Metabolic and Mental Health
I No Longer Do Keto and Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss as I’ve No Fat to Lose.
But I continue them for six other reasons: improving cellular, metabolic, hormonal, and mental health.
Purpose of the Article
This post highlights the health benefits of ketogenic diets and intermittent fasting other than weight loss or aesthetic reasons for some people.
I summarize the benefits of these regimens for cellular, mitochondrial, hormonal, neurological, and mental health. This post is not health advice. Instead, it is for information, inspiration, and awareness purposes.
Inspiration for the Post
Some subscribers who read my content about ketogenic diets and intermittent fasting mentioned that they lost sufficient weight and wondered whether they should continue with these regimens. I can’t give advice but share my experience to provide a helpful perspective.
Like these readers, both time-restricted eating and a ketogenic diet helped me lose unnecessary fat years ago. Now that I have no fat to lose, I don’t do keto and intermittent fasting for weight loss anymore.
However, I did not give up on them, as they provided me with more health benefits than just fat loss, which I will explain in this post.
I was satisfied with these approaches that helped me keep my desired healthy weight. I don’t gain or lose weight anymore. I keep my ideal weight and remain healthy. However, as we are all different, something working for me might not work for others.
A Brief Introduction to Keto and Time-Restricted Eating
A ketogenic (keto) diet is formulated by changing the number of macronutrients as energy sources. A typical keto diet might include energies coming from fat (70%), protein (25%), and carbohydrates (5%).
So, a keto diet is characterized as high fat, moderate protein, and low carb diet. The classic ketogenic diet for epilepsy treatment does not include carbs as the purpose is to reduce sugar metabolism and only allow glucose via the gluconeogenesis process.
Time-restricted eating, also known as intermittent fasting (IF), is consuming food in a specific window and not eating at other times. A typical IF includes 8 hours of eating and 16 hours fasted window.
Some people skip breakfast and eat lunch and dinner, which gives them around an 18-hour fast window as seen an easy way. It is how I started.
However, due to additional benefits, I decided to skip lunch and continue with dinner, which turned into 2 hours of eating and 22 hours of fasting. A one-meal-a-day plan works well for me, but it might not for others.
In the next section, I’d like to cover the benefits of these regimens beyond weight loss and aesthetic reasons. In my perspective, fat loss and a trimmed body are by-products of cellular, hormonal, and metabolic health.
Compelling Reasons for Keto and IF combination
First, I’d like to clarify that intermittent fasting is not exclusive to ketogenic diets. People following high-carb or high-protein diets might also benefit from time-restricted eating.
I prefer ketogenic diets for two significant reasons. The first one is due to necessity. My body is carb-intolerant. Therefore, I needed fat as my primary energy source. The second reason is performance. I’d like to give my body alternative energy (ketosis) for metabolic flexibility.
Combining keto-carnivore and time-restricted eating provides the desired results and optimal health. However, the keto diet might not be for everyone. Time-restricted eating might not also suit everyone.
I know some keto dieters who don’t practice intermittent fasting. I also know those performing intermittent fasting do not follow a keto diet.
Interestingly keto diets and time-restricted eating have similar metabolic effects on the body.
Assuming you lost significant fat, and you wonder what other benefits you might get from keto. I explain the key benefits in the subsequent sections. I mainly share my personal experience learned from the insights in the literature.
1 — Reducing or Preventing Chronic Inflammation
After years of experience, the most important contributor of keto diets and time-restricted eating to my health is the reduction of chronic inflammation.
Living with chronic stress led to chronic inflammation manifesting several disorders like insulin resistance, leptin resistance, arthritis, and leaky gut syndrome, putting me at the onset of type II diabetes at a young age.
When I transitioned from a high-carb to a high-fat diet and ate my meals in a specific window, my inflammation markers, CRP (C-reactive Protein), ESR (Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate), and PV (Plasma Viscosity) indicated significant improvement within a few months.
Defeating chronic inflammation helped me solve other health issues, such as arthritis, leaky gut, and leaky brain.
I documented my chronic inflammation experience in an article titled Here Is How I Defeated Chronic Inflammation via 9 Lifestyle Habits.
2 — Sustaining Hormonal Balance
Hormonal balance was initially necessary for fat loss.
However, I needed hormonal balance for many other reasons. The health of our cells, tissues, and organs depends on optimized hormones.
Combining a ketogenic diet with an intermittent fasting regimen significantly improved my hormonal profile.
These regimens mainly optimized my insulin, leptin, cortisol, testosterone, and growth hormone. The imbalance of these hormones caused severe health issues in my younger years.
Optimizing six metabolic hormones introduced in an article shifted my metabolic profile from disturbed to functional mode.
When my body became insulin sensitive and receptive to leptin, the other hormones automatically balanced. It was evident in my joyful mood, better mental health, and feeling younger than before.
3 — Restoring or Maintaining Digestive Disorders
Even though time-restricted eating was the main contributor to solving my digestive issues sustainably, initially keto-carnivore diet helped me to remove offending food. So, customizing my diet served as an elimination diet.
Some ketogenetic diets, such as animal-based ones, might be used as an elimination diet. In my case, removing some plants gave me immediate relief.
However, time-restricted eating solved digestive issues such as bloating, stomach distension, and leaky gut.
After years of experience with the keto-carnivore diet and a one-meal-a-day plan, I did not have a single digestive issue.
4 — Solving or Preventing Metabolic Disorders
At a young age, I had all symptoms of metabolic syndrome even though I had an active life, such as performing cardio and long-distance running.
Combining keto and intermittent fasting helped me get rid of metabolic syndrome symptoms. I moved from a pre-diabetic state to a fat-burning metabolism.
Unfortunately, metabolic disorders such as type II diabetes, fatty liver, and cardiovascular diseases affect millions of people. As we get older, our metabolism gets slower. Therefore, I used the keto diet and fasting as preventative measures to boost my metabolism.
I am also concerned that these metabolic diseases lead to cancers and neurodegenerative disorders like dementia.
I learned that metabolic diseases have a robust connection with insulin resistance associated with elevated blood sugar caused by excessive consumption of refined carbs and sedentary life.
Both keto diet and fasting can significantly lower insulin spikes and contribute to insulin sensitivity. I believe that some cancers are preventable. I documented my reviews on Intermittent Fasting & Ketogenic Diet for Cancer Prevention & Treatment.
Through my extensive review of the relevant literature, I also believe that these types of diets and eating regimens might reduce the risks of neurodegenerative disorders like dementia.
5 — Reducing the Risks of Neurodegenerative and Mental Health Disorders
Our metabolism affects our brain and the nervous system. Therefore, metabolic disorders are closely related to neurological and mental health disorders.
For example, Alzheimer’s disease is considered type III diabetes due to its similarity with type II diabetes. The main factor affecting these two types of disorders is insulin resistance caused by excessive and prolonged blood sugar.
A Keto diet and time-restricted eating can reduce blood sugar spikes. In addition, these regimens can turn healthy fats into ketones. Ketosis allows the brain to use a cleaner source of alternative energy.
Studies indicate that β-hydroxybutyrate (BHP) can empower the brain and relieve Alzheimer’s symptoms. In addition, BHP as a signaling molecule can increase BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor).
Ketosis also contributed to regulating my emotions and gave me more cognitive flexibility in increasing my cognitive reserves. Emotional regulation and cognitive flexibility are necessary for a healthier brain.
I documented my perspectives on neurodegenerative diseases in an article titled Three Lifestyle Habits to Lower Dementia Risks.
Ketosis can contribute to other neurological issues. For example, Since the 1920s, millions have reduced the adverse effects and risks of seizures by consuming high amounts of healthy fats and refraining from sugar.
Studies indicate that fasting and related dietary regimens have treated epilepsy since 500 BC. Still, over 50 million people have epilepsy annually.
Ketone bodies are more than energy sources. They are signaling molecules making epigenetic effects. For example, β-hydroxybutyrate can turn on the longevity genes, primarily through the autophagy process that I cover in the next section.
6 — Cellular and Mitochondrial Health
The previous points relate to our cells’ health, particularly mitochondria, which are the energy powerhouse of the cells. Inefficient and defective mitochondria can cause a lack of energy and fatigue.
Time-restricted eating significantly contributed to my cellular health, making my mitochondria denser, as I documented in an article titled Here’s How I Initiate Mitophagy and Make My Mitochondria Denser in 7 Steps.
Refraining from food in a specific window and sometimes extending it to 48 hours or more, I initiated autophagy, clearing the cells from biological toxins, pathogens, and damaged proteins.
I documented my experience in an article titled Here Is What Happened When I Experimentally Initiated Autophagy Decades Ago.
I believe that a keto diet might initiate autophagy. However, it can be more effective when combined with intermittent fasting.
Conclusions and Takeaways
Diets and eating regimens are individual matters. Some diets work well for some but don’t for others. Some people do well with frequent eating, and some thrive with time-restricted eating. For me, time-restricted eating is ideal as it keeps me in ketosis.
As I tried several diets and different eating regimens, I decided to continue with a keto-carnivore diet which worked well for my metabolism and genetic makeup. I also benefited a lot from time-restricted eating. So, I made my eating regimens my lifestyle habits.
Even though many people start a ketogenic diet or time-restricted eating for weight loss, some people decide to make lifestyle choices for the reasons I mentioned in the previous sections. Another reason to continue for me is my dental health.
Ketogenic diets are not exclusive to people following animal-based diets. Plant-based dieters might also benefit from ketogenic diets. For example, I introduced the benefits of a keto-vegan diet.
Some people have a fear of cholesterol and triglycerides. However, my profile for both lipids significantly improved, and it even got optimized in a keto diet.
Despite all benefits, I’d like to re-emphasize that ketogenic diets and intermittent fasting might not suit everyone. They both put the body under hormetic stress.
This type of natural stress might be great for people like me. However, it might be unhelpful to people with a different metabolism and detrimental to those with underlying health conditions.
Therefore, before starting a keto diet or time-restricted eating, it is necessary to obtain guidance and approval from qualified healthcare professionals who have access to your medical history.
Some scientists and health experts hypothesize that moving from a high-fat diet to a high-carb diet might reset the metabolism. Thus, they think alternating a keto diet with other diets might be helpful.
However, I have not yet found compelling evidence of this hypothesis in the literature. Nevertheless, I keep an open mind to the potential benefits of going out of ketosis temporarily.
If you have such an experience with alternating diets and different eating regimens, please share your experience in the comments sections. We all can gain new perspectives from our different experiences.
Understanding the pitfalls of keto diets is essential.
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.
Petechiae, 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.
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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.
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