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Hi fellow biohackers :-) I need an advice. I happen to sincerely enjoy fasting and keto dieting. My preferred eating routine is almost exactly what Dr. Berg (d

Hi fellow biohackers :-) I need an advice. I happen to sincerely enjoy fasting and keto dieting. My preferred eating routine is almost exactly what Dr. Berg (don't worry, I know he's not a real doctor and don't follow him blindly, this is just a coincidence with my actual taste) considers perfect "healthy keto" with greens, OMAD and full water fasting days. I feel the best this way (also most energized and productive and sleep the best) and prefer keto snacks as a matter of taste. Except I normally add more proteins, more fruits + supplement some minerals and vitamins. The problems are in ketosis my skin starts looking worse (kinda old and stressed, while it looks shiny great when I eat carbs) and my teeth become very sensitive (this feels really worrying to me). Any ideas why? This can hardly be calcium or water deficiency - I get a lot of both, also all fat-soluble vitamins. Another peculiar detail is I mostly mean junk food under "when I eat carbs". Even a junk food 99% carbs diet somehow seems better for my teeth and skin than any sort of keto and/or fasting.

ipaddr 3y ago
Oil pull for the teeth issue. The reason is the increased acid in your mouth.
- qwerty456127 3y ago
  Nice clue. I'll try. But how does the acid get there in this case? For an isolated experiment condition I would even ask how can acid get into you mouth the days you don't eat anything at all and only drink water? Do you mean the very saliva is secreted more acidic? I thought the primary source of acid in the mouth are oral bacteria eating carbs remains and producing it.
AndrewKemendo 3y ago
I made my own diet after fasting regularly for the last 11 years, finally landing at something like a loose OMAD comprised of what I call the pre-QME/late ice age diet: Grass Fed Beef or other grazing megafauna ungulate (Bison, Caribou, Elk, Deer etc…) even better if you can just get a local grazed half cow - very low carbon and basically perfect nutrient balance your environment. Sweet potato or other wild tubers Peanuts and legumes Fresh and dried Berries and stonefruit This can be done way cheaper and more easily than it seems. I have been the same weight and body fat (~10%) every day for the last two years when I initially adopted it. I walk between 3-8 miles per day and am exceptionally active, flexible, Sauna regularly etc… Works for me
- qwerty456127 3y ago
  Thanks, I'll give this a try. The problem with sweet potatoes I would buy at my local groceries (I'm in the EU) is it often is crazy sweet (which I both dislike as a matter of taste and doubt being healthy) and juicing with maple-like syrup after I bake it. Should I better consume it raw? Or is this some sort of healthy non-sugar sweet like chicory syrup?
  - meristohm 3y ago
    I dice and microwave sweet potatoes, after I do the same for the beetroot (which takes a bit longer to cook). Added jicama recently (diced, uncooked), and in combination with sprouted legumes (cooked, or raw if just lentils), apple, cabbage, nutritional yeast, vinegar and olive oil, it was delicious. That's not a strict recipe, just an example of a recent breakfast/lunch.
  - AndrewKemendo 3y ago
    No just bake them in the oven. That sweetness is natural hence the “sweet” potato. My daughter likes to eat them skins and all No need for any additions in my opinion but some folks like to add an oil of some kind. If you’re not into butter then beef lard is really nice etc…
    - gnicholas 3y ago
      I like to oven-roast thin slices of sweet potato, and then freeze them. They're great right out of the freezer: a little chewy and a little sweet. No seasoning, just a little olive oil. Have to flip them partway through though, and open the oven a couple times to let the moisture out so they don't steam.
    - qwerty456127 3y ago
      Isn't beef lard (as well as butter if the butter had been stored in a freezer, as well as egg yolks if baked to the point they are not liquid anymore) dangerously rich in oxysterols? AFAIK cholesterol (famously abundant in animal fats) gets oxydized into various particularly dangerous forms (which easily pass the blood-brain barrier and actively clog blood vessels) during baking and during freezing.
XorNot 3y ago
How much are you actually eating under this diet of yours, in terms of calories? It sounds entirely like you're not actually eating enough, and as soon as go back on carbs you're up around a sustainable number of calories per day. The thermic effect (energy used in digestion) of protein is on the order of 20-30% of the stated calorie value. "Keto snacks" are probably not on the "high in fat" end of the spectrum (also what's your salt intake like under this?). Get an app and start weighing / noting what you're eating and see if you're actually hitting a plausible number of calories (for comparison, I need about 11,000 kJ [2750 kcal] per day with moderate exercise and a high protein diet [150g a day target] to not lose weight).
- qwerty456127 3y ago
  Isn't one supposed to loose weight when they don't eat enough calories to cover the work they do? I don't.
  - XorNot 3y ago
    The punchline here is that you're complaining of a specific problem while being very vague about what exactly it is you're doing: no one's going to be able to give you a good answer. But I'd suggest if you don't know quantities and calories (and types), then you don't have enough data to self-diagnose the problem. Good scientists keep accurate notes.
    - qwerty456127 3y ago
      I just tried to be concise. So my question was if somebody could guess a way how carbs deficiency or OMAD can harm teeth and skin health. I could share my whole menu of low-carb foods I eat every dinner and you would see that sounds like a Robin O'Bobin's dinner, certainly more calories than necessary. Would you count your calories precisely when it's just obvious you over-eat (incl. caloric-dense fatty meats, cheeses and oils, also supplement digestive enzymes) but don't have any concerns about weight? Sure, I also experimented with severe caloric restriction and water fasting - these made me feel surprisingly energized, high-stamina and physically-performant, notably without loosing weight (this still puzzles me). But I don't find this very relevant because that was a different story, separated by time and by some time of a carbs-rich diet which caused swift recovery. Both had the same ill effect on skin and teeth. I even have a hypothesis of my own: perhaps that is insufficient endogenesis of hyaluronate which needs glucose as its pre-precursor. And Mistral suggests this indeed is a good clue: «However, a very low carbohydrate diet can potentially impact the health of various tissues in the body that rely on hyaluronic acid for their structure and function. For example, a low carbohydrate diet can lead to decreased skin hydration and elasticity, joint pain, and dry eyes due to changes in the hyaluronic acid content of these tissues.» What I am going to try the next is hyaluronate supplementation or intense glucosamine supplementation (as moderate glucosamine supplementation didn't help).
samplatt 3y ago
Blood test, my man. No sense asking people on the internet what you MIGHT be missing; get a test and find out for sure. Posting this from Australia though where the test is cheap. YMMV.
- rolisz 3y ago
  Blood test for what exactly? I'm not OP, but last year I also had a health issue and after going to three doctors, eventually ChatGPT told me to do some tests and one of them was the thing I was deficient in.
  - qwerty456127 3y ago
    I couldn't upvote more. Surely engineering a huge list of tests, doing them and analyzing them thoroughly is in my todo list. Nevertheless exploring specific guesses by random enthusiasts interested in the area often proves much more fruitful approach than going to a doctor. Especially when it's about a thing that is a norm or even better than. I still look much younger and have much better teeth and everything than an average person of my age so no doctor would dedicate much attention when it seems no serious sickness to cure. Unfortunately the formal healthcare system isn't much into prevention/wellbeing.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]

ipaddr 3y ago

Oil pull for the teeth issue. The reason is the increased acid in your mouth.

qwerty456127 3y ago
Nice clue. I'll try. But how does the acid get there in this case? For an isolated experiment condition I would even ask how can acid get into you mouth the days you don't eat anything at all and only drink water? Do you mean the very saliva is secreted more acidic? I thought the primary source of acid in the mouth are oral bacteria eating carbs remains and producing it.

AndrewKemendo 3y ago

I made my own diet after fasting regularly for the last 11 years, finally landing at something like a loose OMAD comprised of what I call the pre-QME/late ice age diet: Grass Fed Beef or other grazing megafauna ungulate (Bison, Caribou, Elk, Deer etc…) even better if you can just get a local grazed half cow - very low carbon and basically perfect nutrient balance your environment. Sweet potato or other wild tubers Peanuts and legumes Fresh and dried Berries and stonefruit This can be done way cheaper and more easily than it seems. I have been the same weight and body fat (~10%) every day for the last two years when I initially adopted it. I walk between 3-8 miles per day and am exceptionally active, flexible, Sauna regularly etc… Works for me

qwerty456127 3y ago
Thanks, I'll give this a try. The problem with sweet potatoes I would buy at my local groceries (I'm in the EU) is it often is crazy sweet (which I both dislike as a matter of taste and doubt being healthy) and juicing with maple-like syrup after I bake it. Should I better consume it raw? Or is this some sort of healthy non-sugar sweet like chicory syrup?
- meristohm 3y ago
  I dice and microwave sweet potatoes, after I do the same for the beetroot (which takes a bit longer to cook). Added jicama recently (diced, uncooked), and in combination with sprouted legumes (cooked, or raw if just lentils), apple, cabbage, nutritional yeast, vinegar and olive oil, it was delicious. That's not a strict recipe, just an example of a recent breakfast/lunch.
- AndrewKemendo 3y ago
  No just bake them in the oven. That sweetness is natural hence the “sweet” potato. My daughter likes to eat them skins and all No need for any additions in my opinion but some folks like to add an oil of some kind. If you’re not into butter then beef lard is really nice etc…
  - gnicholas 3y ago
    I like to oven-roast thin slices of sweet potato, and then freeze them. They're great right out of the freezer: a little chewy and a little sweet. No seasoning, just a little olive oil. Have to flip them partway through though, and open the oven a couple times to let the moisture out so they don't steam.
  - qwerty456127 3y ago
    Isn't beef lard (as well as butter if the butter had been stored in a freezer, as well as egg yolks if baked to the point they are not liquid anymore) dangerously rich in oxysterols? AFAIK cholesterol (famously abundant in animal fats) gets oxydized into various particularly dangerous forms (which easily pass the blood-brain barrier and actively clog blood vessels) during baking and during freezing.

XorNot 3y ago

How much are you actually eating under this diet of yours, in terms of calories? It sounds entirely like you're not actually eating enough, and as soon as go back on carbs you're up around a sustainable number of calories per day. The thermic effect (energy used in digestion) of protein is on the order of 20-30% of the stated calorie value. "Keto snacks" are probably not on the "high in fat" end of the spectrum (also what's your salt intake like under this?). Get an app and start weighing / noting what you're eating and see if you're actually hitting a plausible number of calories (for comparison, I need about 11,000 kJ [2750 kcal] per day with moderate exercise and a high protein diet [150g a day target] to not lose weight).

qwerty456127 3y ago
Isn't one supposed to loose weight when they don't eat enough calories to cover the work they do? I don't.
- XorNot 3y ago
  The punchline here is that you're complaining of a specific problem while being very vague about what exactly it is you're doing: no one's going to be able to give you a good answer. But I'd suggest if you don't know quantities and calories (and types), then you don't have enough data to self-diagnose the problem. Good scientists keep accurate notes.
  - qwerty456127 3y ago
    I just tried to be concise. So my question was if somebody could guess a way how carbs deficiency or OMAD can harm teeth and skin health. I could share my whole menu of low-carb foods I eat every dinner and you would see that sounds like a Robin O'Bobin's dinner, certainly more calories than necessary. Would you count your calories precisely when it's just obvious you over-eat (incl. caloric-dense fatty meats, cheeses and oils, also supplement digestive enzymes) but don't have any concerns about weight? Sure, I also experimented with severe caloric restriction and water fasting - these made me feel surprisingly energized, high-stamina and physically-performant, notably without loosing weight (this still puzzles me). But I don't find this very relevant because that was a different story, separated by time and by some time of a carbs-rich diet which caused swift recovery. Both had the same ill effect on skin and teeth. I even have a hypothesis of my own: perhaps that is insufficient endogenesis of hyaluronate which needs glucose as its pre-precursor. And Mistral suggests this indeed is a good clue: «However, a very low carbohydrate diet can potentially impact the health of various tissues in the body that rely on hyaluronic acid for their structure and function. For example, a low carbohydrate diet can lead to decreased skin hydration and elasticity, joint pain, and dry eyes due to changes in the hyaluronic acid content of these tissues.» What I am going to try the next is hyaluronate supplementation or intense glucosamine supplementation (as moderate glucosamine supplementation didn't help).

samplatt 3y ago

Blood test, my man. No sense asking people on the internet what you MIGHT be missing; get a test and find out for sure. Posting this from Australia though where the test is cheap. YMMV.

rolisz 3y ago
Blood test for what exactly? I'm not OP, but last year I also had a health issue and after going to three doctors, eventually ChatGPT told me to do some tests and one of them was the thing I was deficient in.
- qwerty456127 3y ago
  I couldn't upvote more. Surely engineering a huge list of tests, doing them and analyzing them thoroughly is in my todo list. Nevertheless exploring specific guesses by random enthusiasts interested in the area often proves much more fruitful approach than going to a doctor. Especially when it's about a thing that is a norm or even better than. I still look much younger and have much better teeth and everything than an average person of my age so no doctor would dedicate much attention when it seems no serious sickness to cure. Unfortunately the formal healthcare system isn't much into prevention/wellbeing.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]