Good Fats & Keto – What works for health

Is it Fat or Sugar/Carbs That Make You Fat?

If you are feeling troubled because, somewhere in your mind is the mantra that ‘fatThere are many different types of fats; polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, hydrogenated, saturated and trans fat. The body requires good fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) in order to… makes you fat’ and ‘saturated fats are bad’, it is increasingly clear that it is sugar and carbs that more readily turn into body fat.

My GL diet falls in the category of a moderate low-carb diet. The rest is made up of fats, emphasising mono and polyunsaturated fats from fish more so than meat, and also vegetarian sources of proteinProteins are large molecules consisting of chains of amino acids. Proteins are essential nutrients for the human body – they are a building block of…. However, the low-carb, high fat diet that has become popular in Sweden emphasises more saturated fats from meat.

Fredrik Nyström, from the University of Linköping, who helped develop the guidance, told a Swedish newspaper that many of his colleagues had been sceptical about recommending a low carbohydrateCarbohydrates are the primary source of energy for the body as they can be broken down into glucose (sugar) more readily than either protein or…, high fat diet. However, they changed their minds when they reviewed the scientific literature. “It feels great to have this scientific report and that the scepticism towards low carb diets among my colleagues has disappeared during the course of the work. When all recent scientific studies are lined up, the result is indisputable: our deep seated fear of fat is completely unfounded. You don’t get fat from fatty foods,” Nyström said.

Low Carb for Cardio Health

The Review concluded that a low carb diet is, if anything, good for your cardiovascular health, “…a greater increase in HDL cholesterolHDL is short for high density lipoprotein. It is the “good cholesterol” responsible for removing harmful cholesterol from the bloodstream. High HDL levels reduce the… (“the good cholesterol”) without having any adverse affects on LDL cholesterolLDL is short for low density lipoprotein. It is the “bad cholesterol” which collects in the walls of blood vessels, causing blockages. High LDL levels… (“the bad cholesterol”)”. This applies to both the moderate low-carbohydrate intake of less than 40 percent of the total energy intake, as well as to the stricter low-carbohydrate diet, where carbohydrate intake is less than 20 percent of the total energy intake.

It is increasingly clear that it is sugar and carbs that more readily turn into the fat, triglycerides, found in the arteries. So, it is true that fatty deposits are found in the arteries but they are more likely to have come from sugar than fat.

Good Fats including MCT C8 Oil

I don’t really emphasise fat in my Low GL Diet, but encourage some fats such as mono-unsaturated fats in avocado and olive oil. Also Omega-3 fats in oily fish and medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) in coconut, which is easier to burn than store.

We now know you can use either glucose or ketones as fuel. Ketones are only made in the liver from certain kinds of fat called medium-chain-triglycerides (MCTs). Coconut, palm and olive oil are sources of MCTs. However, we’ve learnt that almost all ketones are made from a sub-fraction of these fats called C8 (short for carbon 8, or caprylic acid triglycerideTriglycerides are a type of fat found in the blood – the body uses them for energy. However, high levels of triglycerides can raise the…, and 8 carbon chain fat).[1] Coconut oil is only 7% C8 while MCT oil is 12% C8.

You’re better off getting pure C8 oil like my Ketofast, if you want to supply your brain with ketones. It can also be used daily as a health support or even as part of an intermittent fasting diet such as the 16:8.

I take my MCT C8 Oil every day, sometimes just as a spoonful and other times as part of a Hybrid Latte.

MCT C8 Oil for Brain Health

A recent study looked at 52 people with pre-dementia. It measured how well neurons were functioning and determined that the participants’ brain cells were not fully firing, in other words they would have a lack of brain energy, which would be experienced as poor concentration, memory and ability to process information.

The participants were given either two tablespoons (30g) of C8 oil, or a placebo, and changes in their cognitive health function were measured. In those that were given the C8 oil, the half-firing neurons came back to life. Brain ketone metabolismMetabolism is a term that is used to describe the chemical reactions that take place within the body’s cells. The body gets the energy it… increased by 230 per cent, indicating that their brain cells were switching to using ketones as fuel, and the more this was happening the more cognitive improvements occurred.

Unlike other fats, C8 oil goes straight to the liver via the portal vein, thus not requiring all the digestion that other fats require. The ketones then enter the blood and are taken up, as an energy source, by the cells’ mitochondria.

In this study the participants weren’t on a low-carb ketogenic diet, thus they were still eating carbs, but clearly they still received a significant benefit. The were people suffering with cognitive decline.

In Dorothy’s testimonial, she explains how MCT C8 oil worked successfully for her husband. Read more on ketones and your brain.

Ketogenic Dieting

I first heard of ketones in the 80’s when the Atkins diet took off . You can now do a healthy high fat/low carb ketogenic diet. I call it the Hybrid Diet and this is how it works.

The Hybrid Diet mimics the body’s evolutionary design. We are ‘hybrid’ and can run on glucose from carbs and ketones from our body.

Alternating between the two is the hottest health secret – because something magical happens when we switch between a ‘slow’ carb and a high fat diet: it sets up a healthy cycle of new cell growth and repair (autophagy), and body fat is burnt more efficiently, mimicking the natural cycle of feast and famine. The worst of both worlds is the combination of animal fat and refined carbs – the hallmark of junk food.

A High Fat diet switches on a cellular clean up, repairing the energy factories in cells. A Slow Carb diet makes clean energy and healthy new cells. Switching regularly between Slow Carbs and High Fat is like nutritional yoga. You become ‘carb adapted’ – craving less sweet foods, and ‘fat adapted’ – able to burn and derive energy efficiently from fat.

I published my book The Hybrid Diet on this in 2019 followed swiftly by the more prescriptive and practical The 5 Day Diet. Read these or Go Hybrid, to find out more.