I have a new charity to support! Keto Pet Sanctuary rescues dogs with terminal cancer. They have a 53-acre plot of land outside of Austin, TX, where they use ground-breaking therapy to treat dogs that others have given up on.
How do they treat them? With a ketogenic diet, among other treatments like hyperbaric oxygen therapy and metabolic conditioning. Thanks to Keto Pet Sanctuary, these dogs are given a fighting chance. But what about cats? I’ll have to research that one!
The results of a study on the use of Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) in a meal for elderly adults was recently published in Psychopharmacology (August 2016). The study included 19 adults over the age of 60 who did not have dementia. The purpose of the study was to determine what effect, if any, a ketogenic meal (consisting of 20g of MCTs) had on cognitive function.
The adults were given the ketogenic meal and then tested 90 min and 180 min following the meal. Placebo meals were provided on separate days.
The study showed elevated ketone bodies in the adults after the ketogenic meal. The subjects also showed positive effects on working memory, visual attention and task-switching after ingesting the ketogenic meal.
The meal given used Ketonformula – a formula for ketogenic diets developed by Meji Co Ltd in Japan. I wasn’t able to find a website for this product.
MCTs can be found from numerous sources. Ones I like best are coconut oil, Bulletproof Brain Octane (sold on the Bulletproof.com website), and you can buy it in powdered form from Quest nutrition. While there are many other products on the market, the above are the primary sources I use for MCTs.
A few weeks ago I wrote a post questioning whether we need 3 meals a day: https://www.ketoadaptedcyclist.com/do-we-really-need-3-meals-a-day/ I’ve struggled with intermittent fasting where I would go 12-14 hours without eating, then have a meal. My stomach just didn’t like it. But I was determined to keep trying, especially since I can’t seem to escape experts talking about all the benefits to our bodies and brains from fasting.
I decided to try fasting longer than 14 hours to see what would happen Last Tuesday I was able to fast for 19 hours, and each day since then I’ve fasted no less than 15 hours. There is a point at about 12 hours where I start to get pretty hungry, but if I ignore it and push on then the hunger goes away. I actually have quite a bit of energy when in a fasted state.
Sunday I decided to do a fairly long ride in a fasted state – 44 miles with about 1500 feet of climbing that took about 2 hours, 40 min. I had only done shorter rides (about an hour long) while fasting before this. I felt really good the entire ride. I was a little hungry when we got back home, but not ravenous. My muscles were a little sorer during the ride which could be attributed to fasting and not hydrating enough. I can’t be sure until I try it again under similar circumstances.
I’ve decided to keep up my pattern of no less than 15 hours of fasting each day to see if I continue to feel good. Perhaps I just needed a longer period without food, as my stomach rarely hurts now when I eat after fasting for 15 hours or longer.
If you’re not convinced, take a look at the article and videos here on the positive effects of fasting on our brains and our bodies.
I’ve been learning about neuroplasticity this week and it truly has blown my mind and given me great hope for ways to treat diseases and disorders in the future. Our brain is so much more complex and adaptable than any of the smartest people in the world realized. Thankfully there’s a lot of really smart people alive today who are digging in to the research and learning how we can retrain our brain to help us cope with or cure just about any impairment we were born with or later acquired.
I couldn’t begin to do this topic justice, so instead I’m going to suggest that you watch this TedTalk by Don Vaughn, and if the topic grabs you as it did me, there’s a lot more out there on neuroplasticity. Learning it will be good for your brain, too!
Last week I was in Chicago for work. It was an amazing week for many reasons, part of which were my experience trying a few things I had resisted in the past.
I went to a spin class for the first time. I had always looked down my nose at spin classes because why would I want to ride a stationary bike indoors when I could ride my own bike outdoors and pick my route, not worry about how the bike fit, see, smell and experience the outdoors…the list goes on. Well, one good reason is because I can’t take my bike on every work trip. Even if I did, I wouldn’t have time to ride it.
I’ll be honest – I would not have gone but for a friend and colleague pushing for me to try it and I gave my word that I would. So a group of girls (5 of us) went together and I have to say it was really fun. The workout was intense, but was as much fun as you could have on a stationary bike while your heart rate goes through the roof for 45 min. If I can find a good class here in Huntington Beach it may be my new weekly workout when I can’t get outside on my bike.
The other new thing I tried (at least the only other one I’m willing to admit to!) was tongue. It was on the menu, so I figured why not. I’ve heard that it is very good for you if you can get over the fact that you are eating TONGUE. It really wasn’t bad – very tender, and did not have a strong taste. I’ve also read that organ meats are very good for you but I’m not quite ready to take that leap…at least not yet.
The downside to the spin class was a saddle sore. I felt it during the week, and after yesterday’s ride it is now a bleeding, oozing saddle sore. So that happened. Should make today’s ride really enjoyable.
Speaking of yesterday’s ride, it was a not-so-fun reminder of the consequences of too little sleep, not so good food choices, and alcohol during the prior week. It was the most painful 39 miles I’ve ridden in a while! I’m sure today will be better. It’s a beautiful morning for a bike ride.
I ran across a great article by Dr. Mercola that summarizes the use of ketones in improving athletic performance and for battling Alzheimer’s and other diseases. There are also links to some other informative articles and interviews. I have experimented with exogenous ketones, Ketoforce and KetoCaNa, and wrote about it in a prior blog post, “Experimenting with ketone supplements.”
I have stopped using ketone supplements prior to long rides in favor of another product, Vespa, that I will write more about later. It tastes better and is far easier on my stomach. plus I experienced the same benefits as the ketone supplement. And I am relying on the natural production of ketones through adhering to a ketogenic diet combined with intermittent fasting.
I’m happy to see more and more articles published about the positive effects of ketones on athletic performance (cycling, in particular), and more importantly, on the treatment and hopefully prevention of Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons’, and other diseases. We have a long way to go to adequately inform people about the danger of sugar and other processed foods, and to open their minds to the benefits of ketones and a ketogenic diet. But I’m determined to be part of the group who does, and thanks to a ketogenic diet I have the stamina to hang on for the long haul!
More and more experts say no. In fact, fasting has emerged as a healthier alternative to eating 3 regular meals. Often referred to as “intermittent fasting” it can involve depriving yourself of calories for a day, or going anywhere from 12-18 hours without eating, then taking in all of your food within a short window.
According to various medical experts quoted here, fasting does numerous good things for the brain – it improves cognitive function, increases neurotrophic factors, increases stress resistance, and reduces inflammation – all of which help to prevent diseases like Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. According to research cited in the article, fasting mimics changes in the brain that happen with exercise. One reason fasting or strenuous exercise has this effect on the brain is due to the formation of ketones – an energy source that can be used by the brain rather than glucose. A ketogenic diet also allows for production of ketones by severely restricting carbohydrate intake which is converted to glucose in the body and used for fuel.
You can have the best of both worlds by combing a ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting. I’ve experimented with intermittent fasting on and off for the past few months. I certainly like the way I feel in a fasted state, but my stomach does not do well when I introduce food after fasting 15 hours or longer.
I’m trying to figure out what I can do differently to calm it down once food is reintroduced. I have ready some articles on how fasting can impact women differently by causing excessive adrenal stress, but I hope to figure out a way to fast regularly without experiencing gastric distress. This article by Dr. Amy Shah explains what can happen to some women who fast, and suggests crescendo intermittent fasting – basically not fasting consecutive days in a row, but instead allowing your body time to adjust and to figure out what makes you feel the best.
Dave Asprey, founder of The Bulletproof Diet, is also a fan of intermittent fasting with the use of Bulletproof Coffee instead of just water. This is the type of intermittent fasting I do, as I can still get the benefit of healthy fat and MCT oil (I use Dave’s product, Brain Octane) for an added boost while fasting. For some great podcasts on the topic of intermittent fasting, visit https://www.bulletproofexec.com/?s=intermittent+fasting.
So is the 3 meals a day recommendation a great conspiracy by the food industry as some suggest? I suggest you try fasting for yourself and see if you truly do need those 3 meals!
We had our last ride of the trip Wednesday. I had lousy internet service so it was impossible to post anything, so this one is a little late!
Our last ride was a trip up Alpe d’Huez followed by a beautiful ride along a balcony road. The total mileage was just over 60 miles, with nearly 6000 feet of climbing. It was a long day in the saddle, but the views were definitely worth it!
We arrived home late Friday afternoon and immediately went to bed! Saturday morning we got up and rode Mt. Baldy – our “favorite” mountain ride in California to see how we would feel. We both set PRs going up so I would say it was a good day!
I’ll post more about the overall trip and more pics at a later time. There is so much to share and I want to do it justice!
It was sooo much better this year! I got a good night’s sleep, had a good breakfast, and the weather could not have been better. And to make it even sweeter, everyone in our group felt good today and made it up Ventoux without any problems.
We felt so good we continued on into Sault, and finished with a ride along a beautiful balcony road, Gorge de Lenesque. The pictures here, http://www.ventoux-sud.com/en/discover-our-natural-sites/the-nesque-canyon-a-preserved-natural-site/, show it best.
I’m super tired so this is a short post!
Today we spent A LOT of time in the car driving from the Pyrenees to Provence so it was definitely a rest day. Yesterday was an unplanned rest day, as we had to drive in to Pau to find a FedEx office to ship some bike boxes, and that turned into an all day affair. The good news is we’ve had 2 days to rest up for the toughest climb yet – Mont Ventoux, the Giant of Provence, http://www.veloventoux.com/?c=montVentoux.
I managed to climb it last year in spite of an upset stomach and bad weather. I’m hoping for a better ride this year!
The reward for making it to the top will be the mountains of delicious hard candy they sell at the summit. Certainly not ketogenic, but I will splurge a little on it…it’s just too good not to!
So this is a short post so I can get some sleep to meet The Giant tomorrow morning. Bon nuit!