[ Editor's Note: Fitness author Jon Benson shared this info with me and gave me permission to share it with you. ]
One is a leading killer.
One is something everyone over 60 dreads.
All are things we all want to get rid of.
Two are defensible. Not curable... yet... but defensible.
And the really nice part: You get leaner by taking this defense.
Again: Get leaner AND help protect your cells from cancer and your
brain from Alzheimer's.
Sounds like a dream come true.
Recent studies on the state called "ketosis" rendered some
interesting results.
Boston College biology professor Tom Seyfried published his
findings in the online edition of WebMD in February of 2004. Mice
with brain tumors that were fed a diet high in glucose, the brain's
primary source of energy, showed rapid decline in health and rapid
growth of the cancerous cells.
The study group, fed a higher fat, lower carbohydrate diet, showed
the inverse: Up to 65% "decrease" in the size of the tumors.
But how is this possible? Isn't glucose (sugar) the brain's primary
source of energy?
Yes... and no.
Yes, this is supposed to be the case. No, as in it was not always
the case -- at all. In fact, the fact that our brains can thrive on
glucose is proof of our body's ability to evolve to its
surroundings.
"Ketones" are another, and arguably preferred source of "brain
fuel", formed only when the body is stripped of its carbohydrate
intake. And ketones are also the miracle workers in the
"glucose-starved brains of Alzheimer's patients", according to
researchers.
Follow me here -- it gets a bit tricky.
Your brain can function off of glucose. But instead of giving it
what it needs -- glucose on a much more limited basis 'and' less
frequently (mimicking the days on the Savannah) -- we dump a ton
more sugar in our system than is required.
The result is a disease state known as insulin resistance. The
brain becomes resistant to insulin. The cells in the brain
literally begin to starve, despite being over-fed the very
substance they require.
Think of this like oxygen: Fine in limited amounts, toxic in high
doses. The same goes for carbohydrate. Too much, too long, and
insulin resistance can set in.
And, both cancer and Alzheimer's seem directly affected by the same
condition. So it is no surprise they could be reversed and/or
prevented by the same treatment: A lower-carbohydrate, higher fat
diet.
When fed a diet higher in fats (coconut oil in particular) and low
in starch and sugar, brains that were already in advanced stages of
Alzheimer's showed marked improvement in cognitive function. The
ketones produced on a lower-carbohydrate diet bypass the "broken
cells" damaged by too much carbohydrate and reward the cells with
an alternative energy source they can use.
Studies on mild ketosis reveal that after the body adapts brain
function "improves". This is no surprise, as ketosis is thought to
be our "default state" of mental existence for the past 100,000
years. Starch, sugar and even vegetable-based carbohydrate was
limited for the majority of the year back in the days of the
hunter/gatherers. And our brains and bodies adapted to this kind of
nutrition.
My personal and professional opinion is that about 25% of us can
get by with our higher-carbohydrate diets without a problem. The
rest of us... big problem.
But there is a way to have your cake and eat it too -- literally.
Years ago I devised a dietary plan that allows for enough
carbohydrate to keep insulin resistance from ever forming -- even
reversing it in many people. Rarely is ketosis ever required. And
you do not have to remove all the carbs from your diet.
And, if that wasn't enough, you shed bodyfat faster than any
dietary plan I've ever seen.
Pick up my book here -http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/aff/be4evagood
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