Lessons from the Ketoverse

The Perks of Going Low Carb Keto Part 2

• Graham • Season 1 • Episode 17

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Ever wondered how ditching carbs could quiet your IBS, slash sinus infections, supercharge insulin sensitivity, and make junk food cravings vanish? In "The Perks of Going Low Carb Keto Part 2," we dive deeper into the transformative benefits of ketogenic and carnivore eating lifestyles—steadier blood sugar, epic satiety, calmer joints, and a bulletproof immune system. This isn't theory; it's the real-world blueprint we craved: simple low carb elimination trials, smart food reintroductions, and a laser focus on quality protein, healthy fats, and nutrient-dense real foods that fuel fat-burning ketosis.

We kick off with gut health, the foundation of every low carb success story. Imagine a short "fiber holiday" taming IBS flare-ups before easing in chia, flax, or fermented dairy—tailored for keto beginners or carnivore purists. For some, ramping up fiber alongside grass-fed meats sparks results from day one. As inflammation dials down in your ketogenic routine, immunity ramps up, paving the way for autophagy to repair cells during those glorious extended fasts between satisfying carnivore feasts.

Feel the mood magic too: smoother glucose from low carb meals means sharper focus, fewer emotional rollercoasters, and steady energy for hikes, weights, or daily wins that amplify your keto perks. We unpack cardiovascular wins—like dropping blood pressure through effortless weight loss and reduced arterial stress—and oral health glow-ups. Swap harsh mouthwashes for microbiome-friendly, remineralizing toothpaste; say goodbye to bleeding gums and hello to brighter, stronger teeth when sugar no longer floods your mouth. Even your vision sharpens—optometrists spot metabolic shifts in eye vessels, and consistent low carb control flips that script fast.

The carnivore and keto secret? Treat yourself as N=1: strap on a CGM for real-time insulin insights, track key labs, and run safe 2-6 week experiments. Listen to your body, keep the wins, and ditch the rest. Whether you're deep in carnivore mode or easing into keto, these strategies deliver sustainable fat loss, mental clarity, and vitality.

Ready to level up your low carb ketogenic lifestyle? Subscribe now for more carnivore tips and keto hacks, share this episode with a friend battling carb chaos, and drop a review on your top low carb perk—we'll unpack it next! #LowCarbKeto #CarnivoreDiet #KetogenicBenefits

Oral Care Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-primal-podcast/id1635926128?i=1000677228228

Speaker:

Welcome to Lessons from the Ketaverse. Join Steven and Graham as they explore the keto lifestyle with tips, science, and stories to boost your health. This podcast isn't medical advice. Consult your healthcare advisor for any health-related issues. Get ready to fuel your primal power.

Graham:

Hello and welcome everybody to another episode of Lessons from the Ketoverse. Today we are talking about the actually the part two of our podcast of Perks of Going Low Carb Keto. We covered 10 in the first part of this podcast, and we are now into part two. And I'm joined with my friend Steven. Steven, please say hello.

Stephen:

Hello, everyone. Thanks for coming back and uh listening to our podcast.

Graham:

All right. Let's jump into it. So number one, uh, I'm gonna take uh the actually um Steven, why don't we uh why don't we start off with you uh for the first one and then I'll jump to number two.

Stephen:

Yeah, so the first topic uh for today is around potential for gut health improvement as it relates to uh lessons we've learned from the keto verse and being uh still on the topic of perks of coin low uh carb and keto. So for some for some, eliminating fiber and carbs resolves digestive issues like bloating or IBS by simplifying the gut um microbiome. So in in some cases, I I just want to highlight in my particular case, I am not eliminating fiber because I'm on the uh the keto diet. In fact, I'm boosting my fiber. And I'll talk about this a little bit later around connections to cholesterol and insulin sensitivity. But suffice it to say that um if you follow some content from Dr. Berg, uh all of the content from Dr. Barry, they talk quite regularly about uh improvements in the gut biome by eating uh quality meats. And they're not saying necessarily that uh you have to go to the butcher's, both you and I do, Graham, but just generally trying not to uh consume meats that are of of poor value or quality and to procure them from places where in fact uh the uh the meat quality is better. By way of example, um just yesterday my wife went to the uh butcher's and she knows how how particular I am about uh my steaks. That is the the butcher's daughter, and uh since Steven's not gonna like these, he's gonna like these steaks better. So everybody's kind of aware of what my mission statement is in terms of improving my gut health. And it comes right down to where am I procuring my food from, how am I consuming it, when am I consuming it, and what am I putting together with it in order to improve my overall gut. And as we know, in the past I had extreme gut issues, uh, I had IBS, all of these things. And as I have eliminated, completely eliminated carbs from my diet in sugar uh as a diabetic, I don't have the bloating. Uh, I'm satiated and uh and frankly, uh I haven't felt better in years.

Graham:

Yeah, and the only thing I'll add um, because if you are having gut issues, um, you know, we're certainly not saying go against your doctor's recommendations. Um, we're only giving uh you know different perspectives. And uh one of those is there was a study done of uh basically three cohorts of people. Um and they took the um the split the this group up into three. And what the first cohort, uh and by the way, they all had irritable bowel syndrome, otherwise known as IBS. Um with the first group, they uh said, keep eating the way you've been eating. Um so they gave them you know the same amount of fiber as they were eating in the past. The second group they cut the fiber intake in in half. Um, and by the way, that there was IBS and constipation uh issues with uh with this entire group. Um so the first group uh kept eating the same amount of fiber uh or the full amount of fiber. The second group uh was given half the amount of fiber, the third group was given uh no fiber, um so basically a carnivore type diet. And uh the end result was the group that kept eating the same amount of fiber saw no changes to their constipation and irtaloval syndrome issues. Uh the second group saw some improvement in their constipation and IBS. And the third group, uh the one that had eliminated fiber altogether, uh, they had uh um actually eliminated their uh constipation and IBS issues. Uh so it is an option for some people. Um, the best um analogy uh that uh I was given is if you're constipated and people recommend fiber, uh it's similar to trying to solve a traffic jam by putting more cars on the highway. Um that made sense to me, and uh I think um uh that that is something that if if somebody is suffering from constipation or irritable bowel syndromes uh issues, uh it may be an option to give it a try for a couple of weeks and see if it improves. If it does, uh you may have found something that uh you can rely on in the future. Anything to add, Stephen?

Stephen:

Yeah, I was just gonna say that uh that's a good point. Uh because I mean, effectively, if you have IBS, as I had, there's inflammation in the body and there's blood tests you can do to also to track that. Um, one of the things that I think is that, you know, we discussed this in previous uh podcast where I mean, even if I looked at food, I would get bloated and and and sometimes have very uh reactionary symptoms um emanating from my IBS. And so it's interesting that you raised this couple of weeks and and essentially you're giving the gut time to heal. And of course, we're gonna get into this under other topics too, and touching on the whole notion of intermittent fasting. Because one of the great things, even if you don't get to the stage of autophagy where you're actually cannibalizing uh bad cells, uh like cells that could turn into cancer and and uh cause um other issues with your system, what you're really doing is you're you're uh putting less stress on the digestive system in in a supportive way, which then allows it to be more responsive to things like reintroducing fiber, because I mean I consume a lot of flaxseed, a lot of uh chia in my uh homemade yogurts. And uh I have extremely normal uh bowel movements, which was something that just wouldn't wasn't the case for decades. And I'm not as reactive to foods as I used to be. So I think you raised an important point is try it for a few weeks, give your body a chance to heal. I would say even in my case, it was more like six or eight weeks where I was I would particularly when I felt uncomfortable but was still hungry. I actually did now that I think about it go to like a pure carnivore meal and I was satiated, but I didn't feel the uh I didn't feel the same symptoms. And now uh just from my own doctor's recommendations and to help to some extent um modulate uh LDL, I've actually increased the fiber, which is something I simply could not do with IBS, to your point.

Graham:

Yeah, and and just to compliment what you said, Stephen, because I think this is such a brilliant point, um, you're gonna have lots of opinions from lots of different people. And you know, one person who is metabolically healthy is gonna say there's absolutely nothing wrong with um having you know good fruits and vegetables, whole foods, um, and and having you know um sort of lean meats, uh, whatever, chicken, whatever, whatever, uh, you know, uh fish, that kind of thing. Uh, and they they may not be wrong for them. They're metabolically healthy. Um, you know, the second person is going to potentially be metabolically sick. That person may need to take a different route. And, you know, uh large amounts of fruits and vegetables and and lean meats may not be the right solution to them. So the the brilliant part about being on a keto uh carnivore low-carb type diet is uh you're your own um sort of um N equals one as far as what's going to work for you. And if in six weeks uh you're feeling fantastic and you're able to re-enter uh some of the foods that you love and you're feeling great about it, then keep doing that because it's working for you.

Stephen:

Yeah, I know. So we we see this all the time. We are our own in uh continuous improvement process. So I think that's good. And and you know, it's it's elimination and then addition. Uh and sometimes the elimination. I'm not saying for my particular case, I wouldn't recommend going back on pizza or something like that, like that, especially if you're a diabetic. Um, because when we'll talk about this later, but uh people who have have cleaned up their diet and are now either in remission or at least at a pre-diabetic stage in terms of the A1C gram. And so their gut health is essentially um radically improved. There's normalization around insulin sensitivity, it still doesn't mean that you're not gonna get a massive spike. And in my particular case, uh I recently supported one of the local restaurants um that actually the the profit from the the lunches that they provide goes to uh homeless shelters in uh the local old age home. So I was quite happy to do that. Um, but I had for the very first time probably bred in, I don't know, Graham, I would say probably a year. And my sugar was extremely high. And I I only laughed because I was in the gym um like uh immediately after, and that was my plan to do anyway. But I've never worked out as hard and as intensely as I did to bring my sugar back down. So uh there is not even for a healthy person, it's unlikely that you're you're not gonna have a reaction uh from the way we typically consume uh a you know standard American diet because it's it's how how how can I put it? It's 10x, 20, 40, 50x more sugar than your body needs. I I just listened to Dr. Barry and Dr. Berg yesterday talking about the fact that it's literally a teaspoon of sugar that is all that is required in your system. Yet most people are putting a hundred, if not a thousand times that amount in their bodies over the course of a week or even a month.

Graham:

Yeah, at the end of the day, carbs, whether they're whole foods or whether they're bread or a cake or pizza, it's gonna turn into glucose. Um, things like bread and pizza are probably gonna turn into glucose much, much faster than something like a whole potato, um, but those are still high on the glycemic scale. If I'm not mistaken, um, and uh, you know, uh please leave it in the comments if uh if there are other opinions on this. On the glycemic scale, and I recommend anybody Google glycemic index, uh, you can see which foods tune into glucose faster than others and spike your sugar more. If I'm not mistaken, uh white bread is uh 100 on the glycemic scale. It's the highest. Um, so if you're having um some white bread, you might as well be having some cake as far as the body's concerned. Um jump into number two, uh, improved immune system, uh, another uh perk of going low carb keto. Uh and uh this is one of those things that you have to experience to understand uh what it's like because most people you know they get a they get a cold, they get a flu, they don't feel well, they're not quite sure what's going on, but they think it's a normal part of life. Um, you know, being exposed to those um uh uh viruses and the bacteria that causes um these kinds of illnesses uh is a part of life. But how your body responds to um those uh you know uh those foreign bodies that are gonna actually um trigger an immune system response um is uh really dependent on how strong your immune system is. Um it uh it makes sense to most people that if you are in good health, uh, you know, the absence of sick, uh if you're in if your body's in good health, if it's getting all of the vitamins, uh minerals, and um the uh uh essential um requirements that the body needs in order to thrive, not just survive, then um your body is in a great position to be able to fight off um those foreign bodies that are you know otherwise gonna maybe get you bedridden. I know for me, I had uh a scan done on my ear because I couldn't figure out why it was that uh guaranteed I was gonna get one or two um uh sinus infections a year. And those are pretty awful for me. It was just a constant pain. It was like I was in pain all the time. Sometimes I was in less pain, sometimes I was in more, but there was almost never a situation where there was no pain. And uh the only thing that worked uh was uh antibiotics. And I knew those antibiotics weren't great for my gut. I didn't know how uh bad they were at the time, but I knew they weren't great. In fact, doctors are starting to avoid prescribing them because they can really um damage your gut microbiome in some cases permanently. And so uh, but I couldn't wait to get them because it was the only thing that would take the pain away. Um so over about two decades, uh it was generally one or two of those sinus infections a year. Uh had a scan done. It turns out that I've got this little crevice in my sinuses, and the doctor said you're gonna get these for the rest of your life. There's nothing uh you can do about it. Um, and he's right about there was nothing I could do about the divot. Uh what I didn't realize is, and and this was not an you know an intended outcome uh of going low carb keto, was I haven't gotten one of those sinus infections uh for the last three winters. Uh, it's the first time in 20 years that I haven't got one. Um, usually, you know, I'm guaranteed to get one, usually two. This time I got none. Um after the first winter, I thought, that's got to be an anomaly. The second winter, I thought, well, there's something here. By the third winter, I realized actually the way I was eating had put me in a position where my immune system was so strong that it was able to fight off what it was not able to fight off before. And um, the second thing around that, and and uh Stephen, I'd love to uh hear your um take on this, is uh if you're in a low carb keto um and and having you know very satiating meals, uh we've talked about ribeye steaks, but let's say you know, a hundred uh uh you know, half a pound of uh of ground beef and you know uh some eggs, uh you're not gonna be hungry for quite a long time. When you are in a state of autophagy or fasting, um, you're able to eliminate the old cells that aren't doing anything for you anymore or could be damaged or even worse. Um, and it's replacing it with new healthy cells. Um, your body also has the opportunity when you're in that autophagy state uh to focus exclusively on fighting foreign bodies that uh could otherwise uh um have you bedridden. So I have not um been sick for a couple of years, except for one short um, you know, I would say half a day where the rest of the family was in bed for a couple of days. Um so that was something that even my immune system couldn't totally fight off or avoid. Um but for the most part, I have I don't remember the last time I got sick. Stephen?

Stephen:

Yeah, well, I actually had the same experience. Now, uh I used to get seasonal allergies uh fairly intensely. And um, although I thought for years because of uh multiple injuries to my nose and surgery on it that I have have a deviated septum, but I've since seen a specialist, and that's not the case. Although he did say um although there wasn't any physical reason um for me to get those kind of infections, so I didn't have the divot like you had, for instance, I seemed to be uh prone to them as well because I was immunocompromised. I was probably pr uh undiagnosed, prediabetic. And so my body was trying to deal with uh raging insulin in my system and um cortisol and other factors that they know for a fact, for instance, a high uh high amount of stress will increase the likelihood and uh the intensity of illnesses. And uh so when I would m get the flu, the seasonal flu, for instance, and my wife would get it, she'd be fine in three days. Um I would be a solid week recovering in for three days. I was um you know, questioning the validity of even being here because I was so sick. So that hasn't happened in at least five years.

Graham:

Yeah, excellent. Uh so over to you for number three, Stephen.

Stephen:

Uh sure. So uh in terms of um improved insulin sensitivity, this is quite quite interesting. And you and I have had some very uh important discussions offline. Uh so I had uh blood work done on the 6th of October and um it's kind of interesting uh because uh I I met with both my naturopath and um the physician's assistant uh independently, and um it appeared that uh my insulin was actually quite low. Uh however, it was in the normal range. And uh in Canada our measures are are uh to equate to the US standard would have to be divided by two. But um 20 is low, anything below 20 in terms of uh the presence of insulin is considered um low, like abnormal. And uh don't quote me on this, but I think 280 is like really high. So essentially, if your insulin levels are lower and you're not a type one where there's no presence, you would be at zero and you're a type two, then your insulin typically, if you have um uh increased um insulin resistance as a result of the diet we described quite extensively previously that is you know carb laden and is causing these peaks and valleys and sugar and so forth, you will develop um uh an insulin resistance. So once you get off of those carbs, your system, in my case, uh will start to normalize and it'll show up in your blood results. Your insulin will actually show that you're not insulin resistant. And this has been a consistent thing with me for the last few years. Now, what's what's fascinating is my last blood test, uh, which my naturopath missed, I had been fasting for 15 hours, so she actually thought my insulin was low. Uh I was in within the normal normal range by a factor of three, meaning that the low water mark was 2.45 and I was essentially 7.8 something. And so uh by by the American standard, uh and for the standard here, uh, instead of being below 20, I was at 46. So considering I was fasting, I actually have very stable insulin. And just reminding people again, your body produces insulin in reaction to the presence of sugar. And uh obviously one of the blockers is cholesterol, and um obviously this your pancreas gets overwhelmed with uh with uh instances where you're consuming a standard American diet. Um and usually according to Dr. Berg and others, it's about 20, it could be 20, even 30 years of call it unknown abuse of the pancreas, and then finally it starts to give out. So a lot of people out there are going to think, oh, you know, um my insulin's low er and think it's necessarily a problem. So I'd recommend, you know, um to you know, have that conversation with your doctor and do the blood test to check your insulin sensitivity because you're gonna probably find, as I have consistently, that my insulin is not um highly resistant uh now that I'm on a proper diet and that my sugars are in line. So my body is actually getting the the opportunity to heal and insulin is only being released when it's required. Um and you'll see that if you're wearing a CGM2 gram, is that you'll see your reaction to sugar and uh as you're consuming your meal, you're always going to have an elevation because that's how you're breaking down the food into um uh its respective components so it can be properly digested. Um, dealing with the proteins, you're still going to get a rise in insulin as part of the digestive process, but you're not getting the spike. Uh, by way of example, I had just a just a s uh an interesting meal the other day of uh ribs and uh Octoberfest Oktoberfest sausage. Um and yes, my my um CGM showed that my sugar was rising, but it was a very gradual rise and I stayed well within the safe zone by Canadian standards, um below 10. And I was in the eights after consuming it, and uh the you know and uh by the evening before I went to bed, because it was about four hours after I ate, I was back in the fives.

Graham:

Yeah, this um such an important topic, and and uh those that listen to part one of this two-part series will remember that we had a uh uh one of the top ten was improved blood sugar regulation. Um and improved insulin sensitivity is gonna be very much related to that, but they are separate scenarios. So um when it comes to uh blood sugar regulation, um, it is the pancreas that produces insulin that tries to get the glucose into the cells uh in order to get it out of the blood. Because if there's, you know, as Stephen talked about before, if there's a teaspoon of blood um regularly in your system and your liver can produce all the glucose that the body needs, um, when you're adding uh sugar um from your food, uh your insulin has to um do its job to get that um what turns into glucose into uh the cells in order to uh get it out of the bloodstream. Otherwise, uh you have the potential for some serious downsides all the way to death. And so um we uh, you know, as a society, we're putting too much glucose into our bodies. Um, the problem is over time uh that insulin resistance. And so when uh the pancreas says, you know what, um, I'm having a hard time producing all this insulin, and the cells are saying we've got no room for you know, the insulin knocks on the cell door and says, uh let some glucose in, uh, the uh cells say, you know what, we've got enough. We've got too much, we can't take any more. If you don't change the underlying cause, which is you know, taking in too many, too many uh carbs that are high on the glycemic range, uh, which turns into glucose very quickly and in very large amounts, uh, then the body at some point is not going to be able to handle it anymore. Your ideal scenario is you've got a little bit of fat on your body that you can use for energy uh from time to time. Like I know uh when I get up in the morning, the first thing I do is I go for a three and a half kilometer walk, just about two and a half miles. Um, and uh, you know, if if my body needs uh energy, it's gonna pull from uh a relatively small amount of fat that I have on my body, but there's just enough that if I need it, it's kind of like having a reserve tank. So that's why we talked about improved insulin sensitivity as well as improved blood sugar regulation. It's important to know that uh one um both of them are very much related. One is uh very much causative of the other. Um, but at the end of the day, the um insulin resistance is what's going to cause metabolic disease in a lot of cases, in our opinion. Um, and so if you're able to reduce the amount of uh high glycemic carbs that you're putting in the body, think uh cake versus uh you know a carrot, then you are going to be able to give the pancreas a break. You're going to be able to have enough room in your cells for glucose to be put in there when it's needed. Uh, and you're not going to have those long-term problems that come with uh insulin resistance, which uh can be specifically type 2 diabetes. Uh, they're now calling Alzheimer's type 3 diabetes because essentially it's caused by the same thing: too much sugar, too much insulin resistance over time. Um there uh I've heard references to PCOS, which is polycystic ovarian uh syndrome, being type 4 diabetes, because essentially it's caused by the same thing again. And I've even heard people reference cancer being type 5 diabetes because essentially over time your cells and the mitochondria specifically in your cells become damaged because this insulin response, the glucose in the cells, eventually over time those cells uh can no longer function properly, and the body doesn't have the ability through autophagy to uh replace those cells with healthy ones, and bad things can happen. Um, number four on our list, uh appetite suppression. We've referenced this before uh in uh in a few instances, um, but uh I know what it's like to be hungry all the time. And uh what we talked about before, you're eating high-carb foods. Um, essentially, you know, um uh all foods essentially uh turn into glucose, just some uh a lot more than others and a lot faster than others. But the um when you are eating high satiety foods, uh and I'll tell you know, friends that are interested in in this topic, the easiest way that I can explain it is um see how you feel after you eat a steak, uh, maybe some vegetables, really healthy stuff, uh, throw some real butter on those vegetables, try and see if you can stay away from the uh bread uh that they always serve first. And uh I've heard from a number of different people the reason they serve bread right away, um, either before or when you order, is um because it because it's so high on the glycemic index, um, you are actually going to feel hungry within half an hour, let's say everybody's different. Um, and that uh just by chance is the amount of time um uh when you're ready to order a dessert. And they've actually done studies where um they've served bread uh in one cohort and not serve bread in another cohort, and there was something like a 30 plus percent increase in the ordering of desserts, which are of course high glycemic foods uh in in a lot of cases, um, with the group that had the bread first. So I'll just suggest to my friends let's have a nice big steak, let's you know, have some healthy vegetables, uh, throw some butter on those vegetables, have uh just enough salt that your body needs, not too much, and uh see when you're actually hungry next compared to having the bread, having the dessert. Um, you may find that you're not hungry until the next day uh if you avoid those high glycemic index foods, um, or you may find that you're gonna be hungry in a couple of hours uh if you don't avoid them. And so you know when you're eating high satiety foods, um it uh essentially is an appetite suppressant. They talk about uh GLP1 receptors, uh Lycosempic, um, and they work by slowing down the digestive process. Um, things are gonna sit in your system, stomach, uh, large intestine, small intestine for a longer period of time. Uh, when you eat a steak, that also triggers the same GLP1 receptor that the um, you know, these uh weight loss uh drugs trigger. And so your body says, I've got all I need, I'm gonna slow this down, I'm gonna pull the nutrients out, I'm gonna take my time doing it. Um of course, if you're taking like a GLP1 receptor, if you don't have the right nutrients, vitamins and minerals and amino acids in the body, then it the it's not going to be able to absorb enough to put you in a state of health. Um so appetite suppression is uh a really nice perk. Um, I am generally never hungry. Um, I often have to think about okay, I'm gonna eat at this time, not because my body says I've got to eat, um, but uh I think okay, it it's the right time to do it during the day. I usually have a meal somewhere between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. And I only have one other meal somewhere between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. And that's it. I generally never snack. And uh some days, uh like yesterday, um, I'll think to myself, okay, I had a nice big, uh, high satiety meal for lunch. I had it a little later in the day, and uh I just said, you know what, I'm not hungry. I don't need the food. I woke up this morning, I went for my walk, I still wasn't hungry, um, but I did eat uh shortly before this podcast because I knew uh the rest of the day was going to get away from me. So appetite suppression is is uh a real surprise for a lot of people. Um, you eat a lot less, you Snack a lot less, and as we talked about before, uh, it gives your body a chance to um kill off those bad cells, replace them with good cells, and uh fight off any external diseases as well. See ya?

Stephen:

Yeah, I don't really have much to add to that. Uh I think you covered it quite well. Um perhaps we can move to uh the next one, which is uh number five, uh lower blood pressure. So by reducing carbs and promoting weight loss, it can contribute to healthier blood pressure levels, supporting cardiovascular wellness. Now, uh with respect to lower blood pressure, I think most people understand that uh when the when your veins and arteries become calcified and rigid, it's harder for your your heart to push blood through the unflexible uh cardiovascular system. And so consequently, one of the things that that ends up happening is it that additional tension, and that's why they call it hypertension, uh results in in an increase in your blood pressure. So one of the things that uh I've noted is I have exceptionally good uh blood pressure. I mean, I exercise, I do uh weight training, um, I walk extensively like you, Graham. Uh so blood pressure's never been a significant uh marker for me anyway, other than once the machine was was off at the gym. And I I'd recommend that you always get a second or third uh third source, including your doctor's office. Don't count on the equipment you find at your local drugstore uh or at the gym because they're often not calibrated. So um uh an amusing story for another time. But uh essentially, yes, if you you stick to uh uh uh reducing or eliminating carbs for the most part, especially those that convert quickly to glycogen. We're talking about ultra-processed foods in particular. You and I don't consume those. Uh again, we've talked about this in previous podcasts. If you need a PhD in chemistry to understand what you're eating, then don't eat it. So uh that's a general rule. And um, you'll your your heart will thank you, your arteries will thank you. And I'd also recommend, too, because I've been watching this most recently with Dr. Bird, there's some great suggestions out there about how to uh reverse some um uh placking that has occurred in your uh arteries, and um it might be literally a lifesaver. So I would certainly point people in that direction to do their own research.

Graham:

Yeah, really well said. Um you know, the arterial walls is is uh a critical um uh contributor to cardiovascular disease. If the blood can't get around the body easily, um, you know, it's very similar to your a clogged fuel system uh in a vehicle uh or uh a system where the oil is essentially not able to do its job anymore, um, you're gonna run into problems. And so uh I know I have had my blood pressure checked. Uh you know, for those uh naysayers that think that uh the way I'm eating is uh doesn't make any sense. Uh one of the first questions is uh your blood pressure is gonna go up. Uh mine actually went down. Um I was one point away from uh excellent. Uh so I was very, very happy with the results. And that was after two and a half years of eating the way I do. I just wanted to mention to people um uh if you can take uh a moment to uh like and subscribe this episode uh or this podcast, it really helps a lot. Um, it's not necessarily going to make much of a difference on what uh gets delivered to you, but it does tell other people, hey, this might be something that you want to hear, and who knows, that could make a difference in somebody's life. Um, and if you can think about somebody uh that uh is in your life right now that you care about uh and you think, hey, maybe I should share this podcast with them just to see what they think, um, giving them another alternative perspective. In no way are we ever gonna say that we're right all the time. Uh, we're just providing it uh a perspective for people to consider based on our personal journey and the outcomes that we have recognized. Um I'm gonna jump to uh subtle anti-aging effects. So, what does this mean? Well, uh, you know, I often get the comment now you do not look, uh I've just turned 56, you don't look 56. Um I would have figured you were in your 40s, maybe, um, but you definitely don't look for 56. And I've thought about this a lot. I know that um my skin uh without doing anything to it for the last couple of years has gotten significantly healthier. Um I have uh, you know, certainly the losing of 50 plus pounds helps a great deal. I think it it's a sad state of affairs when um many of the people my age are actually um overweight. So when you find somebody that isn't overweight, they stand out. I think that is uh sort of a reflection of our times and the fact that we are taking in too much uh uh you know, uh too many carbs, too much sugar, too much glucose, um, and causing insulin resistance and of course weight gain. And so um I have noticed that not only um do I look younger, but I actually have more energy to do things that keep me looking younger and feeling younger, like going for walks every day, which I really didn't want to do, uh call it three, three and a half years ago. Um, so the anti-aging effects, it's interesting. Uh, we've talked about on our podcast the the biggest influencers in our life, which we highly recommend listening to because you're gonna get other opinions. Um the it is uh I have not found somebody who's low-carb keto or carnivore that doesn't look healthy. Um and so it's uh I in my opinion, it's not a myth. It's actually, you know, when you feed your body the right things at just the right amounts, uh your body is going to be the healthiest it possibly can be. And uh the anti-aging effects are uh something that I have experienced. Stephen?

Stephen:

Yeah, it's interesting you say that because you know, people I I listen to people too, and they'll say, you know what, uh I do this like four or five times a week, and then you know, weekends are my time to enjoy. And again, I'm not uh radical about my opinions. And like you and I said, they're strictly our our opinions and our experience, and just out of the our uh toward our fellow uh humans out there, we're just trying to give you guys some pointers that are are substantiated by medical evidence from other sources, and we'd suggest you go to those specific professionals. We're simply passing on, hey, you might want to look here, and here's what we experience. But you know, that's that what you're describing is absolutely true with respect to um anti-aging. And in some cases, it's good good uh genes. Um, my uh folks don't eat particularly well. My mom looks substantially younger than her age, so I am blessed with good genes. But any male in our age range, um, 56, 58, uh as I am, 58, statistically is gonna start likely seeing um a receding hairline, they're gonna see their hair thinning and so forth. And um, I sometimes wonder, even though uh that is uh still happening in my case, and I'm taking measures to try to uh limit it. I know that diets are an important component to that, and I can only imagine if I was a full diabetic as I was with very high numbers, um, how my eyesight would have been affected, which uh people say, well, that's just a function of age. That's a myth. Uh and they say, well, you know, your skin's gonna look the way it's going to because you're getting older. It doesn't have to. You and I proved it. And there's part there's elements of self-care that you can continue to do that isn't just strictly diet. Uh I have adopted the European tradition of using um the well, some call it sallow, but beef uh tallow and beef tallow I I use on my face to keep it moisturized and um and it seems to work really, really well. And uh I'm quite pleased with that. So I mean there's there's a whole whole myriad of options. But when you have a good baseline and you're showing you're eating properly and you're eating regularly properly, because one thing I wanted to highlight from that uh that comment you made reminded me of how difficult it can be. And we've talked about this before, is when you're traveling, like when for work you have to you know spend a few days in a hotel, how quickly your body begins to react again uh to bad food because you're not picking it from a butcher. You don't know how it's been prepared, you don't know if it's been cross cross-contaminated. It is sometimes very difficult to find something on a menu um at a hotel or including the restaurant in the hotel that's even palatable. And and again, you and I've talked about this before. You know, if you have a little bit of visceral fat, like you said, and you're going for a walk, you're not going to starve. Um, in fact, you're promoting autophagy and and there are other health benefits to fasting. Um, you know, if you were doing it for 30 days, do you mean you really need to talk to your doctor about those extended fasts? We're not talking about that. But I would rather opt, in my personal case, not eat than eat something bad. That's the state I'm at because again, my body, I'm I'm I'm classified in what uh researchers are now calling um hyper-responsive. So when I eat something that I shouldn't, or if you look at my blood results, you'll see you know, very high cholesterol and LDL. These are all um consistent uh in terms of having a very healthy state. So when I eat something that perhaps in the in the past would have just caused some bloating and on a good day some discomfort and not result in severe diarrhea, then um, you know, now if I was to consume those things and I don't, I immediately feel unwell because my sugar will show on my CGM as being through the roof. My my body will be in a fight or flight state, even though there's nothing going on because it doesn't feel well. And that's how how dialed in I know you are as well, Graham, how dialed in I am to my body. So I'd rather skip a meal, I'd rather offend someone um at a house party because I'm not eating their food and explaining why. And if they have a problem with it, that's why I drive myself to those functions. I can leave, but you know, I don't need to stay. So um there are many options that too that come into play, but my suggestion is don't fall into the trap to think, oh, I'm gonna have a cheat day or whatever. You're just making yourself sick again, and it doesn't take very long two, three days, and you're gonna be you're gonna be set back by two or three weeks.

Graham:

Yeah, can't add anything to that. Very well said. Steven, over to you for number seven.

Stephen:

Sure. So enhance emotional well-being. I mean, this kind of plays into what we're saying is when you have the confidence in what it is that you're doing and you're seeing the results um play out for you uh in in a number of ways. And again, if you're a reflective person and you're listening to these podcasts, I would I would I would um throw it out there that you're you're the self-aware person that is uh concerned about um health outcomes and understands holistically that you know it isn't just a stake that's going to um improve outcomes, it's mindset, it's a host of things. And neither of us are psychologists. Uh, we leave that to better people. But I mean, I follow that kind of um ideology, and I strongly believe that when consuming meals, you know, be in the right state of mind. Don't be rushing out the door, taking your kids to soccer with pizza hanging out of your mouth like I used to do. I mean, those are not environments that are conducive to good digestion for one. And two, connected to that is we've talked about the the um the the gut gut brain and the um the cerebral brain uh connection through the vagus nerve and how your overall well-being will help with uh processing uh nutrition properly. So let me underline that for a second by saying that when you're in a state, a relaxed state of emotional well-being, your calmness, uh, your your general awareness is going to support the digestive process. If you're in a fight or flight response, which often is uh uh the result of for at least connected to IBS, where you're like, oh no, I just ate something and it's not agreeing with me. I know there's people out there that are gonna resonate with this. You are not in a enhanced emotional well-being or state of mind. So they are sort of reciprocal. They can be uh one can can cause the other, meaning that if you're in a bad emotional state uh for whatever reason, uh I wouldn't recommend eating. Take a pause, let your body settle down before you start consuming food, and try not to consume food in stressful environments because you're not going to process it properly because your body's thinking, well, yeah, I don't really have time to digest right now, I gotta get ready to run or fight. So um, I don't know if you want to add something to that um uh yourself, Graham, but that's sort of my perspective on emotional well-being.

Graham:

Yeah, it's a great summary, and and I won't go into too much detail about the um mental uh illness um potential improvements with a ketogenic diet. I do recommend, uh, as we've talked about before, reading the book Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind by Dr. Georgia Eid. Um, it is one of those game changer books that uh I would be surprised doesn't um really stun uh most people who uh who read it or listen to it, depending on your preference. Um but the there's a similar sort of connection to the fact that when your body is in a state of health, um, it is going to be less stressed for different reasons. The hormones are potentially going to be uh better regulated. And um as a result, I've certainly found that um not a lot stresses me out anymore. Um and the things that do stress me out a little bit, I have just more energy to be able to actually, you know, um deal with the things that I have control over. And those things that I don't have control over don't uh really um put me off like they used to. So um I have noticed a significant increase in my emotional well-being being as well. I'm gonna jump over to number eight, which is joint.

Stephen:

The next one I think you raise a good point. I want to highlight that for people. Um, something that I I've noted as well is um around emotional well-being, when you're properly satiated and you feel good and you feel okay, you tend to be not just reactive physiologically, but also verbally or mentally. So I you kind of touched on that a little bit, but I I I really want to stress to people is that the ability to self-regulate and self-um uh self-correct before you say something you may regret or what have you. I personally believe from my own experience that there's a a highly um strong correlation between um if you're in a state of IBS, that's not the time to come to me and explain to me how good you did in your calculus test, right? It's I'm not gonna be able to absorb it, I'm not gonna react well to it because I'm in a state of of almost like survival mode. So when you're not in that constant state of pain and discomfort, or you're you know you're literally feeling nauseous after your meals and you're reacting negatively, it's really hard to get the best out of you, whether it's work, whether it's with your colleagues, whether it is a parent, it has a massive impact. So when you I even find now, like even um, you know, with uh with uh severe PTSD, uh just managing the amount of sugar that's in my system, to me, there appears, Graham, to be a correlation between if I get a sugar spike and I don't feel well, um, you know, um let's put it this way, whether we can say that here or not, is I get a little bitchy. And I I used to think, it's interesting, I used to think that was because my sugar crashed. It's not, it's the opposite. You know, and I've had some low incidence of sugar that I've monitored from um extended exercise and watched amazingly when I was in the woods that my body responded by uh increasing its uh insulin and increasing the sugar naturally. You know, I didn't have to run, I'm not a type one, I didn't have to run and consume an apple or something. But it's just interesting that if you give the body a chance, it's way more efficient and its recovery can be way more extraordinary than you even imagine. And when you are in a pickle or you're in a situation where you've you know you've pushed your body and your sugar's dropping, I I didn't feel uh emotionally like lashing out. I was like, wow, okay, I know exactly what's going on right now, and the CGM is helping me understand that.

Graham:

Yeah, well said. If if your body your body likes to be stressed every now and then, whether that's a run or um you know some some kind of high demand activity, but when it's on under constant stress, that's going to take a toll on our emotions. So really well summed up there, Stephen. Number eight for us, uh joint health improvement. So, what does this mean? Um, essentially lowering inflammation. Um, through a ketogenic diet, they have found that um there is the potential to lower inflammation. Um, if your body is in a state of health, then it is likely not going to be inflamed. Uh, I know that I had um issues around arthritis. I had uh a rotator cuff injury that um I still have the injury, um, but it is nowhere near as inflamed as it used to be. I can I've got basically full motion now, whereas I hardly had any um for the span of about 15 years. So the only change that I made is uh is uh going on a better diet. Anything uh that you can add an itis on the end to, like arthritis, uh, for example, is going to be um the definition of inflammation. Inflammation is painful, um, it means something is larger than it uh is supposed to be, and that is going to create um uh, you know, it's gonna activate pain receptors that you don't want to activate. This is another one of those things where you really have to live it to understand it. And you'll uh likely find out that there were certain parts of your body that were uh sore that you put up with, and others that were sore and you knew they were sore. Um and uh obviously everybody's gonna be different in their tolerance of pain, but I certainly found that um, you know, when I when I switched the way I ate um call it three years ago, um uh a lot of the pain that I was feeling throughout the body that I just uh chalked up to old age. It turned out uh I should have chalked it up to the uh the junk uh food that and you know high carb uh ultra-processed foods that I was eating. Steven?

Stephen:

Yeah, I I couldn't agree more with you. It's it's so um important to understand inflammation. Uh in fact, I had blood tests done recently and I was super pleased that I showed no inflammatory markers. I'm gonna go a step deeper um and actually have specific marker uh tests done on my heart to determine if there's any kind of inflammation there. But my general body inflammation was was um very low and uh low enough that it was well in the lower range of normal, uh which for me is a huge success because I was told when I was initially diagnosed uh that um additional tests would be required, but I likely had metabolic syndrome, and that was definitely the case. Actually, for the first time in my life, even though I was exercising regularly in the gym, my blood pressure was high. Um my yeah, obviously my my uh cholesterol was was whacked out. Um, and we can talk about cholesterol another time. I'd point people again to Dr. Bergman on LDL and HDL because I have my own um um impressions um most recent recently on that, but certainly triglycerides, um, tracking that. Um so that's a that's really an important one um that's that that I've shown to improve radically, is is obviously we talked touched on earlier is um the emotional well-being, the blood pressure, all of these things play it together. There's there is no island in the body. There's no island. It is a holistic system that is connected just like a vehicle is built. It's really hard for it for a vehicle to run without a fuel line. Um, it's really hard for it to stop without brakes. All of those things work together in unison. And when you have um harmony rather than disharmony in the system overall, you get all of these additional improvements.

Graham:

Yeah, nothing to add there, Stephen. Well, well summed up. Um over you for number nine.

Stephen:

Yeah, number nine's an interesting one uh for me because here folks were talking about stronger teeth and gums. And I'm just because of my PTSD, I grind my teeth, and so I have um damaged my teeth uh quite severely. I think more so from that than I have um with consuming uh sugar. But uh, you know, one of the big things that I completely eliminated um and we wanted to highlight is I do not take any mouthwash. Um I floss, I take care of my teeth. Because, you know, one of the things too is if you're someone like me with implants, you will get gum, uh, your gums receding. And there's a very interesting connection between what's jammed in your teeth, um, not to be overly descriptive, but what's jammed in your teeth and it potentially affecting your heart. So again, I would point people to do some of their own research. So just good general hygiene, period. You know, like um when I eat a steak, uh, you know, it's like a lunch up there, so I gotta make sure I clear it with uh, you know, with uh dental floss. And um, you know, I jerk I try to see my my dentist as regularly as I can. And um just generally I haven't had any issues with with um my breath and I don't consume um at all. I don't chew gum. I don't take breath mints um because I don't need to, and because they have sugar in them and a bunch of other things that are not good for my gut bacteria. So anything that I I generally do around my teeth has to work with the rest of my body. I'm not going to put something on my teeth, uh whether it's a whitening material or other things that are going to have a negative effect on my gut. Um I can live with my teeth being a little bit less shiny than I am uh dealing with my IBS or other things returning.

Graham:

Yeah, and and a couple of things I'll add to that. Um, you know, well summed up, sort of topic around stronger teeth and gums is um, you know, why why have Steven and I both stopped uh using mouthwash as an example. I've stopped uh using toothpaste with chloride. I'll talk about that in a second. Um the you know, if you take nutrition courses, I've taken a number of them, um, they will tell you that the nutrition, sorry, the um digestive system and your your gut microbiome, um, it starts with your mouth. It starts as soon as you start chewing food, obviously the quality of the food makes a huge difference here. Um, but if you're eating healthy foods, just the chewing process is starting to pull uh or or masticate those um healthy gut microbiome bacteria that eventually get to your stomach. If you're using uh mouthwash on, say on a regular basis or even once in a while, it is going to disrupt uh the uh the gut flora microbiome that is starting in your mouth. Um, some of that mouthwash is going to get to your gut and it's also going to kill off bacteria in your gut as well. Obviously, we don't, no one recommends drinking um mouthwash, but those are some of the things that can uh potentially happen as a result. I don't uh use a uh toothpaste with fluoride anymore for the same reason I don't get a fluoride uh flush when I go to the dentist. These are all just my choices. Um I uh I've actually switched uh toothpaste, so now I use a toothpaste that is essentially nanohydroxy hydroxyapetite based. Uh, and what does that do? It um it is a substance that remineralizes teeth, uh, deposits new minerals on the tooth surfaces, it rebuilds your enamel, uh, and it uh can repair microscopic lesions. I will try and uh remember to put a link to what I think is one of the best oral care um podcasts that I've ever heard that really change the way that I look at um uh you know the healthy teeth, what causes um tooth problems, including cavities, and how to avoid those things altogether. And certainly a low-carb, low sugar uh diet. Yeah, yes, our parents were correct, our grandparents were correct. Uh, sugar causes cavities, there's no question about it. Um, but um any sort of carb is potentially uh has the potential to turn into glucose and cause the same problems that sugar does. Um, so I'll try and remember to link to that podcast and uh uh have a listen. We're certainly not not uh oral experts by any stretch of the imagination. We've just made some small changes uh to try and make improvements. One of the things that I've had comments about, um, call it three years ago compared to the last couple of years is people commenting on how my white my teeth uh must uh how white my teeth are and what am I doing? Uh you know, am I using a tooth whitener and how am I getting my teeth to be as healthy as they are? And if you do enough um research on uh oral health, you know that if your body is in a state of health and your oral um the part of your body, your mouth, uh, is in a state of health, it's going to produce um you know healthy outcomes, strong teeth and uh white teeth uh has been my experience. And also uh when I when I did floss, um, I would uh more often than not have some blood come out from flossing. Uh that doesn't actually happen anymore. So clearly um my oral uh you know state is uh much healthier than it used to be. Um the last uh but not least subject that we're gonna cover today, sharper vision support. So I'm gonna uh cover this relatively quickly. Um the uh when you go get your eyes checked from an optometrist, they are um sometimes going to ask you if you are type 2 diabetic. And the reason is they can actually tell. Uh and what why can they tell? My understanding is the capillaries in the eye, so the small blood vessels, um, they are the tiniest of any in the entire body. The optometrist is actually able to look at those uh very closely and see that they're either clogged uh or um you know completely cut off, which is going to cause degeneration of your um eyesight. And so uh that is a sign uh that uh you need to run to the doctor and uh get some uh checks done. Um always listen to the optometrist, they actually know what they're talking about. Um by the same token, if you can uh turn your uh uh you know that your eating lifestyle around, um, eating a low-carb ketogenic diet uh with all of the uh uh vitamins, nutrients, and amino acids that your body needs, um, you potentially will find that your eyesight uh either doesn't slow down as fast or it uh can improve. Mine have improved. Uh my uh reading prescription um has uh uh gone the opposite of what most would expect. Most expect it to keep getting quote unquote worse and worse or stronger and stronger. Mine actually got uh uh uh less strong. Um and uh the other thing that I've noticed is I used to have to wear, and I've talked about this before, sunglasses all the time when I was outside. Uh even if it was remotely uh sunny, uh, even on cloudy days, I would wear them all the time. It was like uh if I didn't have my sunglasses, it was like not having my phone. Uh I'd start to have that panic. Um, I don't even know where my sunglasses are anymore. I haven't worn them in a couple of years. I don't need them anymore. Uh I'm I certainly don't stare directly into the sun, um, but uh the brightness no longer actually affects me in a negative way. Um again, I can't explain why, but certainly one of the reasons I believe is that uh my eyes are in a healthier state than they used to be. Uh Stephen?

Stephen:

Yeah, I think uh obviously eye care is extremely important for type 2 diabetics, and um, you're absolutely correct. Uh I have my favorite person uh that I go to see, and uh she's she's phenomenal. She's originally from Africa, and she could tell when my sugar was off, and this was prior to me um having access to CGMs, so you're absolutely correct, they're amazing. And uh, because at the time I was having I was having issues Graham was seeing and it was flurry and stuff, and she happened to be at a local Walmart, and I walked in and I said, Hey, would you mind checking my eyes? And she said, Wouldn't you have them checked glass? And I actually had no recollection of when they were checked glasses. And um she said, How long have you had your glasses? The usual questions. And I I uh I didn't actually have my reading glasses on me at the time, but she uh started doing the tests and she said, What's your sugar like right now? And because my eyes were my lenses were actually bulging from the pressure of the sugar, and that's a form. Of neuropathy for some odd reason. You won't necessarily feel it in your eyes, but you certainly feel it in your feet. And I had had symptoms of neuropathy in my feet, but didn't know that's what it was. So I was very green. And um uh you know, I've since learned how important all that is. And she was uh such a um an amazing optometrist that uh she said, I'm not gonna prescribe glasses because they're not gonna work once you get your sugar under control because your lens is literally bending right now under pressure and they won't work. And it's true. Um now I I do have my days, I think like anybody where you have eye strain and it takes them a little while to focus because we do spend a lot of time being exposed exposed to blue light. But my uh my eyes have not degraded nearly as much as my peers, and I attribute that to one having my diabetes under control, and my diabetes um is under control without using any medications and strictly through my diet, as much as that annoys my family doctor. So um eyes are a very important thing. Like I said, you have to self-advocate and self-manage through these processes to see what's changing. And if you see something changing, uh that's what the health system is there for, then go have somebody uh check, uh check you out, whether it's your eyes, your heart, um, whatever it is that's going on with you. And then um if you don't advocate for yourself, then you won't be in a position to be able to do anything because your the consequences can literally be fatal.

Graham:

Yeah, what a great way to end the podcast. At the end of the day, uh you are your first line of defense uh when it comes to your health. And uh we certainly um, you know, the the the professionals in the healthcare industry are absolutely critical to uh contributing to that goal. Um, but it is important to take things into your own hands in order to uh maximize uh your potential. And we hope uh that you uh learned something today that will get you uh farther along in that journey uh of Stephen and I sharing our experiences. Thank you very much for listening to another episode of Lessons from the Ketoverse. Uh, we hope you enjoyed the uh the episode and thank you, Stephen. Uh we'll talk to you next time.

Speaker:

Thank you, Graham. Thanks for tuning into Lessons from the Ketoverse. Join Stephen and Graham next time for more keto tips and stories to fuel your health. Subscribe, share, and let's keep the keto vibes going.