Having a Healthy Relationship with Your Body

Think about when you first wake up in the morning.  What are your first thoughts as you roll out of bed?  Do they have anything to do with how your body feels?  I tend to get a yes to that question only if that person is in pain or is afraid something is wrong with them.  If we are feeling fine we tend to ignore the body and go on with our day. We can’t be bothered by it. In our office we try to change that awareness.  We teach people to be aware of the food they eat, to make healthy choices and also be aware of the chemicals and heavy metal they are using in their daily life.  This change in awareness is about taking their health into their own hands and making those daily choices to create health in the body.  It takes a dedication, a determination and also self love to confront the body and take care of it. It takes courage to really look at ourselves, our body and do something healthy for it. That’s why a lot of people don’t come to the office unless their body is screaming at them. The body screams in the form of a symptom.  It is only with a headache, stomach ache, anxiety, weeks of insomnia, constipation etc. that people make an appointment.  That is, the majority of the people.  That is how we are trained. To actually go to the doctor’s when you are healthy doesn’t cross people’s mind.  Many doctors are trained in disease. They don’t know what to do if you are healthy.  If you don’t have a symptom they don’t have any advice for you.  Yet, as consumers we should have a new goal.  Our goal should be to keep the health we have.  Preventative healthcare is the best healthcare.

When we bring people’s awareness to their lifestyle and want to help them make changes that would improve their health part of that goal is to help them build their intuition with their bodies.  Listening to their body and what the body is trying to tell them is a new skill set for most people.  When listening to the body I don’t want to deepen the mind-body connection.  Instead, I want to get my patients out of their mind and into the body.  In the body is where your true power lies.  Meditation has it correct.  The goal in meditation is to quiet the mind and we do that by concentrating on the breath.  This concentration on breath gets us into the body and it is there that we find our center.  The center that is beyond the mind and beyond the body.  The center is where we are at peace no matter what is happening around us.  The center is our soft voice that is forever loving.  The center is our Spirit, our Higher Self, our love.  Call it what you would like.  Every religion has a different name for it.  It is our center, beyond anything in this physical world.     

The book by Eckart Tolle, The Power of Now talks about how the body loves your attention. It even states that the more consciousness you bring into the body, the stronger the immune system becomes. I find this to be true but let me specify our body loves our positive attention.  It loves to be loved,  not judged so watch your thoughts.  You think loving thoughts towards your body and you believe the body has the power to heal itself and it will.  If you think negative thoughts and put them in your body dis-ease can occur.  The book, Feelings Buried Alive Never Die is great at explaining that concept.  

A clear example of getting into the body to help it heal is how exercise makes us mentally feel better.  I often tell patients to exercise for better stress management.  I used to think that exercise helped get the stress off the body by changing the biochemistry of the brain but now I realize that exercise reduces stress by getting people to stop thinking and instead putting their attention into the body.  This change in attention from whatever is going on in the mind to the body allows feedback from the body to the brain so that exercise encourages the production of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin in the brain. Exercise also produces endorphins, the ‘feel good’ chemical in the brain.  In this way exercise is nature’s antidepressant and is really good for helping people with all sorts of things like ADHD, anxiety, depression, insomnia, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood sugar imbalances, hormone imbalances etc.  You name it and exercise can help because it gets you to pay attention to the body and the body responds by changing the brain chemistry.  

The way to a healthier, happier life is by embracing the body, loving the body.  Start having a positive relationship with your body by checking in with it and listening to it.  If it is hungry, feed it healthy food.  If it is full, step away from eating.  If it is tired, go to bed at a decent hour.  If you know your body doesn’t do well with coffee, skip that afternoon cup.  There are so many choices we make a day to either help or hinder our body.  Be compassionate with yourself  and your body and know your only goal is to make better choices than yesterday and that we are here to help.  

Ketogenic Diet

Eat Fat to Lose Fat

We are trained to think that in order to lose weight, we need to eat less…especially less fat. But what if I told you that the key to making the body a fat-burning machine was to eat fat? That's right! To lose fat you need to eat fat, and lots of it.

How does the ketogenic diet work?

This is the basis behind the ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet is a diet high in fat, low in protein, and even lower in carbohydrates. Eating this way makes the body produce ketones in the liver from the digested fat, which is where the "ketogenic" diet gets its name. The ketones then take the place of glucose as fuel for the body, which is what our bodies typically use when we eat the average American diet of higher carbs and protein. With a high level of ketones and a low level of glucose in the blood, the body produces less insulin. In turn, it becomes a fat-burning machine, as less insulin being pumped out means that the body has a far easier time burning stored fat for energy.

What are the benefits of the ketogenic diet? 

• First and foremost, the ketogenic diet actually originated as a tool for treating neurological diseases, such as epilepsy.
• Studies have shown that low-carbohydrate diets can lead to weight loss.
• Additional research shows that a ketogenic diet can regulate blood sugar levels and blood pressure.
• Eating ketogenically can help treat Alzheimer's disease.
• Studies show that the ketogenic diet can slow tumor growth in cancer patients.
• Research shows that the ketogenic diet also help hormone levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.
• If you go on the ketogenic diet, you might notice it reduces acne and has other skin-clearing benefits.

How can you get into a ketogenic state?

So, what does the ketogenic diet look like? There are several variations on the ketogenic diet, broken down below:

• Standard ketogenic diet (SKD): This is a very low-carb, moderate-protein, and high-fat diet. It typically contains 75 precent fat, 20 percent protein, and only 5 percent carbs.
• Cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD): This diet involves periods of higher-carb refeeds, such as 5 ketogenic days followed by 2 high-carb days.
• Targeted ketogenic diet (TKD): This diet allows you to add carbs around workouts, consuming most carbs before a workout.
• High-protein ketogenic diet: This is similar to a standard ketogenic diet but includes more protein. The ratio is more like 60 percent fat, 35 percent protein, and 5 percent carbs.

Keep in mind that only the standard and high-protein ketogenic diets have been studied extensively. Cyclical or targeted ketogenic diets are more advanced methods and are primarily used by bodybuilders or athletes.

What should you eat on a ketogenic diet? 

The exact amount of fat and protein is a matter of individual body responses and activity levels, but almost everyone on a ketogenic diet will consume only 10 percent or less of calories from carbohydrates. This means that any food high in carbohydrates should be limited or avoided, including sugary foods like cakes, cookies; and candy, grains and starches including beans and root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and beets; fruits (except for small portions of berries), tomatoes, low-fat/sugar-free products, and alcohol.
The good-foods list includes meat, fish (especially fatty fish like mackerel, salmon, tuna), eggs, butter, full-fat cream, cheese, nuts, seeds, healthy oils (I would stick to olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil), low-carb vegetables, avocados, herbs, and spices.
The good news is that you can also have coffee and tea on a ketogenic diet, as long as there is no added sweetener. However, I do recommend sticking to only one cup a day, as too much caffeine may down-regulate ketosis. Many people who adhere to the ketogenic diet also swear by bulletproof coffee, or butter coffee: coffee infused with butter, MCT oil, or both.

How do you know if you're in ketosis? 

So, you've changed your diet to include a much higher fat content in order to try to put the body into ketosis. Now, how do you know if it's working? Typically, the results will speak for themselves, but to find the perfect balance of fats, proteins, and carbs for your body you can buy a ketone meter, and with the prick of a finger you can find out your blood ketone levels. As another and cheaper option for checking your ketone levels you could purchase ketone urine strips, but I am not quick to recommend this method as there are many variables that may affect the outcome, including your level of hydration as well as the amount you are excreting versus what is actually the level inside your body. You might also be interested to know that you can actually tell if you are in ketosis if you sense that your breath, sweat, or urine smells sweet. This is the smell of acetone, which is a by-product of breaking down ketones, and some people refer to it as the ketogenic "fruity" smell.

How many ketones are optimal for ketosis? 

If you choose to test your blood ketones, you should be looking for levels between 0.5 and 5.0 mM, which means that you are in therapeutic ketosis. In my opinion, the ideal range is 1.5 to 3.0 mM, and levels above 3.0 mM are not necessary in order to get results. In fact, when there are too many ketones, meaning over 20 mM, this can be detrimental to the body. It is called ketoacidosis and cannot occur on a ketogenic diet but when there is a disease in the body. Ketoacidosis can often be seen in the end stages of diabetes.

If you are having trouble reaching the ideal range of blood ketones even when you feel your carb intake is minimal, I would look to see if you are eating too much protein. Excess eggs and meat will turn into glucose in the body, compromising optimal ketosis. To counter this, eat more fat! For example, if you add more butter to your steak you might not feel like having a second portion of steak because you are more satisfied and satiated from the first one. Simply, more fat in your food will fill you up more. This will ensure you eat less protein and even fewer carbs, and as a result your insulin levels will drop and you'll be able to reach optimal ketosis. If you are a vegetarian who is interested in this diet please reach out to me and I can give you more specific guidelines. 

Most people can safely do a ketogenic diet, but I recommend running any major dietary changes by your doctor, especially if you are diabetic and on insulin, or on medication for high blood pressure. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, I wouldn't recommend the ketogenic diet unless ordered by your doctor.