Exploring the Paleo & Keto – High-Fat, Low-Carb Diet Craze
Just because a diet topic is “trending” and all of your friends are raving about it, does not mean it is healthy for your body.
The craze over Paleo and Keto diets have misled multiple health seekers into an abundance of misinformation, false advertisement and hype. These diets put a heavy load on the liver and can result in pre-mature aging, and disease.
The Paleolithic Diet
The Paleolithic diet, also known as Paleo or Primal diet, is rooted in the belief that sticking to food our caveman ancestors would have eaten leads to optimal health. This includes meat, fish, vegetables, wild fruits, eggs, nuts, and more. The goal of the Paleo approach is to consume the foods cavemen did millions of years ago, before the cultivation of grains and legumes, and well before the invention of processed, packaged foods. According to Paleo advocates, if a caveman wouldn’t eat it, modern people shouldn’t either.
The Ketonic – or Keto Diet
The diet is based on the process of ketosis, in which the body uses ketones for fuel instead of glucose. Ketones are a byproduct of fat metabolism that is utilized in times of starvation, carbohydrate restriction, or excessive exercise. For the body to reach a state of ketosis, calorie intake must be limited and comprised of 80% fat. The remaining calories should come from low-carb vegetables and protein.
Both of these diets are high in fat and low in carbohydrates. They do allow carbohydrates from vegetable sources, but highly restrict fruit consumption. These diets encourage setting aside processed carbohydrates such as bread, pasta and tortillas, which is a good thing. However, there is a misconception regarding what the body needs and craves in order to maintain balance and health in normal bodily functions.
Our Love for High-Fat Animal Foods!
One of the most appealing draws for a high-fat, low-carb diet is our insatiable love for animal foods; beef, cream, butter, cheese, chicken, turkey and eggs. These are difficult foods to give up for most people. So when they are told they can eat these foods in abundance, not worrying about their fat content, just stop eating carbs, many people jump at the chance to give these diets a try.
Let’s face it; Americans love our double beef, double cheese, hamburgers! Just make it a double-double – protein style – skip the bun and wrap it in lettuce – and we’re good to go! I must confess I had a few of these during my Paleo diet days. They are quite delicious, but in truth, they are deadly bullets to the liver.
Diet versus Health
Most of us desire to look good, zip up our favorite jeans, and hit the social scene looking and feeling our best. And, in order to do this we need to maintain a healthy weight for our body type.
Diet fads come and go. People can lose weight on all kinds of sane and insane diets. It is one thing to look good on the outside – but it is another thing to destroy our livers and speed up the aging process on the inside.
The Liver – Our Body’s Best Friend for LIFE!
Most health conscious people realize the importance of maintaining a healthy body weight and paying attention to heart and brain health. However, fewer health seekers understand the vital importance the liver plays in keeping us alive, balanced and healthy.
A healthy liver is foundational to maintaining balance and harmony in all of the body’s daily functions.
The liver is the processing center for virtually everything that comes into your body, whether through the skin, the nose, or the mouth.
The Liver’s Job Description:
· Processing fat and protecting the pancreas
· Glucose and glycogen storage
· Vitamin and mineral storage
· Disarming and detaining harmful materials
· Screening and filtering blood
· Guarding us with its own personalized immune system
· Creating and dispensing bile; the body’s alkaline solution that aids in digestion and breaking down fat
FAT and the Liver
Fat is one of the most important health topics out there today, but few understand the impact of fat on the liver.
Good fat, bad fat, high fat, low fat, nonfat, saturated fat, unsaturated fat, trans fat, omega fatty acids – it’s enough to make a sane health-seeker – NUTS!
It is the liver’s job to process fat. When we eat fat, the liver produces bile to break it down and deliver it to our body as an energy source.
The theory behind a high-fat, low-carb diet, is to “starve” the body of glucose, which is the natural sugar contained in fruits and vegetables, thus forcing the body to use fat as energy instead of sugar. This sounds good in theory, but starving the body of glucose has long range damaging consequences.
The liver, the brain, and every cell in the human body need glucose to survive. Everything we eat, with the exception of fat, turns to sugar in the body. When we choose to “starve” the body of natural glucose, we are weakening the effectiveness of our livers and brains. And, we are overtaxing an already over loaded vital organ of the body.
When high levels of fat are consumed daily, the liver must work hard to produce sufficient levels of bile to deal with excess fat consumption. Over time this begins to weaken the liver, especially because the liver is already trying to deal with a toxic environment, chemically enhanced foods, pharmaceuticals and supplements.
Think of your kitchen sink after you’ve served a high-fat meal and begin to rinse the dishes. Notice how you need very hot water and a strong astringent dish soap to wash the grease off the pots and pans and out of the sink. This is the same with the liver and fat.
When the liver is overloaded with fat to the point it can’t keep up with sufficient bile production to dissolve it, fat becomes ‘sludge’ in the blood making it thick and dirty. Excessive fatty sludge in the bloodstream coats vital organs and blocks their ability to receive glucose which is essential to nourish every cell in the body.
So in the light of these facts – does a high-fat, low carb diet sound like a good idea?
“Good” Fats
The body does need small amounts of healthy fat for balanced health. Healthy fat sources are; avocadoes, nuts, seeds, olives and certain oils (such as olive, coconut, and hempseed), coconut meat, coconut milk and some varieties of wild-caught fish.
Sautéing vegetables in a small amount of broth or water rather than oil is a great way to enjoy delicious veggies, while keeping your meals liver friendly. Cooking with oil – all oils – even ‘healthy’ ones at high temperatures causes the oil to become carcinogenic.
For a healthy, happy liver, it is best to aim for a diet composed of 15 percent or less of these healthy fat sources.
“Good” Carbohydrates
Healthy carbohydrates come from fruit and vegetables. It is best to stay away from processed carbohydrates such as bread, tortillas and pasta as much as possible.
The Healthy – Happy Liver Diet
Here is the liver-safe formula for fat consumption; fifteen percent healthy fats, ample fruits, leafy greens, vegetables, potatoes, squash, small amounts of legumes, beans, and whole organic grains.
Here are the liver-loving fruits and vegetables you need to strengthen and heal your liver, and maintain optimal health and longevity.
Liver-Loving Fruits that HEAL!
Apples
Provide living water to support the liver’s hydration capabilities, so it can store the water and then release it back into the bloodstream when dehydration or dirty blood syndrome occurs. The fruit acids in apples help cleanse the liver by dispersing toxic films that build up inside its storage banks. Apples starve out bacteria, yeast, mold, other funguses and viruses from the intestinal tract and liver. Great for dissolving gallstones.
Apricots
High in easily assimilated vitamin A that protect the liver from cell damage. Also contains beneficial copper that can bond to toxic coppers inside the liver and carry it out to be eliminated. High in antioxidants that help prevent aging.
Bananas
For whatever reason, bananas have been given a bad rap by some health practitioners. This is too bad, because the liver loves the fructose in bananas. Bananas sooth the intestinal tract and are one of the most antibacterial, anti-yeast, antifungal foods. They are great to take with supplements as they help the liver absorb nutrients.
Berries
Loaded with antioxidants that help the liver cells from becoming infected and affected by toxins and pathogens. All berries, including raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries, stop the liver from oxidizing when saturated with toxic heavy metals and poisons. The pigments in berries that give them that red, purple and blue color are beneficial as anti-inflammatories, anti-viral and anti-cancer benefits.
Cherries
Cherries’ deep red pigment is rich in antioxidant flavonoids that help degrease the liver and disperse sticky, glue-like toxins out of the liver. Full of anthocyanins; a class of compounds with antioxidant effects that fight free radicals and offer anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-cancer benefits.
Dates
Dates are a great source of glucose for the liver. It helps the liver detox the intestinal tract from the buildup of mucus due to dairy consumption and low hydrochloric acid. When mucus builds up the liver becomes sluggish and slows down bile production which hinders nutrients from entering into the bloodstream. Dates help to expel and eliminate mucus, especially those produced by pathogens such as bacteria and fungus from the colon.
Figs
Figs are easily digestible so the liver doesn't have to work hard to enjoy their benefits. Figs bind to and expel nearly every type of pathogen (a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease) and toxin in the intestinal tract – which means less poison heading to the liver to process.
Grapes
The high sugar content in grapes revitalizes the liver; increasing the liver’s performance in every one of the thousands of chemical functions it performs. Their unique fruit acid dissolves gallstones and is highly beneficial in many of the body’s necessary functions. There is NO concern with consuming calories from grapes the benefits far outweigh the high sugar content many fear and vilify.
Kiwi
Kiwis provide nutrients the liver relies on. Their unique composition and seeds lend to dissolving gallstones by creating divots and pits inside the stones, weakening them and causing them to break apart and be eliminated.
Lemons & Limes
Improve hydrochloric acid (digestive stomach acid) and bile production and potency; breaking down pathogens of mold, yeast and fungus, increasing the liver’s immune system. High in natural calcium and vitamin C, both enter the liver and awaken a sluggish, stagnant liver, helping loosen and disperse fat cells. Lemons and limes clean up dirty blood, improve glucose absorption and help to protect the pancreas.
Mangos
Cools a toxic, overheated liver, nurturing the liver lobules and strengthening the cells. They build the liver’s immune system and while destroying pockets of bacteria that create liver abscesses. Anti-aging benefits and improves bile production.
Melons
Bile is not necessary to break down and digest melons. So this gives the liver a break and allows it to work on other more pressing needs. Melons are powerful in helping the liver because they hydrate the blood and help alleviate the liver’s overburdened state by hydrating the body. Melons are nutrient rich and thin out dirty, toxic, fat-filled blood, even giving the heart a break from its hard work. They flush toxins out of the intestinal tract with ease and rebuild hydrochloric acid reserves in the stomach.
Oranges and Tangerines
Full of natural calcium and vitamin C, they nourish and wake up the liver and have the ability to uproot and disperse sludge and sediment that settles in the gallbladder.
Papayas
Papayas are naturally anti-inflammatory and help soothe inflamed nerves in the intestinal tract. This helps improve nutrient absorption into the bloodstream heading to the liver and helps the liver become more agile and versatile to function at its optimum.
Peaches and Nectarines
The skin of peaches and nectarines have the ability to adhere to toxins and poisons inside the intestinal tract. Their skin clings to old pockets of debris, mucus, petrified food inside the small intestine and colon driving it out to make room for nurturing microorganisms allowing for better nutrient absorption. Their unique composition of fruit acid and mineral salts and sugars, along with an astringent phytochemical compound close to the pit, allows for rejuvenation close to the liver’s inner core.
Pears – Excellent for the overburdened liver
Pears are like an emergency nutrient blast to livers that are agitated from overwork, inflamed, stagnant, or fatty. Pears have the unique ability to calm the liver down in such a way it can take a break and cool down, coming off autopilot for a much needed break. Eating pears is the best way to handle a liver in crisis, allowing the organ time to heal and rejuvenate.
Pineapple
Easily digestible, dissolves gallstones, dispenses degreasing agents to clean up sticky debris helping to detox the liver of mucus and toxic sludge.
Pitaya or Dragon Fruit – Especially red flesh variety
The red pigment in the red-fleshed variety of pitaya is a rejuvenator for the liver, bringing cells back to life. It helps the liver produce cells faster so regeneration of the liver can occur. It slows down and stops liver aging by caring for its deep, inner core. Look for packs of frozen red pitaya in the frozen section of your health food store. You may also find it online, seek out pure pitaya powder.
Pomegranates
Contain anthocyanins (antioxidant flavonoids) to help rejuvenate liver cells at the same time that its astringent fruit acid helps dissolve gallstones. Cleansing blood vessel passages and promotes better blood flow through the veins of the liver.