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Body Scan Meditation: Benefits and Script

Body scan meditation is a type of mindfulness meditation where you focus your awareness on sensations in your body.

By strategically paying attention to sensations in different areas of your body, you tune into the places where you unconsciously hold stress. By being with the stress in the body you expand your “window of tolerance”, or your ability to be with and release latent physical and emotional tension.

At first this may all sound a little mysterious, but it all makes experiential sense once you give it a try. Read on for a body scan meditation script that can help you reconnect with yourself from the body out, right now!

Benefits of Body Scan Meditation

Body scan meditation is a type of meditation in the mindfulness tradition. The benefits of mindfulness are numerous and supported by over 1000 clinical studies.

Mindfulness activities provide numerous positive benefits including:

Stress reduction [1]
Anxiety reduction [2]
Reduced depression
Increased awareness of habits and ability to choose healthy habits [3] [4] [5]
More creativity in better problem-solving skills [6]
Improved attention and memory [7]
Reduces age-related memory loss [8]
Enhanced attention, memory, and mental quickness in older people [9]
Increased compassion for self and others [10]
Improved control over alcohol, drug, and food cravings [11] [12]
Better sleep [13]
Reduction in physical pain [14] [15]
Reduced blood pressure. [16]
Reduced inflammation [17]
Reduced severity of irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, and fibromyalgia [18] [19] [20]

A 2019 study suggests that many of the identified benefits in the mindfulness literature are attributed to interoception and its neurological correlates. Interoception is the perception of sensations from inside the body [21] [22]

Body Scan Meditation Script

Start by finding a comfortable position to rest your body. The ideal position is lying flat on your back, but you can also sit in a chair. The key is comfort. But you can also do this practice when standing–such as when waiting in line.
Allow your eyes to close. Or if you prefer you can keep your eyes open and resting with a soft gaze.
Inhale deeply through your nose, then exhale long and slowly. See if you can exhale for twice as long as each inhale. Try counting if that helps.
Notice where you feel your breath in your body. This could be your nostrils, your throat, your chest, your abdomen. Can you feel the subtle rise and fall of your breath in your entire body?
Notice any sounds in the room. Stay with those sounds for a bit, allowing your awareness to meet them directly.
Then slowly, gently, shift your awareness to your feet. Feel your awareness traveling inside your body.
Notice any sensations in your feet. If you’re having difficulty feeling your feet, wiggle your toes. Feel the sensation of your feet against the texture of your socks.
Once your notice sensations in the counterpart of your feet, shift your awareness more deeply into your feet, all the way into the bones. If you can’t go deeper, that’s fine. This is also a good time to notice any judgment that might come up. See if you can notice any sensations in your body that correspond with judgment showing up. Maybe its a heat, or a tightness. Simply notice without attempting to change it. Can you find a little curiosity for these sensations?
When you feel like you’ve got the hang of noticing the sensations in your feet, gently bring your awareness to your ankles. See how deep you can bring your awareness. Then slowly allow our awareness to travel to your calves, then your knees, and thighs.
Now feel your entire left leg, right leg, then both at once.
Notice your breath. Is it tight? Is it easy? Is it deep? Simply noticing what’s there without trying to change it.
It’s natural for your mind to wander. Notice how your thoughts endlessly arise and pass away. Then gently shift your awareness back to the sensations in your legs.
Do you notice any pain or stiffness? Any heat, twitches, or tension? Just noticing, not trying to change or relieve it. Just being with the sensations as they are.
Notice how the sensations arise, change, and pass away. Noticing these sensations, you’re learning how to let your body take the lead. Your job is just to notice the sensations as they arise. Returning to the sensations in the body whenever you get distracted.
Meditation is the act of returning your awareness to the sensations, not just holding it there. It’s the coming back that matters.
Now allow your awareness to travel to your bottom, and your lower back, from the pelvic floor up to your waist.
Notice any clenching in this region. Allow your anus to relax. This might seem funny at first, but the term “tight ass” is popular for a reason. Many of us are constantly clenched with stress and tension.
Notice any sensations in this region as they arise, change, and pass away.
Check in again with your breath. Is it tight, is it free, is it deep? Just noticing without judgment.
Allow your awareness to travel up your mid-back and upper back. Can you allow your awareness to drop down into your organs–your kidneys? Can you notice the sensation of your spine, one vertebra at a time?
Become curious about the sensations here: there may be heat, tension, pressure, tingling, or even an absence of feeling. Just be curious about whatever shows up.
Notice any opinions about these sensations, any judgments, and even emotions. Notice them with curiosity and compassion, then return to the sensations in the body.
Now bring your awareness to the chest, ribs, heart, and lungs. Notice the sensations of your chest rising with each breath, notice the beating of your heart.
If emotions come up, greet them with an energy of allowance.
Allow your awareness to travel to your fingers, from your fingernails all the way up each hand, to your wrist, forearms, elbows, biceps, triceps, all the way down into the bones of your arms, then up to your shoulders. Simply noticing any sensations that are there.
Spend some time noticing the sensations in our shoulders, upper back, and neck. Noticing any tightness of breath here. These areas can hold a lot of tension. Can you simply be with the sensations? Noticing how they change, even if they become uncomfortable–can you tolerate the discomfort, just observing.
Now shift your awareness to your neck, throat, jaw. Now up to your ears, and drop down into your inner ears. Now your nose, cheekbones, eye sockets, eyeballs. Notice any tension lingering in your eyeballs. Sometimes when we focus inside we build tension in our eyes.
Let your awareness travel up to your forehead, up the back of your neck, all the way up to the crown of your skull. Notice your breath, maybe you want to deepen your breath, adding an extra-long exhale.
Now let your attention expand out to include your entire body as a whole. Just noticing the sensations arising and changing everywhere.
See if you can sweep your awareness from the top of your head down through your entire body to the tips of your toes.
Inhale deeply, exhale fully, slowly three times.
When you’re ready, gently release your focus on the interior and let it surface back into the experience of interaction with the world.
As you become fully alert and awake, you may want to set an intention that this practice of building tolerance and focus will benefit everyone you come in contact with today.

Body Scan Meditation TIps

Practice this body scan meditation whenever you feel stressed. You can even do a subtle version with eyes open when sitting in traffic as long as you don’t lose focus on the road. It is good practice to notice what’s going on inside of you and outside of you at the same time.

If you’re short on time, you can do an abbreviated version wherever you are simply by noticing any places in your body where you hold tension, then taking long deep breaths with extra-long exhales.

You can make this body scan meditation part of a regimen of beneficial mindfulness practices including lovingkindness meditation, visualization practices, meditation for stress and anxiety, gratitude practices, and movement meditations like yoga.

Body Scan Meditation: The Takeaway

Body scan meditations utilize interoception, or your ability to perceive your body from the inside. Interoception activates brain regions associated with emotional regulation, stress relief, reduced addictive behaviors among numerous other cognitive and physical benefits.

You can learn helpful strategies to make meditation a daily practice here.

Balanced diet nutrition, healthy eating concept. Food sources rich in vitamin B12, cobalamin on a kitchen table. Top view flat lay background

Top 9 Most Nutrient Dense Foods on Earth

February 5, 2022/in Foods Carnivore Diet Foods, Keto Foods, Nutrients, Superfoods /by Liam McAuliffe

Like most dietary topics, identifying the most nutrient dense foods on earth is subject to bias and misinformation. There are nutrient-dense food lists out there that rank potatoes and garlic among their top 10, which is simply ludicrous!

Nutrient density means the combination of essential macronutrients (fat and protein), along with an array of vitamins, and minerals per calorie. The truth is that the most nutrient dense foods all come from animal sources. Full stop.

If you want to make your calories count towards your nutrition goals, this list is the place to start.

Let’s dive in.

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1. Beef Liver

Beef liver comes in at number one on our list of most nutrient dense foods. Commonly referred to as “nature’s multivitamin,” a 3.5 ounce serving of beef liver exceeds many of the minimum recommended daily intake of numerous hard-to-get nutrients. It’s also a rich source of protein.

Let’s take a look at some of the key nutrients found in abundance in beef liver:

Heme Iron

Found only in red meat, heme iron is vital for many physiological functions. It plays an essential role in the formation of red blood cells, energy metabolism, immune function, cognitive ability, and fertility [1] [2] [3] [4]. The heme iron in red meat is far more easily absorbed and used by your body than the non-heme iron in plant foods [5].

Nucleic Acids

Your body produces nucleic acid on it’s own, but its ability to do so decreases with age. And when the body is stressed, there can be greater demand for nucleic acids than the body can generate.

Though you won’t find nucleic acids on a nutrition label, Beef liver contains uniquely high amounts [8].

Nucleic acids in food can contribute to numerous health benefits, including [9]:

Strengthening the immune system
Improved digestion
Expedited muscle recovery
Reduction in oxidative stress and inflammation
Metabolic regulation

B Vitamins

Beef liver is rich in B vitamins that may help you stay energized and lose weight. These vitamins are known as lipotropic, or fat-liberating. Research shows that the B vitamins found in liver can support the health of your own liver. [10]

Beef liver an excellent source of the B vitamin folate, critical for healthy fetal development. [11]

Liver Enzymes

Yet another example of the like-supports-like concept of organ meats is the cytochrome P450 found in liver. Cytochrome P450 is an important family of liver enzymes that assist with hormone production, detoxification, and the overall health of your own liver. [11]

Carotenoids

Beef liver is one of the worlds richest sources of vitamin A. In fact, there is so much vitamin A in liver that it should be consumed in limited quantities, and not every day. This vitamin comes in various forms including b-carotene and preformed A. They are essential for maintaining healthy skin and vision [12][13].

Beef Liver
Based on 100 grams
Calories	135
Fat	3.6g
Protein	20.4g
Net Carbs	3.9g
Vitamins		%Daily Value
Vitamin A Vitamin B6 Vitamin B12 Thiamine Riboflavin Niacin Folate Choline Vitamin C Vitamin D Vitamin K	4968μg 1mg 59.3μg 0.2mg 2.8mg 13.2mg 290μg 333.3mg 1.3mg 1.2μg 3.1μg	552% 84% 2471% 13% 163% 66% 73% 61% 3% 8% 3%
MINERALS
Iron Magnesium Phosphorus Zinc Copper Manganese Selenium	4.9mg18mg 387mg 4mg 9.8mg 0.3mg 39.7μg	62%6% 39% 27% 488% 16% 57%

2. Oysters

These mighty bi-valves are some of the most nutrient dense and beneficial foods on earth. The nutrient profile of oysters makes them a food that can:

Reduce oxidation
Support fertility
Improve body composition

Oysters are remarkably rich in vitamin D, zinc, and selenium, three hard-to-get nutrients that work in synergy to support a healthy immune function [15].

Adequate vitamin D intake has been found to reduce the risk of respiratory infection by up to 70% [14]. Not getting enough D3 from diet and sunlight may result in various negative symptoms including depression, multiple sclerosis, and an impaired immune response. While studies show that vitamin D3 can help you fight viral infections including Covid-19 [15][16][17].

A 3.5 ounces serving of oysters provides many hard-to-get vitamins and minerals

RAW OYSTER CALORIES	68 CALORIES	% RDV
PROTEIN	7 grams	8%
FAT	2.5 grams	1%
CARBS	3.9 grams	4%
VITAMIN D	320 IU	80%
VITAMIN B1	0.1 mg	7%
VITAMIN B3	1.4 mg	7%
VITAMIN B12	19.5 mcg	324%
IRON	6.7 mg	37%
MAGNESIUM	47 mg	12%
PHOSPHORUS	135 mg	14%
ZINC	90.8 mg	605%
COPPER	4.5 mg	223%
MANGANESE	0.4 mg	18%
SELENIUM	63.7 mcg	91%

3. Salmon Roe

Salmon eggs are one of the earth’s most nutrient-dense superfoods. Salmon roe is loaded with highly bioavailable vitamins A, B, D, and K2, zinc, iodine.

They’re also a great source of omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, which have been shown to support healthy brain function [18].

The abundance of nutrients in salmon roe including robust amount of B12, selenium, along with vitamin D, and E all contribute to various health benefits including:

Neuroprotection
Healthy infant brain development
Supports male and female fertility
Increased cognitive performance
Mood support
Reduced inflammation
Supports heart health
Antioxidant properties
Supports healthy immune function.

You can explore salmon roe’s superfood benefits in-depth here.

Salmon Roe nutrition per 100g

NUTRIENTS	AMOUNT
CALORIES	250 kcal
CARBOHYDRATE	2.90 g
FIBER	0 g
SUGARS	0 g
FAT	14.0 g
SATURATED FAT	2.04 g
MONOUNSATURATED FAT	4.13 g
POLYUNSATURATED FAT	4.12 g
OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS	3.50 g
OMEGA-6 FATTY ACIDS	0.31 g
PROTEIN	29.20 g
VITAMINS
COBALAMIN (B12)	20.0 mcg	333 %
VITAMIN E	10mg	66%
VITAMIN D	232 IU	58 %
CHOLINE	247.5 mg	45 %
PANTOTHENIC ACID (B5)	3.50 mg	35 %
VITAMIN C	16 mg	26 %
RIBOFLAVIN (B2)	0.36 mg	21.2 %
PYRIDOXINE (B6)	0.32 mg	16.0 %
VITAMIN E	2.68 mg	13.3 %
FOLATE	50.0 mcg	12.5 %
VITAMIN A	91 mcg RAE	10.1 %
THIAMIN (B1)	0.14 mg	9.3 %
NIACIN (B3)	0.40 mg	2.0 %
Selenium	65.5 mcg	93.6%
Magnesium	300 mg	75%
Iron	11.88 mg	66%
Sodium	1500 mg	62.5%
Phosphorus	390 mg	39%
Calcium	275 mg	27.5%

4. Ribeye Steak

Ribeye steaks are one of the most popular cuts of steak due to their tender juicy texture and rich flavor. And they happen to be one of the most nutrient dense foods on earth.

If you’re practicing a carnivore or ketogenic diet the ribeye is one of the fattiest cuts of keto meats here.

In addition to robust protein and nourishing fats, ribeye also provides robust amounts of B vitamins, zinc, selenium, and beneficial compounds only found in meat. compounds.

These meat-specific compounds include:

Carnitine: supports male fertility, reduces anemia, improves mitochondrial function, and supports heart heath [19]
Taurine: An antioxidant that can reduce glycation, reduce oxidative stress, and significant improvements in overall mental health [21].
Carnosine: Supports and protects healthy heart and skeletal muscle. Reduces glycation, and protects against damage to telomeres–therby providing anti-aging benefits. [20]
Creatine: Associated with improved cognition and neuroprotection. Enhances athletic performance, and heart health [22].

NUTRIENT	200G (7 OZ)
CALORIES	582 cal
FAT	55g
SATURATED FAT	20g
MONOUNSATURATED FAT
CARBOHYDRATES	0
PROTEIN	48g
VITAMINS
B1 (THIAMIN)	14%
B2 (RIBOFLAVIN)	35%
B3 (NIACIN)	44%
B6	60%
B12	245%
MINERALS
MAGNESIUM	12%
POTASSIUM	18%
IRON	31%
COPPER	33%
PHOSPHORUS	42%
SELENIUM	93%
ZINC	113%

5. Anchovies

Anchovies are a nutrient dense food loaded with B3 and selenium and hard-to-get copper.

B3 plays an important role in turning the food you eat into useable energy. Selenium supports heart health and is crucial to healthy thyroid function [23] [24]

Fatty fish provide more omega-3 eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) than most other fish including salmon.

When combined with selenium, Omega-3 can help prevent tumor growth and is used to treat various types of cancer [25] [26] [27].

Anchovies (Wild)	Amount per 3 oz.	% RDA
Fat	15.9g
Saturated Fat	128g
Cholesterol	61mg
Protein	28g
Vitamins
Vitamin D	103.5IU	16.5%
Vitamin K	18µg	15%
Vitamin B12	1.4µg	56%
B3	30mg	186%
B6	.3mg	24%
B2	.6mg	42%
B5	1.4mg	27%
Choline	128mg	23%

Significant Minerals
Selenium	102µg	186%
Zinc	3.6mg	26%
Potassium	816mg	21%
Calcium	348mg	38%
Iron	6.9mg	39%
Copper	.4mg	57%

6. Beef Kidney

Beef kidney is an ultra-nutrient dense organ meat. Highlights include over 1000% of your B12 intake per serving, along with robust amounts of selenium, heme iron, and an important balance of copper and zinc.

In a demonstration of the like-supports-like properties of organ meats, kidney provides a rare amino acid L-ergothioneine, that promotes kidney health [28]. Kidney also offers the rare amino-acid Ergothioneine, known to support fertility [29].

The nutrient density of kidney made it a popular food among Inuit tribes. Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson wrote, “The kidneys are usually given to children, somewhat as if they were candy” [30].

Kidney is also known for the special highly saturated fat surrounding it called suet [31]. This fat is high in stearic acid which has been shown to help reduce body fat and improve mitochondrial function [31].

Beef Kidney: Raw
Based on 100 grams
Calories	99
Fat	3.1g
Protein	17.4g
Net Carbs	0.3g
VITAMINS		%Daily Value
Vitamin AVitamin A IU Thiamine Riboflavin Niacin Folate Vitamin B6 Vitamin B12 Vitamin C Vitamin D Vitamin D IU Vitamin D3 Vitamin E	419μg1397IU 0.4mg 2.8mg 8mg 98μg 0.7mg 27.5μg 9.4mg 1.1μg 45IU 1.1μg 0.2mg	47%– 24% 168% 41% 25% 52% 1146% 16% 8% – – 2%
MINERALS
CalciumIron Magnesium Phosphorus Zinc Copper Manganese Selenium Retinol Lycopene	13mg4.6mg 17mg 257mg 1.9mg 0.4mg 0.1mg 141μg 419μg 20μg	2%58% 5% 26% 13% 22% 8% 202% – –

7. Pork Belly

Pork belly is one of the most affordable highly nutrient dense foods. It comes from the same place on the pig as bacon, but it’s not cured or smoked, so it doesn’t have nitrites.

In addition to nourishing and satiating fats, including omega-3s and whole food proteins, pork belly provides significant amounts of many B vitamins and selenium [32]

PORK BELLY NUTRITIONAL CONTENT PER 224G	AMOUNT	% RDA
FAT	89g
SATURATED FAT	32g
MONOUNSATURATED FAT	42g
POLYUNSATURATED FAT	9g
OMEGA 3 ALA	900mg	100%
Protein	20g
CHOLINE	113mg	21%
VITAMIN B12	1.8mcg	75%
PANTOTHENIC ACID (B5)	2.5mg	50%
NIACIN (B3)	9mg	56%
RIBOFLAVIN (B2)	.4mg	32%
THIAMIN (B1	.7mg	56%
COPPER	.2mg	22%
PHOSPHOROUS	300mg	24%
SELENIUM	23mcg	42%
ZINC	1.7mg	16%
VITAMIN D	1.8mcg	9%
IRON	.9mg	5%

8. Lamb

Like the other nutrient dense meats on this list, lamb provides a rich profile of healthy fats, protiens, vitamins, and minerals.

Some of these vital nutrients and their roles include:

Vitamin B12: essential to healthy brain function and blood formation
Zinc: used in the synthesis of numerous hormones including testosterone
Glutathione: An antioxidant shown to reduce insulin resistance, oxidative damage in children with autism, risk of autoimmune disease, and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease [33].
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Found in greater abundance in lamb than any other meat. CLA is a healthy trans fat (not the kind you find in vegetable oils and margarine). CLA supports the immune system, bone strength, heart health, and fat loss [34].

Nutrition information per 4 oz.

Lamb Chops/Rack
Nutrients per 4 oz	Amount	% RDA
Fat	22g
Saturated Fat	11g
Trans Fat (CLA)	1.5g
Cholesterol	92mg
Protein	30g
B12	1.7µg	72%
B3	8.9mg	56%
B6	.6mg	46%
B2 (RIboflavin)	.4mg	28%
B5	.7mg	13%
B1	.2mg	13%
Selenium	15.2µg	28%
Zinc	3.3mg	23%
Phosphorus	216 mg	22%
Copper	.1mg	15%
Iron	2.4mg	13%

9. Eggs

Eggs are an ultra convenient, ultra nutrient dense food. They offer a fantastic balance of healthy fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

The choline content of eggs also makes them great for women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant [35]

Nutrients	100 grams (appx 2 eggs)	%Daily Value
Calories	140
Fat	10	16% (Not on Ketogenic Diet
Protein	12
Vitamins and Minerals
Retinol (vitamin A)	98mcg	12%
Riboflavin	0.4mg	33%
Thiamin	0.05mg	5%
Vitamin B6	0.02mg	2%
Vitamin B12	0.33mcg	100%
Biotin	5.2mcg	17%
Folate	88mcg	30%
Vitamin D	7.9mcg	30%
Vitamin E	1.9mg	30%
Pantothenic acid	1.07mg	22%
Potassium	131mg	3.5%
Magnesium	12mg	3%
Phosphorus	171mg	25%
Iron	1.8mg	Men (23%) Women (10%)
Selenium	28mcg	50%
Zinc	1.0mg	10%
Iodine	47mcg	33%

The Most Nutrient Dense Foods: The Takeaway

The most nutrient dense foods on earth offer robust blend of fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, along with rare amino acids and peptides.

Many of these foods are the center of nose-to-tail ancestral diets. The rich array of fat soluble vitamins in these animal whole foods is likely a factor in the robust health and absence of disease that pioneering dietician and dentist Weston A. Price first identified in ancestral diets nearly 100 years ago.

Top 8 Intermittent Fasting Tips to Help You Thrive

January 31, 2022/in Tips intermittent fasting /by Liam McAuliffe

Intermittent fasting is one of the most popular current health trends. With every tweet about intermittent fasting from celebrities who swear by it including Jennifer Aniston, Hugh Jackman, Gisele Bundchen, and Kourtney Kardashian, thousands of more people are motivated to give IF a try. So whether you’re new to IF, or looking to tweak your existing approach, these intermittent fasting tips and tricks can set you on the right path, without relying on a fancy personal nutritionist.

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What is Intermittent Fasting?

Put simply, intermittent fasting means cycling between periods of eating and not eating.

The reasoning behind it is that this way of eating mimics ancestral eating patterns. When we eat in alignment with the way our bodies evolved for millions of years, we can optimize our health and wellbeing.

The benefits of intermittent fasting may include [1][2][3][4]:

Lowers and regulates blood sugar
Reduced cholesterol and triglycerides
human growth hormone stimulation
Stem cell activation and cellular repair
Reduced inflammation
Increased longevity
mindful eating
fat burning and weight loss

1. Experiment with Different Intermittent Fasting Schedules

There are various intermittent fasting schedules to choose from, depending on your individual metabolic needs along with your activity levels.

Some people jump right into more restrictive approaches like the OMAD diet (One Meal a Day) and thrive on it. While others take a graduated approach.

The key tip here is to bring in some curiosity and give yourself some time to figure out the method that’s right for you. The simple act of paying attention to your dietary habits and the way your body responds is itself a big step towards reclaiming your metabolic health.

If you’re the type of person that likes to test the water before diving into the deep end, try a circadian rhythm fast that synchronizes your eating with your internal body clock.

Here’s a rundown of some of the most popular intermittent fasting methods listed from least to most intense:

Circadian Rhythm Fasting

Circadian rhythm fasting calls for eating only during the daylight hours when our bodily functions like digestion and metabolism are most active. It often entails eating two large satiating meals each day, one mid-morning, and the second just before sundown.

Brunch Fast (AKA 12-14 Hour Fast)

This gentle fast may be more suitable for women since women are more susceptible to hormone imbalances as a result of caloric restriction. The brunch fast entails 12-14 hours of fasting. The first meal is usually a late breakfast or brunch.

If you’re a woman interested in intermittent fasting we recommend reading more here.

16/8 Fasting

16/8 fasting usually entails skipping breakfast and eating within an 8 hour period. 11-7 p.m. is a common eating window, outside of which you fast for 16 hours.

Eat Stop Eat

The Eat Stop Eat approach to intermittent fasting entails not eating for 24 hours once or twice a week. But as you can see this doesn’t mean skipping an entire day of the week–so it’s less intense than alternate day fasting.

OMAD Fasting

OMAD is the acronym for One Meal A Day. Most people who go OMAD take their meal shortly after sunset, or more generally in the evening. Though others prefer one large meal around noon.

2. Make Sure You’re Eating Enough

Intermittent fasting is not necessarily about restricting calories. In fact, the weight loss benefits come from a combination of reduced snacking, better food choices, and improved metabolic function. In fasted states, the body can begin to metablize fat into energy molecules known as ketones.

Most adults need around 2000 high quality calories per day to thrive. If you’re eating the standard American diet, you’re likely used to spreading these calories out over three meals of low-nutrient foods with snacks in between.

For many people, it can feel like a challenge to fit your caloric needs into a smaller eating window, especially when eating only one or two meals a day.

Keep in mind that consuming too few calories can damage your immune system, slow your thyroid, and make losing weight more difficult [4][5]. These issues are exaggerated for athletes and people who already have trouble keeping weight on.

This is where choosing what to eat during intermittent fasting can be as important as when to eat.

3. Eat Nutrient-Dense and Satiating Foods

Choosing the most nutrient-dense and satiating foods is probably the most important intermittent fasting tip to keep in mind.

The right foods will help you meet your caloric needs within a shorter eating window and with fewer meals. While at the same time these satiating foods will stave off hunger cravings during fasting periods.

The chart below reveals the array of essential nutrients packed into eggs, the best cuts of steak, and liver.

Fatty Meats from Grass-Fed and Pasture-Raised Sources

Start by centering your meals around fatty meats from grass-fed and pasture-raised sources. Meat provides nutrients that you can’t get from other food sources.

You can learn more about the benefits of eating meat here.

Here’s a rundown of the most nutrient dense and satiating foods to eat while intermittent fasting:

Ruminant meat from cows, bison, lamb, and wild game (grass-fed and pasture-raised when possible)
organ meats (try organ meat supplements if fresh organ are unpalatable or hard to find)
Eggs
Butter
Tallow
Low-carb yogurt
Bone broth
Oysters, Salmon roe fatty fish, and other seafood
Low-carb fruit like berries
Properly-prepared low-carb vegetables

Add Healthy Fats

Adding 1-4 tablespoons of healthy fats is an easy and nutritious way to boost your caloric intake. Adding more fat to the last meal of the day can help fuel your body through the night, aiding in better sleep.

Fats have nearly twice as many calories per gram than carbs and protein, so it doesn’t take much to make a large caloric impact.

The medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil can support the process of ketosis where the body breaks down fat for energy when in a fasted state [6].

10 of the healthiest fats you can add to your intermittent fasting regimen are:

Tallow
Lard
Coconut Oil
Ghee
Butter
Cheese
Creme Fraiche
Full Fat Yogurt
Avocado
Olive Oil

4. Plan Meals Ahead of Time

After not eating for extended periods of time it can be tempting to break a fast with snacks and junk food.

This makes sense when considering that studies show that the most addictive foods are loaded with a combination of processed fats and sugars [7].

By planning your meals ahead of time you seed your mind with a clear choice, reducing your need to make choices when your blood sugar is already low. Studies show that “decision fatigue” is influenced by low blood sugar, making it more likely to revert to familiar and even addictive choices. In the case of diet, this can mean falling into the trap of carb addiction [8].

5. Prep your Meals in Advance

The intermittent fasting tip of prepping your meals in advance can be the golden ticket to sustained IF success.

Meal prep saves you time, reduced decision fatigue that can send you spiraling into junk food binges, and ensures that you’ll be getting the nutrients you need to thrive.

6. Stay Hydrated

People often confuse not eating with not drinking. Intermittent fasting is about restricting calories for part of each day, but requires that you drink plenty of non-caloric beverages.

Mineral water, herbal teas, and black coffee are all acceptable answers to the question of what to drink during intermittent fasting.

Studies show that coffee may even enhance your metabolic rate, thereby increasing the fat burning benefits of intermittent fasting [9][10].

When practicing more intense fasts, and when combining fasting and more intensive physical activity, your body can enter into deeper states of ketosis. In these instances, your body will dump fluids as it accesses the glycogen stored in your muscles. This process makes it even more important to rehydrate often with the help of added salt.

7. Combine Intermittent Fasting With Keto

A natural extension of the food suggestions above is to combine intermittent fasting and keto.

A high-fat low-carb diet can reduce hypoglycemic stress and protect against hormone imbalances that can occur over prolonged calorie restriction while promoting greater blood sugar stability.

A 2-meal a day keto and intermittent fasting meal plan can look like this:

8. Combine Intermittent Fasting With Other Healthy Lifestyle Choices

Another powerful intermittent fasting tip has little to do with when and what to eat. Rather, it calls for combining healthy diet and lifestyle can supercharge their combined benefits. Nurturing movement practices like yoga, walking, swimming, meditation, gratitude practrices, visualizations, and daily intentions are all mutually supportive.

True and lasting health and wellness considers nutrition, physical needs, and mental balance.

Intermittent Fasting Tips: The Bottomline

Intermittent fasting is a safe and popular way of restricting your meals times to induce numerous health benefits.

Yet, the most important intermittent fasting tip to remember is that what you eat is as important as when you eat it.

Choosing nourishing and nutrient-dense foods can more completely unlock the benefits of intermittent fasting. An intermittent fasting diet based on whole animal foods aligns your evolutionary physiology with the eating habits that humans evolved to thrive on.

Supporting your intermittent fasting practice with intentional movement, meditation, and positive habits can create a powerful synergy of mind-body health and wellbeing.

Paleo diet concept. Raw ingredients for Paleo diet - fish, seafood, poultry meat, vegetables and fruits and words Paleo Diet on dark background. Top view or flat lay.

Paleo Diet 101: Rules and Foods

January 28, 2022/in Keto, Carnivore, Nutrition Paleo Diet, Paleo Foods /by Liam McAuliffe

The paleo diet attempts to match the foods we eat with our evolutionarily determined nutritional needs. In other words, paleo means eating foods that the human body was designed to eat, while eliminating all other foods.

The paleo diet considers that for nearly all of the 2 million years of human evolution, agriculture and dairy did not exist. In fact, 70% of the foods we eat are products of the agricultural revolution that began only 10,000 years ago [1].

Paleo also considers modern, highly processed industrial foods, as an even more dramatic and unhealthy change from the foods that humans evolved with.

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Paleo Diet Definition

The paleo diet focuses on eating the types of foods presumed to have been eaten by early humans during the paleolithic era. These foods include meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit. It eliminates dairy, grains, legumes, sweeteners, and processed foods.

Origins of the Paleolithic Diet

The paleolithic diet is part of a lineage of diets seeking to recreate the eating patterns of ancient humans in modern life. “Stone Age,” “Caveman”, and Ancestral diets are all terms for variations of the paleolithic diet.

The most recent term and approach, Paleo Diet, was popularized by Colorado State University professor Loren Cordain in his best-selling book.

Tenets of The Paleo Diet

The paleo diet is based on specific tenets that are apparent in the mismatch between modern diets and ancestral diets.

Low Sugar

One of the most important elements of the paleo diet is that it is low in sugar. Eliminating all sweet foods except for fruit is an attempt to mimic eating in ancestral environments where sweet foods were extremely rare.

Diets high in sugar and carbs, like the Standard American Diet, have been shown to contribute to numerous diseases including metabolic disorder, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, neurodegenerative diseases, and numerous other diseases related to chronic inflammation [1][2][3][4][5][6].

Where paleo gets it wrong: Fruit was seasonal for most ancient humans. There would have been long periods of time between relatively brief fruit harvests. Even though fruit is permitted on paleo, eating fruit regularly does not necessarily accord with ancestral eating patterns.

Nutrient Density and Ratios

The paleo diet focuses on what Dr. Cordain and associates view as the most nutrient-dense foods; fruits, vegetables, and lean meats.

For paleo adherents, legumes, potatoes, and grains are not considered vegetables and are therefore eliminated. The reasoning is that they are products of the agricultural revolution and contain various plant toxins and antinutrients that can damage human health.

Where paleo gets it wrong: Organ meats and fatty meats were likely the true primary fuel sources of ancient humans. Paleo’s substitution of fatty meats for lean meats deprives the body of the fuel and fat-soluble vitamins that were crucial to human evolution.

The paleo emphasis on lean meats aligns with outdated and faulty studies suggesting that saturated fat is associated with heart disease. However, a 2020 review of several studies shows that this association is very weak [7].

Calcium/Magnesium

The paleo diet considers that the (Ca2+)/magnesium (Mg2+) ratio in modern humans is more than twice what it should be [8]. This imbalance is due in large part to the consumption of dairy products, which have a 12:1 ratio [9].

Our bodies need magnesium to absorb calcium and to activate vitamin D. An imbalance can lead to various health issues including bone loss, skin disorders, and kidney stones, among others [10][11].

Sodium/Potassium

Paleo recognizes that the Western diet causes people to consume an imbalanced sodium (Na+)/potassium (K+) ratio.

Low potassium and high salt diets increase acidification in the body. Metabolic acidosis can contribute to bone mineral loss, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disease [12].

For these reasons, the paleo diet dramatically reduces salt, and increases potassium-rich vegetables and fruits.

Omega-6/Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Paleo recognizes that modern food systems high in processed vegetable oils lead to an imbalance in Omega-6/Omega-3 fatty acid ratios.

Both of these fatty acids are important, and humans evolved on a diet with a ratio of roughly 1:1. Omega-6’s tend to be pro-inflammatory, while Omega-3 EFAs such as Alpha-Linoleic acid are anti-inflammatory [13].

In the modern Western diet, it’s estimated that the ratio is now around 15:1. This imbalance can result in chronic inflammation [14][15].

Meat is Essential

On the Paleo diet, meat is beneficial and essential. Taking a historical view, meat was the caloric lynchpin of human evolution–our primate brains needed meat to evolve into the human brains that define our species.

Compared with primates, the human brain requires 20% of our energy when resting. The brain of an ape requires only 8 percent [16].

Source: Miki Ben-Dor

Paleo is about 50/50 Plant and Animal-Based

The creators of the mainstream Paleo diet state that the idea that it is primarily animal/meat-based is a misconception.

When considering caloric intake, paleo calls for obtaining about 50% of your calories from meat, and 50% from plants. However, because plants are far less calorie-dense per weight than vegetables, you end up eating significantly more vegetables by weight than meat.

For example, 6 oz. of broccoli has 58 calories, while a lean cut of steak has around 350 calories per 6 oz portion.

Doctor Cordain and colleagues derived this 50/50 plant-animal caloric split from observations of existing hunter gatherer tribes. The majority of these tribes got at least 51% of their calories from meat [17].

Where Paleo gets it wrong: Observations of modern-day hunter gatherer tribes do not accurately represent the dietary habits of Paleolithic humans.

More recent, higher-quality studies suggest that for most of the 2 million years that humans have evolved on earth, our environment teemed with large prey animals known as megafauna.

Research suggests that humans were likely hyper-carnivorous apex predators that selected for the most nutrient-dense foods available–meat [18].

Modern hunter gatherer tribes obtain their food from a much less abundant resource environment than humans evolved in. They are, therefore, forced to supplement calories from vegetables–mostly tubers and seasonal fruits.

It is also likely that the fruits and vegetables permitted on the paleo diet look and taste nothing like the uncultivated fruits and vegetables of paleolithic man.

Paleo Diet Rules

The rules of the paleo diet are intentionally flexible. There is a clear list of what you can and can’t eat, but how you formulate what you can eat into a diet plan is up to you.

Though the paleo diet deems itself as the only diet adapted to human genetics, paleolithic humans hardly ate the variety of foods promoted by the paleo diet. For instance, you would never find hunter gatherers eating a lean chicken salad drizzled with olive oil, though this is a suggested paleo diet meal [19].

Seen in this light, the paleo diet has more in common with a modified Mediterranean diet than it does with the eating habits of early humans.

In any case, let’s take a look at what paleo diet rules have to say about what to eat and what to avoid.

What to Eat on Paleo

Lean meats, especially grass-fed animals or wild game
Fish, especially fatty fish high in omega-3s like salmon and mackerel
Fruits
Vegetables (excluding potatoes and legumes)
Nuts and seeds
Oils from fruits and nuts, such as olive oil or walnut oil

What to Avoid on Paleo

Grains, including wheat, oats, barely
Legumes, including all beans, lentils, peas, and peanuts
Pseudo grains such as chia seeds, amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat
All dairy products, including Butter and Ghee
All sweeteners, including sugar, honey, stevia, and other “natural sweeteners”
Salt
Potatoes
Coffee
Processed foods in general

Paleo Diet Research

Studies looking at the effectiveness of the paleo diet for various health markers have shown generally positive results.

A 2007 study of 29 males with heart disease along with high blood sugar or type 2 diabetes compared the paleo diet with a standard Mediterranean diet.

Researchers focused on glucose tolerance, insulin levels, changes in waist circumference, and weight.

The paleo group showed significant improvement in glucose tolerance– or the speed at which glucose is cleared from the blood after a meal. The better the glucose tolerance, the lower the incidence of diabetes and metabolic disorders.

In the graphs below solid dots are baseline, open dots show results after 12 weeks. The paleo diet group is left (a), and the control group is right (b).

Source: Diabetologia

The group eating a paleo diet showed an average 2.2-inch reduction in waist circumference. At the same time, the Mediterranean group had a 1.1-inch average reduction [20].

A small 2008 study following 14 healthy medical students for 3 weeks found that participants lost an average of 5 bounds, and their body mass index reduced by 0.8. Waist circumference also decreased by 0.6 inches, and blood pressure decreased by 3mmHg [21].

Another small 2009 study found that participants lost an average of 6.6 pounds and more than 1.6 inches of waist circumference compared with a “diabetes diet” [22].

Other small studies show moderate to significant reductions in fasting blood sugar, “bad” LDL cholesterol, “good” HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides [23][24].

Though study outcomes were consistently, if moderately positive, they are based on very small sample sizes. More research needs to be done to confirm the efficacy of the paleo diet.

Major Critiques of the Paleo Diet

Based on what we now know about the likely diets of ancestral humans, the term “paleo” is more of a marketing term than a description of paleo foods.

The Paleolithic period runs from roughly 3.3 million years to the dawn of agriculture around 10,000 years ago. Yet the vast majority of the foods permitted on the paleo diet are products of agriculture.

Modern vegetables, fruits, and oils did not exist in the Paleolithic period. Nuts and seeds were few and far between and often required substantial processing to remove poisons. It is likely that during the Paleolithic period, humans across the globe got 55-95% of their calories from meat.

Paleo Diet: The Takeaway

The definition of the paleo diet is an attempt to eat the food that our bodies were designed by evolution to thrive on.

Paleo diet rules call for eating lean meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. They eliminate grains, legumes, dairy, and sugars other than those that naturally occur in fruit.

However, the paleo diet does not accurately assemble the foods that humans evolved by eating for nearly 2 million years. It is much more likely that humans ate fewer fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds and instead got most of their calories from meat.

Stacked focus, extreme close up of of stinging nettle stem(Urtica dioica) showing the sting cells or trichome hairs. five times magnification

Vegetative Vengeance: 8 Ruthless Plant Defense Mechanisms

January 25, 2022/in Antinutrients and Plant Toxins plant toxins /by Liam McAuliffe

Most people think of plants are passive, harmless, healthy, and happy to sacrifice themselves for the caloric benefits of herbivores like cows, and people pretending to be herbivores. But plants do much more than “veg-out”. Evolution is a survival game that has equipped plants with an extensive arsenal of plant defense mechanisms.

Don’t let plants’ lack of a central nervous system fool you. The human ability to run, hit, and scream are crude defenses when compared to a plant’s arsenal of chemicals, stabbers, and adaptive defenses.

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1 Poison

Most people have had some experience with plant poisons in poison ivy, oak, and sumac. The rashes and even death caused by these plants is due to the toxic oil urushiol [1][2]. Interestingly, with the rising CO2 in the atmosphere, the biomass and toxicity of poison ivy are on the rise [3].

Urishiol is so toxic that ancient Egyptians used poison sumac to booby trap the inner chambers of the great pyramids. Thousands of years later, tomb raiders were afflicted by terrible rashes that they though was a curse for disturbing the tombs.

Some animals, including humans, have adapted plant poisons to their own uses. Monarch butterfly caterpillars consume milkweed, which is high in glycosides. These poisons accumulate in the caterpillar’s own tissue, making them poisonous to predators.

For eons, humans have used plant poisons to help stun and bring down larger prey. In the early 1930s, adventurer Richard Gill got curious about the plant chemicals that Amazonian tribes brewed up to coat their arrows. His research of Amazonian arrow poisons led to the discovery of compounds that made modern anesthesia possible.

The ricin derived from castor bean oil was popularized when Walter White of Breaking Bad tried to use it to poison his enemies.

Plant Poisons in Food

Though the above examples of plant poisons have acute and dramatic effects, eating a lot of plants chronically exposes your body to a wide array of subtler plant toxins. Over time these poisons can kindle severe health issues.

Phytoalexins

The phytoalexins found in potatoes (especially when old and damaged), green beans, garden peas, and carrots can cause symptoms after even mild exposure. These include headache, vomiting, diarrhea, apathy, and mental confusion. Severe exposure to glycoalkaloids can lead to hallucinations, trembling, stupor, and even death [4].

Saponins

Eating plants subjects your body to between 5,000 and 10,000 different natural pesticides every day, and saponins are among the most common [5].

Plants produce saponins to kill insects. A common way they work is by penetrating the outer surface of larvae, binding, and destroying the intestines [6].

In humans, saponins can bind to cholesterol and interfere with the mucosa lining of the intestines [7]. Though it’s likely that the effects of saponins alone are moderate, when combined with other plant toxins like lectins, gluten, and gliadin, there can be a cumulative risk of intestinal permeability, or ‘leaky gut’.

Permeability of the intestinal membrane allows bacteria, toxins, and undigested food particles to enter into the bloodstream and flow freely through the body to places they’re not supposed to go. This weakens the immune system and can cause chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases [8].

Phytohormones

Phytohormones act as signaling compounds in plants, helping plants survive changing conditions in their environments. But they double as chemical weapons that plants use to defend themselves against plant-eating predators, including humans.

Phytohormones can mimic reproductive hormones including estrogen and androgen in ways that reduce the fertility of herbivores thereby driving down populations of predators [9].

Soy is one of the most common foods containing high levels of phytohormones. These compounds have been shown to interfere with animal and human estrogen signaling pathways, affecting fertility and reproduction [9].

The chart below further details plant poison defense mechanisms and how they can affect humans.

2 Idioblast

If plant poisons are like carpet bombing with chemical weapons, idioblasts are chemical landmines that release specialized defensive compounds in specific situations.

Idioblasts come in bundles of cells that contain toxic compounds called raphides. These barbed calcium oxalate crystals penetrate the mouths, throats, and intestines of predators and then release toxin enzymes resembling the venom of reptiles [10][11].

In humans, eating plants with idioblasts can cause loss of speech and paralysis–symptoms that gave the common house plant “dumb cane” its name.

Though research on idioblasts and raphides in food is limited, they have been found in abundance in over 200 plant species, including common foods such as pineapple and taro.

2 Chemical Signaling

When plant defenses are breached by predators, plants can send out chemical messages in the form of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Nearby plants can respond to these warnings in various ways. Common responses include increasing concentrations of protective toxic compounds and releasing other compounds that attract the enemies of plant predators.

3 Mutualism

Mutualism goes hand in hand with the plant defense of chemical signaling. Certain plants like South American and African acacia trees produce certain foods including nectar and leaf-tips specifically to feed helpful ants. The ants then use their own poison to defend the trees against other animals, plants, and fungi.

Research has shown that when the ants are removed from the trees the trees will die [12].

Diagram from: Nature

4 Crypsis

Plants are much more than inanimate clumps of stems, leaves, and flowers, and crypsis makes this visually apparent.

Plants like the mimosa pudica “wilt” their leaves by closing and dropping them in response to touch. These plant defense makes them appear dead and therefore unappetizing to predators looking for fresh forage. That’s right, like possums, plants know how to play dead.

5 Trichome

Trichomes are furry bristles that plants use to shield themselves from herbivores. These arrays of tiny bristles can eviscerate insects and can cause irritating stings and rashes on humans.

When they’re connected to poisonous glands that the plant injects into the lacerations caused by the trichomes they can cause serious symptoms including nerve damage and death. If you’ve ever brushed your hand against stinging nettle you know what trichomes feel like.

Researchers in Australia found that the Gympie-Gympie stinging tree uses trichomes to inject neurotoxins into predators. The pain is equivalent to poisonous spider and scorpion bites and can last for days and even weeks [13].

From: University of Queensland

6 Spines

Perhaps the most recognizable plant defense mechanisms are the visibly sharp parts that stab and prick.

Surprisingly to non-botanists, these stabby parts come in three different varieties.

The cactus, for instance, has spines. These needle-like crowths protect the juicy succulent parts from predators, while also providing shade. Cacti that live in less sunny environments have a lighter “coat” of spines than their desert-dwelling cousins.

7 Thorns

Unlike prickles and spines, thorns are sharp branches and stems. Thorns and spines are modifications of existing organs such as stems, leaves or stipules.

8 Prickles

Roses have neither spines nor thorns. They have prickles–sharp protuberances from the skin of the plant. Think of them as sharp moles.

Plant Defense Mechanisms: The Takeaway

Plants don’t just “veg-out”. They’re not particularly friendly, and they’re certainly not harmless. Like most wild creatures that have survived for million of years, plants have evolved sophisticated defense mechanisms.

Most plant defense mechanisms are invisible, hidden within as toxic chemical agents that get released when eaten by predators.

Other plant defenses are all too obvious. The sting of a nettle, prick of a rose, and rash from poison ivy are a few of the less than comforting encounters many humans have with plant defenses.

A control panel with three knobs each controlling one macronutri

Keto Macro Percentages: What Are They and How to Meet Them

January 22, 2022/in Tips & Strategies Keto, Keto Diet, Keto Foods, Macronutrients /by Liam McAuliffe

If you’re familiar with keto you know that a standard ketogenic diet (SKD) calls for macro ratios of high-fat, low-carbs, and moderate protein. But you may still be wondering what those keto macro percentages look like, and how they break down into total grams of fat, carbs, and protein.

In this article, we’ll explore standard keto macros, along with the keto macro percentages of popular variations of the keto diet. We’ll also look at some of the food choices that will help you meet your ideal keto macro ratios.

Let’s dive in.

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Standard Keto Macro Ratios

The standard keto macro ratios are ideal for beginners starting out on keto, and sustainable for most people. These ratios are:

75-80 percent calories from fat
15-20 percent calories from protein
5-10 percent calories from carbs

How Do You Convert Keto Macros to Grams

To convert keto macros into grams of fat, carbs, and protein, you need to first know how many calories each of these macronutrients contain per gram:

Macronutrient	Calories per gram
Fat	9
Carbohydrates	4
Protein	4

If you’re just starting out on keto it’s best to cut your carbs as low as possible to speed the transition. If you’re aiming for an intake of 2,000 calories per day, a standard keto macro breakdown converted to grams looks like this:

1500 calories fat/9= 166 grams of fat
100 calories carbs/4= 25 grams carbs
400 calories protein/4= 100 grams protein

Can I Increase Carb Intake After Reaching Adapting to Ketosis?

Once you’ve reached sustained ketosis for a few weeks, it is possible to increase carb intake without inhibiting your body’s ability to produce ketones.

A 2004 study looking at 50 women making the transition into ketosis found that after two weeks of keto, most participants could increase carb intake from 20 grams to between 40 and 60 grams a day without exiting ketosis.2

The upper limit of your carb intake will depend on individual factors including body weight, activity level, and general metabolic health.

Keto Foods That Will Affect Carb Ratios

You will get most of your carbs on keto from moderate servings of keto cheese, keto yogurt, small amounts of keto-friendly vegetables, and low-carb fruits, keto nuts, and seeds like chia and pumpkin seeds.

Small amounts of carbs are also found in organ meats, like beef liver, and keto seafood like mussels, salmon roe, and oysters.

Click here for a full list of what you can eat on a keto diet.

How Do Net Carbs Affect Keto Macro Percentages?

Lots of keto snacks tout their low “net carbs,” but what does this mean for your keto macro percentages?

Net carbs are calculated by subtracting fiber from the total carbs in a food. This is permitted because even though fiber is a carbohydrate, your body doesn’t metabolize fiber into blood sugar. Remember that ketosis is activated after sustained periods of low blood sugar.

For example, pecans have around 14 grams of carbs per 100 grams of nuts. But 10 grams of this is fiber. Therefore pecans have around 4 net carbs per 100 gram serving.

Fiber Myth

It’s worth noting that fiber can cause problems of its own. Numerous recent studies have found evidence challenging the myth that fiber is good for us.

Contrary to popular belief fiber, has been shown to contribute to constipation, infertility, gas, IBS, and various other digestive issues [2][3][4].

For these reasons, many people who start with keto eventually turn to a carnivore diet that eliminates fiber.

Track Your Carbs First, Protein and Fat Come Second

Tracking your carbs is the most important macro to be aware of on keto since ketosis is triggered when carbs are reduced. That’s why your body will begin to produce ketones when intermittent fasting even without consuming higher amounts of fat.

Fat to Protein Macro Percentages

Eating fat provides your body with the raw building blocks for ketones. While protein maintains muscle growth. A small percentage of your protein intake is converted to glucose to fuel certain cells in your brain and muscles that rely on glucose for energy.

To keep your fat to protein macro percentages in the optimal range it’s a good rule of thumb to consume 1.5x to 2x grams of fat per gram of protein. But there is substantial flexibility here.

Variations on Keto Macro Percentages

So far we’ve explored standard keto macros. For many people, once they become adapted to ketosis, they tailor the diet to fit their unique metabolisms and lifestyles.

Here’s a look at the macro percentages of a few popular variations of the keto diet.

Targeted Keto Diet (TKD)

The targeted keto macro percentages are: 65-70% fat, 10-20% carbs, 20% protein.

The targeted keto diet is popular with hard training athletes who want the benefits of keto but need more carbs to support their high-energy output.

The TKD allows for an additional 20-30 grams of carbs that athletes consume immediately before and after high exertion activities. This works out to between 70-80 grams of carbs per day.

These carbs are most often consumed in the form of low toxin fruits like berries, watermelon, and cantaloupe.

Cyclical Keto Diet (CKD) Macro Percentages

Cyclical keto diet macro percentages: 75% fat, 15-20% protein, 5-10% carbs on keto days. 25% fat, 25% protein, 50% carbs on off days.

Keto cycling means cycling in and out of ketosis, allowing people to eat more carbs on the “off days.” The CKD is less restrictive, which for some people makes it more sustainable. However, it can also cause challenges when it comes to kicking carb addiction, making it harder for some people to stick with.

The keto days are often concentrated into a span of 5 consecutive days between two consecutive non-keto days. This allows people to time their diets around traditional holidays and celebrations when partaking in various high-carb foods is culturally and socially expected.

For the best results, the carbs on both keto and non-keto days should come from unprocessed sources like fruit and even from pure sugar found in keto ice cream and other unprocessed sweets. Its best to avoid all processed foods and grains which can be high in plant toxins and antinutrients.

High-Protein Keto Diet (HPKD) Macro Percentages

People who chose a high protein keto diet claim to follow it for three key reasons:

It’s is easier to follow in the long run
It helps build and maintain lean muscle mass
When you are adapted to keto, your body becomes more efficient at using ketones and requires less fat to fuel their production. This is why many people well adapted to keto show slightly lower ketone levels than beginners: (.6 – .8 mmol).

It was once believed that eating high amounts of protein on keto would result in blood sugar levels that will inhibit the body from creating ketones. This is due to a process called gluconeogenesis where the body converts protein into glucose.

However, the high-protein keto diet is still a high-fat diet. And there is little risk of overdoing the protein when following HPKD macro ratios: 60-65% fat, 30% protein, 5-10% carbs

This works out to around 120 grams of protein per day provided by 2 8-ounce servings of keto meat, and fatty fish, and around 130 grams of fat per day. Carbs are still restricted to less than 10% of daily calories.

How Do I Add More Fat to My Keto Macro Percentages?

Consuming healthy keto fats is the cornerstone of a well-formulated keto diet. Remember that across all the diets outlined above, you will need to get between 60 and 80% of your calories from fat.

The best sources for healthy fats include fatty cuts of steak, preferably from grass-fed sources. Butter, tallow, lard, and eggs are also excellent keto fat staples.

While olive oil plays a big role in Mediterranean keto, and avocados are stars for the vegetarian keto and vegan keto dieters.

Here are a few strategies to incorporate more fats into your diet:

1 Fattier Meats

Focusing on fatty meats is the easiest way to boost your fat intake. Bacon and pork belly are cheap keto mainstays packed with whole food fats. 80/20 ground beef is another affordable staple, while an un-trimmed ribeye steak is the king of keto meats for many people.

2 Add Fats to your Meals

Just a few tablespoons of tallow, butter, ghee, coconut, and olive oil can boost meals with lean meats like poultry and fish into optimum keto macro percentages.

3 Add Fats To Your Beverages

Adding MCT oil or butter to coffee and tea is a great way to boost your fat intake. You can also try making your latte with heavy whipping cream.

Keto Macro Percentages: The Bottomline

Keto macro percentages offer guidelines for choosing the foods that will meet your fat, carb, protein ratios, helping you enter ketosis, and keeping your body producing ketones in the long run.

Standard keto macros are roughly 70-80% fat, 15-20% protein, and 5-10% carbs. Various other versions of the keto diet allow some flexibility with the macro percentages, but all are high fat, moderate protein, and low carb.

Top 7 Health Benefits of Standing Desks

January 20, 2022/in Body Movement, Standing, Work /by Liam McAuliffe

If you’re reading this while standing at a desk, give yourself a pat on the back. You’re ahead of the curve, and part of the growing number of “desk” workers who are realizing the benefits of a standing desk.

But chances are you’re not entirely versed in why sitting is bad for you, and what exactly the health benefits of standing are? Let’s explore.

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Sitting is Bad for Your Health

Perhaps the biggest health benefit of a standing desk is that you’re not sitting!

Studies show that people who spend a lot of time sitting have increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, and early death [1][2].

Sitting also affects your health by contributing to weight gain because when you’re sitting, you’re not burning calories [3][4].

The difference in calories burned between a job in which you’re on your feet, and one in which you’re sitting is highlighted is dramatic. Studies show that agricultural workers can burn 1,000 more calories per day than desk workers [5].

Studies looking at data taken from over 1 million people revealed that the more sedentary your lifestyle, the more likely it is that you will die early.

In these 18 studies, the most sedentary people had a 22-49% higher risk of early death [6][7].

Unfortunately, the average worker in America spends 62% of their workday sitting [8].

The good news is that there’s something you can do about it, and it doesn’t require signing up for cross-training.

1. Standing May Increase Your Lifespan

As we see above, sitting and overall sedentary time is deadly. One study shows that reducing sitting time to a maximum of 3 hours per day may increase the life expectancy of Americans by 2 full years [9].

2. Standing Reduces Weight Gain and Risk of Obesity

Weight gain and weight loss often follow a simple equation–when you consume more calories than you burn, you get fat.

Studies show that simply standing for an afternoon part of your workday can burn over 170 calories when compared to working while sitting [8]. Extended out over a workweek, that amounts to 1000 additional calories burned.

Researchers suggest that the caloric difference between sitting and standing can alone account for the link between sitting and metabolic diseases, including diabetes and obesity [9][10].

3. Standing Desks May Lower Blood Sugar

Eating a Standard American Diet results in chronically high blood sugar levels that can contribute to chronic inflammation, hormone imbalances, and metabolic disorders like type-2 diabetes, among many other health issues [11][12].

Research has found that spending significant time sitting is linked to a 112% greater risk of type 2 diabetes [13].

One study had 10 office workers stand for 180 minutes after lunch, resulting in a reduction of post-lunch blood sugar spikes by 43% compared with a group sitting for the same length of time [14].

Significantly, both groups took the same number of steps each day, confirming that the reduction was in fact due to standing, and not to extra movement around the workspace.

Another study looked at the effect of alternating between sitting and standing every 30 minutes. Following 23 office workers, researchers discovered that blood sugar spikes were reduced by an average of 11.1% compared with a sitting group [15].

4. Standing May Reduce Risk of Heart Disease

Science has been aware of the connection between standing and reduced risk of heart disease for decades.

In 1953, a study discovered that bus conductors who stood during their day-long shifts had a 50% lower risk of heart disease compared with drivers who sat during their shifts [16].

Since then, researchers have conducted numerous studies looking at the link between sedentary time and heart health. Recent studies have shown that the effect is even more dramatic, with prolonged sedentary time increasing heart disease risk by up to 147% [17][18].

In our fast-paced modern society, people often attempt to negate the effects of sedentary hours spent sitting before a screen with short-term intensive exercise.

However, studies show that an entire hour of intensive exercise will not cancel the negative health effects of sitting for a day [19].

When looking at the research it is clear that standing is an overlooked and strikingly effective technique for boosting your heart health.

5. Standing Desks Appear to Reduce Back Pain

Sitting at a desk is a recipe for back pain. In fact, back pain is so common among Americans that it could be considered an epidemic.

Researchers estimate that $90 billion is spent on the diagnosis and management of low back pain each year, with an additional $10 to $20 billion in economic losses due to reductions in productivity [20].

Studies seeking to determine the effectiveness of standing desks for reducing back pain have been encouraging.

A 2012 study by the CDC found that using sit-stand desks for just 4 weeks reduced upper back and neck pain by 54% [21].

Strikingly, when the desks were removed, many of the improvements were reversed within two weeks.

Studies in 2014 and 26 found that after several weeks of using a standing desk, participants reported a 32% improvement in pain [22][23].

6. Standing Desks Boost Mood and Energy

Standing desks have been shown to improve mood and energy, making them an effective tool to combine with power naps and daily meditation to boost overall well-being.

A 7-week trial found that people who used standing desks had less fatigue and stress than seated co-workers, with 87% of the standing desk participants reporting more vigor through the workday [24].

As with similar tests cited above, the gains–in this case, elevated mood–returned to pre-standing desk levels when workers returned to their old desks.

These studies are in line with wider research showing that sitting and sedentary behavior is linked with increases in depression and anxiety [25][26].

7. Increased Productivity

Most of us are used to admonishing ourselves to sit down at our desks to get work done. But when considering the boosts in vigor and energy you get from standing desks, you might want to retrain that inner voice to encourage you to stand.

One of the biggest concerns about standing desks and productivity has to do with typing speed. However, a study of 60 young employees found that 4 hours each day at a standing desk had zero impact on typing speed or typing errors [27].

Another study looking specifically for possible negative effects of standing desks found that standing desks do not impact perceptual ability or working memory [28].

A 2017 study found that participants who used a standing desk exhibited greater task engagement, signified by interest, enthusiasm, and alertness, and less comfort while standing rather than sitting [29].

Studies also show that moving–and at a standing desk you are constantly, subtly moving– enhances the creation of new brain cells, improving creativity, critical thinking, and focus, all of which can contribute to productivity [30].

How to Properly Stand at a Standing Desk

Health Benefits of Standing Desks: The Bottom Line

Using a standing desk reduces sedentary time which in turn reduces risk of heart disease and metabolic risk, while improving energy, focus, mood, and overall well-being.

Pro tip: Sitting is part of using a standing desk. Most experts recommend splitting the time between sitting and standing to get the greatest benefits with the least downside. Rotating between standing and sitting is especially important when just starting out–it lets your body adjust without producing soreness.

Top view of African American woman in home clothing having relaxation on blue couch sleeping at home

Benefits of Napping: Health, Creativity, Performance

January 16, 2022/in Sleep Caffeine, Napping, Power Nap /by Liam McAuliffe

The benefits of napping come from aligning our behavior with the way our energy levels follow natural cycles throughout the day. These cycles are determined by a combination of our circadian rhythm (the clock inside our heads), the quality of our sleep, our genetics, and age.

Yet almost everyone experiences a mid-day slump when you have the urge to take a nap. Though most of us have become accustomed to powering through these dips with the help of caffeine or sheer willpower, there are numerous health benefits of giving into the urge, and napping.

Let’s explore.

The Many Health Benefits of Napping

Napping is a great way to limit the effects of everyday stress and refresh the mind and body. Short naps during the day enhance creativity, increase productivity, boost memory, and help your mind and body relax.

1. Improves Memory

We know that sleep plays a critical role in storing memories in our brain [1][2]. Short naps are a way to enhance the memory consolidating power of sleep.

To explore how napping benefits memory a 2019 study, divided undergrad students into different groups. Each group spent 90 minutes learning about crabs.

One group then napped for an hour. A second group spent an additional hour “cramming” information about crabs. And a third group watched a 1 hour move on crabs. Afterward all three groups spent another 90 minutes learning about crabs in a class.

Then they all took a 30-minute break, after which they took a test on what they learned, and then another test one week later.

On the first test the “nap” group and the “cram” group performed better. And on the last test the nap group outperformed everyone.

The takeaway from the test is that napping helps consolidate information into long-term memory [3].

Various other studies have found that napping helps us differentiate between different stimuli, and improves our ability to recall specific experiences and events [4].

2. Improves Cognitive Function

Naps reduce drowsiness and enhance cognitive performance. Regular naps at the same time every day are associated with improved mental agility.

Sleeping during the afternoon between 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. can increase verbal fluency, locational awareness, and working memory.

Sleep deprivation and insomnia are becoming a global concern, as lack of sleep disrupts immune function and increases stress hormones like norepinephrine and cortisol in the body that affect cognition.

In a large-scale 2020 study on adults over 60, those who napped scored significantly better on tests screening for dementia [5].

The lead study authors commented, “Napping helps your brain recover from burnout or overload of information. While taking naps, your brain clears out unnecessary information out of your brain’s temporary storage areas to prepare it for the new information to be absorbed.”

3. Improves Performance on the Job

Benefits of napping include a boost in productivity and concentration, both of which improve work performance. Napping can also reduce depression and anxiety by controlling the cortisol levels in the blood.

If your job requires performing complex tasks, consider taking short nap breaks to boost your energy levels.

In a study on napping and productivity among the urban poor, researchers from MIT found that “ short afternoon naps at the workplace improved an overall index of outcomes by 0.12 standard deviations, with significant increases in productivity, psychological well-being, and cognition, but a decrease in work time.” Interestingly, participants also invested more of their money into savings accounts, suggesting that napping also promotes delaying gratification for future gain [6].

4. Improves Mood

Are you feeling down? Try a power nap. It is common for people across the globe to sleep away their stress.

Numerous studies have found that napping for 30-60 minutes can lift your spirits and improve your mood [7].

Other studies have shown that dipping into REM sleep can help regulate emotions [8]

5. Increases Alertness

Studies looking of shift workers have found that people who work at odd hours or during the night can nap for 30-60 minutes to improve alertness and performance [8]. Naps improve both daytime and nighttime alertness levels.

When working on long and complex tasks, we tend to reach out for a cup of coffee to thwart sleep. Various sleep studies have proven that naps show long-lasting improvements in mood, alertness, and performance compared to caffeine.

Researchers comparing naps vs. caffeine found that “Overall, a daytime nap generally improved performance across three different learning paradigms, while caffeine impaired (or at least did not benefit) performance” [9].

6. Reduces Stress

Several studies confirm that naps improve reaction speed, minimize stress, and increase energy in the body. By inducing relaxation, naps regulate mood and the ability to deal with everyday life situations.

Napping also enhances cognitive and problem-solving performance, which further increases your capacity to combat stress. Experts claim that a 30-minute nap can significantly reduce stress and prevent panic attacks.

7. Supports Heart Health

The health benefits of naps include maintaining blood pressure and blood sugar levels. By regulating mood and stress, naps allow your body to relax. Naps can prevent heart problems because they decrease blood pressure levels significantly.

Hypertension is one of the most common causes of cardiovascular problems. People who nap regularly are 48% less likely to experience a stroke, heart failure, heart attack, or other heart problems [10].

8. Increases Creativity

If you are looking to increase your level of creativity, try taking naps regularly.

Research has found that napping boosts creativity by fostering the formation of connections between related items, promoting the utilization of embedded rules and lists associated with learned material, and facilitating the integration of new and old information. [11][12][13].

Benefits of Naps vs. Caffeine

Most studies about caffeine focus on wakefulness and attention. While these indicators are essential when it comes to road safety and workplace attention, studies overlook caffeine’s effects on cognitive performance.

Cognitive processes require learning and memory formation, and this is where napping wins. People who take frequent naps perform better at various motor learning and memory tasks than those who drink caffeine to stay awake. [14]

So, while coffee is a good alternative if you cannot nap during the day, it may not provide you the boost in productivity and creativity that a power nap can.

However, combining caffeine and a nap can enhance wakefulness while also providing the cognitive benefits of sleep.

Source: Behav Brain Res. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2009 Nov 3.

How to Get the Health Benefits of Naps?

Napping is an art and a science. To fully yield the benefits of naps, it is important to understand the difference between slow-wave sleep and deep phase sleep. =

Length of Naps

We move through multiple stages of sleep every time we fall asleep. According to research, a five-minute micro naps may be insufficient, a power nap of 15-30 minutes is beneficial whereas waking up from a deep sleep phase of up to 60 minutes can cause sleep inertia. [15]

If you take longer naps, you risk falling into a deep sleep, which can lead to frustration and drowsiness after waking up.

Frequency of Naps

Frequency and timing are essential components of healthy napping. If you want to incorporate napping into your everyday life, schedule it at the same time every day.

Making napping a habit allows your body clock to sync with the routine, helping you automatically enter a relaxing phase, and making it easier to fall asleep. [16]

The Best Time to Nap

A key to successful napping is practicing it at the right time, as napping at the wrong time can leave you feeling groggy and restless. A poorly timed napping schedule also reduces the benefits of naps and impacts your natural sleep cycle.

According to the natural sleep rhythm of our bodies, the best time to nap is between 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Afternoon naps are more beneficial and restful than sleeping for longer periods at any other time of the day. This is because our body is programmed to wake up in the day and enter the resting phase at night.

Biologically, our body is designed to experience two types of peak times in which we are most likely to sleep. The first peak occurs after sunset, and the second one occurs 12 hours after waking up or during mid-day. [5]

The ideal nap time is the post-lunch dip called the “nap zone.” It is common to experience fatigue after lunch, so scientifically, this is the best time to snooze for 15 to 30 minutes. Napping right before or right after lunch can improve concentration, alertness, and memory.

The Health Benefits of Naps: The Takeaway

Napping has been shown to benefit memory, cognitive function, job performance, mood, heart health, and creativity while reducing stress.

Napping has also been shown to be superior to caffeine when it comes to learning, memory consolidation, and cognitive performance. While combining coffee and napping can enhance the benefits of napping with the alertness of caffeine.

The key to developing a healthy nap routine is to make a schedule where you nap during the same time each day within the “nap window”. For most people, this is between 1-3 pm.

Sliced raw liver on a stone Board and on a plate. On dark rustic background

Eating Raw Liver: Benefits, Safety & How Often?

January 13, 2022/in Liver /by Liam McAuliffe

With the popularity of nose-to-tail eating and the carnivore diet, there’s a renewed debate about eating raw liver. From a nutritional perspective, eating raw liver provides an extremely rich source of essential vitamins and minerals that support fertility, vision, energy, muscle building, and the immune system. However, some experts caution that raw liver may pose health risks.

Can You Eat Raw Liver?

While traditional cultures have consumed liver for centuries, in modern Western cuisine this superfood is often avoided because of its unique texture, pungent flavor, and aroma.

Raw liver has a jelly-like texture, bitter flavor, and contains a robust spectrum of minerals and vitamins including and array of B vitamins, and an incredibly high concentration of vitamin A.

Many people who eat raw liver also swear by its “anti-fatigue” properties. The ability of raw liver to dramatically enhance stamina was first discovered back in 1951 when rats fed liver swam significantly longer than a control group in a barrel of water [1].

However, according to the NHS, insufficiently cooked or raw meat carries illness-causing bacteria.

Chicken liver, pork liver, and beef liver may carry bacteria such as Campylobacter, salmonella, and E. coli.

Consuming these bacteria can lead to various digestive problems and food poisoning, even if consumed in small amounts.

What About Freezing Raw Liver?

Raw liver advocates often argue that freezing raw liver prevents bacteria in the liver from multiplying; however, the small amounts of existing bacteria are enough to cause food poisoning, diarrhea, and vomiting.

In an interview with the Sun, Clinical Director of Patient Access Dr. Sarah Jarvis stated that raw meat can cause severe illness, including diarrhea, dehydration, stomach pain, and vomiting. [2]

Research studying patients with Eosinophilia, found that, “Ingestion of raw animal liver has been suggested as a possible mode of infection of human toxocariasis.” [5]

Eosinophilia is a condition of higher than normal disease-fighting white blood cells, often indicating a parasitic infection, allergic reactions, or cancer [6]

Beef liver has been found to contain a high amount of enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157 both on the inside and surface. In several countries, such as Japan, laws prohibit handling and serving raw of beef liver due to the health risks associated with it.

However, a 2019 study looking at the effects of Japan’s law against serving raw beef liver found no significant reduction in the overall incidence rates of both asymptomatic and symptomatic EHEC infections [7]

Grass-Fed vs. Grain-Fed Raw Liver

If you choose to ignore the warning from health officials and decide to eat raw liver despite these risks, there is another factor to consider: The difference between grass-fed and grain-fed liver.

Research has found that feeding cows conventional GMO grains and treating cows with antibiotics can affect the quality and safety of the liver.

Antibiotics, high-density farming conditions, and toxin-rich diets can result in the development of scar tissue on the liver, reduced liver function, and the toxic substances in the tissue.

Studies also show that there are 4 times as much beneficial phytonutrient content in grass-fed beef liver when compared to conventional varieties [4].

Conventional American Beef Liver vs. New Zealand Grass-Fed Liver

The higher quality of grass-fed liver is reflected in nutrient data comparing New Zealand grass fed beef with conventional American beef liver.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture key nutritional differences include:

Vitamin B12 – New Zealand beef liver provides 43% more than U.S.-raised beef liver.
Vitamin B5 – New Zealand beef liver provides 44% more than U.S.-raised beef liver.
Iron – New Zealand beef liver provides 72% more than U.S.-raised beef liver.
Thiamin (Vitamin B1) – New Zealand beef liver provides 96% more than U.S.-raised liver.
Vitamin A – New Zealand beef liver provides 459% more than U.S.-raised liver.

Eating Raw Liver Benefits

Though health officials recommend against eating raw liver for all the reasons stated above, it may still provide numerous and powerful benefits.

It’s worth noting that these same, or similar benefits can be achieved by eating cooked liver and desiccated liver supplements.

Rich Source of Iron

Liver is one of the richest sources of the most absorbable variety of iron, called heme iron. Heme iron plays a key role in immune function, is essential to cognition, and factors in energy metabolism [8].

High in Folate

Folate is the natural form of Vitamin B9 and is essential for the formation and growth of healthy cells. But it isn’t always easy to get in a standard american diet.

Folic acid, a synthetic nutrient, is often added to enriched flours and prenatal vitamins.

Unfortunately, our body cannot easily convert folic acid into folate. Beef liver is rich in usable folate which supports the creation and maintenance of healthy red blood cells, while supporting fetal brain formation and skull and spinal cord development [9]

Source of Concentrated Vitamin B12

B12 is found in significant amounts only in animal products [10], and raw beef liver has more B12 than any food on earth.

100 grams of raw beef liver provides 2471% of your recommended RDV.

B12 is necessary for nerve health, DNA and red blood cell production, and maintaining normal cognitive function.

In 2013 a high-quality randomized control trial found that supplementation of Vitamin B12 significantly improved depressive symptoms [11].

You don’t have to worry about consuming too much B12. The body stores excess vitamin B12 in the liver, where it’s stored for later use.

Rich in Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed and utilized in the body when consumed with dietary fat, like that found in raw liver. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins. [12]

Eating liver is an excellent way to increase your intake of Vitamin D, especially in higher and lower latitudes, and during winter time when days are short, and people have less access to direct sunshine [13].

Vitamin D is essential to various body functions including the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and your immune system. Sufficient vitamin D is critical for the growth of bones and teeth[14].

Benefit #5: Good for Dental Health

The pioneering dentist Doctor Weston A. Price found that traditional cultures who consumed liver and other organ meats had superior bone and dental health compared with cultures eating a modern Western diet high in added sugars and processed foods.

Much of these benefits are likely attributable to the richness of the fat-soluble vitamins we’ve explored above.

Benefit #6: Source of Trace Minerals

Trace minerals, also called micro minerals, are essential for growth and development. Our bodies require only a small amount of trace minerals, but they have a large impact on our health. Trace minerals support our nervous system, blood circulation, and the growth of various hormones. The liver is one of the best sources of trace minerals.

Raw, dried, and cooked liver are all high in copper, phosphorus, selenium, zinc and iron

100 grams of raw beef liver offers the following trace minerals

Iron

Magnesium

Phosphorus

Zinc

Copper

Manganese

Selenium

Choline

4.9mg

18mg

387mg

4mg

9.8mg

0.3mg

39.7μg

333.3mg

62%

39%

27%

488%

16%

57%

61%

How Often Should You Eat Liver?

Eating animal liver provides an excellent source of nutrients. However, the extremely high concentration of vitamin A and copper in liver can cause issues if over-consumed.

A 100 gram portion of beef liver contains more than 600% the recommended dietary intake (RDI) of vitamin A, and 400-700% the RDI of copper [15]

Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin that accumulates in your own liver. When levels become too high it can cause serious health issues, like dizziness, nausea, headaches, liver damage, and birth defects.

Overconsumption of iron can also result in symptoms of toxicity including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Hower, the symptoms of eating too much liver are slow and chronic slow or chronic, rather than acute.

When eating liver it’s important to check if any supplements you are taking contain nutrients found in high levels in liver.

For the reasons stated above, one should not consume liver more than 3 times a week. It is also recommended that total consumption remain below 100 grams. In the U.K. the health ministry advises 50 grams. However, this recommendation takes into account people who are also receiving vitamin A from multivitamins.

Eating Raw Liver: The Takeaway

Eating raw liver provides your body with one of the most nutrient dense foods on earth. However, most official health agencies recommend against eating raw liver due to the presence of bacterias that can lead to food poisoning.

You can receive many of the same benefits and nutrients from cooked liver, and dried liver supplements, without the risks.

Whether eating liver raw, cooked, or as a supplement, you’re consumption should be limited less than 100 grams per week to avoid overconsumption of vitamin A, and copper, which can lead to uncomfortable and potentially serious health issues.

When following these guidelines eating liver is good for you and safe.

Physician Oaths

January 12, 2022/in /by William Kiltz

The Oath of Hippocrates of Kos, 5th century BC:

I swear by Apollo the physician, by Aesculapius, Hygeia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and judgment the following oath:

To consider dear to me as my parents him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and if necessary to share my goods with him; to look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art if they so desire without fee or written promise; to impart to my sons and the sons of the master who taught me and to the disciples who have enrolled themselves and have agreed to the rules of the profession, but to these alone, the precepts and the instruction. I will prescribe regimen for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone. To please no one will I prescribe a deadly drug, nor give advice which may cause his death. Nor will I give a woman a pessary to procure abortion. But I will preserve the purity of my life and my art. I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by specialists in this art. In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing and all seduction, and especially from the pleasures of love with women or with men, be they free or slaves. All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or outside of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not to be spread abroad, I will keep secret and never reveal. If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all men and in all times; but if I swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my lot.

Declaration of Geneva of the World Medical Association

(adopted 1948, amended 1966 and 1983):

I solemnly pledge myself to consecrate my life to the service of humanity;
I will give my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due;
I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity;
The health of my patient will be my first consideration;
I will respect the secrets which are confided in me, even after the patient has died;
I will maintain by all the means in my power, the honor and the noble traditions of the medical profession;
My colleagues will be my brothers;
I will not permit considerations of religion, nationality, race, party politics or social standing to intervene between my duty and my patient;
I will maintain the utmost respect for human life from its beginning even under threat and I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity;
I make these promises solemnly, freely and upon my honor.

Oath drawn up and approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “Oath drawn up and approved by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1971, with one addition (on nuclear war) in 1983:1

Upon having conferred on me the high calling of physician and entering medical practice, I do solemnly swear:

To dedicate all my knowledge and strength to the preservation and improvement of the health of mankind and to the treatment and prevention of disease, and to work in good conscience wherever it is required by society;

To be always ready to provide medical care, to relate to the patient attentively and carefully, and to preserve medical confidences;

To constantly perfect my medical knowledge and clinical skills and thereby in my work to aid in the development of medical science and practice;

To refer, if the patient’s better interests warrant it, for advice from my fellow physicians, and never myself to refuse to give such advice or help;

To preserve and develop the noble traditions of Soviet medicine, to be guided in all my actions by the principles of Communist morality, and to always bear in mind the high calling of a Soviet physician and my responsibility to the people and to the Soviet state.

Recognizing the danger which nuclear weaponry presents for mankind, to struggle tirelessly for peace, and for the prevention of nuclear war.

I swear to be loyal to this oath as long as I live.

A Modern Hippocratic Oath by Dr. Louis Lasagna

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow;

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.

I will not be ashamed to say “I know not,” nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body, as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection hereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

The Oath of the Healer by Louis Weinstein

In the eyes of God and in the presence of my fellow students and teachers, I at this most solemn time in my life do freely take this Oath, whereby I shall pledge to myself and all others the manner in which I shall live the rest of my days.

I shall be ever grateful to my teachers who have planted the seeds of knowledge, which I shall nurture forever. I thank them for allowing me to see the importance of learning and realize that lifelong study is critically important to becoming a Healer.

I realize that on this day, I become a physician for all eternity. I shall strive to be a person of good will, high moral character, and impeccable conduct. I shall learn to love my fellow man as much as I have learned to love the art of healing.

I shall always act in the best interest of my patient and shall never allow personal reward to impact on my judgment. I shall always have the highest respect for human life and remember that it is wrong to terminate life in certain circumstances, permissible in some, and an act of supreme love in others. I shall never promise a cure, as only death is certain, and I shall understand that preserving health is as important as treating disease. When a patient for whom I have been caring dies, I shall have the strength to allow him or her to die with dignity and in peace.

I shall have as a major focus in my life the promoting of a better world in which to live. I shall strive to take a comprehensive approach to understanding all aspects of life. To become the Healer I wish to be, I must expand my thinking and practice from a system of episodic care to one of a preventive approach to the problems of mankind, including the social ills of malnutrition and poverty that plague the world in which we live.

I am not a God and I cannot perform miracles. I am simply a person who has been given the rights and responsibilities to be a Healer. I pledge to myself and all who can hear me that this is what I shall become.

An Oath that “Bears the Name of Hippocrates”

I do solemnly swear, by whatever each of us holds most sacred

That I will be loyal to the Profession of Medicine and just and generous to its members

That I will lead my life and practice my art in uprightness and honor

That into whatsoever house I will enter: it shall be for the good of the sick to the utmost of my power, my holding myself far aloof from wrong, from corruption, from the tempting of others to vice

That I will exercise my art solely for the cure of my patients, and will give no drug, perform no operation for a criminal purpose, even if solicited; far less suggest it

That whatsoever I shall see or hear of the lives of my patients which is not fitting to be spoken, I will keep inviolably secret

These things do I swear. Let each of us bow the head in sign of acquiescence

And now, if I will be true to this, my oath, may good repute ever be mine; the opposite, if I should prove myself forsworn.

American Medical Association Code of Ethics (post- 1980)

Preamble: The medical profession has long subscribed to a body of ethical statements developed primarily for the benefit of the patient. As a member of this profession, a physician must recognize responsibility not only to patients, but also to society, to other health professionals, and to self. The following Principles adopted by the [AMA] are not laws, but standards of conduct which define the essentials of honorable behavior for the physician. II. A physician shall deal honestly with patients and colleagues, and strive to expose those physicians deficient in character or competence, or who engage in fraud or deception.

III. A physician shall respect the law and also recognize a responsibility to seek changes in those requirements which are contrary to the best interests of the patient.

IV. A physician shall respect the rights of patients, of colleagues, and of other health professionals, and shall safeguard patient confidences within the constraints of the law.

V. A physician shall continue to study, apply and advance scientific knowledge, make relevant information available to patients, colleagues, and the public, obtain consultation, and use the talents of other health professionals when indicated.

VI. A physician shall, in the provision of appropriate patient care, except in emergencies, be free to choose whom to serve, with whom to associate, and the environment in which to provide medical services. VII. A physician shall recognize a responsibility to participate in activities contributing to an improved community.

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