Health

Ketosis gets credit for a lot of health benefits. Sustainable fat loss, better energy, a razor-sharp mind—the list goes on. But here’s the thing. If you’re not fat-adapted, you won’t experience most of these benefits. Being fat-adapted, although a bit technically distinct from “keto-adapted”, means you can effectively use ketones and fatty acids for energy. This allows you to access stored body fat during a fast, and get maximum mileage from a high-fat diet. I know, the whole ketosis vs. fat-adapting thing is a little confusing. Can’t we just pick one term and stick with it? Not necessarily. Yes, ketosis...

I’m asked all the time about water. People want to know how much they should drink to prevent dehydration. Dogma holds that you should drink at least eight ounces of water eight times a day. The 8x8 method is simple to understand and easy to remember. Unfortunately, this homespun wisdom isn’t well-suited to the complexity of human life and drastically oversimplified. There is no one-size-fits-all for nutrition. As with most molecules you consume, there’s a sweet spot for H2O. Drink too little and you’ll experience a low-water state called hypohydration. But drink too much and you’ll dilute blood sodium levels,...

I’m a big believer in getting your nutrients—including your electrolytes—from food. At Ketogains, we have been shouting about that for years now. There is not, nor will there ever be, a supplement that supersedes a competently-formulated diet. Let me explain why. First, when you eat foods in their natural state, it’s hard to overdo any single nutrient. There are exceptions to this rule—(polar bear liver delivers a megadose of vitamin A)—but in general, you aren’t consuming polar bear bits, and foods don’t contain toxic levels of vitamins and minerals. Supplements are another story. Supplemental vitamin A and E, for instance,...

When I was in high school, I used to eat 10 to 15 thousand calories a day. Believe it or not, a big chunk of these calories came from Snickers bars, Peanut M&Ms, and breakfast cereal. I wolfed those babies down by the value pack. When you're training like I was, living an extremely active lifestyle, finding calorie-dense options so as not to feel bloated as a necessity. But there's no denying this statement - my sugar intake was astronomical. The thing was, at least in the cute sense, I could handle it. I was an offensive and defensive lineman. I...

There’s a meme floating around that fasting slows your metabolism. The claim is that fasting (even intermittent fasting) makes you cold, sluggish, and prone to weight gain following a refeed.  I’m not surprised this meme has spread. It makes sense that depriving your body of nutrients would have a metabolic-shutdown effect. It’s a survival mechanism.  But the meme is only half true. Sure, if you chronically restrict calories—or starve for many days on end—your metabolic rate will tank. You’ll feel slothful and unwilling to exercise. Still, you’ll probably lose weight. Yet when you eat normally again, your metabolism won’t rev...