Ketogenic Soylent

Science: Metabolic Effects of the Very-Low-Carbohydrate Diets: Misunderstood “Villains” of Human Metabolism

This entry is part 121 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

In a recent thread on reddit I was directed over to an excellent journal article from 2004 “Metabolic Effects of the Very-Low-Carbohydrate Diets: Misunderstood ‘Villains’ of Human Metabolism” – it does a really great job explaining some of the actual science behind a ketogenic diet and debunks several myths including “you need 100g of carbohydrates a day to survive”. I would recommend checking it out if you ever have a doctor question you about ketogenic diets (or just want to learn new stuff!)

Abstract

During very low carbohydrate intake, the regulated and controlled production of ketone bodies causes a harmless physiological state known as dietary ketosis. Ketone bodies flow from the liver to extra-hepatic tissues (e.g., brain) for use as a fuel; this spares glucose metabolism via a mechanism similar to the sparing of glucose by oxidation of fatty acids as an alternative fuel. In comparison with glucose, the ketone bodies are actually a very good respiratory fuel. Indeed, there is no clear requirement for dietary carbohydrates for human adults. Interestingly, the effects of ketone body metabolism suggest that mild ketosis may offer therapeutic potential in a variety of different common and rare disease states. Also, the recent landmark study showed that a very-low-carbohydrate diet resulted in a significant reduction in fat mass and a concomitant increase in lean body mass in normal-weight men. Contrary to popular belief, insulin is not needed for glucose uptake and utilization in man. Finally, both muscle fat and carbohydrate burn in an amino acid flame.

By |2016-10-13T07:27:51-06:00February 22nd, 2016|Ketogenic, Uncategorized|Comments Off on Science: Metabolic Effects of the Very-Low-Carbohydrate Diets: Misunderstood “Villains” of Human Metabolism
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Interesting NPR article about Keto and cancer

This entry is part 122 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

There’s an interesting reddit thread over on /r/keto about a NPR article that talks about the potential of keto for cancer treatment. The basic premise is: cancer cells aren’t doing what they are supposed to do, particularly metabolically. If you deprive them of readily available glucose they don’t grow/shrink. More research is needed but it’s not the type that’s likely to get funded since drug companies can’t make money off a diet, especially one like keto. In the Reddit thread there are some good anecdotes about effects seen first-hand on cancer with keto.

Now, the cool thing about all this is: “hedging your bets” is easy: dealing with cancer? there’s nothing stopping you from doing the traditional treatments but also consuming a ketogenic diet. In fact the only drawback I can see in this approach would be that since you are introducing simultaneous variables it will be difficult to determine which is helping more. I’d say that is a good problem to have. I highly doubt an oncologist would balk at eliminating sugar and refined carbohydrates from your diet =)

“The drugs we have now are so toxic and there’s no reason people should have to be poisoned to be healthy. There are a number of studies, including those we’ve published, showing a direct relationship between the ketogenic diet and slowed tumor growth,” says Seyfried, also citing the work of Dr. Valter Longo, of the University of Southern California’s Davis School of Gerontology. That work shows that low-calorie diets are linked with slowed tumor growth and improved response to chemotherapy. “Why spend all this money going after all these different pathways involved in cancer when you can simply go after the key fuels?” Seyfried asks.

…

Even Seyfried acknowledges, despite his zeal for treating cancer by tinkering with calories, that in all likelihood diet and nutrient-based cancer treatments will serve as adjuncts to existing therapies. But what would be wrong with that? “We’re slowing the tumor down and making it extremely vulnerable to lower, less-toxic doses of available drugs,” he says, “When people are locked into an ideology created by a dogma they tend not to focus on rational alternatives.”

By |2016-10-13T07:27:44-06:00March 6th, 2016|Ketogenic|Comments Off on Interesting NPR article about Keto and cancer
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DEXA Scan Results (body composition analysis)

This entry is part 123 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

I’ve been doing Nutritional Ketosis (aka: “keto”) for about a year and a half now. I started out at 258 back in late October 2014, got down as far as 198 but came up some with Thanksgiving, Christmas and the like. For the last while I’ve been (mostly) doing 3 meals of Keto Chow a day and am on a downward trend again:

18 months of Keto

Yesterday I had a “DEXA” scan done, which I wasn’t even aware of until I saw this post on /r/ketochow and later this post on /r/keto. The quick explanation of a DEXA scan is it’s a full body X-Ray, aside from a post-mortem autopsy it’s the only way to accurately measure your body composition. Biggest surprise from mine? My entire skeleton only weighs 8.52 lbs, that’s nuts. Another interesting thing to note is apparently how inaccurate my scale is for measuring fat percentage by passing voltage through my body (24.5% compared to the 31.9% the DEXA measured). In its defense: my legs show as having 24.6% on the DEXA scan which is only 0.1% off – since the voltage is going in one foot and out the other, I’m guessing it only measures my legs.The DEXA scanner

Aside from providing some really fun pictures of my skeleton and soft tissue, the scan also gives some very interesting statistics on distribution (my right side is slightly stronger than my left) and with additional scans (at the same place) they give you a graph of changes to each region over time (I removed these from the report I uploaded here since they currently only have a single data point). There is also the datum that I have 63 lbs of fat on my body so losing 30 or so isn’t craziness. 180 would be sweet.

Feel free to check out my report.

Right after the scan I also did a test to determine my Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) which involved putting a clip on my nose and breathing through a tube for 15 minutes. The tube fed to a machine that measured the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels going in and out to determine how many calories I was using. The lady told me to make sure I had my phone or something else to do because it would be boring. And it was. She also warned me that the nose plugs would probably feel like burning. And they did; after about 3 minutes.

RMR Scan

Angry Birds shirt FTW!

The test shows that my resting energy expenditure is 2219 calories a day. It also assumes I’ll burn another 633 calories from walking around and doing stuff that isn’t sitting in a chair, reading reddit; and it postulates I could burn another 277 from exercise. The DEXA scan put my RMR at 2004 calories/day – so it was kinda close. The RMR report also said I probably want between 1776 and 2218 calories a day for weight loss; and that my metabolism is 10% faster than people of similar sex, age, height and weight. There were some less than useful platitudes about “you must burn more calories than you consume to lose weight” which is the same as saying “you must save more money than you spend to save money” or “if more people leave a room than come in, there will be less people in the room” – um… thanks? Anyway, here’s the front page of the RMR report:

Resting Metabolic Rate

Overall I think the scan was great and plan to do some follow-up one, starting with 6 months from now. The place I went to charges $99 for the first scan and $75 for subsequent ones – I got a discount by scheduling the RMR and DEXA together ($10 is $10).

By |2016-10-13T07:27:44-06:00March 15th, 2016|Keto Chow, Ketogenic, Weight Loss|Comments Off on DEXA Scan Results (body composition analysis)
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Update to Keto Chow review, seems he liked it

This entry is part 124 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

In his own words:

Overall, I would probably give Keto Chow a 4 out of 5. The top flavors are fantastic, and I only give 5 out of 5 for things that really blow my mind. Chris commented that the “build a month” deals are cheaper, so I’ll take a look at that. It comes to around $4 a meal after shipping, so there is quite a bit of value in ordering Keto Chow.

Honestly, if you are looking for a keto soylent option, you are probably more worried about time and health than money. The amount of hassle saved from fewer dishes, decreased time going through security at work, and cooking is worth the money. Don’t listen to me though. I’m a guy that prefers Five Guys over Eleven Madison Park and has a suitcase that hasn’t been unpacked for half a year because I hate laundry.

Jefferey Zhou posted a review of Keto Chow back on March 19. A few days ago he posted an update. While I think he’s completely crazy for scoring SnickerDoodle lowest =) it was a nice review. The clumpiness he mentions does indeed happen if you don’t mix it up a second time:

I find that after 10 minutes or so, the fiber collects in the bottom; give it a good shake to stir things up. If you don’t mix it up, you might get some clumps of fiber which are a bit weird, it’s also the #1 complaint so make sure you mix it up!

By |2016-04-01T12:20:02-06:00April 1st, 2016|Keto Chow, Ketogenic|Comments Off on Update to Keto Chow review, seems he liked it
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Testing with acacia gum progressing well, thinking about starting lifting

This entry is part 125 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

So my test of Keto Chow with Acacia gum instead of Psyllium Husk powder seems to be going pretty well. Acacia gum doesn’t thicken like psyllium does so I’m having to use a thickening agent too, MOAR fiber I guess. It’s smoother that the psyllium, like really smooth with almost no texture at all except the peanut butter flour I added to this batch.

I’m still rocking 100% Keto Chow since Tuesday (well except the pickles I ate yesterday…. and then I drank all the pickle juice in the jar which was fun since they were hot chili pickles. My wife has planned for us to go out to dinner with friends tonight so I’l going to break my streak. I’m still down 4lbs from Tuesday.

I’ve been thinking about starting lifting at a gym, particularly since this post. It kinda snowballed yesterday when somebody posted a home gym on a yardsale site. I ended up talking to my brother (the one that is supposed to eventually post his experience with Keto and lifting) about it. His advice: “rent” the equipment with a gym membership, if you’re truly serious about it you can buy some later. OK, good plan. The price of the bowflex would be 3.5 years of membership at the gym nearest my house. Now the problem becomes: when will I have time to work out!? I think the solution will be to stash gym clothes in my car and stop on my way home. My awesome wife said she was going to suggest I start going to the gym but didn’t want to offend me =) So good timing I guess.

By |2016-04-16T08:26:29-06:00April 16th, 2016|Weight Loss, Site or Store Stuff, Keto Chow, Ketogenic|Comments Off on Testing with acacia gum progressing well, thinking about starting lifting
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The Biggest Loser Diet – Explained!

This entry is part 126 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

This week results of a study were posted showing that contestants from “The Biggest Loser” from several years ago had mostly regained all their lost weight. From the conclusions offered in the findings it would seem there is no way to lose weight. The subjects metabolisms slowed down so much that it was nearly impossible for them to maintain their weight loss. Doctor Jason Fung does an excellent job of distilling what’s really going on here. I suggest you head over and read his article. I’ll wait.

This is what is sometimes termed ‘starvation mode’. This is what people imagine happens as their body starts to shut down in order to conserve energy. Basal metabolism (Calories Out) falls and you feel like crap. As you eat less, your body burns less calories, so that eventually weight loss plateaus. Then you feel like crap, so decide to eat a bit more (your hunger hormones are also rising like a spire), but not as much as you used to. But, your ‘Calories Out’ is so low that you get weight regain. Sound familiar? Happens to every dieter out there. What’s unfair, is that their friends and family silently blame the victim of having ‘fallen off the wagon’, or not having enough will power. Actually, the dietary advice – Eat Less, Move More is guaranteed to fail. So don’t blame the victim when they actually do fail.

You did read the article right? If you didn’t the TL;DR is:

  1. Caloric Reduction as Primary strategy puts you into starvation mode (lower metabolism).
  2. The key to losing weight in the long term is maintaining basal metabolism, or keeping ‘Calories Out’ high.
  3. Failure rate of Eat Less, Move More is proven to be 99% or so. This remains the diet advice favored by most physicians and dieticians.
  4. Actual starvation (fasting or bariatric surgery) does not put you into starvation mode (metabolism remains high).
  5. Ketogenic diets do not put you into starvation mode either (metabolism remains high).

My own experience confirms this. When I had a DEXA scan done I also did the resting metabolic rate test. Despite being on a Ketogenic diet for over a year and a half, my metabolism isn’t crazy low, quite the opposite:

The RMR report also said I probably want between 1776 and 2218 calories a day for weight loss; and that my metabolism is 10% faster than people of similar sex, age, height and weight. There were some less than useful platitudes about “you must burn more calories than you consume to lose weight” which is the same as saying “you must save more money than you spend to save money” or “if more people leave a room than come in, there will be less people in the room” – um… thanks?

So. If you want to lose weight because your body doesn’t handle carbohydrates well (like me!) and keep it off, it seems these are the steps:

  1. Switch to a ketogenic LIFESTYLE – no cheating, no end. If you go back to eating the sugary junk that got you fat in the first place, what do you think will happen?
  2. Do intermittent fasting (just don’t eat for two meals but keep drinking water) or outright fasting (24 hours without calories)
  3. If you’re feeling ambitious, try lifting weights. I’m currently a few weeks into StrongLifts5x5 (along with my wife, she’s awesome by the way; our anniversary is tomorrow) and so far it’s been simple and easy to stick to. Takes around 30 minutes, three times a week.
By |2016-10-13T07:27:40-06:00May 5th, 2016|Ketogenic, Weight Loss|Comments Off on The Biggest Loser Diet – Explained!
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Old flavors, new flavors, dead flavors.

This entry is part 127 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

My wife just reminded me that I need to post something about the state of the flavors of Keto Chow. The ones I can get have diminished significantly in the last while:

  • Piña Colada: discontinued
  • Smooth Banana: discontinued
  • Butter Cream Toffee: discontinued
  • Cinnamon Bun: discontinued
  • Mint Chocolate: not certain, most of my suppliers have removed it from their sites, and it’s getting harder and harder to source. Might not be long for this world =(

We still have some stock of a few of the discontinued ones (mostly samples and days) but we’ll be watching the stock levels closely. The ones I can still get easily:

  • Rich Chocolate
  • Vanilla
  • Strawberry
  • Snickerdoodle
  • Chocolate Fudge
  • Cookies and Cream

So I guess it’s good timing that I’m getting closer to having my own flavors for Keto Chow. Speaking of that: today I received the first 5 samples of the protein + flavoring that I’ll be using in Keto Chow 2.0. I’d be mixing it up right now but we made 12 meals worth last night and don’t have any clean blender bottles available (not to mention I need to drink down the supply in my fridge). Closer and closer every day!

By |2016-05-27T12:09:27-06:00May 5th, 2016|Site or Store Stuff, Keto Chow, Ketogenic, Ingredients|2 Comments
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Keto Chow 1.5

This entry is part 128 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

TL;DR: swapped psyllium husk for acacia gum, added more xanthan gum resulting in better texture and improved bowel… stuff.

It’s been some time since there was a major formulation change in Keto Chow, it’s been stable for over a year. As part of the progress towards Keto Chow 2.0 I’ve updated the recipe. On paper it looks like a nominal change: replaced one ingredient and increased another. Functionally it’s a significant revision.

For those unaware: I’m working on getting Keto Chow mixed and packed in a co-packing facility. There are a bunch of reasons for this, primarily it will increase the amount of stuff I can make since it’ll no longer be such a manual process. It will also free up a lot of time =). In order to do this I’m needing to find replacements for the problematic ingredients that can’t be found in 100kg+ sizes (the vitamins, protein, flavoring) in addition to finding a co-packing facility. I’m in the latter stages of getting the vitamin mix replacement, the second revision of the protein+flavoring should be coming sometime in the next week or two and it’s almost time to “for realsies” sign papers with co-packers.

Several weeks ago I went to a trade show with various food ingredient vendors. I knew my Potassium and Xanthan Gum supplier would be there, the people I’m getting the vitamin pre-mix from had a booth and I was surprised that the lady I buy peanut flour from was there too (“hey, I buy your stuff… wait a minute, I buy it from YOU!”). I was looking for an alternative vitamin pre-mix supplier but was also on the lookout for protein sources and especially a solution to my Psyllium Husk problem.

Psyllium Husk provides fiber (and is the primary ingredient in metamucil if you are wondering) as well as acting as a thickener; it grows in India. All psyllium husk is shipped from India and while getting it in small quantities in the United States is easy, buying a palette worth is difficult without going directly to the manufacturers in India and buying an entire shipping container worth. Don’t get me wrong, a shipping container in my back yard would be kinda cool but I didn’t want to go that route. I found a company in Chicago that would sell psyllium by the 25kg/55lb bag but their supplies were sporadic and if they were out of stock I was out of luck and would need to go back to buying 12lb bags from AllStarHealth. No bueno.

At the show I happened upon one booth for a company specializing in dietary fibers. So I asked if they had psyllium husk powder and the guy asked me what I needed it for. Honestly that was the best response: instead of just saying “no”, he figured out what my “pain point” was. Turns out that guy in the booth was doing dietary ketosis, said “oh you don’t want psyllium, THIS is the stuff you want to use for keto” and so I was introduced to Acacia Gum.

Acacia Gum – Features and Benefits. This was sizeable enough I decided to put it into a separate post so it’s easier to refer to, go ahead and read it, I’ll wait.

Now, as I said earlier: Psyllium Husk also acts as a thickener and while Acacia thickens liquid a little, replacing psyllium with acacia left the mixture rather watery. I tried some other thickening ingredients but came back to Xanthan Gum which I was already using. I upped the amount almost 3x and the thickness was just right.

I considered Keto Chow 1.0.4 to be exceptionally smooth with practically no gritty texture (especially compared to the stuff I had in the past that was full of coconut flour and chia seeds). Apparently psyllium husk powder does have some texture/grit to it because the change was notable. Keto Chow 1.5 has no discernible (to me and those I’ve had test it) texture. It’s seriously like somebody melted a milk shake. It also mixes better: there’s no need to do a second mixing 5 minutes after initial mixing to prevent the fiber from accumulating on the bottom in clumps. Acacia Gum is also nicer to your intestines and seems to eliminate some of the bowel issues people were experiencing  when initially starting. For lack of a better way to say it delicately: you should be able to put more trust in a fart being just a fart, especially at the beginning.

We do have some of the old recipe still on the shelves but most of the flavors will be transitioned over to 1.5 in the next week or so. If you don’t notice the texture at all in the older formulation it won’t be a big deal but if you’re anxious to get the new stuff just put a note in your order comments and we’ll do our best to send the new stuff. We have most of the week packs in 1.5 and a few of the day flavors. Samples are all currently the old stuff.

By |2016-10-13T07:27:40-06:00May 27th, 2016|Ketogenic, Soylent, Keto Chow, Site or Store Stuff|3 Comments
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Keto Chow 1.5 status update

This entry is part 129 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

Since posting about it last week the most frequent question I’ve gotten is “what flavors have switched over to 1.5 already?” Well, that depends on the size you’re talking about =) We have a large supply of samples that were made before the switch in all flavors but two that are still available – those will be 1.0.4 for a while. This includes the banana and butter cream toffee ones we still have. Although I can’t find those flavors anymore we still have samples available, I’ve even discounted them and entered inventory into the site so if you’re really wanting to grab some you can.

Anyhow, here are the size/flavors that are completely switched over to 1.5. You can request the ones that haven’t switched yet and we’ll try to make sure you get 1.5 (though I can’t guarantee we have all available in 1.5 yet).

Samples (1 meal) that are 1.5

  • Strawberry Blast
  • Chocolate Peanut Butter
  • Chocolate Fudge

Days (3 meals) that are 1.5

  • Strawberry Blast
  • Cookies and Cream
  • Chocolate Fudge

Weeks (21 meals) that are 1.5

  • Gourmet Vanilla
  • Rich Chocolate
By |2016-06-02T10:34:46-06:00June 2nd, 2016|Site or Store Stuff, Keto Chow|Comments Off on Keto Chow 1.5 status update
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Keto Chow 1.5… ice cream?

This entry is part 130 of 139 in the series Ketogenic Soylent

The overwhelming consensus of Keto Chow 1.5 is

tastes like melted ice cream

I agree and decided to see what would happen if I tried making it back into ice cream. So I mixed up 6 meals worth of Cookies&Cream and put it into (one of) my ice cream makers. One of my daughters did a science experiment on salt/ice ratios for ice cream 2 years ago so I have the technique down solid (30+ rounds of ice cream will do that).

[print_gllr id=17030]

So, I think that Keto Chow has too much water in it to make ice cream. It would be fine for shaved ice or something but it turned out more like Ice Milk than Ice Cream. I put it into pint mason jars and into the freezer, once frozen you could easily see the clear ice. I later softened it and had my awesome wife try it out. She likes how it’s cold but has been letting it melt and drinking it – there are easier ways to make cold Keto Chow =)

By |2016-06-06T11:18:50-06:00June 6th, 2016|Keto Chow|3 Comments
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