around 11:00 a.m. or noon I usually

eat kind of a midday lunch snack around

2 3 and we eat dinner around 6 6:30 and

then I try and wind down the food for

the night so kind of a compressed eating

window and then the second reason aside

from chronobiology that I think it's

helpful to have kind of like a set

eating window is because that gives your

body a huge amount of time when you're

not eating to lower the insulin levels

lower the glucose levels and actually

use any excess stored energy substrates

in your body that aren't coming in by

mouth so that's when you give your body

opportunity to like not have to do the

work to stimulate insulin secretion and

you get the insulin low and that's when

you start actually tapping into your fat

burning and build the metabolic

flexibility so those are the two reasons

and I personally right now in my life am

choosing to fast I actually fast from

Sunday night to Tuesday Morning my

partner and I have been doing that for

quite a while so like a 36- hour fast

once a week which I do not recommend

everyone but it's it's something that we

just started as like a New Year's

challenge it's actually something we've

continued because there's something

pretty amazing about I I prick my finger

and I check my ketones and they can get

up to like one um I think it's Millo per

liter by about that 36 hour fast and and

at Baseline I'm more at like 2.3 and I

just love knowing that I'm bathing my

cells in more ketones like once per week

because ketones are a very positive

biologic signal to the brain and the

body um and inflammatory and really like

a regenerative molecule and so I just

for me I'm really

enjoying um doing that to kind of get

into that and I find a different mental

Clarity by Tuesday morning and I feel

lighter and I know I'm probably have

churned through a lot of my liver

glycogen and it just it for me that's a

nice reset that does not appear to be

causing in stress on my body I think I

have a My Lifestyle right now is fairly

like it's fairly low stress so I can

handle that but I would I would caution

people like fasting is a stressor on the

body so if this if this is why you

really need to personally evaluate if

this is something that's either helping

you or hurting you but for me right now

at this moment in life um it's it's help

it's helping me you talked about that

benefit of the ketones and bathing your

body in them once a week it gets me

thinking about hacking that in different

ways throughout the week are you

somebody that likes to have certain days

where you're on a ketogenic diet to get

there as well or hacking that through

exogenous ketones MCT oil or is that

period that you're fasting enough for

you in the week yeah you know I'm always

thinking about um I don't you know eat

any refined carbohydrates or like added

sugars and so I'm my body is typically

I'm not on a low carb diet but the

beauty about you know we want to expose

our body to ketones and there like I

think what you're getting at is there's

lots of different ways to do that and

when I was vegan and I was on a somewhat

higher carbohydrate diet I was still

able to get into ketogenesis because you

can use these other tools one of the

most beautiful ways you can do it is

maybe you're eating a slightly higher

carbohydrate diet which honestly can be

really good for many women not refined

grains but higher you know plant

carbohydrates and then use intermittent

fasting so maybe a longer fasting window

each night to just make sure you're kind

of churning through some of the stored

glucose and actually tapping into fat

burning and creating keton so pairing

slightly higher carbohydrate with longer

fasting intermittent fasting Windows

each night maybe 14 hours or 16 hours is

a way to start building some keto

ketogenesis in the body without actually

necessarily going keto um similarly an

extended fast can do that so I'm

certainly not on a ketogenic diet but

can make ketones by doing my extended

fast once a week and then you know MCT

oil is you know another way that you can

kind of um give this fuel straight to

the MIT mondria to you know create

ketones there's also exogenous ketones

that you can take um I use the

hvmn Ketone IQ shots I love those on my

fast actually because they really cut

through hunger um but the best way to

really kind of figure it out for

yourself because there's no one siiz

fits-all is to just buy a ketone monitor

I like the one you can get it on Amazon

for like 40 bucks it's the keto Mojo and

it tests ketones and you just prick your

finger and I think once you start to

experiment a little bit okay like if I

fast for 10 hours what are my ketones in

the morning if I fast for 14 hours what

are my ketones in the morning and if

you're I think getting up to like 0.5

point7 point8 point9 like that's your

body's circulating ketones and that's

great you know because if I eat birthday

cake and some sugar or something like

that like my ketones will be zero the

next day like it is very clear to see

how the diet and the fasting impacts it

so so just buying a monitor and testing

some of these different strategies out

can be I think the best way to find like

what what works for you so you did hit

the nail on the head though I was just

trying to assess whether you use

different tools to get to that same

state as you do in the longer fast it's

flexible yeah it's like sometimes it's

interent fasting sometimes it's extended

sometimes it's Ketone shots and then of

course it's always eliminating the

refined grains and refined sugars

because those are just going to kick

those are largely going to kick you out

of ketogenesis and our body just doesn't

need them so so when you do this longer

fast did you say 36 hours yes and what

will you consume during that period just

water or do you have coffee tea certain

supplements to enhance that period of

time I'm just curious this is this is I

didn't realize you were doing this yeah

I mean it's it's just an experiment you

know for me definitely don't recommend

it for everyone but it's um what what I

do is just water sometimes I'll do a

little bit of salt and lemon juice in

the water just for some electrolytes um

I take all my vitamins except for my

multivitamin because the multivitamin

gives me a huge stomach ache if I take

it not on an empty stomach but I can

take my fish oil my curcumin magnesium

zinc and um timeline uthan none of those

hurt my stomach it's I think it's the B

vitamins mostly in the multivitamin that

that make my stomach hurt so I just take

all my vitamins except for that and then

um ketones and then I take Ketone IQ I

usually take two or three of those

throughout the day which totally cut

through the hunger and I'll drink some

spin drift sometimes which has like zero

sugar and five calories um it's

basically sparkling water with like a

tiny tiny bit of fruit juice so a couple

couple things here and there and I do

drink coffee and I put just like a tiny

bit of coconut oil um very little or or

maybe like a tablespoon of milk so I'm

definitely taking in some stuff but for

me with the Ketone monitoring I can just

track whether it's like working or not

you know and for me I can still get up

to like 0 eight or one mill moles of

ketones even with those things maybe I

could get up to 1.5 if I didn't and then

of course exercise is a piece of it too

if you know we have a hike behind our

house that we do almost every day that's

about two and a half miles kind of

straight uphill so if I do that during a

fast I can probably generate some more

ketones than if I don't um and the one

thing I'm probably just not going to do

is lift weights on that day so I love to

take long walks and you know just churn

through more of those substrates during

the during the fast but I'm not going to

do high-intensity interval training or

um weightlifting because I'm not

repleting the amino acids or or you know

any carbs after that workout so I feel

like it's just less bang for my buck but

walks are super great if you enjoyed

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care about this because metabolism and

metabolic it is the core foundational

layer that all health is built upon that

is the biggest blind spot in Western

Healthcare