Health Blog - World of Wellness

Day 17 Press Up Challenge | Fat Consumption & Weight Loss

30/11/2020

The consumption of fat in one's diet is key to maintaining body weight. However, a person who has an excess amount of fat in the body will need to modify the amount of fat to consume in a low carb high fat diet (Keto), to allow the body to find the fat stores to burn. This can be done by significantly reducing the consumption of starchy carbohydrates. Carbohydrates triggers the insulin response dramatically and prevents fat burning. Carbohydrates also do not keep you satiated causing you to eat frequently.

It is a fact that low fat diets do not help with weight loss. The consumption of more meat and a little more fat than previously, especially if you've been consuming a low fat diet, can help you feel fuller longer and therefore eating less frequently to allow the body to find the fat stores to use the fat for energy resulting in fat loss.

Doing some exercise, like walking for a start can help. Caffeine in moderation can also help as an appetite suppressant.

More information can be found at:
https://youtu.be/DEnQh-W0CO4

Day 16 Press Up Challenge | Embrace Eating Natural Fat

29/11/2020

Fat that are naturally present in food is good for you. You will find it in meat, fish, avocado, seeds & nuts. However, it is best to eat grass-fed or organically reared meat and wild smaller fish like salmon.

These fats can be categorised into saturated, poly-unsaturated, and mono-unsaturated fat. Saturated fat is the most stable of the fats meaning that it can keep for a long time. On the opposite end of the scale, mono-unsaturated fat has a short shelf life and can turn rancid quickly making it toxic.

Some examples of saturated fat include butter, lard, bacon fat.

If you choose to use cold pressed oil like avocado oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, do make sure they are cold pressed, not heated, not filtered, or refined. The heating process changes the molecular structure of the oil.

Oils from nuts and seeds contain a high proportion of Omega 6, which is inflammatory to the body. They are OK to eat in moderation and should not form a high proportion of the diet.

Keep carbs down, consume more fat to burn fat, eat less because fat keeps you satisfied.

Find out more about Fats from Dr Sten Ekberg
Best fats to eat:
https://youtu.be/wmPRKv1R25c

Saturated Fat vs Unsaturated Fat
https://youtu.be/tdSq-8-S3CM

Day 15 Press Up Challenge | Hunger 7 Weight Loss

28/11/2020

The common advice given for weight loss is to eat less and move more, burn more calories than you consume. Most of us have tried this and found that it may work for a while and is not sustainable.

How is it possible to eat well and lost weight? The key is in understanding how different types of food affect the hormones responsible for the feeling of hunger. When you're hungry, it is natural to want to eat. The key is in eating the right foods to keep the hunger at bay for longer periods of time.

The 3 main hunger hormones are Ghrelin, Leptin & Insulin. Ghrelin is the hormone responsible for the feeling of hunger and increases food intake. Leptin is the satiety hormone and insulin is the hormone that is responsible for the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and protein by promoting the absorption of glucose from the blood into liver, fat and skeletal muscle cells.

The consumption of a high proportion of carbohydrates in the diet stimulate these hormones that bring on hunger, making you want to eat. You can control these hormones by reducing the consumption of carbohydrates and increasing the consumption of protein & fat. Ideally eat fatty meat like chicken thighs, chicken wings (with skin on), fatty cuts of beef, lamb, pork, fatty fish, eggs, full fat cream, and cheese.

Here is a list of studies that you may want to look at for further information:
Ghrelin is an orexigenic hormone that can increase body weight. Its circulating levels increase before meals and are suppressed after food ingestion. Understanding the effects of specific types of ingested macronutrients on ghrelin regulation could facilitate the design of weight-reducing diets.
https://bit.ly/2VdqGk2

Diet-induced weight loss is accompanied by compensatory changes, which increase appetite and encourage weight regain. There is some evidence that ketogenic diets suppress appetite.
https://bit.ly/2VdT710

Resistance at the brain receptors for leptin and insulin has been associated with increased feeding, obesity and cognitive impairments.
https://bit.ly/37eXHSf

The most satiating macronutrient appears to be dietary protein. Few studies have investigated the effects of dietary protein on ghrelin secretion in humans.
https://bit.ly/3o4oWWq

Obesity, leptin resistance, and the effects of insulin reduction
https://bit.ly/3fKVe6c

I am grateful to Dr Ken Berry for this information.
https://youtu.be/d9yVe0__pFs

Day 14 Press Up Challenge | Review of My 72-Hour Fast

27/11/2020

My 72-hour fast experience

It was not as difficult as I had thought. I did feel a few hunger pangs after 60 hours but did not feel ravenous to need to break the fast. I took my blood readings at 68 hours. Blood glucose was 3.7 mmol/l and blood ketones were 2.1 mmol/l. This put me well in a state of autophagy. It was a struggle to continue beyond 69.5 hours, so I broke my fast with a nutritious and nourishing bowl of beef, tripe and kidney stew.

I will do this again in about 2-3 months’ time. I will continue doing 48-hour fasts every week or so.

These long fasts are NOT recommended if your body is not fat adapted, ie if you’re not using fat as a source of fuel. To become fat adapted, you need to reduce the intake of starchy carbs, increase consumption of natural fats and fatty cuts of meat, fish, chicken, eggs, cheese and cream.

This is the way to get and stay healthy; to keep the immune system fighting fit.

Eat real food.
Get & Stay Healthy.
Boost Your Immune System.

Update on 72-hour Fast

26/11/2020

After 68 hours fasting, this is what’s happening:
Blood Glucose: 3.7 mmol/l
Blood Ketones: 2.1 mmol/l
GKI (Glucose Ketones Index): 1.8

This puts me well in a state of autophagy.
More information can be found at: https://youtu.be/3K4seIm8aPg

Day 13 Press Up Challenge | 72-Hour Fast

26/11/2020

Why I’m doing a 72-hour Fast

A 72-hour fast sounds excessive. I’m doing it to keep my immune system strong and healthy. It’s a way to increase my growth hormones. It also helps to stimulate the brain by increasing the neuro-endocrine hormone called Norepinephrine. Find out more in this video: https://youtu.be/PRcTrRrcupg

Fasting is a way that allows your body to burn the stored fat. When the body is fat adapted, meaning that it is not using sugar as the prime source of energy, fasting can be quite easily achieved without experiencing hardship.

People fast for a variety of reasons:
Weight loss

To reverse Insulin resistance/Type 2 Diabetes
To get into a state of Ketosis (fat burning mode) – (16-24 hours)
To get into a state of Autophagy – (17 – 72 hours)

High sugar diets deplete the body of

Magnesium
Potassium
Copper
Calcium
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
B-vitamins

Day 12 Press Up Challenge | Diet & Bone Health

25/11/2020

Today I present a study showing the link between the consumption of animal protein and bone health. https://bit.ly/33bj2Ll

Contrary to public belief, it is animal protein that is important for bone health, and not just calcium. The bone is made up mainly of protein with calcium and other minerals to make it stronger.

Meat, including fish, is the best source of protein on the planet and have long been our natural ancestral diet.

Besides keeping your bones healthy, meat is satisfying and keeps you satiated longer, which means you don't have to snack in between meals.

Eat real food.
Get & Stay Healthy
Boost your Immune system.

More information can be found in Dr Ken Berry's video: https://youtu.be/r1K47u_QV2o

Day 11 Press Up Challenge | Fruits, Fructose & The Liver

24/11/2020

Most of us believe that the consumption of Fruits & vegetables is an important part of our diet.

Since being on the Carnivore Diet, I’ve not missed eating fruits and vegetables. My system has got used to not consuming all that fibre you find in vegetables.

The danger with eating too much fruits is that you can consume too much sugar. The sugar in fruits is made up of sugar and fructose. Too much fructose can adversely affect the liver.

Fruits that are very high in sugar content are dried fruits especially raisins, dates, apricots, figs which have between 55 and 75 grams of sugar per 100 grams. These should really be avoided.

The fresh very sweet fruits such as bananas, figs, grapes, cherries, mangoes, Kiwi & pineapple should also be avoided if your body does not tolerate carbohydrates, ie you experience an insulin surge. These fruits contain between 12 and 20 grams of sugar per 100 grams of fruit. These days most of the fruit we get are engineered or manipulated to be sweet.

The next category of fruit that can be eaten in moderation are apples, blueberries, apricot, orange, grapefruit, which have between 9 and 11 grams of sugar per 100 grams of fruit. They are not as sweet as the previous category, but they are still sweet and can cause insulin spikes.

The low sugar fruits are raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and lemon are safe to eat on a regular basis.

Of course, age, metabolism, genetics, activity level and insulin sensitivity play a part in how the body deals with sugar.

More information can be found at: https://youtu.be/e3PWgMcoh7U

Day 10 Press Up Challenge | Calories & Weight Loss

23/11/2020

In the standard Low Calorie World that we live in, we are led to believe that calories are evil. However, a low calorie diet is not only non-satisfying, but is also not sustainable because you cannot stay full.

When looking at ways to lose weight, we really need to pay attention to 3 main hormones:

Leptin – influences satiety
Ghrelin – influences hunger
Insulin – influences fat storage, the metabolic hormone

Insulin has been given a bad rap recently, but it is not all bad when it is maintained in balance.

When you eat, insulin is released to move glucose to the cells and helps to store the excess fat that has not been used up. During the period when we don’t eat and if the insulin level is below 5, insulin will play a part in allowing the body to use the fat storage for energy. Insulin is really the key to weight loss, not calories. Insulin resistance is when the insulin remains high even without eating. When this is the case, the fat stores are hidden and unavailable and that is when the feeling of hunger is triggered because the body has a perception of lack and the metabolic rate slows down causing you to want to eat.

You can reduce insulin by

Following a low carb high fat diet or a carnivore diet
Doing Intermittent fasting from 17 hours up to 72 hours

You can see from the table the foods in the green boxes are the ones that should make up the bulk of your diet. Some of these foods, although high in calories, will keep you full and will help with intermittent fasting or eating one meal a day (OMAD), like I do.

So, the moral of the story today, DON’T count calories. Focus on the foods that keep you full and satisfied.

Day 9 Press Up Challenge | Autophagy & the Respiratory System

22/11/2020

What is the purpose of stimulating autophagy?

Main reasons
• Detox – rids infections, pathogens, viruses, bacteria from every cell in the body.
• Cell regeneration
• Activates immune system
• In the respiratory system, it can lengthen the cilia, which is responsible for clearing pathogens

I believe it is important to get into a regular state of autophagy. I believe this keeps the immune system healthy and strong to defend the body from the threat of viruses and disease.

Some ways that you can stimulate autophagy are:
• Intermittent fasting (between 17 and 72 hours). This is easily achieved if you follow a low-carb diet.
• Give up smoking
• Stress less
• Sleep well
• Eat real food

Here is the research connecting autophagy to improved respiratory function.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7565665/