The Feast and Famine Diet
Did you know that every culture around the world has its own form of a ketogenic diet?
Also referred to as a low carb diet or low carb high fat diet (LCHF), a keto diet puts the body into a state of ketosis; this is when the body taps into fat storages daily for fuel and energy. When people ate traditional foods seasonally from the land, the metabolic process would naturally move through anabolism (building up) in times of plenty, to catabolism (breaking down) in times of famine.
However, with industrialisation we then stopped growing our own food and instead adopted global foods that were not from our traditional diet, this caused our metabolism to move out of synch.
Clearly a need arose in western culture to give direction on the foods we should eat. Food corporations began influencing our food choices, increasing the processing of foods and the intake of sugar for mass manufacture and convenience. We then became fearful of eating red meats, fats, real butter, eggs, salt, and exposing our bodies to the life-giving sun.
The need to find solutions to weight and health issues spawned a plethora of “diets”. The early ones concentrated on eliminating fat. Pritikin, Weightwatchers and Scarsdale will be remembered by many. While people may have lost weight other health issues arose due to the imbalance of nutrition. These fatless diets laced with sugars to make them palatable, began a rise in obesity, heart and diabetic diseases around the 1970’s and on. Diets which used low carb, high fats and protein, such as Atkins were demonised during these times.
In the last few years we have all enjoyed wrestling with how to make fermented foods, brewed rivers of kombucha and kefir, immersed ourselves in coconut oil, shunned gluten and dairy foods, whizzed up tanks of green drinks, challenged the vegetable growing industry to keep up the demand for kale, and I believe we have successfully demonised sugar to where Coco Cola is suffering losses on the stock exchange: (www.smh.com.au/markets/2017421)
So much of this fervor in the wellness and the sickness industry still has not provided a sustainable way of eating for life that does not require a book, a CD or an APP! We have forgotten the science of catabolism and anabolism. We do not seem to be aware that a catabolic diet that cleanses is unsustainable. It may be necessary for many health issues but once the cleansing is done, the body’s cellular structure needs to be rebuilt. To cellular cleanse with juices or plant foods from time to time is good advice for all.
The diets that cleanse and restore the body and mind connection and bring balance to bodies that suffer from diabetes, inflammatory disease, behavioural syndromes, mental health disorders, are all ketogenic type diets. They all work with low carbohydrate, high fat and moderate protein and will engage a ketogenic reaction in the body, i.e. cause it to burn fat for energy while in ketosis and move in and out of ketosis as the body permits.
GAPS (Gut & Psychology Syndrome), WAPF (Weston A Price) diet, Paleo, Atkins, hCG, the Fat Revolution, South Beach, 5:2 diet, Body Ecology, Eat Real Food Diet are the main ones that provide solid commonsense advice on eating.
Paleo is excellent to reverse all sorts of conditions that need the sugars cut, the protein increased, and fat phobia overcome and suits Blood Type O people. However, because it advises to not eat any dairy or grains it becomes unsustainable long term.
The Blood Type Diet gives the foundation for variation across all food groups including dairy and grains to bring a lifestyle of eating that is sustainable lifelong within the parameters of low carb, fats and moderate protein according to type. Full GAPS is also a very balanced life eating guidance of low carb, fats, moderate proteins and fermented foods.
The Ketogenic Diet is how we ate before we came into the age of requiring to be told what to eat. We need to accept that there are many factors but the basis for a sustainable diet is to eat unprocessed, fresh, grown in healthy soils, foods. We also need to accept we are not all suited to eating red meats and nor are we all meant to be vegetarian. Keeping in mind your heritage and referring to the blood type foods as a guide, will make selecting your foods in the supermarket and the fresh food markets a joy and a pleasure as you make an informed choice towards keeping the balance for mind, body and soul.
FURTHER READING
Did you know that every culture around the world has its own form of a ketogenic diet? Also referred to as a low carb diet or low carb high fat diet (LCHF)