Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

More and more people are developing cataracts as they age. Typical treatments for cataracts have side effects, so today we’re going to talk about natural alternatives for cataracts. The eyes are highly affected by your blood sugar levels. When your blood sugar is high, it creates a lot of oxidative stress in different tissues, including the eyes. Our bodies produce antioxidants to protect against this oxidation and free radical damage. But certain things, like age and diet, can cause our bodies to make fewer antioxidants. However, plants also make potent antioxidants that we can take advantage of to help counter the effects of oxidative stress. The two categories that we’re focusing on today are carotenoids and anthocyanins. Foods high in carotenoids: • Yellow, orange, red, and purple vegetables • Pasture-raised egg yolks • Grass-fed meats Foods high in anthocyanins: • Bilberries • Blueberries • Blackberries • Chokeberries • Black currant • Red cabbage Here is the best natural remedy to potentially help with cataracts. Ingredients: • 1 cup berries • 1 cup kefir (grass-fed, whole milk, unsweetened) Blend the above two ingredients, using any of the above berries you like best. Use water to thin the mixture if needed, or consume with a spoon. Have this once a day. Along with this remedy, make sure your diet is very low in fructose, sucrose, and milk. Other natural remedies for cataracts: 1. NAC drops (N-acetylcarnosine) 2. Egg yolks 3. Oculotrophin PMG DATA: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-018-1647-8 https://www.sciencedirect.com

15 Sep 202310min

Let’s talk about stress. I recently experienced a stress event, and I want to talk about what happens in the body when a person goes through something like this. We’re also going to discuss how to get rid of stress and how to prevent stress. Certain stressors on the body, like exercise, heat therapy, or cold therapy, are in your control and have positive effects on the body. But, negative stress is out of your control and can have harmful effects. This lack of control could be related to a situation, condition, or relationship. In a stress state, you have a lot of involuntary glandular secretions and reactions occurring. Two parts of the body have both involuntary and voluntary control: the diaphragm and skeletal muscles. Controlled breathing exercises and walking are powerful to put yourself back in control of these systems and pull yourself out of a reactive fight or flight mode. It’s also important to understand that a vitamin B1 deficiency can mimic mild hypoxia and trigger your stress reflexes. Vitamin B1 is crucial to help pull yourself out of a stress state and even prevent stress. Overall, the best things when dealing with stress are: 1. Controlled breathing exercises 2. Walks 3. Vitamin B1 DATA: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25542071/

14 Sep 20238min

Let’s talk about one of the best remedies for eczema, also known as dermatitis or atopic dermatitis. This is a skin condition where you have extreme dryness and sometimes a red rash or itchiness. Typical eczema treatments, like steroids, have potential side effects. So, we want to focus on natural alternatives for eczema. This condition could be due to a deficiency of essential fatty acids caused by a poor diet or a genetic problem. The #1 remedy for eczema: • Black currant seed oil (GLA) What to do: 1. Take five drops of black currant seed oil and rub it in your hands to warm it up. Then apply it to the affected area. 2. Take a black currant seed oil supplement or a few drops with water orally.

14 Sep 20233min

Let’s talk about coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). Coenzyme Q10 is a helper molecule inside your mitochondria that helps make energy within your cells. It also helps stabilize the membrane in the cells, preventing any leakage of electrons. If you don’t have enough coenzyme Q10, you’ll lose energy. Top benefits of coenzyme Q10: • It increases energy • It reduces fatigue (especially while exercising) • It increases your oxygen while exercising • It improves your repair while exercising and overall exercise performance • It can help support a healthy heart • It acts as an antioxidant • It supports the arteries Foods high in coenzyme Q10: 1. Heart muscle 2. Organ meats 3. Fatty fish 4. Extra virgin olive oil Exercise indirectly increases the amount of CoQ10 your body makes. You can also get CoQ10 from supplements. Top things that inhibit coenzyme Q10: 1. Statins 2. Age 3. Low vitamin C, B6, folate, or alpha-lipoic acid 4. Anything that damages the mitochondria 5. Stress

14 Sep 20236min

Did you know some health supplements contain hidden sugar, like maltodextrin? Today, I will share a simple test to find hidden sugar in your food and health supplements. Iodine mixed with water is a golden color. If you combine iodine with starch, it turns blue. When you add iodine to bread, for example, it turns blue. Or, if you put maltodextrin in water and add a few drops of iodine, the water will turn blue. My brand of electrolyte powder doesn’t have any sugar or maltodextrin in it. However, when we look at a competitor’s electrolyte powder that also claims it doesn’t have sugar or maltodextrin, it turns blue when iodine is added. Maltodextrin behaves like sugar, spiking insulin, but can be classified on a label as a carb and not a sugar. On the glycemic index, table sugar is at 65, and glucose is at 100—maltodextrin is between 105 and 185. Maltodextrin is the most common starch added to supplements and other products. If there is less than one gram of maltodextrin in a product per serving size, the company doesn’t even have to state it. Maltodextrin can also be found in flavorings, energy gels, sports powders, and even baby formulas. It’s important to be aware that some so-called keto-friendly products can also contain maltodextrin.

13 Sep 20237min

Today we’re going to discuss which is worse: sugar or seed oils packed with omega-6 fatty acids. Common seed oils are: • Soy oil • Corn oil • Canola oil • Cottonseed oil • Safflower oil • Sunflower oil On average, we’re consuming way too many foods high in omega-6 fats. Ideally, a person should consume a 1:1 ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids. However, the average ratio is 15:1. This imbalance can lead to all kinds of health problems, especially in the cell membranes. Refined sugar also leads to health issues and is converted to fat, but the extra sugar doesn’t accumulate in the body like omega-6 fatty acids do. Omega-6 fatty acids (seed oils) lodge into your cells and accumulate in your tissues for 600 days. They are not water-soluble like sugar is and can't be burned off like sugar can. Both refined oils and refined sugar can deplete important nutrients. While certain whole foods, like fruit, have sugar, they also have nutrients and phytonutrients to help replenish what was lost and provide protection. But seed oils are a highly refined, over-processed part of a seed that doesn’t have any protective factors. To make seed oils they also use a solvent called hexane to extract the oil from the seed—is it possible some of this solvent could end up in the oil? Overall, while sugar isn't good for you, omega-6 fatty acids are worse for your health than sugar is.

13 Sep 202315min

Today, I want to clear up some confusion around protein. Typically, the minimum amount of protein a person needs is 50 grams. You might think that if you consume a beef steak that’s 100 grams or 3.5 ounces, you’re getting double the amount of protein you need for the day. However, there is a difference between the weight of a steak and the amount of protein in the steak. For example, a steak that weighs 100 grams only contains 26 grams of protein. This is because steak also contains fat and water. Proteins also vary in amino acids. We don’t even really have a daily requirement for protein—we actually have a daily requirement for amino acids in the protein. The problem lies in the quality of protein or the bioavailable acids in the food you eat. While some plants have protein, animal sources are a better option for protein than plant sources. Also, know that many infant formulas and foods for toddlers are loaded with soy protein and other plant proteins that can cause problems with digestion. Foods high in protein: 1. Breast milk 2. Eggs 3. Meat 4. Chicken 5. Dairy

13 Sep 20238min

Is oatmeal bad for you? Let’s talk about it. The small packets of flavored oatmeal contain a lot of sugar, and even though they may be marketed as healthy—they’re not. But what about unsweetened oatmeal? Here are three things you might not know about unsweetened oatmeal: 1. Certain studies show a significant improvement in blood sugar and cholesterol. However, the control in one of these studies is white bread. The study also only showed an improvement in blood sugar right after the meal. Part of the study referring to cholesterol was only on consuming beta-glucan, which is an isolated compound in oatmeal. In a different study, the participants all had diabetes, and they didn’t see a change in their blood glucose levels. 2. Oats contain a type of gluten called avenin. This protein has been known to increase cytokines. 3. Oat products have often been treated with glyphosate. The World Health Organization classifies glyphosate as a carcinogen. It may be beneficial to skip breakfast altogether and give intermittent fasting a try. If you do consume breakfast, eggs would be a healthier choice than oatmeal. DATA: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21843037/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3524229/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21294744/ https://www.ewg.org https://www.ewg.org

12 Sep 20237min