Anyone who has asked me about a certain diet plan will know that my comeback is – for whom, with what health conditions, for what time of life, for which season, for what purpose?
Everything needs to be individualized, in my experience. Especially what we eat and when and with what else we eat it.
Why?
And it turns out that the biggest driver of our individuality in responding to food is not even ourselves – our metabolism, our health condition, our age. It is the makeup of our microbiome!
A 2015 study showed that universal dietary recommendations have limited utility. Instead, an individualized diet is needed to modify blood sugar responses after eating to avoid unhealthy metabolic consequences.
This 5-minute animated video explains it all.
Test to Know
Testing is the only way to know. Having a home glucose monitor can give us valuable information.
The Keto-Mojo monitor can test ketones as well as blood glucose. This is especially useful while fasting, whether 12-17 hours or for days.
In addition, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can help give detailed information on blood sugar not only before and after eating, but also while exercising, sleeping and being subjected to stress. This is something I as a doctor can prescribe for my patients and is not available over the counter.
Love Your Microbiome
We are all different in our responses. We can thank our microbiome for that.
And the microbiome is not a static set of microbes. It adapts depending on what and when we are eating.
Metabolic flexibility with appropriate blood sugar responses to carbs as well as protein and fat is a sign of a healthy metabolism. Our microbiome is part of the equation to gain metabolic flexibility.
Fasting is one way to love our microbiome. While allowing our microbiome to adapt, fasting can also modulate hormones that contribute to our blood sugar response to eating.
Check out all my blogs on fasting or join one of my classes to get started.
