In Episode 142 of Keto Talk, Jimmy and Dr. Will Cole answer your questions about Mixed Messages About Bonking On Keto, Yellow And Floating Stool, Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia, Hypoglycemia When Cheating, Traumatic Brain Injury, and more!

HOT TOPICS:

• Response to Dr. William Davis’ column “Is the ketogenic diet dangerous?”
• What is the ideal ketogenic modality to heal the gut microbiome after food poisoning. No antibiotics were used.
• Fasting can affect pathogenesis of autoimmune disease but also how to address some of the challenges that patients with autoimmune disease might face if they try fasting, e.g concurrent use of prednisone.
• What role does keto play in recovering from vaccine injuries?
• How do I have the proper knowledge about the relevant heart health information with my cardiologist?
• Why do I get nauseated by eating more fats in my ketogenic diet?

“If you see a number like 29,000 people over 17 years, this is not a randomized, controlled study. That's your clue that this is not good science.” – Jimmy Moore

“You cannot extrapolate from studies of epileptic children that have other health problems and then apply that to the average human being.” – Dr. Will Cole

HEALTH HEADLINES:

• Trendy low-carb diets are fuelling a rise in bloating, diarrhoea and constipation among millennials because they are so low in fibre
• Three or more eggs a week increase your risk of heart disease and early death, study says
• Why Americans are on track to eat the most eggs in nearly a half-century
• What you need to know about the keto diet
• What’s the Skinny on the Keto Diet?
• STUDY: Low-Carb Diets Like Keto May Increase the Risk of AFib

Jimmy and Will answer your questions:

– Why did I seemingly “bonk” when engaging in demanding skiing conditions while on a ketogenic diet?

Hi Jimmy and Dr. Cole,

I really enjoy your podcast and appreciate your diligent work. My question is about sports performance. I've been doing a lower carb diet for 8 months now, always under 150g carbs and mostly under 100g. For the past 6 weeks, I've been strictly following a keto diet with net carbs under 30, many days around 20g. I'm also limiting my calories and doing intermittent fasting with calories coming in between 1200-1500. Once or twice a week I cycle up to about 2000 calories. I just returned home from a snowboard trip where I experienced a scary problem and I'd like to learn more about the physiology of what may have happened.

The first two days were challenging conditions with a lot of powder. This takes more effort so I'd consider it somewhat demanding exercise, but still aerobic. This was my first trip since going strictly keto and I was still adhering to the diet strictly. On the third day after a breakfast of Canadian bacon and eggs, we got up and headed up the mountain. On my first short run of the day, the trouble began. My legs literally would not work and I had trouble getting up on my board after falling. This happened a few times and I started to worry I may be having a panic attack even though this is not something I've ever experienced on the slopes. I was definitely a little worried about what I was experiencing but I just chalked it up to nerves, calmed myself, and eventually made it down. I assumed resting on the lift would be all I needed.

I got up to the top and the same thing happened although initially I was fine for a few minutes. It was a real challenge to both my legs and my brain and then I started having the same symptoms again about halfway down. These were steep, challenging runs and I began to worry I had just finally freaked myself out to the limit. Then it occurred to me that I may be "bonking"...I've run one marathon and experienced something like that, however, this was very different. I seriously couldn't get my legs to work, as in laying on my back trying to flip over and couldn't even pull my knees up to my chest.

I ended up making it down safely, albeit so ungracefully and very slowly and decided I should probably eat some quick absorbing carbs if I wanted to continue. I slowly ate half of a very large chocolate chip cookie, monitoring how I felt. Incidentally, this didn't even taste good to me and didn't create any cravings in the days after. After a rest, I went back out and was totally back to "normal." I know I'm relatively fat-adapted at this point since I can fast 18 hours easily. However, I've also read it can take months for metabolic processes to fully adapt. I'm guessing what happened is that the demands of the activity outpaced my body's ability to access fat, and being keto, I had fully depleted my glycogen stores. Is that what happened to me? That's pretty simplistic, but I'd love to hear a more detailed scientific explanation of what may have happened.

Thanks again for producing a great show!

Cheryl

– What’s going on with yellow and floating stool when you are eating keto?

Hi Jimmy and Will,

I’m one month and two days in to my new lifestyle, but I still have diarrhea and it’s always yellow.  Is this normal?  Thank you!

AND

Hey Jimmy and Dr. Cole,

I keep a very strict keto diet eating two times a day, so I have a regular bowel movement every other day. But my stool mostly floats. Is this a problem? I consume quality fats and protein with very few carbs in the form of green vegetables. Thanks for your help!

James

– Does having low platelets and possibly Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia have a connection to eating a ketogenic diet?

Hello you guys,

It looks like my wife is having low platelets and a possible diagnosis of ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia) and we are working with doctors to find out. We started keto in May 2018 and now consume a meat heavy low-carb, high-fat diet. Is there anything in our keto diet that could cause this or help in the healing process? Would adding in more bone marrow to the diet help?

Thank you,

Shawn

– How do you prevent bouts of hypoglycemia from happening when you go off plan and consume carbs (other than staying in a state of ketosis)?

Jimmy and Will,

I have been on keto since August and have lost about 50 pounds. I have been testing blood ketones and I am usually at 1.0 mmol+. Over the holidays I had three times when I went out of ketosis and each time I had a bad reaction. About 2-4 hours after consuming carbohydrates, I would have what I think is a hypoglycemic reaction with terrible nausea, diarrhea, sweating, and shaking. I was unable to test my blood to see what my glucose reading was because I felt so bad. After a few hours of resting I would start feeling normal again and eating carbohydrates after that was fine. But each of the three times I was getting out of ketosis I had this reaction. Any thoughts on why this is happening or ways to prevent it (besides the obvious of just staying in ketosis)?  One more bit of info, the third time it happened I was trying to prevent it and instead of eating a big meal I kept snacking to try and keep my blood sugar up and that didn't work. Thanks for all your help and I hope to hear your response.

Ryan

KETO TALK MAILBOX:

– What are the mechanisms behind why a ketogenic diet and periods of fasting help with traumatic brain injury?

Hello Jimmy and Will,

Thank you for your work. It is a pleasure to listen to Keto Talk. I have an observation about high-fat/low-carb that you and other listeners may find interesting. I sustained a very bad sports concussion in 2011 and this injury knocked me out (literally!) of school, all physical activity, and nearly all social interaction for upwards of six months. Most of my symptoms subsided within a year, but I had several longer-lasting cognitive effects, including math and language impairment, lack of focus, and increased irritability. One of the more prominent personality changes I noticed after the concussion was the sudden development of OCD, especially compulsion, and heightened anxiety and paranoia. In the years since, I have learned to live with this and work around my "new self." I have even been to counseling, which was somewhat helpful. When I first became concussed, my medical team recommended I take omega-3 fats in the form of flaxseed oil supplements, as well as an anti-seizure medication.

This past summer, I adopted a Paleo diet which quickly transitioned to Paleo ketogenic and I recently began implementing periods of fasting. I am doing all of this for health/longevity/vanity benefits, unrelated to my concussion. Since introducing fasting to my ketogenic diet, I am becoming my "old self" again. I have experienced all the benefits of ketosis and fasting—mental clarity, emotional stability, physical changes, physical performance PR’s, and more. But I never expected that the effects of my concussion would be reversed. They are not gone completely, but every fasting cycle I see huge improvements.

After doing a quick search of Dr. Google and looking on PubMed, I found out that this is a thing. People are using ketosis and fasting to heal traumatic brain injury. And it makes perfect sense- the neuroprotective aspects of fasting and a ketogenic diet should theoretically also help heal. Can you talk more about the mechanism of this on your podcast? My concussion was relatively minor, but there are people with CTE and servicemen coming back from overseas with PTSD and very serious traumatic brain injuries. This could be life-changing for so many people.

Again, thank you for what you do! You are so gracious on your show, and I so appreciate your continued dedication.

Katherine

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