Keto side effects: woman with nausea
Liam McAuliffe

17 Keto Side Effects and How to Manage Them

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If you’re reading this, you’re probably already familiar with the keto diet and its many benefits. You’ve heard how keto can help you lose weight, reverse diabetes and metabolic disease, kick your carb addiction, and reduce chronic inflammation.  

And you’ve also probably heard that for some people, the keto way of life can have some less than desirable side effects. This can be especially true when you’re first adapting to keto. 

In this article we’ll take a closer look at 17 of the most common keto side effects — and what you can do to avoid them. 

Keto Diet Side Effect #1: Feeling hungry

Transitioning to the keto diet requires a complete metabolic transition. If you’re eating a  standard American diet you are burning carbohydrates for fuel — even at rest. That leaves unused fatty acids lingering in the bloodstream where they don’t belong. 

The keto diet, on the other hand, switches your body to breaking down fat into ketones for fuel.

But making the metabolic jump from carb-burning to fat-burning isn’t always easy. 

When first starting out you might experience strong hunger pangs as your body makes this major transition to fat metabolism. 

How to reduce keto hunger pangs

The solution for reducing hunger is simple and intuitive: eat more fat!

Many keto-eaters report that butter and tallow are especially satiating. Regardless of what fat sources you choose, don’t skimp on the fat. 

Exercise can also help force your body into a fat-burning ketogenic state more quickly. Low impact movement can be especially beneficial during the transition period, these include: 

If you’re still experiencing elevated hunger levels after several weeks on keto, consider talking to your doctor about supplementing with carnitine to boost your body’s fat metabolism.

Keto Diet Side Effect #2: Sugar cravings

Sugar feels addictive to many people who begin a keto diet for the first time. 

If your old diet featured sugary cereals for breakfast, sandwiches and chips for lunch, pasta for dinner, and ice cream for dessert, you might be in for a rude awakening — and plenty of sugar cravings along the way. 

Don’t be surprised if your body’s hunger hormones start acting up! These hormones, which include leptin and ghrelin, might direct you towards sugary foods to bring your blood sugar back up.  

These sugar cravings may also be fueled by candida overgrowth associated with a high-carb diet. Studies show that overgrowths in candida, a common yeast in our intestines is linked to high levels of blood glucose.

A 2014 review suggests that the microorganisms in our gut such as candida can influence our dietary choices–i.e. Make us crave sugar!

How to reduce sugar cravings 

As mentioned earlier, simply replacing the sugar you used to eat with keto-friendly fat can help reduce hunger pangs and cravings.

To combat candida overgrowth and associated sugar cravings, animal studies suggest that eating more coconut oil can help.

Another helpful strategy: get enough rest. Research shows that your body’s hunger hormones become more sensitive when you’re well-rested.  So consider dialing in your sleep habits at the same time you’re dialing in your new keto diet.  

Keto Diet Side Effect #3: Nausea

If you experience nausea when first beginning your keto diet, don’t panic. 

What’s probably happening is that your body’s just getting adjusted to the diet’s higher fat intake. Nausea can also be a symptom of low blood sugar or dehydration, both of which are sometimes seen when starting out on keto.

How to reduce keto nausea

Eating high protein meals may stabilize your blood sugar enough to prevent hypoglycemia-induced nausea. Upping your salt — a critical change for those new to keto — may also help.   

You may want to consider taking a digestive enzyme or ox-bile supplement, too. These products can help your body process dietary fat until you adapt to making enough of your own bile acids.  Give it a week or two. 

Keto Diet Side Effect #4: Diarrhea

Though rare, some people experience diarrhea when they begin a keto diet. 

More often than not, new food ingredients are to blame — not the ketogenic state itself. Sugar alcohols can cause irregular bowel movements since they aren’t really recognized by your body as a valid fuel source.

Oils rich in MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides) can also cause diarrhea. They contain a natural laxative and get metabolized so quickly that they can overwhelm the digestive tract of someone who’s not used to them.

How to reduce keto diarrhea 

Eliminate sugar alcohols (found in many keto-friendly sweeteners) and MCT sources from your diet. 

If this doesn’t resolve the problem, consider removing all dairy products besides aged cheese, too. Some people find dairy lactose irritating enough to dysregulate regular bowel movements. Depending on your gut microbiome and your ancestors’ exposure to dairy products, you might find the same. 

Keto Diet Side Effect #5: Constipation

Your digestive system may take time to adjust to an HFLC or keto diet. For many people, this adjustment period can manifest as constipation. 

The good news is that constipation is temporary. It’s usually easy to alleviate just by drinking more water and adding extra salt to your food. 

The complex blend of fat and protein found in an animal-based diet can also increase your body’s transit time. But this can be easily adapted to as well — over time the stomach enzymes responsible for processing fat will upregulate and allow your body to digest fatty meals faster.

Another thing to remember: just because you’re pooping less often doesn’t mean you’re constipated. Keto and carnivore diet generate far less fibrous waste than your old way of eating did.  

Fibrous plant foods are often the real cause of constipation, not animal products. Reducing your consumption of these plant foods will likely lead to far better bowel motility and digestion over time. 

How to reduce keto constipation

Improving your transit time during keto is simple: Stay hydrated.  Hydration correlates directly to bowel motility. Both water and salt can help you stay hydrated.  Gentle exercises like walking may also help get your digestion working. 

Another effective approach is to supplement with 400 mg of magnesium citrate

If you’re still constipated, you’re likely eating too many hard-to-digest plant foods like nuts, low-starch vegetables, especially crucifers, along with full-fat dairy. On any diet these three foods can be constipating. 

Replace these fibers and hard-to-digest fats with more whole animal meats. 

Keto Diet Side Effect #6: Muscle cramps

Many people experience muscle cramps and spasms during the first week or two of their new keto diet. These cramps are caused when electrolyte imbalances make muscle cells fire in an uncoordinated fashion.  

Cramps tend to happen in large muscle groups — and they also tend to happen at the least convenient times. Cramps can be painful enough to disrupt sleep and prevent you from enjoying your workout routine. Thankfully, there’s an easy way to stop them. 

How to reduce keto muscle cramps

Reducing muscle cramps during your transition into ketosis requires a three-part approach. 

First, salt your foods and drinks liberally. Keto bone broth is one of the few beverages that gets tastier the more salt you add to it.

Next, drink plenty of water. Dr. Kiltz recommends drinking half your body weight in ounces of water per day. A 200-pound person should aim for 100 ounces of water (close to a gallon) per day. 

Finally, consider supplementing with magnesium. Magnesium works in concert with all other electrolytes to maintain hydration status. It’s also a powerful muscle relaxant that many of us don’t get enough of today.  Magnesium supplementation is a great thing to discuss with your doctor or keto-aware dietician. 

Keto Diet Side Effect #7: Sleep Problems

Many people report struggling with sleep when first introduced to keto. Part of this problem can be traced back to low blood sugar. 

It’s also likely that keto initially triggers the production of stress hormones like cortisol, essentially placing your body into a ‘fight or flight’ mode that makes unwinding difficult. Sleep loss can then lead to a cycle of further cortisol overproduction.  

How to prevent keto insomnia

The magnesium supplementation we recommend for relaxing your muscles can also be used to relax your mind. One study found that magnesium improved many metrics of sleep, including “[Insomnia Severity Index] score, sleep efficiency, sleep time and sleep onset latency, [and] early morning awakening.”

Low-impact exercises like yoga postures that specifically support sleep, meditative practices, and breathing techniques to reduce anxiety, all have powerful sleep-enhancing benefits. 

Keto Diet Side Effect #8: Lower Energy levels

Transitioning from carb-burning to fat-burning can also result in temporarily low energy levels. 

Thankfully, this ‘side effect’ of keto flu doesn’t stick around long. It just indicates that your body is only beginning to produce enough ketones to fuel the metabolic processes it once used glucose for. 

How to improve low energy when you begin keto

The best way to increase your energy when beginning a keto diet is simply to get into ketosis as quickly as possible. 

Low-intensity exercise and an MCT-rich diet may both help with this. Exercise can deplete your body’s glycogen stores (i.e, stored carbs) and trigger ketone production, while MCT foods can provide a readily available carb replacement.  

Another thing that’s worth repeating: don’t be afraid of fat. Fat isn’t fattening in the context of a keto diet, so treat yourself! Drink heavy cream straight from the carton or dump it in your coffee. Fry your morning eggs in tablespoon upon tablespoon of butter. The hardest thing about beginning keto is just getting used to prioritizing and eating fat over everything else. 

Keto Diet Side Effect #9: Decreased Exercise Performance

Anyone can be negatively impacted by the low energy that comes with keto-adaptation, but athletes can have the greatest challenge. 

Our advice: hang in there. Once you are keto-adapted, you may experience higher, more stable energy levels than before. 

Fat metabolism, in fact, produces far more ATP (cellular energy) per calorie than carbohydrate metabolism — and this may mean keto provides athletes with far more usable energy.  

While some athletes feel that dietary fat is akin to ‘diesel fuel’ that’s incapable of supporting intense exercise, others have noted that even the most intense exercise can be fueled by fat after keto-adaptation. 

How to improve exercise on the keto diet

First, stick with moderate-intensity exercise for the first 1-2 weeks of your keto diet. Be sure to drink plenty of water, liberally salt your foods, and consider supplementing with magnesium. 

The timing of your keto transition matters, too. Competitive athletes may do best by beginning their keto diet in the offseason or preseason to give their bodies time to adjust.  

Keto Diet Side Effect #10: Bad Breath

Many people notice halitosis, or “keto breath,” once they’ve transitioned into ketosis. 

This change is a direct result of ketogenic metabolism. Acetone is a ketone that gets released in the breath — and it doesn’t smell all that great. 

“Nail polish breath” is often one of the first signs that your body has begun producing sufficient ketones for you to be in ketosis. That’s because acetone is one of the main ingredients in nail polish. 

As your body begins to process acetone and other ketones more efficiently, keto breath goes away.

How to reduce keto breath

Keeping your oral hygiene consistent is the best way to reduce keto breath. Regular brushing and flossing can help make halitosis far less noticeable.  

One word of caution: stay away from sugar-free gum. Dr. Kiltz has noticed that it can spike insulin levels and prevent ketone production, even in the absence of carbs.

Keto Diet Side Effect #11: Heart Palpitations

Some people notice that their heart beats faster than normal during their transition to the keto diet. Experts believe this temporary change is caused by electrolyte imbalances and/or elevated stress hormones.

How to reduce heart palpitations

Magnesium supplementation, not overdoing the caffeine, and getting plenty of rest may all help you avoid heart palpitations. Yoga, nature walks, and meditation may also reduce your stress hormone levels enough to help.

Keto Diet Side Effect #12: Hair Loss

First things first: the keto diet is very unlikely to cause hair loss. Keto/carnivore eaters have been aware of the diet’s ability to enhance hair growth for decades.

If you notice hair loss after beginning a ketogenic diet, it’s likely being caused by insufficient protein and/or calorie intake — not by ketosis itself.  

How to prevent hair loss during keto

Preventing keto-associated hair loss is as simple as eating enough and making sure your keto diet is well formulated. This means paying attention to the types of food you eat, not just the grams of fat you get each day. 

Add in these 5 keto superfoods and supplement with fresh organ meats to cover your micronutrient bases. 

Though rare, some people find that they need to eat more calories than usual on keto. So be sure not to skimp on the keto ice cream and butter. 

Keto Diet Side Effect #13: Kidney Stones

Doing the ketogenic diet incorrectly can raise your chance of developing kidney stones. This possibility was first seen in children following a very strict, ultra-low-carb ketogenic diet for epilepsy. Kidney stones can occur in both children and adults who begin keto and fail to drink enough water. 

How to prevent kidney stones

When doctors first developed the ketogenic diet protocol at All Children’s Hospital, they prescribed a buffering solution called Polycitra-K to all children who began the diet.  

This was in response to a study conducted at Johns Hopkins by Eric Kossoff and his team, who found that providing Polycitra-K reduced the incidence of kidney stones from 6% down to 0.9%.  Supplementation with potassium citrate may cause the same type of improvement. 

Consider drinking plenty of water or milk, too, as they can help flush uric acid out of your body. Finally, eating some keto-friendly fruits and veggies has a similarly protective effect because these foods can ‘buffer’ the pH of your blood and urine.

Keto Diet Side Effect #14: Increased Cholesterol Levels

The idea that keto leads to higher cholesterol is one of the diet’s most persistent, but misunderstood concerns. 

Most people have been fed the misinformation that high-cholesterol foods like eggs, bacon, and red meat raise blood cholesterol. But more recent and higher quality science shows that this is not the case. 2

While most people who begin a keto diet do start consuming more cholesterol, this doesn’t always translate to higher serum cholesterol levels. Long-term studies of high-carb vs. low-carb diets have found that the low-carb group often has better triglyceride and HDL cholesterol levels.

Even if ketosis does raise your cholesterol levels, this change may not be as concerning as you might think. 

You can Learn more about how the keto diet affects cholesterol here. 

Keto Diet Side Effect #15: Reduced Alcohol Tolerance

Is decreased alcohol tolerance a good thing or a bad thing? 

That probably depends on who you ask. Regardless, many people who follow the keto diet notice that their alcohol tolerance becomes much lower, and that they can have more severe hangovers. 

People who needed two-three drinks to feel a buzz might only need one or two when on keto. Some experts believe that the liver loses its ability to process alcohol when it’s busy producing ketones — and/or loses its ability to produce ketones when it’s processing alcohol.

How to improve alcohol tolerance on keto

Since B vitamins are depleted during alcohol metabolism, supplementing with antioxidants and B vitamins (or keto superfoods) may allow you to enjoy alcohol hangover-free.

The increased severity of hangovers is likely a result of dehydration due to electrolyte imbalances. 

When you’re in ketosis you flush more fluids. To avoid hangovers, alternate your alcohol with drinking more water. You may also want to supplement with magnesium and potassium. 

Keto Diet Side Effect #16: Gout

The keto diet is usually also a high protein, high purine diet — and that means it can produce a transient rise in uric acid levels. 

Uric acid buildup, in turn, can lead to gout in people who are susceptible. 

In the long run, however, ketosis seems to have a favorable effect on gout. Over time your body will become more efficient at clearing ketones and allow for the simultaneous clearance of uric acid.

How to prevent gout

Gout’s root cause may be buildups of toxins within the gut, not uric acid itself.  In which case, a keto diet high in antibacterial fatty acids and low in fiber and antinutrients would actually be very helpful.  Talk to your doctor if gout is an ongoing concern. 

If you don’t have any history of gout, it’s very unlikely that you should have any concerns. 

Keto Diet Side Effect #17: ‘Keto Rash’

‘Keto rash’ is a type of dermatitis that some people experience when they go keto. It’s characterized by itchy, red-hued papules that show up mostly on the upper back and chest. Experts believe that keto rash can be caused by intolerance to histamine-rich keto foods or issues with blood sugar regulation.

How to prevent keto rashes

Those most susceptible to keto rash (i.e, Asian women) may want to moderately lower their carb intake over time, entering ketosis more gradually. 

Ensuring adequate carotenoid intake may also help prevent keto rash, at least in theory, since vitamin A is great for regulating skin cell proliferation. Some of the best keto-friendly vitamin A sources include beef liver and pastured dairy products.

Keto Side Effects: The Takeaway

Though keto has many proven benefits, making the change to keto can be challenging.

The good news is that each of the 17 keto side effects we looked at is either transient, influenced by underlying health conditions, or due to a poorly formulated keto diet. This means that for most people, with more awareness of your body’s needs, and a few tweaks to your diet, these side effects can be avoided or overcome. 

Of course, if you continue to find yourself experiencing adverse effects while on keto, we recommend seeking the advice of a healthcare professional with knowledge of the keto diet. 

Saponins
Liam McAuliffe

Saponins: Everything You Need to Know

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Plants are often touted as the healthiest foods on the planet. But what most people don’t know is that many plant foods contain hidden chemicals, like saponins, that can actually do more harm than good. 

These naturally occurring chemicals are known as plant toxins and antinutrients. They exist to ward off predators and protect plants from harm. One of the most common plant toxins is saponins. 

Keep reading to learn about saponins and how they can affect your health.

What Are Saponins?

Saponins are a group of bitter-tasting chemicals that naturally occur in plants. They get their name from their ability to form soap-like foams in water. The latin word for soap is sapo. Interestingly, saponins are responsible for the foamy substance you see when you soak beans.

All parts of plants contain at least some saponins. This includes flowers, leaves, stems, bark, seeds, and fruit. However, saponins are mostly concentrated in plant roots.

Plants synthesize and accumulate saponins during normal growth and development. But saponin levels often rise in response to stress such as a pathogen attack. 

Like all living things, plants don’t want to be eaten. Saponins are a plant’s defense mechanism. Saponins possess antimicrobial, antifungal, antiparasitic, insecticidal, and antinutrient properties to protect plants from predators.

A Natural Pesticide

Saponins are natural pesticides and contribute to the 5,000 to 10,000 natural pesticides you consume everyday.

One study found that saponins can kill insects by penetrating the outer surface of larvae and destroying the intestines of insects after consumption.

This gruesome process highlights the powerful properties of saponins. However, eating saponins won’t kill humans, but they can cause negative consequences when overconsumed.

Where Do We Find Saponins?

Saponins are found in many plant-based foods. But they are also used commercially in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.

For example, saponins are the foaming agents in carbonated beverages and cosmetics. They also act as flavor modifiers for baked goods, beverages, chewing gum, candies, herbs, seasonings, and dietary supplements.

Some saponins also make up the ingredients of medications. The saponins in wild yam are used to synthesize steroids such as cortisone, progesterone, and pregnenolone.

Foods High in Saponins

Saponins primarily accumulate in legumes and grains. You can also find saponins in tea, onions, garlic, sugar beets, asparagus, sunflowers, yucca, tomatoes, and potatoes.

The content of saponins in foods varies depending on many factors such as plant age, species, water and light intake, and time of year.

The following foods contain high levels of saponins:

  • Licorice root, 22.2 to 32.3 grams of saponins per 100 grams
  • Soybeans, 3.9 to 5.6 grams of saponins per 100 grams
  • Chickpeas, 3.6 to 5 grams of saponins per 100 grams
  • Quinoa, up to 0.73 grams of saponins per 100 grams
  • Spinach, around 0.5 grams of saponins per 100 grams
  • Oats, 0.1 to 0.3 grams of saponins per 100 grams 

Leaky gut Syndrome concept. Comparison of healthy organ and inflamed tissue cells. Diseases of gastrointestinal tract. Toxins and viruses. Cartoon flat vector illustration isolated on white background

Health Risks of Saponins

Eating a diet of foods high in saponins can increase your risk of health complications. 

Saponin Toxicity

Saponins are toxic chemicals that protect healthy plants from insect, fungal, and bacterial pathogens. For this reason, ingesting foods that contain saponins can cause toxicity in the human body. However, severe poisoning is rare.

If you consume high levels of saponins, you may experience uncomfortable gastrointestinal side effects such as:

  • Abdominal pain
  • Abdominal distension 
  • Diarrhea
  • Bloating
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting

Increased Intestinal Permeability

In more severe cases, high doses of saponins can also contribute to leaky gut. This is known as increased intestinal permeability.

Because saponins bind with cholesterol, they interfere with the mucosa lining of the intestines.  Though the effect of saponins alone on the gut is likely moderate, saponins in the diet are often combined with other plant toxins like lectins, gluten, and gliadin. This creates a cumulative risk. 

The leakiness of the intestinal cell membrane allows molecules and water to enter and exit freely. This results in red blood cell swelling, which eventually causes the cell membrane to rupture.

 

Cracks or holes in the intestinal tract cause inflammation and can lead to the development of a variety of diseases and autoimmune disorders. The breakdown of red blood cells can also give rise to anemia.

People with the following diseases may be more susceptible to saponin-triggered red blood cell death:

  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Renal insufficiency
  • Hemolytic uremic syndrome
  • Sepsis
  • Malaria
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Wilson’s disease
  • Iron deficiency
  • Malignancy
  • Metabolic syndrome
  • Phosphate depletion

Nutritional Deficiencies 

Eating a diet rich in saponin foods can increase your risk of nutritional deficiencies. This is because saponins are antinutrients that prevent the absorption of various vitamins and minerals including: 

  • magnesium
  • iron, 
  • zinc, 
  • vitamin A, 
  • vitamin E
  • calcium.  

They also impair digestive enzymes, which reduce your ability to digest and absorb proteins. 

Low levels of magnesium are associated with diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.

Iron deficiency can also lead to health complications, especially in pregnancy. Unfortunately, iron deficiency in pregnancy can cause placenta hypertrophy, premature delivery, low birth weight, and infant death.

Zinc deficiency can impair your immune system and lead to inflammation and tissue damage.

Vitamin A deficiency can affect a wide variety of bodily processes. Alarmingly, vitamin A deficiency is the main cause of preventable blindness worldwide. Adequate vitamin A levels are necessary for ocular function, bone development, reproductive health, immune function, and normal fetal development.

Inadequate vitamin E levels can increase your risk of infection, anemia, stunted growth, and poor outcomes during pregnancy.

Calcium deficiency can impair bone health and repair and increase your risk of osteoporosis.

Infertility

Research shows that saponins can have detrimental effects on fertility. In fact, some saponins possess abortifacient, anti-zygotic, and anti-implantation properties.

For example, intravenous administration of broomweed and agave saponins above 2-3 mg/kg body weight induced abortion and death in rabbits, goats, and cows. Other saponins have also shown to cause sterility and terminate pregnancies in rats and mice.

Interestingly, extracts of a saponin-containing plant called Mussaenda pubescens are used as a contraceptive in China.

Research shows that saponins have mixed results on fertility in humans. One study found that some saponins increase sperm motility and progression whereas others act as a spermicide.

Saponins may play a role in infertility because their chemical structure resembles that of reproductive hormones. This causes saponins to compete with hormones at receptors, which may disrupt hormone levels necessary for reproduction.

How to Reduce Saponins in Your Diet

There are many ways to lower your dietary intake of saponins and improve your health. Altering the methods you use to prepare your foods, and eating a diet that limits plant foods can have lasting benefits for your health. 

Prepare Your Food Properly

You can reduce the saponins in foods using a variety of food preparation methods, including washing, cooking, and fermentation.

Washing quinoa with hot water can decrease the saponin content in seeds by up to 20%. Roasting quinoa flour can also promote saponin degradation. This reduces the bitter taste associated with saponins.

Heat treatment may also benefit the nutritional quality of many other foods. Research suggests that cooking legumes reduce the content of saponins. However, this may not be true for all foods.

Lastly, fermenting foods may provide the greatest reduction in saponins. Remarkably, one study found that fermentation may reduce the saponin content of foods by up to 92%.

Follow a Keto Diet

Following a keto diet can reduce your intake of plant toxins and antinutrients. This is because a keto diet revolves around healthy fats and proteins and limits carbohydrates such as grains and legumes. 

The macronutrient ratios for a standard ketogenic diet fall within these ranges: 

  • 70-80% of calories from fats
  • 15-30% of calories from protein
  • 0-10% of calories from carbohydrates

You can enjoy the following foods on a keto diet:

  • Red meat
  • Organ meats
  • Eggs
  • Fish and seafood
  • Full-fat dairy products
  • Butter
  • Ghee
  • Beef tallow
  • Coconut oil
  • Olives
  • Cucumbers
  • Zucchini
  • Cruciferous vegetables
  • Lettuce
  • Chives
  • Berries

A keto diet can mend health problems associated with saponins by decreasing inflammation, providing essential nutrients, and improving fertility. 

Another dietary option that cuts out all plant foods, and therefore all saponins, is the Carnivore Diet, which you can learn about here.

The Takeaway

Saponins are harmful chemicals that occur naturally in plant-based foods such as legumes and grains. Like phytates, saponins are antinutrients that interfere with the absorption of many vitamins and minerals. They also contain toxic properties that can damage the human body when overconsumed.

Limiting your consumption of saponins in foods can prevent the development of health complications such as toxicity, leaky gut, nutritional deficiencies, and infertility.

Eating a balanced and diverse keto diet that contains animal products such as eggs and liver can improve your nutritional intake while avoiding excessive exposure to plant toxins. 

Natural Fertility
Liam McAuliffe

Boosting Your Natural Fertility: The Essential Guide for Women and Men

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Have you been trying to get pregnant on your own and it’s just not working? It might be time to try a new approach specifically designed to increase your fertility the natural way. 

In this article we’ll explore over 20+ natural fertility boosters, including simple dietary changes, supplements, and lifestyle additions. Keep reading to learn how you can maximize your body’s fertility naturally.

** While this article focuses on natural fertility, the natural fertility boosters mentioned here can also be applied to your IUI or IVF treatment. That’s because natural fertility boosters improve the very same egg, sperm, and uterine health that practically all fertility treatments rely upon.

Natural Conception: Optimizing Intercourse 

You probably had sex-ed class back in your school days, but for better or worse most of its contents focused on preventing pregnancy. Now that your goals are different and you’re having sex specifically to get pregnant, it may be a good idea to give yourself a little refresher course. 

The Fertile Window 

Women can only become pregnant during a small segment of the menstrual cycle known as the “fertile window.”  Timing this window right requires understanding your menstrual cycle since no two women’s cycles are exactly the same. Your body’s fertility window depends on the duration of your menstrual cycle. 

Day 1: First day of your period

Days 1-14: Follicular phase

Day 14: Ovulation

Day 14-28: Luteal phase

The menstrual cycle begins with the first day of your period — that’s day 1. The following 2 weeks (days 1 through 14) of your cycle are referred to as the follicular phase.  During the follicular phase, your body focuses on egg growth, maturation, and preparation of the womb.  

Next comes the luteal phase, which begins when women ovulate and release an egg — this happens around day 14.  From this point forward, fertilization can occur. After an egg is ovulated it has to be fertilized within 12 to 48 hours. 

Since eggs have a short fertilization window and sperm have to swim such a long distance, it’s best to have intercourse right before ovulation. Timing things this way provides sperm with the best chance of reaching an egg and fertilizing it in time.  

Fertility window ovulation calendar

While most fertility specialists say that the fertile window is about five days long, its duration may not be set in stone. Some studies claim a woman’s fertile window can last up to ten days.

Conclusion 

Experts recommend having sex during the 72 hours pre-ovulation to fully maximize chances of conception. If sperm arrive before the egg is ovulated, they simply wait in the fallopian tubes until the egg is ready to be released. Studies show that sperm can survive for up to 5 days within a woman’s body.  

Pro-fertility Sex Positions 

Some experts believe that having sex in the missionary position maximizes your chance of conception. 

There’s not much scientific evidence that this is true, however, and much of the available evidence is based on findings from IUI (intrauterine insemination) studies. One IUI study discovered that women who lay flat on their backs for 15 minutes post-insemination have higher conception rates than women who get up immediately.

It’s possible — but not proven — that this concept carries over to actual sex. The chance of conception may improve if a man ejaculates while a woman lays on her back, thus the belief that missionary sex is best for fertility. 

Other people speculate that positions that allow for deeper penetration, closer to the cervix, may increase fertility. This belief hasn’t been validated by any research, however.  Any sex position that allows sperm to be delivered close to the cervix can result in pregnancy.

Foreplay

Interestingly, foreplay and arousal levels have been shown to positively affect your chances of conception. 

Men who are more aroused may have higher sperm counts. And women who orgasm during sex may also be more fertile.  

These findings imply that partner attraction is important for fertility — so consider getting in shape with a high-fat, low-carb diet if you haven’t already. 

Conclusion

While no sex position has been definitively proven to increase natural fertility, keeping things exciting between you and your partner is always a good idea. Emotional interconnectedness, renewed passion, and reduced stress are all pro-fertility side effects of healthy sex life.

How Often? 

Since the sperm’s ability to reach and fertilize an egg is largely a number’s game, couples who have sex more often have higher chances of getting pregnant. 

Tracking your period and having sex just prior to ovulation also gives you a higher chance of conceiving. Even if you aren’t tracking your fertility window, having frequent sex increases the chance that sperm will be waiting in the fallopian tubes once an egg is ovulated.  

Word of Caution about Lube

Most endocrinologists caution against using lubricants when trying to get pregnant. Most vaginal lubricants are acidic enough to damage sperm and negatively impact fertility.  Even in the case of successful conception, it’s not yet fully understood how lube-induced sperm damage might affect future life. Err on the side of caution.

Instead of using lube, we’d recommend focusing on foreplay, which can boost your body’s self-lubrication naturally. The cervical mucus produced by a woman’s body has the ideal thickness and acidity for sperm. 

And don’t rush things: a large percentage of women report needing at least 15-20 minutes of kissing and intimacy to really get in the mood.

Conclusion

Lube isn’t likely to increase your natural fertility — and it may harm sperm. Make an effort to focus on increasing arousal instead. Warm water can also be an alternative to potentially toxic lubricants.

Lifestyle Changes for Improved Natural Fertility

Lifestyle changes may seem to be subtle, but they can make a profound difference in your fertility rates over time. Some of our favorite science-backed lifestyle changes include:

  • Yoga
  • Other exercises
  • Quit smoking
  • Limit alcohol
  • Get enough sleep
  • Avoid toxins
  • Avoid saunas
  • Reduce stress
  • Massage
  • Low-level laser therapy

Fertility-friendly Exercise: Yoga

Yoga is a great way to improve your fertility and increase the likelihood of success with fertility treatments.  Frequent yoga may improve your natural fertility in three primary ways: 

  1. Reduced stress 
  2. Improved circulation
  3. Balanced immune system

Let’s take a look at these beneficial mechanisms one by one. 

Reduced stress 

Stress and fertility problems tend to feed off of each other. Stress can hurt your fertility, and fertility problems, in turn, can cause increased levels of stress.  

Yoga is a proven stress-reducer that can help your body produce lower amounts of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. 

Since cortisol is produced from the same substrate (cholesterol) that pro-fertility hormones like progesterone are, lowering cortisol levels may set the stage for a fertility-friendly environment.

Improved circulation

Poor circulation is a frequent hidden cause of infertility.  Conversely, keeping oxygen and carbon dioxide levels high has been correlated with improved fertility because these elements keep the developing fetus healthy. 

While ensuring adequate oxygenation can be done by moving to a higher altitude, exercises like yoga are a much more accessible option. Yoga’s gentle movements can increase your blood flow and ensure that nourishing blood reaches your reproductive organs.

Balanced immune system

Yoga is an incredible way to boost your body’s innate immune system. This important facet of the immune system is responsible for managing inflammation. 

It’s thought that immunity-induced inflammation is behind many “unexplained infertility” diagnoses, so lowering inflammation naturally is almost always a good idea.

Indeed, yoga’s mental benefits can transfer over to improved physical markers. Studies have shown that yoga practitioners may have higher white blood cell levels. 

This shift towards a more ‘rested’ immune state means less stress and higher rates of fertility in those who want to get pregnant.

Yoga’s dual mental and physical benefits may also help couples who are using assisted reproductive technologies (ART) to get pregnant.

Other Fertility-friendly Exercises

The benefits of exercise are as diverse as they are well documented. Exercise is shown to strengthen your heart, improve circulation, reduce stress, improve sleep, and boost fertility.  

Experiencing these benefits is as easy as adding 30-60 minutes of moderate movement into your daily routine. The many good choices include walking, swimming, and stretching. 

Exercise may boost male fertility, too. Many types of exercise boost testosterone, which in turn plays a vital role in sperm production.  Research shows that men who exercise have better testosterone levels and healthier semen.

The Downside of Intense Exercise

While exercise is usually beneficial, it can still be overdone. Fertility specialists like Dr. Kiltz recommend against high-intensity exercise when trying to get pregnant. Intense exercise can easily create more stress than your body can adapt to — and this stress can negatively impact both male and female fertility.  

One study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology shows that exhaustive exercise can reduce a woman’s chances of getting pregnant. 

According to their survey of 3,000 women, 24% of women who exercised until exhaustion had fertility problems. Women who exercised at low/moderate intensity showed no evidence of impaired natural fertility.  It’s thought that women’s bodies may not have enough energy to support both hard workouts and achieving pregnancy.  

If you’ve overdone exercise in the past, however, don’t worry. Reductions in natural fertility seem to fade once hard training is stopped. Supplementing with zinc or B vitamins may also help you regain your fertility.   

Quit Smoking

Smoking is known to cause all sorts of health problems, so the fact that it reduces fertility shouldn’t be a surprise. This effect is merely an extension of smoking’s general danger to human health. 

It’s believed that the toxins found in cigarette smoke can damage DNA over time — including the DNA of the ovarian follicles where eggs develop.  Cigarette smoke can reduce a woman’s ovarian reserve and cause her ovaries to age prematurely, reducing the timeframe in which her body can handle natural pregnancy. 

A 2017 study found that smoking more than five cigarettes per day can significantly reduce your fertility. Smoking before pregnancy can also impact your baby’s future health, causing birth defects or even miscarriage. 

Fertility experts recommend completely quitting smoking in order to avoid all these potential risks. According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), women who stopped smoking a year before trying to conceive can greatly improve their fertility rates.

Smoking seems to damage male fertility, too. The ASRM notes that smoking can decrease the sperm’s ability to fertilize eggs.  

This possibility was confirmed by a 2003 study of over 2,000 men, which found that heavy smokers have 19% less sperm than non-smokers. Sperm density, count, and motility are also affected by smoking.  Check out the chart below. 

Sperm DensitySperm CountSperm Motility
-15.3%-17.5%-16.6%

Conclusion

All of the available research points to the same conclusion: smoking is bad for every facet of your health, including natural fertility.  When trying to quit smoking it can be helpful to look at what you gain, as opposed to what you’re giving up. And when it comes to improving fertility, you could be gaining the child of your dreams. 

Limit Alcohol

While having the occasional glass of wine here and there doesn’t seem to impact fertility, excessive alcohol consumption can impair your fertility rates. 

Research shows that women who drink 8 or more units of alcohol per week may take longer to conceive than those who abstain.

The effects of moderate alcohol consumption on natural fertility, however, are not as conclusive.  In some studies, moderate drinking doesn’t produce any adverse effects — but other studies have correlated as little as five drinks per week with reduced fertility.

While the majority of research in this area has been on women, recent research in males has found that heavy alcohol use has a similarly negative effect. 

One study found a distinctive difference in sperm quality between alcoholic and non-alcoholic men.  This study also found differences in sperm volume, vitality, and survival rates, and these differences became bigger as more alcohol was consumed.  

Only 12% of alcoholics in the study had ‘normal’ healthy semen, while 3 times as many non-alcoholic men had normal semen parameters. The study concluded that alcohol abuse impairs many metrics of sperm health. 

Even among people who’ve abused alcohol, however, not all hope is lost. Another study analyzed the semen parameters of chronic alcoholics and found that drastic improvements in semen health could be seen within three months of alcohol withdrawal.

Finally, a review of 15 studies on alcohol and male fertility confirmed that daily alcohol consumption has a negative impact on sperm morphology, volume, and overall health.

Using alcohol and tobacco together may damage sperm even more and lead to sperm DNA damage.

Conclusion

Keeping alcohol consumption a minimum preserves your natural fertility and increases your chances of having a baby.

Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is an often-underlooked facet of health, even among people who truly put a priority on being healthy. 

Getting enough sleep is arguably more important than eating well or exercising — at least based on what happens to your body if you don’t sleep.  

While couples that struggle with fertility may be tempted to focus solely on their sex life, they would probably do better to focus on a different bedtime activity: sleeping. 

Many studies show that inadequate sleep and/or sleep disturbances can hurt the reproductive health of both men and women.

One study of women with sleep issues found that insomnia may increase infertility rates by up to 400%.  Given that women are already twice as likely to suffer from insomnia than men, dialing in your sleep routine is of utmost importance. 

Sleep can impact every stage of the female fertility process. Poor sleep can negatively impact menstruation, conception, and more. It can even lead to pregnancy complications later on down the road.

Sleeping too much, on the other hand, may also be less than optimal. One study looking at women undergoing IVF treatment found that moderate sleepers (7-8 hours/night) had higher pregnancy rates than both under sleepers (4-6 hours) and oversleepers (9-11 sleepers).

It’s possible this trend was a result of confounding variables, of course. The oversleepers in the study above may have been sleeping more because of some underlying illness or metabolic problem. The best way to make sleep fertility-friendly is simply to listen to your body. 

Sleep quality also impacts male fertility. One study of men undergoing fertility treatment found a link between poor sleep quality and lower sperm motility, concentration, and total sperm count.  

Another study of 981 healthy men reviewed the effect of sleep patterns on semen health.   Just like in the female fertility study mentioned above, this study divided men into three categories: under sleepers, oversleepers, and moderate sleepers. Men who underslept had lower sperm counts, sperm motility, and reduced overall sperm health.  Later bedtimes were also correlated with impaired sperm health. 

Conclusion

If you want to increase your fertility the natural way, make sleep your priority. We’d recommend a sleep schedule that allows for 7-8+ hours a night. 

Try setting yourself up for success by doing some nighttime yoga, meditation, or stretching. Avoiding blue light in the evening may also help you maintain a healthy circadian rhythm.  

Avoid Toxins

The phrase “first do no harm” is an underlying tenet of medicine. 

It turns out that this concept applies to natural fertility, too. By minimizing your exposure to toxins, you can maximize your body’s natural ability to thrive. 

Research has shown that environmental toxins found in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the beauty aides we use can damage fertility. 

These environmental toxins, which include heavy metals, plastic products, and lead, are becoming more unavoidable by the day — causing all sorts of diseases in human populations as they do.

One of the primary aftereffects of exposure to these toxins is reduced fertility. Environmental toxins can disrupt the body’s hormones, and the reproductive systems of both men and women are highly susceptible to this type of disruption. Endocrine impairment can hurt natural fertility and IVF success alike.

One of the most ubiquitous environmental toxins is called bisphenol A, or BPA. This common chemical is found in many types of food packaging, including water bottles, metal cans, and more. 

Plastics/metals that contain BPA contaminate the foods and liquids they contain. If you’re pregnant or trying to be, stay away from BPA. One study of women undergoing IVF treatment found that high levels of BPAs significantly impact implantation chances.  Women with the top 25% of BPA levels were 211% more likely to suffer from implantation issues.    

Do your best to stop using products that contain known toxins. Be conscious of the quality of the foods you consume and try to avoid prepackaged meals. Stay away from non-stick cookware, too. 

Exposure to toxins and infertility in men

Avoid Saunas 

Sauna use may come with some health benefits, but they’re best avoided by men who are trying to maximize their natural fertility. 

The high temperatures of saunas have been shown to cause sperm damage. One study identified a reduction in sperm motility and an increase in sperm defects in men exposed to heat stress.

Another study conducted by the University of California at San Francisco, found that exposure to hot baths/hot tubs can contribute to male infertility.  Both dry heat and wet heat (the kind in saunas) may cause impaired spermatogenesis, as reflected in altered sperm parameters and sperm DNA.

If you’ve been exposed to sauna-level heat, don’t panic. Just as with alcohol-induced fertility problems, the effects of heat stress are reversible with time. 

Reduce Stress 

In general, things that are bad for one’s general health are also bad for their fertility, and stress is no exception.

When our bodies sense stress they recognize it’s not an ideal time to have a baby — and react accordingly. Physical and psychological stress can put your body into a survival mode where fertility is the least of its concerns.  

Several recent studies have identified a clear link between a woman’s stress levels and her fertility.  One study found that women with high stress levels took 29% longer to get pregnant than women with more ‘normal’ stress levels. 

The relationship between stress and fertility is especially complex because both things affect each other. In other words, stress can be both a cause and an effect of infertility.  Stress tends to increase after a diagnosis of infertility or failed IVF treatment.  

Stress can affect male fertility, too. Studies show it can reduce the production of luteinizing hormone and testosterone. These changes complicate the process of spermatogenesis and result in reduced sperm quality.

Thankfully, stress may have a simple solution. One review of more than 30 studies found that relaxation techniques may be effective at reducing negative emotions in medical patients. Psychosocial interventions that focus on eliminating stress can also help to improve pregnancy rates for infertile couples.

Massage 

Massage therapy offers both physical and mental benefits. It improves circulation, reduces muscular tension, reduces stress, and helps you relax.

 Since stress can negatively impact fertility, massage therapy may offer a holistic method for increasing fertility rates. 

Fertility-specific massage targets the muscles and connective tissues that surround the reproductive organs and gently corrects blockages. This results in increased blood flow, which helps your body regenerate and regulate itself. 

Many couples who try fertility massage experience improved fertility rates, especially when massage is used in conjunction with a fertility diet and other tools like meditation.  

While more research is needed in this area, the existing data suggests that massage can help treat several known causes of infertility. One study of 1,392 women found that massage helped unblock the fallopian tubes of 60% of its participants.  Over 50% of these women were then able to achieve natural pregnancy. A special type of massage therapy may also help with male fertility. 

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is another great way to relieve stress. This ancient practice uses sterilized needles to stimulate your body’s energy pathways and improve circulation. Research shows that acupuncture makes your brain release endorphins and endocannabinoids, natural painkillers that can help reduce stress.

Acupuncture is also known to have a fertility-friendly, hormone-balancing effect. It may help reduce the depression that’s all too common in people undergoing infertility treatment.  

These benefits are reflected in real-world research: women undergoing IVF have increased birth rates if they undergo acupuncture treatment throughout the fertilization process.

Low-level Laser Therapy 

Different types of light transmit different types of information to the creatures that absorb it. While blue light can be toxic to human cells, red light is energizing.

Recent studies have begun to establish a connection between natural fertility and low-level laser therapy (LLLT). This type of therapy has traditionally been used to relieve pain or enhance cellular function, and may also stimulate blood flow to the reproductive organs enough to improve fertility.

One Japanese study of infertile women who had previously unsuccessful results with assisted reproductive treatments discovered just how effective LLLT could be. This study started off with an initial trial of 74 patients, 16 of whom achieved pregnancy. 

Due to the initial success this trial was expanded to include 701 patients, 156 of whom went on to achieve pregnancy. In both cases, over 20% of the women who tried LLLT were able to become pregnant. No adverse events were noted in any of the patients who benefited from LLLT. 

Study researchers concluded that laser therapy is a pain-free, low-risk way to assist women during fertility treatment. Laser therapy may be especially helpful for older women who experience an age-related decline in egg quality.

LLLT may enhance natural fertility for males, too. Studies show it can increase one’s percentage of living sperm cells and improve their motility. Compared to other male infertility treatments, LLT is remarkably free from side effects. Many leading researchers believe it should be used as widely as possible.  

Optimizing Nutrition for Natural Fertility

The importance of nutrition is right up there with lifestyle when it comes to maximizing natural fertility.

The ideal fertility diet, however, may look a little different than you might expect — especially if you’re not familiar with Dr. Kiltz’s B.E.B.B.I approach. Here’s what you need to know about eating for reproductive health.  

Dietary Tip#1: Eat High Fat

Inflammation is one of the primary root causes of infertility.  While transient ebbs and flows in inflammation may be helpful for wound healing, immune responses, et cetera, chronic inflammation is harmful enough to hurt your fertility rates. 

An overactive immune system can damage sperm, egg, embryo, and the developing fetus. Inflammation can make it difficult to get pregnant and stay pregnant. 

Dr. Kiltz’s natural fertility diet makes reducing inflammation a primary goal. Since your body burns fat more ‘cleanly’ than it burns carbs, getting most of your calories from fat may set the stage for an anti-inflammatory, pro-fertility internal environment. 

Fat fosters fertility in other ways, too. It provides building blocks for the membranes of your cells and helps your thyroid synthesize important reproductive hormones.  

Dietary fat also provides your body with essential fatty acids that it can’t produce on its own. The fatty acids found in animal products assist with blood clotting and increase overall brain function. 

Dietary fat also allows your body to absorb some of the most important fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K. All of these vitamins play a role in supporting fertility.

Dietary Tip #2: Eat Animal Products 

Natural fats from high-fat animal products are also a natural fertility ally. These fats keep the lymphatic system firing on all cylinders, literally ‘lubricating’ it with fatty acids. Dr. Kilt’z B.E.B.B.I diet recommends the following animal-derived products: 

Besides being a rich source of cholesterol and fat-soluble vitamins, these foods also contain many other fertility boosting nutrients.

Full-fat dairy contains complete protein and known fertility-friendly nutrients, including calcium, zinc, choline, selenium, spermidine, and more.  

 In addition to supporting bone, heart, and connective tissue health, calcium is directly involved in sperm production in men. Be sure to get your calcium from full-fat dairy sources — studies have shown that reduced-fat dairy isn’t as healthy.

Dietary Tip #3: Avoid Trans Fats

Just as important as the inclusion of health-promoting foods is the exclusion of toxic ones. Trans fats are among the most toxic food ingredients.

Highly processed foods are the most common source of trans fats. These types of fats are very unstable and high in inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. Research has shown that they’re associated with ovulation problems and infertility. 

One eight-year-long observational study found that eating a diet high in trans fats resulted in reduced fertility. Trans fats have also been linked to male infertility.

Artificial trans fats can be found in fast food, snack foods, baked goods, and other processed foods. These processed foods usually contain partially hydrogenated oils, which may be the worst type of trans fats. We recommend checking for partially or fully hydrogenated oils on the ingredients list of any food you buy.

Dietary Tip #4: Reduce Carbohydrate Intake

While an excess of fat has traditionally been blamed for causing obesity, new research shows that excess carbohydrates trap fat in fat cells by triggering insulin production. The Standard American diet is rich in carbohydrates and unhealthy fats that directly contribute to inflammation, insulin resistance, weight gain, and infertility.

Chronically high carb intake can also cause elevated blood sugar levels, which leads to the formation of advanced glycation end-products (AGE’s) and other types of structural damage.  

Grains are especially inflammatory since they contain the perfect blend of sugar and inflammatory plant proteins like gluten. Given that the carbohydrates and incomplete proteins found in grains aren’t an essential part of the human diet, you’re probably better off going without them.

Chronically high carb consumption can also affect reproductive hormone levels. Spiking insulin levels may throw off your reproductive hormone levels enough to cause anovulation or other fertility problems.  

Common foods that are high in sugar and carbs include: 

  • bread 
  • pastries
  • rice
  • potatoes
  • fruit
  • candy

Dietary Tip #5: Limit Caffeine

Coffee is a seemingly essential part of many people’s mornings. Thankfully, you don’t have to give up coffee cold turkey in order to maximize your fertility. Enjoying a cup of coffee each morning is fine. 

Having multiple cups of coffee or other caffeinated drinks each day, however, can negatively affect your fertility.  It’s a good idea to closely monitor your caffeine intake if you’re trying to conceive. 

Dietary Tip #6: Cut Fiber

Fiber is the portion of plant-based foods that your body can’t fully break down.  Fiber may keep the digestive system healthy by encouraging regular bowel movements.  In theory, at least. 

Newer research shows that eating too much fiber could negatively impact female fertility.  

One case study that followed 250 women for two years discovered that high fiber intake was associated with lower reproductive hormone levels. More specifically, women who ate large amounts of fiber had lower levels of estradiol, progesterone, LH, and FSH.

Study researchers concluded that the hormonal changes caused by a high-fiber diet are associated with a higher probability of anovulation in women. 

Dietary Tip #7: Limit Soy

Soy products today aren’t what they once were. While soy is a staple in most traditional Asian diets, today’s soy isn’t properly prepared — which means it contains extremely high levels of phytoestrogens and antinutrients.

Phytoestrogens are especially damaging to male fertility, since men’s bodies are designed to be high in testosterone and low in estrogen. One study involving 99 men showed that a higher soy intake is associated with lower sperm concentration.  

Soy isn’t optimal for women, either. Eating excess soy can lead to lower circulating levels of hormones, like gonadotropin, that are essential for a healthy female reproductive cycle.  Moderation is key when it comes to soy ingestion: diets containing small amounts of soy don’t seem to pose a threat to the function of the ovaries.  

Dietary Tip #8: Consider supplementing 

As a general rule, eating whole foods and animal-based superfoods is almost always better than resorting to supplements. 

The higher nutrient demands of pregnant women, however, mean that getting all your vitamins and minerals through food alone can be impractical. B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin K2 can be especially difficult to get via diet. 

Many women find that natural fertility supplements provide an excellent way to safeguard both their health and the health of their future babies. Our team of fertility specialists recommends specialized supplements to all couples who are having difficulty conceiving.   

Molecular Fertility Supplements

The Molecular Fertility supplements we recommend are designed by leading fertility experts and backed by the latest peer-reviewed science. Rich in time-tested, clinically-proven nutrients, thousands of men and women are using our supplements to maximize their fertility the natural way. 

Dietary Tip #9: Get Enough Iron

Iron is another nutrient that’s needed more than normal during conception and pregnancy. 

An essential mineral our bodies need for growth, development, and hormone production, iron is naturally found in meat, seafood, beans, and lentils. The heme iron found in animal products is more bioavailable than plant-derived options.

Iron is also needed to make hemoglobin and myoglobin, the components of red blood cells that oxygenate muscles, organs, and tissues. Since the amount of blood in a woman’s body increases by up to 50% during pregnancy, extra iron is needed to maintain circulatory health.

Low iron levels can lead to a lack of ovulation and increase a woman’s risk of infertility.  

Dr. Kiltz and other fertility specialists recommended taking iron supplements during conception and throughout pregnancy for this very reason. Supplementing with iron has been shown to greatly reduce the risk of ovulatory infertility.  In addition to helping with ovulation, taking iron supplements prior to conception can ensure that you don’t become anemic during pregnancy.

Dietary Tip #10: Antioxidants

Antioxidants are found in many fruits, vegetables, and animal-based superfoods. Many health professionals believe that antioxidants are a critical part of any healthy diet. 

Antioxidants are able to defend our cells from the oxidative damage that happens when normal metabolic processes generate unstable free radicals. Antioxidants essentially prevent our bodies from getting oxidized (think of rust on metal). Common antioxidants include vitamin C, vitamin E, astaxanthin, and glutathione.

Studies show that antioxidants like folate and zinc may improve fertility in both men and women. The antioxidants in walnuts, for example, can tangibly improve sperm quality.  

Antioxidants may also make IVF treatments more effective — one study showed a 23% increase in fertility rates when IVF and antioxidant supplements were used in conjunction.  

Dietary Tip #11: Vitamin D

If you’re trying to increase your natural fertility, be sure to get enough vitamin D. Adequate Vitamin D intake boosts fertility by helping your body produce critical steroid hormones. Vitamin D deficiency, on the other hand, has been linked to infertility in both sexes.  

Men may experience reduced sperm health if their vitamin D levels are low, while women may need to supplement with vitamin D to ensure healthy levels throughout pregnancy.  

One study found that women with adequate vitamin D levels had an 18% higher chance of pregnancy during IVF treatment than women with low levels. The importance of vitamin D grows even more apparent given that almost 40% of U.S. adults suffer from Vitamin D deficiency.  

Since vitamin D comes from the foods we eat and from the sun, getting enough of this vitamin requires a multifaceted approach. 

Sunlight is the single best source of vitamin D. The moment our skin gets exposed to sunlight, a chemical reaction occurs and vitamin D gets produced. At the right latitudes, Just 10-15 minutes of exposure to strong sunlight per day may be enough to ensure adequate vitamin D production.

Vitamin D can also be obtained through food. This source becomes especially important in higher latitudes and during periods of cloudiness and wintertime. Foods high in vitamin D include seafood, salmon roe, beef, eggs, and mushrooms grown under UV lights.

Get Tested (STDs and STIs)

STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) and STIs (sexually transmitted infections) are known to negatively impact fertility in both males and females. Strongly consider getting tested if there is any possibility that either you or your partner have an STD/STI.

In women, STDs can lower fertility and increase the chances of experiencing a miscarriage. In men STDs can cause inflammation of the testicles and reduce semen quality.  

Getting tested is important — these diseases are more common than you might think. According to the World Health Organization, there were 273 million cases of curable STIs in adults aged 15-49 in 2012 alone.

PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)

Polycystic ovarian syndrome is the number 1 most common cause of infertility in women. Many women unknowingly suffer from PCOS for years before learning they have it when they first try to get pregnant. 

Women with PCOS have enlarged ovaries that develop small cysts. These cysts, while not malignant or cancerous, can cause hormonal imbalances that disrupt healthy ovulation. Studies have shown that improper ovulation is the cause of up to 30% of infertility cases.  

If you suspect you have PCOS, see your doctor. Eating a keto diet may also help correct the root causes of this reversible disease.

Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a uterine disorder where tissues that normally grow within the uterus grow on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, or intestines instead. 

Endometriosis is known to reduce fertility in several ways, largely by impairing normal egg fertilization and transport.

Click here to learn more about endometriosis and how to correct it. 

Natural Fertility: The Outlook

So, there you have it! Wrestling with infertility may seem like a hapless cause — but the reality is that natural dietary and lifestyle changes can lead to profound improvements over time. 

Fostering an intimate sex life, reducing environmental toxins, living a lower-stress life, eating a nourishing diet, and taking safe fertility supplements are all viable ways to maximize your natural fertility. 

And remember to be patient, since both sperm and egg take between 75 and 90 days to fully develop.  

 

Grass fed vs Grain Fed
Liam McAuliffe

Grass Fed vs Grain Fed Beef: Which is Better?

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The debate between Grass fed vs. Grain fed beef can get personal. Grain fed beef enthusiasts attest to the marbling and juiciness of their steaks. While grass-fed proponents believe that grass-fed cows eat and grow the way nature intended, and therefore their meat is healthier.  

Which side is right? 

Let’s settle the grass-fed vs. grain-fed debate by rating both types of beef according to four important metrics:

  1. Fatty Acid Composition
  2. Health benefits
  3. Taste
  4. Texture

Defining Grain Fed Cattle

Most cows, 97% to be exact, who are born and raised in the U.S don’t exactly live happy lives — despite what clever marketers might tell you. 

Conventional grain fed cattle born in the early spring are only allowed to be with their mothers in a natural environment for their first 7-9 months of life. After that, they’re moved to the feedlots.

And not just any feedlots. Most conventionally raised cattle spend their lives in the confined stalls of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). These cattle are then fed fattening soy and corn-based feed while simultaneously having their movement limited. To maximize growth and minimize the risk of illness, grain-fed cattle are given antibiotics, growth hormones, and other veterinarian-prescribed drugs.

Defining Grass Fed Cattle

Grass-fed cows, on the other handle, are generally treated better. Most grass-fed farming operations allow their cattle to move about relatively freely and eat fresh grass for at least part of the day. But the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed isn’t quite as clear-cut as it may first appear.

That’s because there’s no official standard for what defines the term “grass-fed.” There’s no governing body that guarantees that your “grass-fed beef” has been pasture-raised, allowed to freely graze outdoors. In some cases the grass-fed is a label applied simply to cows in feedlots that have been “finished” with grass. 

That being said, grass-fed cows primarily eat a natural diet of grass, while grain-fed cows primarily eat an unnatural diet of corn and soy. But since the USDA doesn’t enforce terms like ‘grass-fed,’ the only way to know for certain how your meat was raised is to get to know the farmers you source from or buy online from a known grassfed farm.

Grass Fed vs Grain Fed Difference #1: Fatty Acid Composition

The old phrase ‘you are what you eat’ doesn’t just apply to humans.

What a cow eats on a daily basis can dramatically change its body composition, just as it can for us. 

Grass-fed cattle tend to stay slightly leaner than grain-fed, as they’re eating a natural diet that allows for homeostatic weight regulation. This means grass-fed beef often contain fewer calories than ‘regular’ beef per serving.

The fatty acid profile of grass-fed beef is also different. While all beef contains a roughly equal blend of saturated and unsaturated fats, grass-fed beef contains fewer inflammatory polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).

Grass fed beef also contains a better blend of naturally occurring trans fats, like conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), than grain fed does. CLA is known to possess numerous health benefits, including weight loss and improved body composition.

Here’s a closer look at the distinctive fatty acid compositions of grass fed and grain fed beef.

Monounsaturated fat

Grass fed beef and grain fed beef contain similar amounts of monounsaturated fatty acids, though grass fed beef may be richer in a particular monounsaturated fat called oleic acid. [10] This incredible fatty acid may reduce inflammation and promote increased fat burning.

Polyunsaturated fats

Perhaps the single biggest nutritional difference between grass fed beef and grain fed beef lies in their PUFA content.

A select few PUFAs, or polyunsaturated fatty acids, are essential in small amounts. But eating an overabundance of PUFA — as most people on a standard American diet (SAD) do — can cause inflammation, oxidation, and accelerated aging.

Thankfully, grass fed beef seems to have the ideal PUFA content. It’s 66-500% richer in the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid, and 45% lower in total PUFA than grain fed beef.

These differences mean grass fed beef has a far superior omega 6:omega 3 ratio. While grain-fed beef’s ratio may be up to 16:1 (omega 6:3), grass fed beef’s ratio is roughly 1.4:1. Research has shown that a high dietary omega 6:3 ratio can contribute to health problems by destabilizing the cell membrane and impairing mitochondrial function.

Other fatty acids

As mentioned above, both grass fed and grain fed beef are rich in beneficial trans fats like conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). 

Different analyses have identified varying levels of CLA in each type, so it’s possible that a cow’s CLA content depends on factors that beyond what it was fed.

And while grass fed beef is often promoted as healthy because of its supposedly lower saturated fat content, the grass fed variety is an especially good source of pro-metabolic, pro-mitochondria saturated fats like stearic acid. One analysis found that grass fed beef’s stearic acid levels were 36% higher than grain fed’s. Research in animals has correlated stearic acid intake with a faster metabolism and lower waist size.

Below is a chart that breaks down all these differences. 

Fatty AcidGrain Fed BeefGrass Fed Beef
Palmitic Acid27.7%27.5%
Stearic Acid12.8%17.5%
Oleic Acid30.9%37.6%
Linoleic Acid3.3%1.1%
Alpha-linolenic Acid0.2%0.8%
Total SFA47.7%50.4%
Total MUFA 47.9%46.3%
Total PUFA3.5%1.9%

Grass fed vs grain fed beef fatty acid composition:

Grass fed beef’s lower PUFA content and higher stearic acid content give it a clear advantage over grain fed beef.

Grass Fed vs Grain Fed Difference #2: Taste

The difference in taste between grass fed beef and grain fed beef is highly debated. 

To the modern palate, grain fed beef may taste richer and sweeter than other alternatives — but such a palate is hardly natural. It’s been shaped more by frankenfoods and artificial sweeteners than it has by genuine nutritional needs or cravings. 

Grain fed beef’s sweetness is a direct result of what it’s fed: a fine-tuned mix of corn, corn byproducts, and soy, designed specifically to promote growth and sweetness at the expense of other factors. 

Grass feed beef, however, is fed a diet that stays faithful to nature’s design. Just as a human fed their natural animal-based diet will usually be thinner than one fed the SAD, cows fed a natural grass-based diet will be leaner than those on the corn + soy mix. Grass fed steak often has less marbling and a less buttery flavor than grain fed cuts. 

Some people describe grass fed meat as being tough or ‘gamie,’ while others say it tastes higher in minerals. Still, other people find they prefer grass fed beef’s more complex, earthier flavor.

Grass fed vs grain fed taste: 

The majority of Americans prefer the sweeter taste of grain fed beef — but that’s not necessarily a good thing. 

Grass Fed vs Grain Fed Difference #3: Texture

Grass fed beef may also have a gamier texture than grain fed beef. 

Because of its lower levels of fat marbling, grass fed steaks may have a rougher, more chewy texture than grain fed steak. They may also be more susceptible to overcooking — which can make it too dry or chewy. (If this happens to your steak, just add butter or tallow.)

Grass fed beef even looks different. Its fat tends to have a light yellow hue from all the beta carotene the cattle are ingesting through grass. The meat itself is often darker and juicier compared with the light-pinkish color of conventional grain fed beef.

Grass fed vs grain fed texture: 

The textures of grass fed and grain fed beef may be different, but that doesn’t mean one is necessarily better than the other. 

Grass Fed vs Grain Fed Difference #4: Health Benefits

Both grass fed beef and grain fed beef are concentrated sources of important nutrients. 

Loaded with bioavailable B vitamins, iron, zinc, selenium, and protein, both types of beef contain almost every nutrient you need to survive and thrive.  They’re  also rich in rarely-acknowledged nutrients, like carnosine, which promote muscular strength and health. And it should go without saying that beef is a vital part of any low-carb or carnivore diet. 

If grain fed beef is good for you, then grass fed beef is simply great. The health differences between the two can be placed into four major categories:

  • Better fatty acid profile
  • Better antioxidant profile
  • Higher in micronutrients
  • Lower in contaminants

We already covered the first of these major differences, so let’s now take a look at the remaining three. 

Better antioxidant profile

Grass fed beef’s grass-based diet means it’s much higher in antioxidants — particularly vitamins A and E. 

In addition to reducing general inflammation and aging, these antioxidants confer specific health benefits. Vitamin A is known for its role in skin and eye health. Vitamin E, on the other hand, is incorporated into cell membranes in order to protect them from all sorts of oxidative stress.

Higher in micronutrients

Grass fed beef is also higher in important micronutrients than beef of the grain fed variety. 

The grass-based diet of these cattle is loaded with vitamin K1, which they then convert into Vitamin K2 in the way that only ruminant animals can.

Our bodies use vitamin K2 to foster bone health and protect against bone diseases like atherosclerosis. Considering many people today are deficient in this crucial vitamin, grass fed beef could provide a simple way to safeguard bones and joints.

Lower in contaminants

Just as important as all the nutrients in grass fed beef are all the toxins that are likely absent. 

Grass fed beef is lower in phytoestrogens than grain fed beef — that’s because cattle who are fed grass don’t get exposed to phytoestrogen-rich soy feeds like others do. 

While any type of beef will be lower in phytoestrogens than soy products, grass fed beef is the very safest choice. (Avoiding phytoestrogens is especially important if you’re pregnant or trying to become pregnant.) Grass fed beef may also be lower in antibiotics, growth hormones, and glyphosate than other varieties. 

One final advantage of grass fed beef: there’s some evidence that animals who live a lower-stress life produce more nutritious meat. 

Highly stressed grain fed beef, on the other hand, may not be as ideal. Once ingested, the polyamines found in a stressed animal may be able to cross through a person’s blood-brain barrier and confer an unknown amount of stress to humans. Grass fed vs grain fed health benefits: 

While both types of beef are highly nutritious, grass-fed beef is a veritable superfood. It has more antioxidants and fewer potential toxins than the alternatives. 

Is Grass Fed Beef Worth It? The Bottom Line

Let’s recap the basics: Though grass-fed beef has a generally healthier nutrient profile, conventionally raised, grain fed beef is still a great source of vitamins, minerals, and beneficial fatty acids. 

Grass-fed beef, on the other hand, can be prohibitively expensive in some areas. If the mere thought of affording it is stressful, you might be wise to stick with conventional beef. Differences in taste and texture mean you might prefer grain fed beef anyways. 

Ultimately, the choice to go grass fed or grain fed depends on a combination of your preferences, ideals, location, and means. 

Choose whatever option is best for your holistic health — or just try both and see which you like better.

 

Assortment of vegetable oils
Liam McAuliffe

Is Vegetable Oil Healthy? What the Science Says

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The question of whether vegetable oil is healthy is more important than ever as vegetable oils have become a major source of calories for Americans over the past century. 

From 1909 to 1999, the per capita consumption of vegetable oils in America increased by over 2000 percent.

Some vegetable oils, like olive oil, have been around for thousands of years. Yet the most common vegetable oils in the American diet, like soy oil, canola oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, and peanut oil, have been around for only a century or less.

To answer the question of the possible health risks and benefits of vegetable oils, let’s take a closer look at what they are, how they’re made, and how they’re processed in our bodies. 

Is Vegetable Oil Healthy? Fast Facts

  • Vegetable oils are highly processed industrial food products
  • Most vegetable oils other than olive and peanut oil are pressed from seeds
  • Most seed oils are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)
  • PUFA oxidize easily and may be inflammatory when ingested
  • Soy and corn oils are the most prevalent vegetable oils in the American diet
  • Soy and corn oils are high in inflammatory omega 6 fatty acids 
  • In the American diet, the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids is 15:1
  • To reduce possible health risks, limit your intake of vegetable oils high in omega 6s

What are Vegetable Oils and How are They Made?

Vegetable oils are extracted from certain plants and seeds. The way each oil is produced depends on its source. As you will see, most vegetable oils are highly processed industrial products involving numerous chemicals. 

Grinding and Pressing the Seeds

With seed oils, the seeds are first ground into a coarse meal. The meal is heated and fed through a screw press which applies increasing pressure. The oil drips through a slotted drum into a container and the remaining solid meal is extruded. 

The heat and pressure force the oil out of the seeds, but the process also extracts various impurities which must then be removed from the final product.

Olive oil, coconut oil, and peanut oil are usually “cold-pressed” where only pressure is applied. 

Here’s a video of the process. 

Applying Solvent

For seed oils, after this first heat-treated pressing, the extruded meal or “oil cake” is sprayed with petroleum-based solvents such as hexane. This dissolves more oil out of the seed cake.

More Cleaning

Since oil crop seeds are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, they are prone to oxidation and rancidity when heated and exposed to the air. 

The result is a dirty, rancid, oxidized, and bitter-tasting product. To create a final product that can be sold as “healthy” food, the oil must be cleaned and deodorized.

The first step in cleaning is to heat the oil and add an alkaline substance such as sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate. This causes soap to form from the rancid fatty acids. A centrifuge removes the soap. Then oil is washed again to remove any leftover soap and dried.

Degumming and Deodorizing the Oil

The oil is then degummed by treating it with hot acidic water. After any gummy residue is removed, the oil that will be heated by the consumer (i.e., cooking oil) is bleached and filtered through diatomaceous earth or activated clay. 

Cold oils to be used for salad dressings are “winterized” or rapidly chilled and filtered to remove any wax.

The final stage before bottling the oil is to deodorize it. This involves heating the oil again and passing steam over it in a vacuum while adding citric acid to deactivate trace metals that may promote oxidation and shorten the oil’s shelf-life.  

Then off it goes to be bottled and sold.

Hydrogenation

The resulting “clean” vegetable oil may also undergo hydrogenation. This involves mixing the oil with a nickel catalyst and then pumping hydrogen into the oil to induce a chemical reaction that solidifies it. This is how margarine and vegetable shortenings are made. 

A major downside is that hydrogenation introduces unhealthy trans fatty acids into the final product.

How Vegetable Oil Entered Our Diets

The invention of the mechanical cotton gin in 1739 was a key factor in the development of the first edible, shelf-stable, commercial vegetable oil.

As the cotton industry grew, the amount of discarded cottonseed also increased and cotton farmers began looking for ways to profit from the waste.

Thirty years later, the first cottonseed oil mill was built in the US and commercial production of cottonseed oil got underway. After the Civil War, use of the oil grew, and it became popular in fertilizer and cattle feed until the late 1880s.

Around 1890, American consumer demand for cottonseed oil increased in response to the new idea of moving cattle from ranch to city via rail service. The success of this practice resulted in the development of a monopoly within the meatpacking industry. As their power grew, these companies began to manipulate the price of animal fats (lard and tallow). Back then, animal fats were essential ingredients in the candles and soap that people used daily.

By the late 1800s, the increasing cost of animal products and the invention of the electric light bulb pushed the powerful Procter & Gamble (P&G) company away from the candle business and toward securing a supply of cottonseed oil for their other products. 

P&G organized the Buckeye Cotton Oil company in 1901 and began building cottonseed oil mills across the southeastern United States.

In 1905, a German chemist named E.C. Kayser visited the Cincinnati headquarters of P&G and demonstrated how to use a process called hydrogenation to create a solid, lard-like fat from cottonseed oil.

This process revolutionized the seed oil industry, and by 1911, P&G had acquired the patent for hydrogenation and successfully produced the first hydrogenated all-vegetable shortening known as Crisco–a brand that is still in use today.

Eventually, soybean oil replaced cottonseed oil as the main ingredient of Crisco and became the main vegetable oil consumed by Americans. 

By the mid-1930s, margarine was also being made with hydrogenated soybean oil, and during the 1940s, margarine consumption increased in response to the Great Depression and WWII.

By the 1970s, vegetable oils were contributing about forty percent of the fats and almost fifteen percent of total calories in the Western diet.

Fatty Acids in Vegetable Oil

Vegetable oils, like other fats, are made of long chains of fatty acids. These acids are essentially chains of carbon atoms bonded to hydrogen atoms. 

The fatty acids in vegetable oils are mostly the polyunsaturated (PUFA) type, meaning they have many double carbon bonds with loose electrons available to react chemically. This chemical volatility makes them vulnerable to oxidation and rancidity.

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid

Some vegetable oils, such as olive oil, safflower oil, and canola oil are higher in the more stable monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), which only have one double bond, as in the next image.

Monounsaturated Fatty Acid

Most vegetable oils are composed mainly of a PUFA called Linoleic acid (LA). Others, such as olive oil are high in Oleic acid, which is monounsaturated. Read on to learn why the stability of oil matters for your health. 

Omega 3 & 6

Linoleic acid, along with another fatty acid called Alpha-Linolenic acid (ALA) are known as “essential fatty acids” (EFAs). This means that in order for humans to stay healthy these fats must be included in the diet since human bodies cannot make them internally.

These two types of EFAs work in opposition to each other in the body. 

Omega-6 EFAs such as Linoleic acid are pro-inflammatory, while Omega-3 EFAs such as Alpha-Linoleic acid are anti-inflammatory.  

Both EFAs are important, and if they are in a 1:1 ratio in the body, they support good health.

However, the standard American diet is high in Omega-6 EFA because both corn oil and soybean oil are high in Linoleic acid. 

Common commercial foods high in Omega-6 EFA include: 

  • mayonnaise
  • dressings
  • cooking oil
  • chips
  • baked goods

In addition, Americans overall don’t eat enough fish and shellfish (rich sources of Omega-3 EFAs) to balance the high Omega-6 intake. 

It’s estimated that the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 intake is about 15:1 for Americans. This imbalance leads to chronic inflammation.

The Problems with Linoleic Acid

Linoleic acid is the parent molecule for Arachidonic acid, a pro-inflammatory molecule. And Arachidonic acid is the precursor for a biochemical pathway that creates over twenty pro-inflammatory eicosanoids. 

Eicosanoids are powerful molecules that signal the body’s immune system to react to perceived damage.

Without a balancing anti-inflammatory influence from Omega-3 PUFA, these eicosanoids can trigger: 

  • Immune system hyper-awareness
  • Increased inflammation
  • Autoimmune diseases  

Autoimmune diseases characterized by an overreaction of your own immune system resulting in damage to healthy tissues.

For these reasons, it’s a good idea to monitor and minimize the amount of Linoleic acid in your diet.

Vegetable Oils We Eat

Fats are one of our main sources of energy, and this includes vegetable oils. However, the standard American diet also provides plenty of energy in the form of carbohydrates. 

Because our bodies cannot store many carbohydrates, our body uses the carbs (in the form of glucose) circulating in our blood, before using other fuels like fat and protein. 

For most of us, the result of this biochemical fact is that the fat we eat gets stored or used for other purposes.

For example, the vegetable oil we eat may be used to build and repair body tissues, create internal signaling molecules, and fortify cellular membranes. How healthy this is still being debated.

What Happens When We Cook with Vegetable Oils?

PUFAs are volatile and prone to oxidation. The addition of damaged PUFA to body tissues and cells can be unhealthy. 

This is why manufacturers add antioxidants such as vitamin E to cooking oils. Unfortunately, using the oil to fry foods often destroys these antioxidants.

How PUFA oxidation affects human health is still being sorted out by researchers. Some studies indicate that our cells use the chemical volatility of PUFA for the signaling of stepped biochemical processes within the cell. These cellular processes depend on internal antioxidants such as glutathione to control and stop the cellular cascade of oxidative stress at appropriate intervals.

However, other research evidence indicates that the incorporation of food-derived, heat-damaged PUFA into our cellular membranes can negatively affect membrane fluidity and function.

One paper suggests that these heat-damaged cholesterol-PUFA esters from the fried foods in our diets may travel within the bloodstream inside LDL lipoproteins. They can then embed themselves into our artery walls and start the atherosclerotic damage that results in vascular heart disease.

Other effects of the peroxyl free radicals associated with oxidized PUFA include brain cell damage and aging,[15] and one animal study indicated that the consumption of oxidized PUFA induced metabolic dysfunction.

Is Vegetable oil healthy? Not if you’re consuming vegetable oil that contains damaged and oxidized PUFA. 

How to Protect Yourself From Unhealthy Fats?

Here are some tips for making healthier choices around vegetable oil:

  • To reduce toxic products in your foods, choose saturated and monounsaturated fats for cooking. This is especially true when frying foods. A study that looked at the number of toxic compounds created by various fats used in the frying of potatoes found that PUFA oils rich in linolenic acid were the worst offenders.
  • Saturated fat sources such as butter, coconut oil, beef tallow, and lard are more chemically stable and less apt to be damaged by heat or exposure to the air. 
  • Olive oil, avocado oil, and duck fat are all higher in monounsaturated fatty acids and more stable than PUFA.
  • Another tip is to pay attention to the smoke point of the various oils you cook with and try to avoid heating the oil to that point.
  • When you cook foods that are high in Omega-3 PUFA (fish, shellfish), remember that baking them seems to do the least amount of damage to those fatty acids.
  • Another fact to keep in mind is that “healthy oils” such as olive oil and avocado oil can be adulterated by the manufacturers. One study found that 82% of all the avocado oil brands on the market were rancid before the expiration date or had been mixed with other oils such as sunflower, safflower and soybean oil.  At least two brands were mostly soybean oil, with avocado oil comprising only two percent of the total mixture.
  • And finally, it’s a good idea to avoid hydrogenated fats and oils as much as possible to minimize your trans fat intake.

Vegetable oils to avoid

As you can now understand, oils that are high in LA should be avoided because of their tendency to oxidize easily and because consuming them contributes to an unbalanced Omega-6 to Omega-3 EFA ratio within the body.

See the table below for a list of oils by the percentage of LA. Note that soybean oil is the main ingredient in most commercial mayonnaise, most bottled salad dressings, and in many baked goods, so although its percentage is lower, most people probably eat more of it than other oils.       

LA in Vegetable Oil      

Are vegetable oils inflammatory?: Health risks

In terms of research, the answer to this question is still being worked out in nutritional science labs. 

One 2012 meta-analysis of randomly controlled trials found no correlation between blood markers of inflammation and dietary intake of Linoleic acid.

However, there is a great deal of evidence that shows that a diet high in Omega-6 EFAs and low in Omega-3 EFAs does interfere with the anti-inflammatory effects of Omega-3 EFA within the body.  

Several studies on the effects of EFA supplementation on inflammation have shown that supplementing with Omega-3 EFAs in the form of fish or krill oil provides a benefit for many chronic inflammatory diseases.

The Israeli Paradox

The Israeli paradox offers an interesting insight into the question, is vegetable oil healthy? The Israeli people consume a diet that is perfectly aligned with what US nutritional experts recommend. Meals are low in total fat and saturated fat, and their intake of vegetable oils is higher than the amount consumed in other western countries. 

But their rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other modern illnesses are on par with the US. And their cancer rates, especially among women, are higher. Some researchers suggest that the high intake of Omega-6 PUFA in Israel may be to blame.

Is Vegetable Oil Healthy? The Bottom Line

Is vegetable oil healthy? The scientific evidence appears to be mixed. 

On the “no” side, the farming and manufacturing processes involved in creating vegetable oil may result in products that have negative health effects.

On the “yes” side, it is a biochemical fact that humans must consume both Omega-6 and Omega-3 essential fatty acids for good health. 

This means that consuming a little linoleic acid is a good thing, as long as you also consume an equal amount of Omega-3 EFA.  The easiest way to bring your EFA levels into balance is to limit your intake of vegetable oils high in Omega-6. 

 

Cup of coffee with the chemical formula of caffeine
Liam McAuliffe

Is Caffeine Bad for You? Or Good?

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Caffeine is a daily necessity for most people. It can help you wake up in time for work, get through a long day, or push through an intense workout. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, caffeine is the most commonly used stimulant in the world. Not many substances as strong as caffeine are as socially accepted as it is.

Caffeine gets a bad rap for its ability to cause sleep problems and anxiety, yet studies have also discovered that caffeine has many health benefits. Is it right for you? Keep reading to find out.

What is caffeine?

Caffeine is a stimulant found in coffee, tea, cacao plants, and elsewhere. It stimulates the central nervous system to help you stay alert and prevent the onset of tiredness.

Many of caffeine’s benefits relate back to its chemical structure. The caffeine molecule is structurally similar to one of your body’s most important antioxidants, uric acid.  Both caffeine and uric acid belong to a group of chemicals called purines. 

Caffeine molecule

Purines, in turn, are key components of your DNA and RNA. While this doesn’t mean that caffeine will alter your DNA, its classification as a purine means it has powerful stimulatory effects.

Caffeine has been enjoyed by humans for thousands of years. The use of brewed caffeinated tea goes back to at least 2737 BC.  

Coffee’s history is also rich. Coffee is thought to have been discovered by an Ethiopian shepherd, Kaldi, who noticed that his goats were acting especially energetic after consuming coffee berries.

Nowadays as much as 80% of the world’s adult population consumes caffeine-containing drinks each day. This figure rises to 90% for adults in North America.

What foods and drinks contain caffeine?

Caffeine is naturally produced by the nuts, seeds, berries, or leaves of certain plants. These caffeine sources are then processed to produce caffeinated foods or beverages.

Below is a table with the caffeine content of several top caffeine sources: 

Food/drinkCaffeine (per 100 ml)
Espresso250-700 mg
Coffee100-200 mg
Yerba Mate60-130 mg
Energy drinks50-150 mg
Brewed tea40-120 mg
Soft drinks20-40 mg
Decaf coffee3-10 mg
Cocoa beverages2-7 mg
Chocolate milk2-7 mg

Food products can contain caffeine too. One ounce of milk chocolate contains 1-15 mg of caffeine, while one ounce of dark chocolate contains between 5 and 35 mg.  Moderate to large amounts of caffeine can also be found in some medications and weight loss supplements.

Caffeine’s Mental and Physical Benefits

Is caffeine bad for you? Many popular foods and drinks are, after all. Just because most people ingest something doesn’t mean it’s safe — just look at sugar or grains. 

The research on caffeine, however, suggests the opposite. Studies show that caffeine may:

  • Improve mood and brain function
  • Boost metabolism and fat burning
  • Enhance exercise performance
  • Benefit your skin

Improves mood and brain function

Caffeine interacts strongly with your body’s adenosine system, blocking adenosine’s action enough to “[affect] brain functions such as sleep, cognition, learning, and memory, and modifies brain dysfunctions and diseases.”

When adenosine is blocked, the levels of other signaling molecules like dopamine and epinephrine (adrenalin) rise to compensate.

These changes positively impact many of the most important metrics of cognitive function.

One review found that as little as 37.5 mg of caffeine was enough to improve alertness, reaction time, and information recall.

Caffeine may also lead to mood improvements. Several studies have linked 2-3 cups of coffee per day to a 40% reduction in the risk of suicide. Another study found that caffeine consumers had a 13% lower risk of depression than non-users.  

Bonus points for those who get their caffeine via tea or coffee. The caffeine in tea and coffee comes alongside other mood-boosting ingredients, like L-theanine and theophylline.

Animal studies have identified a basic mechanism for these positive changes: caffeine seems to reduce learned helplessness by changing the way the body stores and processes serotonin. Studies show that caffeine may speed serotonin uptake enough to reduce systemic serotonin levels. Having lower serotonin levels in certain areas of the brain, in turn, may reduce the ‘filter’ through which we perceive reality enough to encourage actionable life change.  

Is caffeine bad for you? Certainly not when it comes to improving your mood.

Boosts metabolism and fat burning

Several of caffeine’s physical and mental benefits may be caused by something very simple: the ability to boost your BMR, or basal metabolic rate. 

Unlike many other life forms, humans do better the ‘faster’ their bodies are able to convert substrates (like food) into energy. By raising one’s metabolism and body temperature,  caffeine may help a wide variety of physiological processes work even better. 

Studies show that consuming a moderate daily dose of caffeine may improve your metabolism by 11% — and your fat oxidation by 13%.  Because caffeine increases your body’s ability to burn fat slightly more than it increases overall burn rate, it may also slightly improve your overall body composition. In other words, caffeine could shift your metabolism towards relying on fat and away from relying on carbs. Most people become naturally leaner once this shift happens. 

Is caffeine bad for you? Not for your waistline or overall metabolic health. 

Enhances exercise performance 

Caffeine may increase your power and endurance enough to tangibly improve exercise performance.

First, let’s focus on caffeine’s ability to improve endurance. By increasing fat oxidation caffeine creates a glucose-sparing effect. This allows for improved glucose utilization in the latter part of a workout while delaying time to exhaustion. Just a moderate dose of caffeine can improve endurance by up to 5%.

Caffeine may also speed up the function of the central nervous system enough to boost maximum muscular power. At the same time, it improves muscle firing enough to reduce perceived exertion during exercise by up to 5.6%. The higher your caffeine dose, the bigger your strength improvements may get.

Caffeine’s benefits are relevant to the post-workout period, too. It may help your body recover faster from intense exercise by disrupting the formation of inflammatory molecules and their intermediates.  

Is caffeine bad for you? Not for your exercise performance.

Benefits your skin

People don’t usually think of how caffeine benefits the skin, probably because the compound almost always comes to us courtesy of ingestible drinks like tea and coffee. 

Caffeine-rich substances nonetheless make great topicals. Caffeine is easily absorbed through the skin, and upon absorption it provides a variety of skin-centric benefits.

These benefits include:

  • Reduced damage/photoaging from sunlight
  • A natural sun-blocking effect
  • Increased antioxidant status
  • Improved hair growth
  • Improved skin tone

As silly as it may sound, using strong coffee or espresso as a topical is a cheap-yet-effective way to obtain the above benefits (Just make sure it’s cooled first.) Skincare serums and salves that contain caffeine can also work. 

Is caffeine bad for you? Not when used to benefit your skin.   

How much caffeine is too much?

Most healthy adults can tolerate up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day. This intake provides access to coffee’s best health benefits without increasing the risk of side effects. 

A small cup of coffee contains roughly 100-150 milligrams of caffeine, so there’s plenty of room to enjoy caffeinated beverages while staying under the 400 mg allotment.  Don’t worry about having to give up your daily espresso!

There’s another way to determine how much caffeine is too much: by paying close attention to your body. Ingesting caffeine in excess of your body’s tolerance can lead to a variety of side effects. Caffeine side effects include:

  • Jitters 
  • Insomnia
  • Irritability
  • Headaches
  • Nervousness
  • Fast heartbeat
  • Muscle tremors
  • Excess urination 

If you’re experiencing any of the above, you may want to cut back on caffeine — whether you’re currently consuming more than 400 mg of caffeine or not.  

Caffeine’s side effects can also be caused by low-quality caffeine sources. Low-quality coffee can be high in certain types of mold; ‘burnt’ coffee can be high in volatile compounds. If lowering your caffeine intake isn’t working, consider trying a different caffeine/coffee source.

Is caffeine bad for you? If you’re overdoing it enough to experience the above symptoms, you likely want to dial it back until they subside. 

Who shouldn’t drink caffeine?

Although caffeine can be beneficial for adults, it’s not safe for children. 

People with heart problems or high blood pressure should also shy away from heavy caffeine use, as caffeine may make these conditions temporarily worse.

Pregnant women should be especially careful with caffeine. We recommend consuming less than 200 milligrams of caffeine a day if you’re pregnant, nursing, or trying to become pregnant. 

Is caffeine bad for you? For pregnant women, children, or those with health problems, it should be eliminated or limited.

How does caffeine affect fertility?

The caffeine in your morning coffee may be benefiting your mood or workout routine, but it’s not nearly as beneficial to your fertility. 

One 1988 study found that women who drank a cup of coffee a day had half the fertility of women who did not.

However, this study hasn’t been replicated since then, and the WHO says that there’s “no clear association between coffee/caffeine consumption and the chance of achieving a pregnancy.” [37] But that doesn’t mean its findings should be discounted entirely. 

To play it safe, if you’re trying to get pregnant, we recommend reducing your coffee consumption to 1 or 2 cups per day. 

Is caffeine bad for you? When considering the mixed evidence around caffeine and fertility, it is likely best to reduce and even cut out caffeine when trying to get pregnant.  

How to curb your caffeine intake

While caffeine is safe and beneficial for most people, it shouldn’t be used as a bandaid solution to compensate for a poor diet or suboptimal sleep schedule. 

Using caffeine in these ways can quickly lead to the side effects mentioned above. If your caffeine intake is a source of fewer pros than cons, it may be time for a change. 

Consider titrating your caffeine intake down slowly. Caffeine is powerful enough that your body can become highly dependent on it, so you may need to focus on rest while you slowly wean off. 

Finding a suitable replacement beverage may also help you kick the caffeine. A large part of caffeine/coffee’s allure is psychological. So substituting a caffeinated beverage for a warm cup of tea or milk may help you retain those much-needed good vibes. You can also try decaf coffee instead. 

The bottom line of caffeine

Caffeine is a beneficial substance whose effectiveness also makes it easy to overuse. 

Expect both mental and physical benefits if you can identify the right amount of caffeine for your body. Coffee/caffeine may:

  • Improve mood and brain function
  • Boost your metabolism and fat burning
  • Enhance your exercise performance
  • Benefit your skin

If you’ve grown dependent on caffeine, however, it might be time to cut back and take a break. Moderation really is key.

Keto tips for eating out: woman eating red meat
Liam McAuliffe

Eating Out on Keto: Top 10 Tips and Strategies

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Eating Out on Keto

Whether you’re an experienced low-carb high-fat eater, or just getting started, eating out on keto can be challenging.  

These 10 tips are here to relieve stress and help you stay true to your keto lifestyle without sacrificing the pleasures of enjoying meals with the people you care about. 

1. Make a game plan

When eating out on keto, planning ahead is the most important and stress-relieving thing you can do. 

Make a game plan by looking up the restaurant online to see if the menu is available.  Search for dishes that offer high-fat options like ribeye, fish, and pork. 

Think of ways to customize the dish. For instance, are there dishes where you can substitute low starch veggies for grains? 

If there are no substitutions, or you’re eliminating veggies to reduce exposure to plant toxins and anti-nutrients, simply ask for the grains, buns, potatoes, and pasta to be removed. 

2. Save up on Carbs

On days where you know you’re going to be eating out, completely restrict carbs until it’s time to dine. 

This strategy will give you some wiggle room when you don’t have total control over the food on your plate. 

And remember keto is a lifestyle, not simply a metabolic state. Ketosis is only one component of what makes high-fat low-carb eating so beneficial. 

Many of the benefits of keto come from swapping processed, sugar-loaded junk for whole animal foods. If you’re doing this most of the time you’re on the right path. 

3. Get creative with Appetizers

You’ll often find the fattiest options with the least amount of carb-heavy additions in the appetizer section. 

Instead of an entre loaded with starches, and veggies, choose three of the fattiest starters. 

Common keto-friendly starters include: 

  • Cheese and charcuterie plates
  • Fish and meat skewers
  • Oysters 
  • Shrimp cocktails 
  • Tinned fish
  • Pork belly 

A typical charcuterie plate that includes capocollo, salami, prosciutto, triple cream brie, maytag blue, gouda, and garnished with nuts, a few grapes, and crackers (ditch’em) offers the following nutrient breakdown:

Typical 13 oz Charcuterie Plate 
Total fat14g
Saturated fat6g
Cholesterol37mg
Sodium660mg
Total Carbohydrates3.5g
Dietary Fiber1g
Sugar2g
Protein12.5g

4. Add more fat!

At restaurants, boosting your fat intake can be easier than you might think. 

Ask for melted butter and olive oil to drizzle over both proteins and veggies. 

Some restaurants even offer a “loaded” option where your veggies are served with sour cream, bacon, and cheese. 

Mayonnaise, slices of avocado, and guacamole are all common restaurant staples that will help you hit your high-fat macronutrient targets. 

You can also be uber prepared and carry along a small jar of olive or coconut oil, or even an avocado! 

5. Sauces: Friend or Foe?

When it comes to sauces, choose the fattiest. The French are masters of fat, the Americans and Asians, not so much. 

Sauces like Béarnaise and Beurre Blanc are almost pure butterfat–ask for extra! 

Steer clear of ketchup, teriyaki, and soy glazes which are just corn syrup thickened with starch. 

When you see a ketchup bottle try to imagine a biohazard symbol stamped on the label. 

If you must eat salad, ask for extra EVOO. And if you need dressing, go for fat-rich options like blue cheese and ranch, and add parmesan. 

6. Add Cream to your Caffeine

If you drink tea or coffee, ask for heavy cream or add some butter. 

Take it a step further and ask for a cup of heavy cream to enjoy on its own! 

Heavy-cream matcha or coffee lattes are like milkshakes for adults. If you’re intolerant to dairy, ask for some coconut cream, (or bring along some of your own). 

Amount per 80 ml (⅓ cup)Trader Joe’s Coconut CreamHeavy Cream
Calories160266
Fat16g26g
Carbs4g0g
Protein2g0g

If cold drinks are your thing, go for sparkling water or iced teas and coffees. 

7. When in Doubt, Ask Questions

We get it, you don’t want to be the person holding up the whole table by asking questions about what’s in each dish. But you know what? That’s what the waiter is there for. Your server is paid to be the liaison between you and the kitchen. Traditionally, tipping is the way to show your server how much you appreciate the job their doing for you! It’s not just an assumed tax. 

And of course, be polite. The friendlier you are, the more patient and accommodating everyone will be–including your friends and family. You win more bees with honey, right? 

If you just can’t stomach being the center of food restriction attention, simply tell your server you have a gluten and sugar allergy. This way you’ll avoid all the groans you might get by admitting to the un-initiated that you’re on a keto diet. 

8. Choose Brunch

If you’re given a choice between joining friends or family for brunch or dinner, choose brunch. 

Brunch is probably the most traditionally keto-friendly meal of the day. Bacon, eggs, sausage, steak, and cheesy omelets are all well within your keto macronutrient targets. 

Just remember to hold off on the toast, and steer clear of baked goods, pancakes, and juices. 

9. Alcohol when Eating Out on Keto: How to Choose your Booze

For many people, the pleasure of eating out with friends and family is part and parcel to enjoying a glass of wine or a cocktail. Yet alcohol is made almost exclusively from grapes and grains–foods you’d never find on a keto diet list. 

The good news is that if you’re in good shape and you have a healthy liver, it is possible to enjoy moderate alcohol on keto. One drink for women, or two for men, might even be beneficial for heart health.

Studies show that for women, moderate alcohol consumption can lower fasting insulin and glycemic levels, especially if consumed in the evening.  These same studies also show that moderate alcohol consumption shows no increase in blood sugar for both men and women. 

In another study, women who drank red wine at least once per week were 16% less likely to get diabetes than women who didn’t drink as regularly.

However, the alcohol-diabetes link comes with an important caveat. A 2009 study found that consuming more than 4 glasses of wine or beer per day for women, or 4.5 for men doubles the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Alcohol, mainly in red wine, is also a key part of the Mediterranean keto diet. In countries like Italy and Greece, alcohol accounts for around 10% of daily calories. 

When drinking alcohol on a keto diet here are a few key points to remember: 

  • After absorbed into the bloodstream, alcohol is metabolized in the liver which can temporarily put a halt to ketosis.
  • If you are keto dieting for weight loss, and you notice that your weight loss stalls, stop drinking alcohol completely. 
  • Drinking alcohol can stimulate the same reward circuits in your brain as carbs and sugar. Therefore drinking alcohol can make it more difficult to resist carb-heavy temptations
  • Drinking on keto can lead to worse hangovers

The increased severity of hangovers is likely a result of dehydration due to electrolyte imbalances. When you’re in ketosis you flush more fluids, so be sure to alternate your alcohol with more water consumption. You may also want to supplement with magnesium and potassium. 

Alcohol to avoid when eating out on keto: 

  • Anything with tonic water. 12oz of tonic water contains a whopping 32g of sugars. 
  • Stay away from beer
  • When drinking wine, avoid Moscato, Port, and Riesling 
  • Avoid fancy cocktails

Keto-friendly alcohol choices include: 

  • Dry red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinto Noir 
  • Dry white wines such as Champagne, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc 
  • Clear liquors like mezcal, gin, vodka, and tequila

10. If you Cheat, Chillout

Sometimes eating out on keto, especially with friends and family, simply overwhelms our ability to resist overindulging in carbs. 

The key is not to beat yourself up. Most people are addicted to carbs, and it has been established that relapse is part of the recovery process to any addiction.

Research into the neuroscience of addiction shows that the reward system in your brain is activated in the same way whether responding to sugar, alcohol, nicotine, cocaine and pretty much any other substance.

We have to face the fact that we are going to have temptations, and most of us will succumb to them from time to time. 

One way to get back on track and into ketosis when (not if) this happens, is to have a fast day. 

A word of warning about overindulging: If your body is keto-adapted, indulging in lots of sugar can result in you being physically ill the day after. Just as your body took time to adapt to using ketones for fuel, it can take time for it to switch back to metabolizing loads of carbs. 

If you find yourself eating carbs, take a moment to check in with the body, notice if your body actually wants the carbs, or if it’s just your old dopamine circuits lighting up. Listening to your body can be a powerful technique for staying the course. 

Eating out on Keto: The Bottom Line

Socializing with people you care about is at least as important to your well-being as a keto diet. And for people the world over, socializing often takes around meals. In the Western world, these meals are often the opposite of keto-friendly. 

But this doesn’t mean you have to choose between keeping company and staying in ketosis. 

Following these 10 tips will help you enjoy eating out on keto: 

  1. Make a game plan
  2. Save up on carbs
  3. Get creative with appetizers
  4. Add more fat
  5. Choose your sauces carefully
  6. Add cream to your caffeine
  7. Ask your waiter questions
  8. If given the choice, chose brunch
  9. Choose your booze wisely
  10. If you cheat, go easy on yourself, and use fasting to kick back into ketosis
Chicken liver
Liam McAuliffe

Chicken Liver: Nutrition Facts and Top 10 Benefits

/in , /by

Liver is one of the healthiest foods on the planet, and the nutrition packed into chicken liver offers numerous health benefits.  

While organ meats may not be as popular as they once were, the nose-to-tail diet trend and new attention given their super-nutrient profile is helping them make a much-deserved comeback. 

Let’s take a closer look at the nutritional content and top health benefits of chicken liver.

GRASS-FED, PASTURE-RAISE BEEF ORGAN SUPPLEMENTS

What is Chicken Liver?

Chicken liver, as you might expect, refers to the liver of a healthy chicken. 

Chicken liver’s classification is less obvious. It’s not considered to be red meat or white meat; it’s simply organ meat, or offal. Chicken liver might come from a chicken, but the nutritional difference between it and, say, a chicken thigh or breast couldn’t be much greater.

NutrientChicken Liver (1 oz)Chicken Breast (1 oz)
Calories48 calories55 calories
Fat1.8 grams2.2 grams
Vitamin A81%0.6%
Vitamin C1%0%
Vitamin D0%0%
Riboflavin38%2%
Folate39%0.2%
Vitamin B1299%1.4%
Selenium35%10%

Chicken liver is so high in certain nutrients that it’s best viewed as a supplemental food. Unless you’re severely anemic, you probably don’t need to be ingesting it every single day.

Nutrition Facts

Like nearly every other animal liver (besides polar bear liver), chicken liver is impressively rich in nutrients.  Here are the nutritional highlights found in just 100 grams of liver.

Chicken Liver Nutrition: Calories and Macros

Chicken liver has a high protein, zero-carb macronutrient profile that makes it a perfect addition to any keto or carnivore diet. 100 grams of liver contains:

NutrientAmount% of Recommended Daily Value (RDV)
Calories116 calories6%
Total Carbohydrate0 grams0%
Total Protein16.9 grams34%
Total Fat4.8 grams7%

Chicken Liver Nutrition: Vitamins

Chicken liver is unusually rich in vitamin A and vitamin C. 100 grams of liver contains:

NutrientAmount% of Recommended Daily Value (RDV)
Vitamin A11077 IU222%
Vitamin C17.9 mg30%
Vitamin D0 mg0%
Vitamin E0.7 mg4%
Vitamin K0.0 mcg0%

Chicken Liver Nutrition: Minerals

Chicken liver offers a wide spectrum of essential minerals, especially B12, selenium, and iron. 100 grams of liver contains:

NutrientAmount% of Recommended Daily Value (RDV)
Thiamin0.3 mg20%
Riboflavin1.8 mg105%
Niacin9.7 mg49%
Vitamin B60.9 mg43%
Folate577 mg147%
Vitamin B1216.6 mcg276%
Pantothenic Acid6.2 mg62%
Choline194 mg– 
Betaine16.9 mg– 
Calcium8.0 mg1%
Iron9.0 mg50%
Magnesium19.0 mg5%
Phosphorus297 mg30%
Potassium230 mg7%
Sodium71 mg3%
Zinc2.7 mg18%
Manganese0.3 mg13%
Selenium54.6 mcg78%

Top 10 Chicken Liver Nutrition Benefits

1. Rich in Iron.

Iron is an essential mineral that helps our bodies stay oxygenated.  

If you don’t eat enough iron, you risk becoming anemic. Common symptoms of anemia include fatigue, shortness of breath, cold extremities, and headaches.  Women are especially susceptible to developing anemia, since menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth all increase iron demands. 

Chicken liver is rich enough in highly absorbable heme iron to make a tangible impact on serum iron levels.  If you’re a menstruating woman, pregnant mother, or hard-training athlete, consider using liver as a safeguard against anemia. 

2. Low in Calories.

While most people are able to reach their ideal weight just by switching over to a high fat, low carb diet, calories are still relevant. 

Chicken liver is simultaneously high in protein and low in calories — and that makes it a great choice for people who want to improve their body composition. Adding just a small portion of chicken liver to a meal may increase its overall satiety (that is, you’ll feel full faster, and you’ll stay full longer).. 

3. Rich in Protein.

Chicken liver is 73% protein by calories. 100 grams of chicken liver contains 116 calories, 85 of which come directly from protein. 

The quality of chicken liver protein is also impressive. It’s a complete protein that’s especially rich in the antiviral, anti-inflammatory amino acid lysine.  

4. Chicken Liver is Loaded with B vitamins.

If we had to choose a single metric to best highlight chicken liver’s nutritional value, we’d probably point to its B vitamin content. 

Chicken liver is rich in some of the most important B vitamins. This quality makes it helpful to pregnant mothers, growing children, and anyone else who needs an extra boost of pro-metabolic energy.  100 grams of liver contains:

Vitamin B1216.6 mcg276%
Folate577 mg147%
Riboflavin1.8 mg105%
Pantothenic Acid6.2 mg62%
Niacin9.7 mg49%
Vitamin B60.9 mg43%
B1 (Thiamin)0.36 mg24%

5. Chicken Liver Supports Dental Health.

Chicken liver’s dental health benefits were first discovered nearly a hundred years ago. 

It all began when a dentist named Dr. Weston A. Price traveled around the globe to study the traditional diets of 14 different groups. Though the diets of these peoples varied depending on their respective climates, every diet had one interesting feature in common: organ meats. 

Lab analysis of organ meats like liver found that they were high in fat-soluble vitamins, including the yet-to-be-discovered vitamin K2, which Price dubbed “activator X.”  

The full role of vitamin K2 is still being elucidated, but Price knew enough from his early research to conclude that it could  strengthen bones, foster development, and remineralize teeth.

If you’d like to improve your dental health, don’t neglect chicken liver. 3.5 ounces of chicken liver contains 12 micrograms of K2 — more than 10% of your RDV. 

6. Supports Healthy Blood

Chicken liver also supports your body’s production of healthy, fully oxygenated blood. Its natural combination of heme iron and B vitamins is perfect for people who have anemia or other red blood cell problems.  

Even people with already-healthy blood may benefit from taking chicken liver as a preventative measure against future deficiencies. 

7. Packed with Vitamin A.

Chicken liver is high enough in vitamin A to be a boon to anyone interested in improving the health of their eyes, skin, hair, and nails. That’s because vitamin A plays a vital role in cellular turnover in your eyes and skin cells. It’s also a vital precursor (building block) for important eye pigments like rhodopsin.

Indeed, good things happen when your body is replete in vitamin A. Many people notice clearer skin, stronger hair, and better night vision once they incorporate chicken liver or beef liver into their diets. 

Chicken liver’s ultra-high vitamin A content is also the primary reason why it shouldn’t be eaten too often. Vitamin A becomes damaging when your body has too little or too much, so consider eating liver just once or twice a week.

8. Supports Organ Health.

One of the most fascinating things about eating animal organs is their ability to provide health and vitality to your internal organs. Like attracts like, as the old saying goes. 

In addition to protecting your dental and eye health, chicken liver’s vitamin A content may strengthen your immune system’s thymus gland , improve your brain’s metabolic rate , and help your heart function properly.

9. A Great Source of Selenium.

Just 100 grams of chicken liver contains over 100% of your recommended daily value for selenium. 

As a pro-thyroid, pro-immunity mineral, selenium may have an added layer of importance in modern times. It’s so important for the health of one’s immune system that some experts believe selenium deficiency enabled COVID 19’s quick initial spread throughout Asia.

Selenium is also a vital component of endogenously produced proteins called selenoproteins. These special proteins handle everything from reproductive health to DNA synthesis.

10. Chicken Liver is Unusually rich in vitamin C.

As a general rule of thumb, most animal products are low in vitamin C and other antioxidants. 

Chicken liver provides a welcome exception to this rule. Just 100 grams of liver contains nearly a third of your body’s daily vitamin C needs. This vitamin C content is yet another way that chicken liver may boost your immune system and quench inflammation/oxidation.  

Another benefit of vitamin C: improved skin tone. Vitamin C can boost your skin’s collagen production and increase its resistance to the damaging aspects of sunlight.  No wonder people who eat liver consistently report having better skin. 

Getting vitamin C from animal products is essential for people on a carnivore diet, making chicken liver a vital addition to a well-formulated carnivore diet meal plan.

Chicken liver Benefits vs. Health Concerns

The idea that the liver is a ‘detox organ’ has pushed many health-conscious people away from eating it. 

The reality is that an animal’s liver is more of a processing plant than a detoxing filter. The liver receives metabolic products, identifies them, and then reacts in the safest way possible. Far from collecting toxins, it works to render them inert and quickly expel them. 

Even the livers of unhealthy animals are nutrient-dense. A 2007 study of liver, kidney, and muscle meat from randomly selected animals found that all three types of tissue collected similarly low amounts of toxins.  

Source your chicken liver from a local organic farm if you can, but keep in mind that even store-bought liver has far more pros than cons.  

Is Chicken Liver safe for Pregnant Women?

Yes, chicken liver is safe for pregnant women — in the proper amounts. 

While some studies have linked preformed vitamin A (the kind found in liver) to birth defects, only large amounts of vitamin A have this effect.

Pregnant women can easily err on the side of caution by eating no more than an ounce of chicken or beef liver a week throughout their pregnancy. 

Is chicken liver safe for people with gout?

Chicken liver is also a safe food for people with gout. Gout is a painful type of arthritis caused by uric acid buildup in the joints. Since liver is high in the purine precursors that your body uses to form uric acid, some experts suggest that people with gout should limit liver and other animal products.

But the truth is that human biochemistry isn’t so simple. Much like elevated ‘bad’ cholesterol may be a signal that something more serious is going on, elevated uric acid levels likely point to a larger problem. 

This concept is anecdotally confirmed by the fact that gout is less of a problem — not more of a problem — when one is following a high-purine carnivore diet. 

Gout may be more likely to begin with a buildup of toxins in the gut than with a buildup of uric acid in the joints.

How to Include Chicken Liver in Your Diet

Though chicken liver’s nutrition profile is pretty loveable, the same can’t be said of its taste. Here are some ways to make it more palatable.

Chicken liver recipe ideas

  • Pan-fry chicken liver with onions, mushrooms, or other low-antinutrient veggies. 
  • Chop and mince chicken liver together with tomatoes and pastured chicken/beef to make bolognese sauce. 
  • Incorporate small amounts of chicken liver into scrambled eggs. 

How to mask the taste of chicken liver

  • Use your favorite seasoning blend.
  • Soak the liver in milk or lemon juice before cooking; this will reduce the strong flavor.
  • Make homemade chicken liver pâté.

The Takeaway on Chicken Liver’s Benefits

Chicken liver’s uniquely rich nutrition profile makes it a worthy addition to any nourishing diet. It’s rich in fat-soluble vitamins, B vitamins, complete protein, heme iron, selenium, and more. 

This impressive nutrient profile allows for an equally impressive set of health benefits. 

Just to recap, chicken liver is:

  1. Rich in oxygenating iron
  2. Low in calories
  3. Rich in complete protein
  4. Loaded with B vitamins
  5. Supports dental health
  6. Supports healthy blood
  7. Packed with preformed Vitamin A
  8. Supports your organ health
  9. Rich in selenium
  10. Rich in vitamin C
Carnivore diet food list
Liam McAuliffe

Carnivore Diet Food List: What to Eat On the Carnivore Diet

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An exclusively animal product carnivore diet might sound restricting, but as you’ll see, there’s a surprising variety of carnivore diet foods that can make it on your shopping list. 

In this article, we’ll explore what to eat on a carnivore diet, along with the macro and micronutrient properties of the most nutritional animal-based foods.  

This carnivore diet food list is here to help you formulate the most nutritiously robust diet to meet your personal health goals. 

[TOC]

What is the Carnivore Diet 

The carnivore diet is among the simplest diets out there. As its name implies, the carnivore diet means eating 100% animal foods. No fruits, vegetables, bread, grain, nuts, or seeds. All foods must be sourced from animals. Some people even take it so far as only using animal-based products on their skin!

Most carnivores base their food lists around fresh ruminant meat, and consider animal products like A2 dairy, eggs, fair game. 

The carnivorous way of eating may seem unorthodox, but it’s actually based on how our ancestors ate for 2 million years. The low-calorie superfoods touted today simply wouldn’t have been worth the effort to the hunter-gatherers of millennia past.

Let’s look at an overview of what you can and can’t eat on a carnivore diet, then get into the specific foods on the list. 

Food You Can Eat on a Carnivore Diet

One of the major pluses of a carnivore diet is how easy it is to shop for. Here’s a list of nurturing animal-based foods to enjoy: 

  • Meat: Choose fatty cuts of ruminant grass-fed meat like ribeye and NY strip steak, 80/20 ground beef, t-bone, lamb, and goat. For pork, choose pasture-raised, and fatty cuts like pork belly. 
  • Fat: A key to remember is that your body will be using fat as its main energy source, not protein. Fat is your friend. That white stuff surrounding the meat is nutritional gold! Tallow and lard, are saturated, molecularly stable fats that are perfect for cooking even at high heat. They’re also great for enjoying on their own to boost your fat intake. 
  • Organ meats: Nature’s true superfoods, organ meats provide substantial amounts of bioavailable essential macronutrients like vitamins A, E, K2, D, and C. Liver in fact is so nutritious it may be best enjoyed as a supplement. Other organ meats include kidney, pancreas, brains, tongue, tribe, and bone marrow. On a carnivore diet, organs can make the difference between thriving and mineral deficiencies. 
  • Seafood: As with meat, go for the fattiest you can find. King salmon has its name for a reason, though it can get expensive. Coldwater fish like sardines and trout are also a great option. Prawns, oysters, and scallops are also excellent sources of healthy cholesterol, proteins, and hard-to-get minerals. 
  • Eggs: A total food on their own, eggs have nearly every nutrient your body needs. 
  • A2 dairy: Always choose full-fat dairy and cow’s milk labeled A2. Other naturally A2 dairy is from goats, sheep, and buffalo. For butter and ghee, go grass-fed. Though cheese is technically allowed on some versions of the carnivore diet, it is likely best to eliminate it, at least in the beginning, then observe your digestion if it’s re-introduced. 
  • Bone Broth contains gelatin, electrolytes, and a robust list of amino acids that can help reduce any risks associated with red meat, maintain healthy bowel movements, and support joint and skin health. 
  • Salt, pepper, and a few herbs on some version of the carnivore diet. Salt in particular is crucial in the transitional phase when your body burns up stored glycogen that gets flushed out in the urine. 

Carnivore diet food pyramid

Foods to Eliminate on a Carnivore Diet

On all versions of the carnivore diet, you are restricted to only animal-based foods. This means no:

  • Fruits
  • Vegetables
  • Legumes
  • grains
  • Sugars
  • Nuts
  • Seeds
  • And anything else that isn’t meat

Carnivore Diet Fats

Because a carnivore diet offers almost no carbohydrates, your body will enter ketosis. This means that your body will switch from using glucose (blood sugar) to breaking down fatty acids into ketones to fuel most of the cells in your body. 

To give your body the fuel it needs, you’ll need to eat a lot of fat. The ideal ratio is 3 parts fat to 1 part protein, or 75% of your calories from fat. 

Relying too much on the lean muscle meats that most of us are used to can lead to protein poisoning. This is a potentially serious problem that occurs when the liver can’t upregulate urea synthesis it needs to process high amounts of protein.

So remember on a carnivore diet, fat is your friend!

Fat from ruminant animals, pasture-raised pork, and full-fat dairy all feature high percentages of healthy, heat-stable saturated fats. These fats also feature low percentages of heat-sensitive and potentially inflammatory partially unsaturated fats (PUFAs). 

Let’s take a closer look at some key features of each. 

Beef Tallow

Beef dripping or Tallow a rendered form of beef or mutton fat used in cooking or as a traditional shortening

The long-chain saturated fats in beef tallow support healthy cell membranes and play a role as signaling molecules.  Eating more saturated fat can saturate your cell membranes, protecting your cells from glycation, oxidation, endotoxin buildup, and other cellular stressors.

Lard

As with beef tallow, lard offers numerous essential and heat-stable fatty acids. In addition, pastured lard from pork that is allowed to bask in the sunshine is one of the best vitamin D sources on earth. Lard from pasture-raised pigs can be as high in vitamin D as cod liver oil, and may be higher in other fat-soluble vitamins.  

Butter

Butter, especially from grass-fed cows, is loaded with beneficial nutrients like conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), butyrate, vitamins, and minerals. Research shows that eating butter can reduce your risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.2 Butter is also linked to improved sleep 3, immune function, and fertility.

diagram showing nutrients in butter

Ghee

Ghee can bring all the full-fat dairy benefits of butter, with the added ability of withstanding higher temperatures. With a smoke point of 465°F, ghee has an 80° higher tolerance than any other cooking oil! And if you’re still falling for the outdated anti-saturated fat scare tactics, a 2018 study of 200 people in India found that participants who ate more ghee and less vegetable oil had healthier blood cholesterol markers.

Duck Fat

Duck fat is tasty, and studies by French researchers (of course) show that duck fat may also increase overall cardiovascular health. 2  Duck fat is also high in linoleic acid, along with certain antioxidants that can reduce premature aging and support bone health. However, duck fat is higher in unstable PUFAs which allows it to oxidize faster than other carnivore diet fats listed here.2 Oxidized fat can cause inflammation. 

Heavy Cream

Like butter, full-fat cream is loaded with fat-soluble vitamins and minerals. Just ⅓ cup of heavy cream offers 35% of vitamin A, 10% of vitamin D, and 7% of Vitamin D. Studies show that consuming full-fat dairy is associated with a decreased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

For those of you still scared of full-fat dairy: A large-scale review including more than 3.6 million participants found that high-fat dairy products are not associated with any causes of mortality.

Nutrition info per 1 tablespoon

TypeSFA%PUFA %CarbsTotal Fat Notes
Beef Tallow49.83.10g12.8Mild beef flavor

Can be heated

Lard41120g13gMild flavor

Can be heated

Butter503.40g12gMildly Sweet

Lower Heat

Ghee4850g9gMild nutty flavor

Can be heated

Duck Fat25130g13gRich Duck flavor

Can be heated

Heavy Cream624.5g5.4Sweet and rich

Beef

Variety of raw cuts of meat, dry aged beef steaks and hamburger patties for grilling with seasoning and utensils on dark rustic board

Beef is loaded with nutrients in the near perfect ratio for our body’s needs, and in highly bioavailable form. 

In addition to healthy fats and proteins, beef also contains unique compounds that are hard to find anywhere else, these include: 

  • Carnitine: plays a significant role in improving male fertility. [6] Reduces anemia, especially when co-occurring with kidney dysfunction. [7]   Supports mitochondrial function and insulin sensitivity for people with type 2 diabetes. [8]  Can prevent ischemia in cardiac muscle. [9]
  • Carnosine: Anti-aging. Protects heart and muscles[2][3]. Prevents glycation–the destructive bonding of glucose to your cells and DNA. [4] Antioxidant properties destroy free radicals and reduce damage and shortening of telomeres.  [5]
  • Creatine: Improves cognitive function. [10] Enhances athletic performance. [11]  Alzheimer’s patients show low creatine levels. [12] improves cardiovascular performance and glycemic control. [13]
  • Taurine: A powerful antioxidant. Reduces glycation, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Anti-depressive effects in animal studies. 
  • Zinc: protects against coronary artery disease, is essential in insulin formation, and has been shown to increase glycemic control for diabetics., [18] [19] Zinc in beef is 400% more bioavailable than the zinc you get in breakfast cereals. [15] Low levels of zinc are associated with lower sperm count and erectile dysfunction in males. [14] 
  • Vitamin B12: Exclusively found in animal products. Deficiency in B12 can lead to dementia and Alzheimers disease. [21] Has been shown to significantly reduce depressive symptoms.
  • Heme Iron: Only found in beef and other red meat. Lack of iron leads to anemia. Plays a key role in immune function, cognition, and energy metabolism.

Beef Nutrition 

When choosing your beef select grass-fed and finished or pasture-raised when possible. And keep in mind that fattier cuts will keep in the ideal fat-protein ratio to fuel your cells. The list below details 10 of the most popular cuts of beef. 

Nutrition Info per 4 oz. 

Beef CutCaloriesFatProteinCarbs% Calories from fat% Calories from protein
Boneless short ribs440411608415
Tri-tip roast340291807721
Beef Back Ribs310261907525
Ribeye310252007326
Porterhouse280222107030
Top Sirloin240162206037
80/20 Ground Beef30719.630.505941
Skirt Steak26516.52705842
Brisket24514.72805446
Flank Steak20083203664

Let’s take a look at the nutrient profile of one of the tastiest cuts of beef: rib eye

NUTRIENT226G RIB EYERECOMMENDED DAILY VALUE (RDV)% RDV
CALORIES655 cal250018.6%
PROTEIN54g60g (Standard Diet, not Keto)90%
FAT50g30g (Standard Diet, not Keto)166%
SATURATED FAT23g20g (Standard Diet, not Keto)115%
MONOUNSATURATED FAT25g
CARBOHYDRATES0g1200g (Standard Diet, not Keto)0%
NIACIN (B-3)13.5mg16mg30%
B-61.4mg2mg70%
SELENIUM56.25 mcg67mcg84%
IRON3.24mg20mg16%
MAGNESIUM144mg420mg34%
ZINC9.45mg11mg86%
POTASSIUM666mg4000mg17%
PHOSPHORUS400mg700mg57%

image of ribeye steak with nutrients

Pork

keto meats pork belly

On a carnivore diet, ruminant animals like beef and lamb are given a primary role, while pork is often viewed as a second or third option. Some of the reasons for this include: 

  • Pork has less nutrient density than most cuts of red meat from ruminant animals 
  • Pigs can’t metabolize the inflammatory omega 6 fats they get from their feed, into omega-3s, but ruminant animals can
  • It can be difficult to find pasture-raised pork, and much easier to find grass-fed lamb, beef, and bison

But none of these points are reasons to leave pork out. Pork is delicious and loaded with healthy fats and proteins. It also offers high amounts of B vitamins along with hard-to-get micronutrients like selenium and choline. 

But not all pork is created equal. Pasture-raised pork that’s allowed to soak up the sunshine is a fantastic source of vitamin D. As we saw above, pastured lard can be almost as high in vitamin D as cod liver oil.

Choline in Pork

Choline is one of the lesser known, but important compounds in pork. Bacon is one of the top five sources of dietary choline.

Choline maintains brain and nervous system function, regulates mood, and aids in memory. It also plays a key role in the formation of membranes around cells.  

This unsung nutrient also offers greater antioxidant activity than Vitamin E. It’s the reason why lard resists rancidity–choline neutralizes the free radicals that would otherwise oxidize the fat.  And oxidized fat can cause inflammation when consumed. 

Nutritional information per 4 oz. 

Pork CutCaloriesFat Protein% Calories Fat% Calories Protein
Pork Belly5886010.4927
Baby back ribs31527187723
Pork Hocks28524177624
Shoulder28523197327
Bacon60047.241.97128
Butt24018196832
Leg Ham3052030.45940
Loin26515.530.85346
Chop24112334555
Tenderloin1584302376

Pork Belly Highlight

On a carnivore diet, it’s best practice to choose the fattiest cuts, and they don’t get fattier than pork belly. 

Similar to bacon, pork belly comes from the hog’s underside. You can serve this boneless cut fresh, unlike bacon which is cured or smoked and therefore contains nitrites. 

Fresh pork belly is loaded with quality fat, protein, and fat-soluble vitamins and minerals.

PORK BELLY NUTRITIONAL CONTENT PER 224GAMOUNT% RDA
FAT89gN/A
SATURATED FAT32gN/A
MONOUNSATURATED FAT42gN/A
POLYUNSATURATED FAT9gN/A
OMEGA 3 ALA900mg100%
Protein20g
CHOLINE113mg21%
VITAMIN B121.8mcg75%
PANTOTHENIC ACID (B5)2.5mg50%
NIACIN (B3)9mg56%
RIBOFLAVIN (B2).4mg32%
THIAMIN (B1.7mg56%
COPPER.2mg22%
PHOSPHOROUS300mg24%
SELENIUM23mcg42%
ZINC1.7mg16%
VITAMIN D1.8mcg9%
IRON.9mg5%

Lamb

Fresh and raw sheep or lamb meat pieces for sale on wooden backgrounde

Lamb is a delicious ruminant meat that makes for a succulent treat on any carnivore diet food list. As with most other meats, lamb is rich in protein and healthy fats, along with bioavailable vitamins and minerals. 

Lamb offers meat specific compounds like taurine and creatine, along with other vital nutrients, including:

  • Vitamin B12: Important for brain function and blood formation. 
  • Zinc: An essential mineral for the synthesis of insulin and testosterone hormones.
  • Niacin ( B3). Inadequate niacin has been linked to greater risk of heart disease
  • Glutathione: An antioxidant with numerous positive impacts, including reducing insulin resistance, reducing oxidative damage in children with autism, reducing risk of autoimmune disease, and reducing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. 2 
  • Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Found in higher levels in lamb than any other meat, this is a healthy trans fat, not to be confused with unhealthy trans fats made from processed vegetable oils like margarine.  CLA has been shown to boost the immune system, strengthen bones, support a healthy heart and aid in fat loss.

Nutrition information per 4 oz. 

Lamb CutCaloriesFatProteinCarbs% Calories from Fat % Calories from Carbs
Chop/Rack330223006337
Loin Chop330223006337
Leg29218.729.305941
Shank27614.73205248
Shoulder148622.803763

Lamb Chops Highlight

Let’s take a closer look at the nutrition facts for one of the most popular and delicious cuts of lamb–the chop or rack: 

Lamb Chops/Rack
Nutrients per 4 ozAmount% RDA
Fat22gN/A on carnivore diet
Saturated Fat11gN/A on carnivore diet
Trans Fat (CLA)1.5gN/A on carnivore diet
Cholesterol92mg
Protein30g
B121.7µg72%
B38.9mg56%
B6.6mg46%
B2 (RIboflavin).4mg28%
B5.7mg13%
B1.2mg13%
Selenium 15.2µg28%
Zinc3.3mg23%
Phosphorus216 mg22%
Copper.1mg15%
Iron2.4mg13%

Lamb Chop Rib Nutrition

Poultry 

Though poultry is an animal food, it usually only accounts for a relatively small portion of the total caloric intake on a carnivore diet. 

The main drawback to poultry is that it’s very lean compared to ruminants, pork, and even many seafood options. 

It’s important to remember that a carnivore diet is essentially a zero-carb diet. This means your body relies on fat, not protein for fuel. To provide the necessary fat, aim for at least a 70-30 fat-to-protein ratio. 

A quick tip for choosing the most nourishing poultry is to choose cuts that keep the skin on. And you can always cook your poultry in added healthy fats like duck and beef tallow. 

There is also one part of poultry that is always encouraged: chicken liver. 

PoultryCaloriesFatProteinCarbs% Fat% Carbs
Goose34024.928.506634
Game Hen220161906535
Chicken Wings3202230.406238
Chicken thigh (skin on)27517.628.305841
Duck22813.926.305546
Chicken Leg (skin on)27515.229.405446
Turkey1759.92105149
Chicken Breast (skin on)2008.43103862
Chicken Breast (skinless)13842502672

Chicken Wings Highlights

Let’s look at the profile of one of the most nutrient-dense varieties of poultry on a carnivore diet food list: 

Chicken Wings
Nutrients per 4 ozAmount% RDA
Fat22gN/A on carnivore diet
Saturated Fat7gN/A on carnivore diet
Cholesterol111mg
Protein30.4g
Vitamin B6 0.5m41%
Vitamin B35.7mg36%
Choline82 mg15%
Vitamin B12%0.3µg10%
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) 0.1mg8%
Selenium%17.6µg32%
Phosphorus123.0mg12%
Zinc1.2mg9%

Fish 

Fresh fish and seafood assortment on black slate background. Top view.

Fish are one of the most nutrient-dense classes of food on earth. Yet on the carnivore diet, it’s best to let fish play a supporting role to ruminant meats. 

This is because most fish are relatively lean. Making lean protein the center of your diet can lead to fat shortages and even protein poisoning. There’s also the issue of fish toxicity. Almost all fish contain some amount of toxic compounds from pollution. 

Interestingly, most ancestral cultures that ate a lot of seafood still got most of their fat from land-based animals. Or in the case of the Inuit, from fatty seafaring mammals.

That said, fish are a welcome addition to any carnivore diet food list. Below is a list of some of the most popular varieties. 

Nutrition info per 100g

Type of FishCaloriesFatProteinCarbs% Calories from fat% Calories from protein
Mackerel29020.32706337
Anchovies25615.92805644
Farmed Salmon234142505644
Wild King Salmon195132205446
Sardines1397.51804952
Arctic Char208102904356
Halibut1553.530.702079
Seabass13532702080
Cod1131260892
Tuna (Yellowfin)1501.5340991
Tuna (canned)123.827.51.5689

King Salmon Highlight

King Salmon, AKA chinook salmon, is the largest of the Pacific salmon species. They can reach over 100 pounds! It’s also the highest in fat of all wild salmon species. Widely considered the most delicious salmon, with a smooth buttery texture and mild flavor, it also has the highest amount of B vitamins.

King Salmon Highlights

King Salmon (Wild)Amount per 4 oz. % RDA
Fat12g
Saturated Fat2g
Cholesterol61mg
Protein20g
Vitamins
Vitamin B12 7.4µg308%
B38.4mg53%
B6.3mg21%
B51gm21%
Vitamin A453.0IU15%
B1.2mg13%
B2.2mg13%
Vitamin E1.5mg10%
Minerals
Selenium31.0µg56%
Phosphorus 208.0mg21%
Potassium 370.0mg10%
Magnesium24.0mg6%

Seafood

Seafood is an excellent way to add variety to your carnivore diet food list, both in terms of taste and nutrients. Oysters, for instance, are fantastic sources of zinc, and salmon roe is one of the few significant sources of vitamin C in animal foods.  

Additionally, many types of seafood with orange pigment like lobster, roe (caviar), and shrimp, contain a powerful antioxidant compound called Astaxanthin. It may be 6,000 times more potent than vitamin C, and has been shown to reduce oxidative stress and protect the liver.

Type of SeafoodCaloriesFatProteinCarbs% Calories from fat% Calories from protein% Calories from carbs
Salmon Caviar (Roe)26014292.945523%
Oysters581.96.53.1293328
Mussels972.813.54.5265619
Shrimp1352.025.81.718784
Crab1072.022017820
Lobster1161.825014860
Clams821.1153127315
Scallops971.019397812

Salmon Roe Highlights

Also known as Ikura, red caviar, and salmon caviar, salmon eggs are a true superfood. They’re loaded with bioavailable vitamins A, B, D, and K2, zinc, iodine. 

Their number one claim to fame is their neuroprotective and brain-building omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.

With all these nutrients its no surprise that salmon roe has been linked to numerous health benefits including:

  • Protection against Alzheimer’s and dementia
  • Healthy infant brain development
  • Enhanced fertility for men and women
  • Enhanced cognition
  • Protection against depression
  • Reduced inflammation
  • Heart health
  • Antioxidant protection
  • Improved immune system

You can learn much more about each of these benefits here.

Salmon roe nutrition per 100g

NUTRIENTSAMOUNT
CALORIES250 kcal
CARBOHYDRATE2.90 g
  FIBER0 g
  SUGARS0 g
FAT14.0 g
  SATURATED FAT2.04 g
  MONOUNSATURATED FAT4.13 g
  POLYUNSATURATED FAT4.12 g
    OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS3.50 g
    OMEGA-6 FATTY ACIDS0.31 g
PROTEIN29.20 g

Vitamins in salmon roe per 100g

VITAMINAMOUNT% DV
COBALAMIN (B12)20.0 mcg333 %
VITAMIN E10mg66%
VITAMIN D232 IU58 %
CHOLINE247.5 mg45 %
PANTOTHENIC ACID (B5)3.50 mg35 %
VITAMIN C16 mg26 %
RIBOFLAVIN (B2)0.36 mg21.2 %
PYRIDOXINE (B6)0.32 mg16.0 %
VITAMIN E2.68 mg13.3 %
FOLATE50.0 mcg12.5 %
VITAMIN A91 mcg RAE10.1 %
THIAMIN (B1)0.14 mg9.3 %
NIACIN (B3)0.40 mg2.0 %
VITAMIN K0.73 mcg0.9 %

Minerals in salmon roe per 100g

Selenium65.5 mcg93.6%
Magnesium300 mg75%
Iron11.88 mg66%
Sodium1500 mg62.5%
Phosphorus390 mg39%
Calcium275 mg27.5%
Zinc.95 mg6.3%
Copper.11 mg5.5%
Potassium181 mg5.2%

Organ Meats

grass-fed-beef-organ-meats-organic-offal-meat-beef

Organ meats are among nature’s original superfoods. That’s because they’re even richer than muscle meats in some of the most important nutrients. 

Different organ meats have different micro and macronutrient blends, which means that diversifying your nutrient intake is as simple as varying your organ meat intake.

Organ meats tend to provide predictably specific benefits to people who eat them. In other words, beef kidney contains special peptides that may benefit the health of our own kidneys.

Beef brain is one of the richest sources of cholesterol — and this cholesterol also provides the perfect fuel source for our energy-hungry brains.  Organ meats make nutrition intuitive and simple.  

Some of our favorite organ meats include:

  • Liver
  • Heart
  • Kidney
  • Sweetbread
  • Brain
  • Spleen
  • Tripe
NutrientsLiverHeartKidneySweet-

breads

BrainSpleenTripeRDA
Calories13511299143140100371–
Fat3.63.9g3.1g10.3103g26g–
Protein20.417.717.410.91118g32g–
Net Carbs3.4.1g.3g1.1g1g0g0g–
Vitamins
Vitamin A4968μg0419μg–7μg––900mcg
Riboflavin (B2)2.8mg.92.8mg.3mg.2mg.4mg.359mg1.3mg
B61mg.3mg.7mg.4mg.2mg.1mg.162mg1.3-1.7mg
Folate (B9)290μg3μg98μg6μg3μg–11mcg400mcg
B1259.3μg8.6μg27.5μg15.2μg9.5μg5.7μg4.19mcg2.4mcg
Vitamin C1.3mg2mg9.4mg3.3mg10.7mg45.5mg1.3mg60mg
Vitamin D1.2μg–1.1μg–––.4mcg100mg (4000 IU)
Vitamin E0.4mg.2mg.2mg–1mg–.39mg1000 mg

(1500IU)

Vitamin K3.1μg–––––1.2mcg120mcg
Minerals
Calcium 5mg7mg13mg9mg43mg9mg77mg1300mg
Iron4.9mg4.3mg4.6mg2.2mg2.6mg44.6mg3.21mg18mg
Magnesium18mg21mg17mg15mg13mg22mg29mg420mg
Phosphorus387mg212mg257mg386mg362mg296.0211mg1250mg
Zinc 4mg1.7mg1.9mg1.4mg1mg2.1mg253mg11mg
Copper9.8.4mg.4mg.2mg.3mg.2mg.22mg.9mg
Manganese.3mg–.1mg––.1mg–2.3mg
Retinol––419μg–––––
Selenium39.7mg21.8μg141μg26μg21.3μg62μg26.1mcg55mcg
Lycopene––20μg–––––
Thiamine.2.2mg.4mg.1mg.1mg––.9-1.2mg
Choline333.3mg––––––550mg

Beef Liver Highlights

Beef liver is one of the most nutrient-dense of all the organ meats. It’s also one of the easiest organs to start off with. Liver is so high in certain fat-soluble vitamins, in fact, that it’s better viewed as a supplement than as an everyday food–you only need to eat a little, once or twice a week to get its benefits.

Both beef liver and chicken liver are chock-full of nutrients, including CoQ10 -Coenzyme Q

CoQ10’s serves many important functions including generating energy in your cells by making adenosine triphosphate (ATP). It’s also a powerful antioxidant with evidence linking CoQ10 to the prevention of cancer.

CoQ10 may be the elusive anti-fatigue factor in liver. And for the men out there, it’s been shown to increase sperm motility.  

Liver Supplements

If you’re still squeamish about eating fresh liver, you can simply add beef liver supplements to your carnivore diet food list. You can learn more about supplementing with liver here. 

Bone Broth and Bone Marrow

Keto bone broth

Bone broth and bone marrow are both staple foods across most early cultures. Modern nutritional research shows us why: these foods are nature’s best source of glycine, the most anti-inflammatory, anti-aging amino acid.   Bone-derived food products are high in fat, free of carbs, and keto-friendly. 

Bone broth and bone marrow are also excellent sources of collagen that supports healthy skin and bones. Research has found that supplementing your diet with collagen may improve skin health and reduce aches and pains.

Nutrient100g of Bone MarrowRecommended Daily Value (RDV)%RDV
Calories770 calories2,500 calories30%
Protein7 grams50 g (standard diet, not keto)14%
Fat80 grams30 g (standard diet, not keto)266%
Carbohydrates0 mg120 g (standard diet, not keto)0%
Niacin0.4 mg16 mg3%
Selenium20 mcg70 mcg36%
Iron0.8 mg20 mg4%
Magnesium1.8 mg420 mg 0.4%
Zinc0.1 mg11 mg1%
Potassium137 mg4000 mg5%
Phosphorus7 mg700 mg1%

Eggs

Eggs are a commonplace, convenient animal product — which makes them perfectly suited to the carnivore diet.

With a wide blend of healthy fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals, eggs are a whole-animal food that contains almost everything your body needs.  

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

Nutrients100 grams (appx 2 eggs)%Daily Value
Calories140
Fat1016% (Not on Ketogenic Diet
Protein12
Vitamins and Minerals
Retinol (vitamin A)98mcg12%
Riboflavin0.4mg33%
Thiamin0.05mg5%
Vitamin B60.02mg2%
Vitamin B120.33mcg100%
Biotin5.2mcg17%
Folate88mcg30%
Vitamin D7.9mcg30%
Vitamin E1.9mg30%
Pantothenic acid1.07mg22%
Potassium131mg3.5%
Magnesium12mg3%
Phosphorus171mg25%
Iron1.8mgMen (23%) Women (10%)
Selenium28mcg50%
Zinc1.0mg10%
Iodine47mcg33%

Finding the Best Quality Eggs

As you can see in the chart above, eggs, especially the yolks, are loaded with healthy fats and powerful nutrients. 

These nutrients are found in greater abundance in the highest quality eggs laid by happy healthy hens raised outdoors. Here are a few tips for finding the highest quality eggs, as well as some marketing gimmicks to watch out for. 

Brown or White Eggs?

There’s no difference between the nutrients in brown or white eggs. The only thing setting them apart is the breed of the hen laying them. So, color is not a criterion for choosing healthy eggs. 

Egg Grades? 

Grade AA, A, and B have no real nutritional meaning and refer only to the firmness of the egg whites and the roundness of the yolks. You can get super nutritious grade B eggs at a farmer’s market from hens roaming around eating actual worms and other critters. While at the same time, you can get nutritionally unimpressive grade AA conventional eggs from the supermarket. So again, not a factor for choosing healthy eggs. 

Vegetarian-Fed

Chickens are natural omnivores, evolved to live off grubs, worms, and insects, as well as grass ad grains. In order to be vegetarian-fed, chickens have to be kept in cages. The vegetarian feed is usually GMO corn. Like humans, chickens aren’t meant to be vegetarians. 

Organic Eggs

Organic eggs are certified and inspected to be free of pesticides and antibiotics. The chickens usually live in barns, and have to have at least some access to the sun–even if just through a small window. Organic doesn’t necessarily mean that they can go outside. 

Omega-3 Eggs

These eggs have enhanced Omega-3s due to the hens being fed flaxseed. The debate is out on these. Since eggs are already high in omega-3s it’s not really necessary. And as part of a carnivore diet you really don’t need extra omega-3s. 

Pasture Raised

The healthiest eggs are from pasture-raised hens. Yet this term isn’t enforced by the USDA. If an egg carton says both pasture-raised and has the “Certified Humane” or “Animal Welfare Approved” stamps, this means each hen had at least 108 square feet of outdoor space, in addition to indoor barn space. Other claims like “cage free” and “natural” are unregulated and don’t mean anything. 

Farmer Eggs

To get the very healthiest eggs, get to know the egg providers at your local farmer’s market. Ask them what they feed their hens and how they’re raised. If they roam around the farm feasting on insects and grass, you’ve hit the healthy egg jackpot. 

Dairy on Your Carnivore Diet Food List

The place of dairy on your carnivore diet food list can be a bit controversial. On the one hand, a lot of people have dairy sensitivities. These can show up as bloating, constipation, and other digestive problems. They can also be expressed externally as psoriasis and eczema. 

If you’re considering the carnivore diet as a way to treat these issues, we recommend eliminating dairy for 30-60 days before putting it back on your list. 

If you’re good with dairy, go for the creamiest options. Creamy blue cheese offers numerous benefits thanks to naturally occurring beneficial palyamines.

A2 vs. A1 Dairy

Have you seen A2 listed on a milk carton and wondered what it meant? 

A2 refers to one of two types of milk protein (casein). Most cows’ milk has A1 proteins which break down into beta-casomorphin 7. This molecule has been linked to cardiovascular and autoimmune disease.

A2 milk protein is broken down differently and can be found in all goat, sheep, buffalo milk, even when not labeled A2.

When choosing the best butter and ghee for your carnivore diet food list, opt for grass-fed varieties. 

As with most dairy, cheese is likely best eliminated during the early stages of the carnivore diet. 

When re-introducing cheese, stay attuned to your body to see how it responds. If bloating occurs, best to leave it out entirely. 

Nutrition info per 100 grams

Type of DairyCaloriesFatProteinCarbs% Calories from fat% Calories from protein% Calories from carbs
Ghee896104.3010000
Butter71484.8.0199.9.010
Creme fraiche40343.22.42.49622
Heavy cream (3.3 oz)33336.32.82.79433
Cream cheese35234.56.25.58776
Sour cream19218.42.34.58659
Cheddar cheese41433.823.43.274233
Full Fat Greek Yogurt1005.19.54.1473716

Creme Fraiche Highlights

Think of creme fraiche as the refined French cousin to American sour cream. Creme fraiche literally means fresh cream–but like sour cream it’s cultured. Its flavor is less tangy, however. 

And because it has very high butterfat content it won’t curdle or break down when added to hot or acidic food–instead, it will melt creamily. 

Creme fraiche makes a great addition to eggs, backed and scrambled, and to baked salmon dishes to up the fat content and give it that je ne sais quoi.

Beverages on your Carnivore Diet Food List

For the strictest carnivore dieters, the beverages on a carnivore diet food list is short: water. 

But for the rest of us mere mortals, coffee, tea, milk, cream, and bone broth can all make regular cameos. 

Since your body will be running on fat for fuel, if you can tolerate dairy well, load up your coffee or tea with heavy cream or add some butter. 

Take it a step further and enjoy a cold cup of heavy cream on its own.  

A heavy-cream matcha or coffee lattes are like grown-up milkshakes. 

Controversial Topics 

Sauces 

Most store-bought sauces are based in seed oils and loaded with sugars. So best to avoid all sauces other than those you make yourself. Some carnivore-friendly sauces can be found in the French canon–Béarnaise and Beurre Blanc are almost pure butterfat. 

Snacking

How often you eat on a carnivore diet is really up to you. But most people find that whole animal foods with plenty of healthy fats are extremely satiating. And if you’re keto adapted you won’t have the kind of blood-sugar roller coaster that keeps you craving carbs.  

We find that the benefits of a carnivore diet are enhanced by intermittent fasting. Eating two meals a day within a 6-hour window appears to be the metabolic sweet spot for many people. 

Most Nutrient Dense Carnivore Foods

Nutrient Dense Foods list

The Best Ways to Source Carnivore Foods 

Finding premium animal products for your carnivore diet is easier than you might think. Here are several of the best sourcing options. 

Your local butcher

Nobody will be more supportive of your carnivore diet more than your local butcher. Butchers have a comprehensive knowledge of the different cuts of meats. If you’re buying in bulk, they’ll probably be more than happy to cut you a deal. 

Farmers Market

Local farmers’ markets are also a great place to find premium animal products. Many markets feature everything you need to eat carnivore, including eggs, organ meats, grass-fed dairy, honey (yes, honey is an optional carnivore food), and more. Another benefit: the food you’ll find at a farmer’s market is more than likely super fresh. 

Supermarkets

If all else fails, your local supermarket carries plenty of carnivore-friendly foods. While organ meats and salmon roe may not be available, muscle meat is easy to find–opt for the fattiest cuts! Your supermarket will also carry plenty of good cheese options — just be sure to pick something that’s free of additives. 

Buy online

It’s true — in 2021 you really can buy premium meat online. Dr. Kiltz recommends Butcher Box, a 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef delivery site. 

Putting This Carnivore Food List to Work

To put this carnivore food list to work, head on over to our carnivore diet meal plan to follow our 7 day menus and shopping lists.  

 

Positive psychology
Liam McAuliffe

Positive Psychology: A Guide for Beginners

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Out of the over 50 perspectives of psychology that are practiced today, most tend to be problem focused. Yet, from the perspective of positive psychology, this narrow focus on fixing what’s wrong may be keeping us feeling helpless and limiting our quality of life.

This more recent psychological approach known as positive psychology trades ‘fixing problems’ for ‘enhancing what’s strong. Positive psychology uses scientific evidence to focus on clients’ strengths, hope, and resilience. 

This overview of positive psychology’s origins, central facets, and practical uses can help you live a life of increased well-being and joy.

Definition

“Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life worth living” (Peterson, 2008)

Positive psychology is the evidenced-based study of thoughts, feelings, and behavior, with a focus on human strengths. It is a science of the mind that considers the positive aspects that empower individuals and communities to flourish.

In essence, positive psychology studies the rewarding aspects of human life, such as:

  • positive experiences (moments where we experience joy, inspiration, or happiness)
  • positive states (like feelings of gratitude or compassion)
  • positive communities (places where we connect with others to experience something greater than ourselves)

Positive psychology believes in the resilience of people and their inherent desire to live meaningful lives of well-being.

Fast Facts

Positive psychology:

  • is a science of the mind, based on evidence of what makes humans live lives of well-being
  • focuses on positive human experiences, emotional states, and thriving communities
  • trades in ‘fixing what’s wrong’ for ‘enhancing what’s strong’
  • complements traditional psychotherapy to balance processing pain with strengthening positive aspects of people’s thoughts, behavior, and emotions

A Brief History of Positive Psychology

Like the evolving trends within the fields of medicine, politics, and education, the focus of psychology has shifted throughout the decades. 

World War II marked a significant shift within the field. Psychology moved its focus away from a mission to increase fulfillment into a focus on correcting abnormal behavior and treating mental illness. This is known as the disease model, and it emphasized the pathology of the human mind, centering on what was wrong or lacking.

Then in the 1950s, the humanist movement revolutionized the field of psychology. Through its renewed interest in the positive features of the human experience, psychological theories that centered on human values and dignity were restored.

Within the humanist movement, the roots of positive psychology sprouted.

The Founder: Martin Seligman

Positive Psychology was developed by educator and psychologist Martin Seligman and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania.

Seligman’s research throughout the 1960s and 70’s produced the concept of “learned helplessness”, or the idea that humans can become helpless if they feel out of control or victimized by their experience. 

Seligman connected his theory of learned helplessness with depression, asserting that people stay depressed when they feel helpless.

Accordingly, Seligman sought to shift psychology’s attention away from its potentially limiting focus on trauma, suffering, and pain to a focus on cultivating wellbeing. 

Gaining momentum in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Positive psychology is still relatively new to the field, but has been steadily increasing in popularity because of its high efficacy. 

Since its birth, Positive Psychology has been:

  • shown by research to be successful in alleviating common psychological symptoms and increasing wellbeing
  • named Harvard’s most popular course
  • holding a central focus within the field of psychotherapy

Positive Psychology’s Three Levels

An important aspect of the science behind positive psychology is that it operates on three different levels: the subjective, the individual, and the group.

In detail, the levels of positive psychology are:

  • Subjective: the study of positive experiences and their feelings, such as well-being, gratitude, happiness, contentment, and joy
  • Individual: the study of the components of what makes up a happy life or a thriving person, such as the capacity to persevere, have courage, forgive, have a growth mindset, and love.
  • Group: the study of the characteristics of strong communities and their virtues, such as tolerance, social responsibility, altruism, and work ethics

Defining Well-Being: An Introduction to the PERMA Model

Positive psychology is a science devoted to studying human well-being, but how is well-being defined?

To define the concept of well-being, Seligman created the PERMA model.

“PERMA” stands for:

  • P – Positive Emotions: An important aspect of wellbeing is the experience of positive emotions. For instance, the ability to enjoy yourself when engaged in an activity can increase feelings of well-being.
  • E – Engagement: Integral to well-being is also the capacity that we have to become completely absorbed within the tasks we enjoyed. Engagement is about finding a sense of flow in which we may lose track of time doing something we are good at and love.
  • R – (Positive) Relationships: Humans are social beings. Authentic connections with others help us flourish. Having meaningful relationships significantly increases our overall well-being.
  • M – Meaning: A persistently happy attitude may be conflated with thriving, but a developed sense of well-being requires a sense of meaning in one’s life. Meaning happens when we devote our energy to something bigger than ourselves.
  • A – Accomplishment: well-being thrives in moments of success. Having the motivation to accomplish is an integral aspect of our well-being.

The five aspects of the PERMA model are measurable within both individuals and groups. When we cultivate each aspect of the PERMA model, well-being emerges.

The State of Flow

Psychologist and co-founder of positive psychology, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, studied and defined the concept of flow. 

Flow is a state of mind marked by heightened focus and absorption on an immediate activity.  When in a state of flow, a person may be so engaged that they lose track of time. 

Csikszentmihalyi’s research centered on the way artists, athletes, musicians, and other craftsmen seemed to enter a state of profound engagement while working.

The six components that define a flow experience are:

  1. A profound focused concentration on a present-centered activity
  2. A mindful awareness of your actions
  3. A merging with the immediate activity and the loss of self-consciousness
  4. A feeling of agency and control over your actions
  5. A quickening or loss of the sense of time passing
  6. A feeling of gratifying, intrinsic reward

When both our level of skill and challenge meet in an equanimous way, entering a flow state becomes possible. A state of flow has been linked with increases in happiness, wellbeing, enjoyment, and tolerance of stress.

11 Lessons from the Study of Positive Psychology

Positive psychology is a science-based on evidence of what facilitates human flourishing. 

Below are 11 research-supported findings from positive psychology research that you can begin practicing today:

  1. Wealth is often conflated with happiness, but research has shown that the link between the two is unreliable. Positive psychology demonstrates that focusing on increasing well-being through avenues such as gratitude or flow will make you happier than how much excess money you have.
  2. Spending money on experiences rather than things can make you happier.
  3. Focusing on what you are grateful for can increase your contentment
  4. Oxytocin released from empathic actions such as generosity or altruism can create a chain reaction of wellbeing in yourself and others.
  5. Doing the work to shift your mood (i.e. emotional labor) rather than faking it (i.e. “putting on a happy face”) does a better job to increase positive emotions.
  6. When you surround yourself with happy people, you may become happier. That’s because people’s happiness depends on the happiness of others.
  7. Acts of kindness can increase feelings of connectedness and peer-acceptance.
  8. Volunteering may reduce depressive symptoms and increase feelings of contentment.
  9. Spending money on other people rather than yourself can boost happiness.
  10. When positive emotions are high, your level of success increases.
  11. Research in the field of positive psychology has also demonstrated that workplace conditions improve when:
  • positive emotions thrive
  • people share their positive emotions with colleagues, creating a ripple effect
  • simple acts of kindness can make a lasting effect on creating a more positive work environment

Putting Positive Psychology into Practice

Harvard psychologist Carol Kauffman described a few techniques for putting the principles positive psychology into practice:

  • Reframe the negative – The human brain tends to focus on what’s wrong or what could go wrong. Psychologists call this survival strategy the negativity bias.  

Instead, positive psychology can help shift your attention to what’s going well. Try the mental spotlight technique, which involves taking a moment at the end of your day to write down everything that went right. An “I did it” list, an alternative to the “to do” list, inventories accomplishments rather than what has not been done.

  • Utilize a language of strengths – Similar to the majority of psychology that focuses on pain, humans commonly use self-deprecating language in social situations.  

Identifying our strengths or positive qualities can be hard, especially when we are not conditioned to. However, just like working out a muscle, increasing a language focused on our strengths can be exercised. Try noticing one positive quality or strength about yourself and using it at least once a day.

  • Balance the positive and the negative – In workplaces, managers often combine criticism with positive feedback in order to cultivate growth in employees. For every negative thought you notice, try offering yourself a positive word of praise.
  • Cultivate positive coping strategies – When a challenge is broken down into manageable steps, hope and confidence flourish. When faced with adversity, learning to break a challenge down into smaller tasks can help cultivate feelings of determination. Try identifying skills that you have in the face of difficulty and ways to exercise them.

Potential Pitfalls

You may be thinking, isn’t this all just positive thinking? No, positive psychology is much more than a reliance on positive affirmations.

Positive psychology is commonly confused with self-help notions of ‘thinking your way into being happy’ rather than the evidenced-based theory that it is. 

Positive psychology does not advocate for simply ‘thinking happier thoughts’ all of the time. In fact, research has demonstrated that pressuring people who are not naturally optimistic to think positively can be harmful.

Instead, focusing on cultivating a sense of meaning can lead to a life of authentic well-being rather than temporary or false happiness.  And remember that meaning comes from connecting with something larger than yourself and helping others. 

Here are some of the main differences between positive thinking and positive psychology:

Positive ThinkingPositive Psychology
Self-help method designed to ‘trick’ your brain into more happinessResearch-backed science that offers a framework to increase authentic well-being 
Focused on cognition (thoughts) onlyFocuses on feelings, behaviors, and thought patterns that lead to optimal functioning
Suggests that by merely substituting your thoughts for positive ones, you can feel happierUses evidence to determine what makes people and communities thrive and providing research-backed tools to help people find deeper meaning in life

The Takeaway

As science and the field of psychology have focused largely on addressing what is wrong in the world, positive psychology asks, “what are people doing right?”, instead. 

At the core of positive psychology rests this question, backed by years of rigorous study. Positive psychology can remind us to remember to focus on what makes life worth living.