In the last post we discussed ramping up the fat intake as the single best way to hurry the low-carb or keto adaptation along.  I didn’t mention it in the previous post, but another little secret is to keep an eye on the protein intake. Too much protein will prevent the shift into ketoses because the liver will convert some of the protein into glucose – this glucose will then be used first and slow down the ketogenic process.  Which, if course, prompts the question, how much protein is too much?  As long as you’re getting your protein from meat, especially fatty cuts of meat, you’re probably okay.  If you go for the extremely lean cuts of meat, say, skinless chicken breasts, or if you are supplementing your diet with low-fat protein shakes, you could have a little more trouble low-carb adapting.  If you’re going the shake route, I would recommend you add some coconut oil to the shakes for a couple of reasons.  First, you’ll hasten the keto-adaptation, and, second, the fat it coconut oil will help remove the fat from your liver (which I’ll discuss more later in this post).

A glass of Tinto de Verano pictured at left. A great way to hydrate. (See note at bottom of post.)

As I said, you need to really crank up the fat intake to push yourself over the adaptation divide as quickly as possible.  If you don’t like fatty cuts of meat, you can add a little medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) to your diet.  MCT are absorbed more like carbohydrates and are used quickly by the body.  They are almost never incorporated into the fat cells, so they burn quickly, and any extra that might be hanging around are converted to ketones.  So, MCT will drive the ketone production process.  And so will coconut oil if you prefer that.

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A little over two years ago I wrote a post on Pentabosol, a weight-loss supplement we and our research partner developed and made available for a number of years.  In that post I mentioned that MD and I were contemplating actively marketing Pentabosol again.  We reformulated the product and changed its name to Metabosol, but our timing was all wrong because at about the same time, we wound up launching our SousVide Supreme project as well.  Never having been in the appliance business, we had not even the most minimal idea as to how much time that venture was going to take.  As a consequence, the weight-loss product project took a back seat and more or less fell between the cracks.  Now that things on the sous vide front requiring our direct attention have slowed down a bit (for us, not for the company) we decided to turn our attention to the nutritional supplement and made an annoying (to us) discovery that may benefit you. (More about which later.) In case you don’t go back and read the old post, let me quickly review the Pentabosol (Metabosol) story.

Pentabosol

NOTE: DUE TO OVERWHELMING DEMAND, WE HAVE JUST RUN OUT OF ALL OF OUR SUPPLIES OF METABOSOL.  THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST.

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My last blog post reviewed a book by Dr. Michael Holick, one of the world’s experts on vitamin D, who recommends sensible sun exposure to experience the benefits of adequate vitamin D.  In that post I touched on the idiotic extremes the dermatology mainstream have adopted to discourage people from spending time in the sun.

It’s worse than I thought.

Not long after posting, I came across a McClatchy column in our local paper pushing the perspective of most dermatologists, a perspective that’s so unbelievable that it almost reaches comedic proportions. (Our local paper requires paid registration, so I’ve linked here to a paper that doesn’t.) The piece serves to show in spades the way dermatologists think (if that’s what you call it), and lets us know why their advice should be taken with a huge grain of salt.

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“If I had to give you a single secret ingredient that could apply to the prevention — and treatment, in many cases — of heart disease, common cancers, stroke, infectious diseases from influenza to tuberculosis, type 1 and 2 diabetes, dementia, depression, insomnia, muscle weakness, joint pain, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, and hypertension, it would be this: vitamin D.”

During the whirlwind that has been my life of late, I managed to make my way through Dr. Michael Holick’s terrific book The Vitamin D Solution from which the above quote comes.  Before I get started on my review, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve got to tell you that of all the books I’ve reviewed on this blog since its inception, this is the first and only one that I’ve been sent gratis by the publisher.  It was strange how it came about.  I learned of this book long before it was published and had pre-ordered it through Amazon.  A few weeks or so after my pre-order, I received an email from the publisher’s PR agent for this book asking if I would like a pre-publication copy for possible review.  I sure would, said I, and promptly canceled my Amazon order.

I’ve been a fan of Dr. Holick’s for years now, reading every paper he publishes, which is a considerable job given his prolific output.  I’ve corresponded with him a time or two on a few issues and he has always been very generous with his advice.  I consider him THE authority on vitamin D.  So, I was eager to dig into his book.

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I’m going to reveal the only medical problem I have (at least that I know of) other than the propensity toward obesity when I eat too many carbs.  I’m going to explain how the direct response business works.  I’m going to talk about the problems direct marketers have in dealing with our servants in Washington. And I’m going to tell you how you can get the best nutritional supplement I’ve ever seen in action absolutely free.  How’s that for a pleiotropic post?

First the medical problem.  I’ll reveal it in true AA fashion.

I am a GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disorder) sufferer.

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