Metabolic and Mental Health
Why and How Eating 200g of Healthy Fats Daily for Decades Helps Me Thrive
Learning about six myths and acting against them contributed to my prosperous life.
This narrative is simply a recount of my own personal experience and is not intended to serve as professional advice.
However, it is intended to illustrate that there are various approaches to diet and health that may work differently for different individuals.
Ultimately, dietary choices and their impact on one’s health are deeply personal matters that should be carefully considered and approached with the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional.
Healthy fats are not enemies but friends and can be as effective as carbs and even better for some individuals if they are given a chance with an open mind.
Remember, your health is your responsibility and no one’s business. In other words, no one really cares, even if they pretend so.
Eradicating Myths to Find the Truth
Like others, I made numerous mistakes in the past, but I am not crazy. I am mentally active, emotionally mature, and spiritually connected. My IQ, EQ, and SQ stand above average. My mistakes made me wiser and happier.
To confirm, I have no intention of harming my body and brain. On the contrary, I value my physiology and biology.
The physical domain hosts my precious soul, and my consciousness gives meaning to my life as a guest of this transient life on this problematic planet.
Like billions of others, I want to live a meaningful and satisfying life by using my intellect, regulating my emotions, and listening to my intuition.
I am not the only one experiencing the perceived madness of replacing refined carbs with healthy fats. Likewise, I was not the first to stop frequent meals and eat food in a specific window.
As a consolation, I used to have a fat phobia believing in the myths even after a college degree. In addition, I used to consume three meals and three snacks with mainly refined carbs.
Billions of people throughout history experienced the miracle I discovered serendipitously. It was coded in our genes and embedded in our nervous system.
Since the 1920s, millions of epilepsy patients have healed their condition by eating substantial fat and refraining from carbs. Interestingly, they even ate more than I did.
Epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder. Still, 50 million people suffer from epilepsy annually, according to the World Health Organization.
While fat is the friend, sugar is the enemy of epilepsy.
Besides, “Since the Harvard sugar study, the estimated 158 million deaths occurred in the US.”
Sadly, “50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists To Point Blame At Fat.” As Freda Savahl articulated, many of us experienced the deadly deception of sugar.
In some countries where medication was unavailable, fat served as medication for seizures. Those who couldn’t afford fat in some countries fasted for their body to create ketones to give clean energy to their brain and fix episodes of epilepsy.
The lovely and caring people around me raised concerns over the last three decades. They asked questions about my elevated fat intake and time-restricted eating, skipping meals, especially breakfasts.
Thus, in this story, I outline my responses briefly to show why my approach is not crazy in this exciting journey hoping my experience can give perspectives to some people.
This is not a prescriptive article. Instead, it is a thought-provoking story to inspire my readers to do their research and analysis and personalize their diets with help from qualified healthcare professionals.
1 — Doesn’t fat give too many calories, causing fat gain?
First of all, fat loss has nothing to do with calories. Hormones make the decision.
2400 is not a random number to me. It took me years to determine it.
My dietary formula tantamounts to 75% calories from healthy fats and 25% from bioavailable proteins.
The formula is close to the traditional ketogenic diet keeping me in ideal ketosis to maintain optimal brain health.
Let me briefly touch on how I perfected my calories through decades of systematic experimentation using technical and scientific facts.
I am a trained technologist and scientist. I explain in simple arithmetic to make sense.
One gram of fat has around nine calories.
So, 200 grams of fat gives me around 1800 calories, 75% of my caloric intake, as clean energy with minimal impact on insulin.
As one gram of protein includes four calories, 150 grams gives me 600 calories meeting my bodily maintenance requirements and boosting 25% of calories.
While protein gives a bit of energy (not the primary purpose), it is essential for cell growth and maintenance, so it is non-negotiable.
25% is the ideal caloric intake from proteins for my maintenance, activating mTOR daily.
HIIT ad resistance training is an additional value for muscle maintenance.
My metabolic rate, movement, and daily workouts consume approximately 2400 calories. Consequently, I don’t gain or lose weight, staying at my ideal weight for over a decade.
Thus, one nutritious meal a day is sufficient for me.
While creating my formula, I obtained advice from accomplished physiologists and metabolism specialists on my basal metabolic rate (BMR) or resting metabolic rate (RMR).
In addition, they helped me identify resting energy expenditure (REE), indicating the number of calories my body burned while resting.
Finding this delicate balance was not easy. It took years of research, analysis, consultation, and experimentation.
Gaining knowledge and mastering skills take time and effort.
2 — How about carbohydrates? Aren’t they essential?
I divorced carbs decades ago when they abused me.
When I learned carbs were not essential for the human body, my suffering ended with self-love, empathy, and compassion for others. Ironically, I was carbs-intolerant which I didn’t know was a thing in those days.
But carbs might benefit many people as their bodies are more tolerant. Good for them! Mine was fussy and rejected them. It must have inherited genes from fat-hungry ancestors. I also got my DNA checked to gain insights into my gene pool and create epigenetic effects for my health.
In short, I am on zero carbs diet. But, technically, it is untrue as some animal foods like liver or bone broth have little sugar, so I define it as a near-zero carbs diet.
I had an epiphany when reviewing the studies of epileptic patients who ate significant fat, mainly saturated fat, refraining from carbs. Yet, their brains loved it by calming and ending the suffering from epilepsy.
Transitioning from a sugar-burning to a fat-burning metabolism was not an easy path for me. First, the road was bumpy, and the travel took almost a decade. Once I adapted my body to fat burning, things got easier.
The perfect vehicle that helped me reach my desired destination was skipping a meal, particularly breakfast, as I explained in a story titled When I Skipped Breakfasts for Two Decades, I Gained Copious Benefits.
This vehicle was energized by super petrol, replacing carbs with healthy fats as an energy source. Details can be found in a story titled Here’s What Happened on One-Meal-a-Day After 15 Years.
3 — How about cholesterol? Wouldn’t high cholesterol give you a heart attack?
You are not the first person to ask this question to me.
My family members, friends, colleagues, community members, and even my generous butcher (who gives me free fat cutlets), asked me this question.
These caring people feared that I would die from a heart attack soon.
Contrary to their beliefs, I gained an even better cardiovascular profile with optimized hormones thriving me for decades.
Saturated fat healed my gut and energized my brain, giving me an alternative and cleaner energy source called ketones.
As a by-product of the ketogenic diet and time-restricted eating regimen, β-hydroxybutyrate increased BDNF enhancing my mood and decreasing the risks of neurodegenerative diseases like dementia.
Millions of people feared cholesterol and refrained from healthy fats for decades, as documented by Nina Teicholz in her award-winning book titled “The Big Fat Surprise: why butter, meat, and cheese belong in a healthy diet.”
The cholesterol hypothesis is dead. Total cholesterol within the cardiovascular disease risk context is irrelevant, as I documented in the attached article, including the details of my research, experience, and perspectives on cholesterol.
Cholesterol Paradox and How It Impacted My Health Positively.
4 — But wouldn’t too much animal fat and protein can damage your health, giving you heart disease and cancers?
My answers would be with a question.
How many Inuits or other Arctic people who ate only carnivorous meals died from heart disease and cancers compared to our people in western civilizations who consume lots of carbs?
They did not stay sedentary in their huts. Instead, they fished, hunted, gathered animals locally, and thrived joyfully in their tribes. Moving their body awarded them making healthier and happier.
Discovery Magazine in 2004 informed the public about The Inuit Paradox, asking, “How can people who gorge on fat and rarely see a vegetable be so healthy?
People who survived and thrived by hunting did not know the concept of metabolic syndrome, type II diabetes, fatty liver disease, and fancy terms like insulin resistance.
5 — What about vitamin C? Wouldn’t you get scurvy if you don’t get vitamin C from vegetables and fruits?
I am not against vegetables or fruits as they benefit many people. I support my family members who follow plant-based diets.
My response to this question brings two questions. First, who says animal products have no vitamin C? And why do they think we need so much vitamin C?
First of all, organ meats like the liver contain vitamin C.
Secondly, the body needs less vitamin C when we don’t consume too many carbs.
Thirdly, if deficiency is a genuine problem for underlying health conditions, supplementing vitamin C with support from medical professionals is an option.
After decades of high fat and a near-zero carbs diet with no supplementation, I did not experience vitamin C deficiency and had no scurvy.
As documented in this medical report, “in 1959, Burns reported that the human requirement for ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is the result of an inborn error of carbohydrate metabolism.”
I acknowledge people fear ketogenic (high fat) diets that might cause vitamin C deficiency, as pointed out in this resource. But, like many people, this fear was invalid for me.
6 — You can’t just eat fat and protein for three meals and snacks. Your digestive system can go berserk. You can bloat and cannot poop. It is not sustainable.
These are interesting points. Over the last few decades, I heard them many times from people in my circles.
Well, who says you have to eat six times a day? Who determined the number of meals?
I know who did them, but I prefer leaving it to you to guess.
Did our ancestors access food 24 hours via fast-food restaurants in their caves? These poor souls were lucky if they could find just one feed a day.
Sometimes they did not get food for weeks or months. Yet, they survived famines and passed their genes to us.
Because of these demanding conditions, the human body developed gluconeogenesis and lipolysis as survival systems. We still have these systems in our modern bodies if we eat ketogenic diets and follow a time-restricted eating regime.
We won’t die if we don’t eat for a few days unless we have underlying health conditions. Our body has the intelligence to protect us.
If you don’t believe me, ask the intermittent fasting crowd, longevity experts, biohackers, elite athletes, and bodybuilders from the ketogenic diet communities.
Suppose you are a deep thinker and only consume info from credible people. In that case, you may ask Emeritus Professor Stephen Phinney, who has over 50 years of keto experience, the fitness coach and nutrition expert Dr. Jeff Volak, former elite athlete Professor Timothy Noakes, or psychiatrist Dr. Georgia Ede.
Regarding digestion and refraining from carbs, I fixed my leaky gut, bloating, and abdominal distension. Enough said!
In terms of pooping, I had better bowel movements after cutting carbs and fiber. Surprisingly, dietary fat helps with bowel movement better than fiber. If you don’t believe my experience, you can ask medical Dr. Paul Mason what he found about fiber related to constipation.
Regarding sustainability, I have eaten just one meal a day for over 15 years. It helped heal my dozen debilitating conditions caused by refined carbs and frequent meals in my earlier years.
I documented a decade of my one-meal-a-day experience in an 11-minute article titled Here’s What Happened on One-Meal-a-Day After 15 Years.
Conclusions and Takeaways
I am sorry to disappoint you about the benefits of fats for better health for some people. Finding my personalized diet took me years of experimentation.
My story might sound controversial, but there is no controversy in it. Unlike refined carbs, healthy fats are not only energy sources but also nutrients and signaling molecules for our cells, tissues, organs, and systems.
On the contrary, I firmly believe that my approach will be mainstream in the next few decades, considering the speed of independent scientific research and the dissemination of information via technological progress.
Some countries, especially in Western Europe, have already changed their dietary regimes.
For example, as documented by the Washington Post:
People in Belgium consume 95 grams of fat daily on average. Germans eat 86.5, Finnish, 81 Dutch 80.4, Swedish 80.3 grams. As fat-phobic people exist in each country, these average numbers are pretty high.
During my five decades of journey, I found six truths to convey based on my rigorous research and experimental experience.
1 — Three meals and three snacks are necessities for everyone is a myth.
2 — Healthy fats do not make us fat. But refined carbs do!
3 — Fat loss has nothing to do with calories. Hormones make the decision.
4 — It is well-known that carbs are not essential. But amino acids and some fats are!
5 — There is no credible evidence fresh meat might cause cancers. But, there is evidence that processed and burned meat can cause them.
6 — The cholesterol hypothesis is dead. Inflammation is the main culprit.
As a data-driven person, I pay utmost attention to my health. I measure my progress by checking my objective findings and subjective feelings. In addition, I obtain verification from medical professionals who support me.
Eating 200 grams of fat daily for decades did not kill me or harm my body.
Instead, consuming healthy fats:
1 — Optimized my hormones, making the body insulin and leptin sensitive
2 — Reduced stress and inflammation evident from lowered cortisol
3 — Eradicated arthritis symptoms
4 — Melted visceral fat
5 — Maintained lean muscles
6 — Made bones denser and teeth stronger
7 — Initiated autophagy, clearing the garbage from the cells
8 — Toughened mitochondria, giving me pleasant energy daily
9 — Fueled my brain with clean energy reducing the risk of dementia
10 — Having abs after 50 and eliminating loose skin was a bonus.
After seeing these benefits in real life, many caring people were fascinated. So they changed their perceptions and stopped nagging me.
I am grateful to influence them with no obligation. For example, some friends got inspired to personalize their diets with help from qualified healthcare professionals.
Reputable clinics employ some accredited dieticians and nutritionists specializing in ketogenic diets and time-restricted eating.
These trained professionals serve people suffering from obesity and metabolic diseases. Some clinics even hire these professionals for their clients’ aspiring longevity goals.
However, I know there will always be skeptics even if we package the truth and spoon-feed them. They are beyond my control, so I pay attention to what I can control.
I defeated chronic inflammation by eating healthy fats, allowing me to have a fat-adapted body. Fat has been my best friend.
Macronutrients like fats and proteins are crucial for our health.
But we can also enhance metabolic and mental health by reducing deficiencies of key nutrients.
Adiponectin hormone is another reason I replaced carbs with healthy fats.
Here is a glimpse of my fat loss journey.
Here are my perspectives on hormones that I have been studying for many years.
Here’s How a Mature-Age Couple Reversed Diabetes and Trimmed Their Bodies with Lifestyle Habits.
Here’s valuable research about saturated fat published in BMJ Journals.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
ALS, Metabolic Syndrome, Type II Diabetes, Fatty Liver Disease, Heart Disease, Strokes, Obesity, Liver Cancer, Autoimmune Disorders, Homocysteine, Lungs Health, Pancreas Health, Kidneys Health, NCDs, Infectious Diseases, Brain Health, Dementia, Depression, Brain Atrophy, Neonatal Disorders, Skin Health, Dental Health, Bone Health, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain, Brain Fog, Chronic Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Elevated Cortisol, Leptin Resistance, Anabolic Resistance, Cholesterol, High Triglycerides, Metabolic Disorders, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Thyroid Disorders, Anemia, Dysautonomia, cardiac output, and urinary track disorders.
I also wrote about valuable nutrients. Here are the links for easy access:
Lutein/Zeaxanthin, Phosphatidylserine, Boron, Urolithin, taurine, citrulline malate, biotin, lithium orotate, alpha-lipoic acid, n-acetyl-cysteine, acetyl-l-carnitine, CoQ10, PQQ, NADH, TMG, creatine, choline, digestive enzymes, magnesium, zinc, hydrolyzed collagen, nootropics, pure nicotine, activated charcoal, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B1, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine, and other nutrients.
Disclaimer: My posts do not include professional or health advice. I only document my reviews, observations, experiences, and perspectives to provide information and create awareness.
As part of my creative non-fiction writing goals, I’d like to share a few stories that might warm our hearts with a bit of humor into weighty topics.
Sample Humorous Stories
Finally, After Burning Her House, Georgia Found Enlightenment
Hilarious Tips to Prevent Brain Atrophy and Keep the Gray Matter Giggling
8 Psychological Points I Had to Unlearn and Relearn the Opposite
Based on my writing experience and observations, I documented findings and strategies that might help you amplify your voice, engage your audience, and achieve your desired outcomes in your writing journey.
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