Whether you are aiming for weight loss, correcting metabolic issues, reversing diabetes, dealing with mental health challenges, preventing Alzheimer’s and many other neurodegenerative diseases, or are dealing with auto-immune conditions or cancer, a low carb diet is being recommended in the Functional Medicine world. This can be as low carb as the ketogenic diet or a slightly more moderate version of low carb. It can include fasting of some sort, or not depending on the circumstances. Everyone is different and has different needs. But a ketogenic diet that is ultra high fat is waining in popularity and a higher protein load is gaining attention for its ability to preserve muscle mass and skeletal integrity as well as boost our innate immunity. Suddenly, the leaders in the low carb/ketogenic community are talking about the benefits of additional healthy protein. 

Dr. Bret Scher, who is the medical director of DietDoctor, writes about the important changes they are making to include “satiety” in their metrics for rating recipes and foods. There are excellent charts on what foods create satiety with the least obesogenic effects. You will notice that the higher satiety foods contain greater amounts of protein. I always recommend Diet Doctor to my clients and friends. It is more than worth the c. $10/month for the wealth of information, experts, recipes, etc.

A phenomenal podcast on protein and muscle mass, especially important in aging, contains a discussion with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon and Dr. Michael Ruscio. I highly recommend this illuminating presentation for the “why’s” of upping your protein consumption.

Finally, Chris Kresser of the Kresser Institute presents a very research-based podcast on the Optimal Human Diet which again emphasizes the importance of more healthy protein than we think we need. A book to which he refers is one of my favorites by Sarah Ballantyne, PhD, Paleo Principles, a book that will weigh down your lap and take you years to begin to glean all the information it contains. Sarah is recognized as the expert on optimal diets! A final and crowning brief YouTube video from Chris talks about the rage for fake meats and what they actually contain and how they compare health wise to the real sustainably grass-grazed versions, again all research based.

I urge you to take time to listen to and/or read the links I am including.  To take all this information to a practical application, I also am highly recommending a lovely paperback book that takes the popular Mediterranean Diet to a new healthier and delicious level which is supportive of a satiating ketogenic/low carb approach. The paperback version also has on-line links to the latest research on dietary inputs, since the book would have been outsized if all that were included.  The recipes are visually stunning and every input is based on peer-reviewed research at the highest level.  Martina Slajerova et al. have presented us with The New Mediterranean Diet.

***As an addendum on 7/13, Chris Kresser just published additional information about the sustainability and climate impact of red meat.

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