How Cyclical Ketosis Can Help Combat Chronic Fatigue (Mercola, 12/20/19)

[Redtruck99]

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/...cal-ketogenic-eating-for-chronic-fatigue.aspx

(A long article, here are the intro points. I am interested to hear from anyone who has implemented keto cycling. Did it lower blood glucose, and improve muscle building? )

• Chronic fatigue syndrome appears to be rooted in mitochondrial dysfunction. Your mitochondria are responsible for energy production, and as the name implies, low energy and severe fatigue are hallmarks of this condition
  [*]Immune cells in the blood of patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue show clear signs of low energy production. The debilitating fatigue they experience is due to an inability to produce the cellular energy needed
  [*]A ketogenic diet, high in healthy fats and low in net carbohydrates, with moderate protein, is a key dietary strategy that helps optimize mitochondrial function
  [*]Patients with chronic fatigue also lack diversity in the gut microbiome, and the presence of certain inflammatory cytokines in their blood closely correlates with symptom severity
  [*]Strategies that reduce inflammation, heal your gut microbiome and support mitochondrial function and energy synthesis are all beneficial for chronic fatigue patients

(The keto cycling part is what got my attention. I've been on the Terry Wahls. MD dairy free ketogenic diet since 2014, testing ketosis with a test strip everyday. My energy shot up the first week on the diet, and it has helped keep me stable. The first year my my annual lab work reported blood glucose had dropped from 92 to 76, but ever since it has remained at 92-96. I'm going to try the cycling and see if blood glucose goes down, and building muscle strength from exercise improves.)

The Importance of Cyclical Ketosis

However, once you achieve metabolic flexibility and are able to generate ketones with nutritional ketosis, it's important to include higher carb intakes every now and then. For all its benefits, continuous ketosis actually has some downsides that are easily avoided by implementing a cyclical "feast and famine" regimen. I detail the reasons for this in my book, "Fat for Fuel." In summary, long-term uninterrupted ketosis can trigger a rise in blood sugar by driving your insulin level too low.

This paradoxical situation can occur because the primary function of insulin is not actually to drive sugar into the cell but rather to suppress the production of glucose by your liver (hepatic gluconeogenesis).

Cycling in and out of nutritional ketosis will effectively prevent this rise in blood sugar in the absence of high glucose. So, once you are able to burn fat as fuel, having a day or two each week where you eat more net carbs and protein is important, especially when you're doing strength training, to prevent sarcopenia.

After a day of "feasting," you then cycle back into nutritional ketosis (the "fasting" stage) for the remainder of the week. By periodically pulsing higher carb intakes, consuming, say, 100 or 150 grams of carbs opposed to 20 to 50 grams per day, your ketone levels will dramatically increase and your blood sugar will drop.

 

[Redtruck99]

This earlier article has more details.

Basic Introduction to Metabolic Mitochondrial Therapy (Mercola, 2017)
Excerpts:

Feast-Famine Cycling Basics

Another crucial difference between metabolic mitochondrial therapy (MMT) and most other ketogenic diets is something called feast-famine cycling. Continuously remaining in nutritional ketosis can actually cause counterproductive side effects, and is likely not optimally healthy in the long term. The ketogenic cycling is implemented once you're out of the initial stage and your body has regained the ability to burn fat. At that point, you begin cycling in and out of nutritional ketosis by upping your carb and protein intake once or twice a week.

After a day or two of "feasting," you then cycle back into nutritional ketosis (the "fasting" stage) for the remainder of the week. By periodically pulsing higher carb intakes, consuming, say, 100 or 150 grams of carbs opposed to 20 to 50 grams per day, your ketone levels will dramatically increase and your blood sugar will drop.

Why is this pulsing so important? It goes back to the workings of insulin. The primary function of insulin is not merely to drive sugar into the cell but rather to suppress the production of glucose by your liver (hepatic gluconeogenesis). When you suppress insulin for too long, however, your liver starts making more glucose to make up for the deficit.

The result? Your blood sugar starts rising even if you're not eating any sugar at all. In this situation, eating a high-sugar meal will actually LOWER your blood sugar (because you activated insulin, which then suppresses glucose production in your liver). In the long term, this is not a healthy metabolic state, and cycling in and out of nutritional ketosis will prevent this from occurring.

Getting Started

To be successful on this program, precision is important. You cannot guess when it comes to the amount of fat, net carbs and protein you eat. In the beginning, you have to measure and track them. To do this you need:

•A kitchen scale to weigh food items
•Measuring cups to measure food amounts
•A nutrient tracker. I recommend using www.cronometer.com/mercola, as it is the most accurate nutrient tracker available, it's free, and it's already set up for nutritional ketosis.
Based on the personal base parameters you enter, such as height, weight, body fat percentage and waist circumference, it will automatically calculate the ideal ratios of net carbs, protein and healthy fats (including your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio) to put you into nutritional ketosis
From a metabolic perspective, once you become an efficient fat burner, one of the most astonishing things that happens is that your food cravings disappear. No longer will sugar rule your world. It's incredibly freeing for most people. Your energy level and mental clarity will also dramatically increase.

 

[Seven7]

I have been doing this with great results. I have to keep the intake of fat high for the energy to work.

 

[junkcrap50]

I don't think gluconeogensis starts bc your insulin is so low. But rather excess protein?

 

[Pearshaped]

I was on keto for almost 2yrs.I was very severe that time and it helped re snacking. Before Ketogenic diet,I had to eat all the time to feel more or less ok.
Its actually not true that you cam build more muscle with ketosis.It prevents you from wasting miscles even though insulin is low with the time.To build muscles,you need insulin.No bodybuilder out there has built all his muscle mass while on keto.