My NK Experiment

During February I will be undertaking a nutritional ketosis (NK) experiment, I will be chronicling my journey on a separate blog. Link: http://depawnk.blogspot.co.uk/

Carnivore RDA Version 2

Menu:

• 7oz beef/lamb, 30% fat
• 2oz mackerel
• 110g beef/lamb tallow
• 2 eggs, whole
• 2oz pork kidneys
• 1/4oz pork liver
• 2tbsp gelatin powder
• 1/2tsp losalt
• 1/2tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1tsp/1g kelp/kombu, dry
• 16floz tea
• 400mg magnesium citrate
• 2 egg shell calcium / month (1/2 per week)

Why?
Over my continuing research I've found out a few things since the first carnivore RDA post:

• We need less retinol/vitamin A: 1200ug (~4000IU) is ideal, with >600ug (~2000IU) being minimum, but vitamin A is found in all animal fats so liver/yolks/dairy is less critical.
• We need less calcium: 200mg a day is fine, and possibly even better than higher amounts; as long as there's plenty of vitamin D, K2, magnesium, and other co-factors, calcium intake is a non-issue. Still less than 100-150mg probably isn't very good, stick to around 200mg a day.
• We need more magnesium per calcium: reading some books on holistic health care, it said that the ideal ratio of magnesium:calcium in the tissues is 3-4:1, so intake should be similar. I'm not increasing the recommendation for magnesium supplementation, but rather decreasing calcium as per last bullet point, and putting focus on using a salt like Himalyan pink salt which is naturally rich in magnesium.
• We need more kidneys: selenium needs to be ~200ug a day ideally, and the decrease in the other foods decreased the selenium intake, so kidneys were boosted to 2oz per day to maintain selenium intake.
• We don't need quite as much zinc: in the first carnivore RDA I used 12:1 as the zinc:copper ratio, but 10:1 is fine.
• We need less protein: my first dietary recommendation, to match the USDA RDA was very high in protein, I decreased it in the first carnivore RDA, and I'm decreasing it again. Excessive protein simply isn't needed, there's no point to eating more protein than we need, it just inhibits ketosis and can stall you. 15% of calories is ample protein. I also decreased the gelatin slightly, but it's still >15% of the total protein, so fine.

Nutrition:

Macro-nutrient	Grams	%kcal
Protein	74g	15.5%
Carbs	2g	0.4%
Fat	188g	84.1%

Vitamin	Unit	cRDAv2	In Menu Above
Vitamin A (retinol)	ug/IU	600-1,200ug (~2,000-4,000IU)	683ug (2,273IU)
Vitamin B1 (thiamine)	mg	0.4	0.44
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)	mg	N/A	2.18
Vitamin B3 (niacin)	mg	N/A	17.60
Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)	mg	N/A	5.13
Vitamin B6 (pyroxine)	mg	0.016mg/g protein	1.24 (0.0167mg/g protein)
Vitamin B9 (folate)	ug	100-200	130
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)	ug	12+	16.54
Biotin	ug	50+	No data, sufficient
Choline	mg	500	516
Vitamin C	mg	0	9.56
Vitamin D	IU	Use blood levels	477
Vitamin E	mg	0.65mg/g PUFA	5/87 (0.66mg/g PUFA)
Vitamin K1	ug	0	15.05
Vitamin K2	ug	80	No data, sufficient

Mineral	Unit	cRDAv2	In Menu Above
Calcium	mg	150-200	186
Phosphorus	mg	~700	726
Magnesium	mg	450-800 (3-4x calcium)	583 (3.1x calcium)
Potassium	mg	~2,000	2008
Sodium	mg	3,000-7,000	2878
Copper	mg	1-3	0.98
Zinc	mg	10-30 (~10x copper)	10.74 (11x copper)
Selenium	ug	~200	209
Manganese	mg	1	1.66
Iron	mg	8 (16 for females)	10.81
Iodine	ug	1,500-3,500	3492
Molybdenum	ug	45+	No data, sufficient
Chromium	ug	25-35	No data, sufficient

Tweaks:

• Supplement 100ug selenium instead of 2oz kidneys
• Supplement ~2000IU retinol instead of 1/4oz liver
• Supplement 1 drop 7% Lugol's solution instead of seaweed.
• Use no losalt and only 3/8tsp sea salt to keep sodium to potassium ratio the same, this is probably fine after keto-adaptation.

Bachelor Chow (A Soylent Recipe)

Soylent is all the rage these days, so I decided to make my own version, which follows these parameters:

• Nutritionally complete. I will be following my own RDAs not the USDA's though.
• Low carb / ketogenic. As low in net carbs as possible.

Here's my recipe:

• 70g whey protein powder
• 400g coconut milk (canned, not light)
• 180g cream
• 23g almonds
• 14g flax seeds
• 10g brazil nuts
• 3/4tsp pink salt
• 1 multivitamin
• 500mg choline
• 315mg magnesium citrate
• 1,500IU vit D3
• 150ug vit K2 (D3+K2=3 drops Thorne D3/K2 drops)
• 3.5mg iodine (1 drop lugol's 7%)
• 500mg vit C

A total of 14-15 ingredients. Total weight ~930g.

Why each ingredient?

• Whey protein: protein, duh.
• Coconut milk: keto-power activate!
• Cream: liquid gold.
• Almond milk: flavour and some omega-6.
• Flax seeds: omega-3s. You could omit and use cod liver oil (replacing retinol too) or fish oil, but this recipe uses flax seeds as default for taste reasons.
• Brazil nuts: selenium.
• Salt: sodium, chloride.
• Multivitamin+specific nutrients: the MV provides most nutrients except the fat soluble ones in enough quantity, magnesium, iodine, choline, and vitamin C (vit C is included as this recipe as it has some carbs, just as a safe guard (though best to not cook it and take it separately)).

Nutrition:

2050 calories, 65g protein, 31g carbs (26g net), 194g fat (omega ratio = 1.9).

Instructions:

1. Weigh out almonds/flax.
2. Soak them overnight in salty water, then drain.
3. Weigh out rest of ingredients.
4. Set the nuts grinding with water then strain to make nut milk. Discard solids.
5. Mix all ingredients together into paste.
6. Store in 3-6 small containers.
7. When ready to eat mix one container with water to desired thickness.
8. Drink water as desired also.

One example is 3 'meals', each made up with 750ml of water, for a total of 2ltrs of water consumed over the day. Weigh out 310g each meal for 3 meals, 233g each for 4 meals, 186g for 5 meals, 155g for 6 meals.

I did a basic cost check using mostly Tesco, Holland & Barret's, and a couple of items on Amazon.co.uk, the cost is about £3.15 per day, that's £22.05 per week, not too shabby.

If you're eating other nutritious food and want to just make this for snacks/emergencies, then leave out all the supplements (use first 7 ingredients). It will come out to £2.75 per recipe.

How does it taste? Probably like coconutty whey protein shake (whatever flavour you bought). I may make up a batch soon and post pictures of the process and give you my reaction to the taste. [Edit: I originally made a solid version (using coconut oil and coconut meat instead of coconut milk and cream) but the texture was really weird, I didn't like it, so made a liquid version.]


Name inspired by Futurama's Bachelor Chow (now with flavour!):

Home-made Mineral Water

Most water is pitiful, it's either contaminated with chlorine/fluorine, or is very poor in minerals after being cleaned/filtered. Here I purpose the ultimate solution (pun intended), for home-made mineral water.

Recipe:

• ~2L distilled or very pure water
• ~200mg silicia
• ~150mg magnesium citrate
• 1/2tsp sea salt, eg himalayan pink salt
• 1/2tsp low-sodium salt (66% KCl)
• [or 1/3tsp no-sodium salt + 2/3tsp sea salt]
• 2tbsp lemon juice
• 2tbsp distilled/white vinegar
• Optional:
• 200ug lithium orotate
• 1 drop Lugol's solution, 3-7% (1.5-3.5mg iodine)

Rational:

• Start with very pure or distilled water to minimise toxins/contaminants.
• Silica, used to remove excess aluminium, set at similar levels to Fuji water which is shown in studies to be effective.
• Magnesium, needed for over 300 enzymes, most people are very deficient in this mineral due to soil depletion, diluting it in water is a great way to increase intake.
• Salts (sea and low-sodium), these provide the electrolytes sodium and potassium, the sea salt provides trace minerals including a bit of magnesium.
• Lemon juice and vinegar, these improve the taste and absorption of water, blunt glycaemic responds (stops high blood sugar peaks), and also remove excess iron.
• Lithium, for mood support. Populations with water low in lithium are more prone to violent crimes and suicides.
• Iodine, needed for thyroid health and prevention of certain cancers, set a base therapeutic level; if you eat seaweed then this isn't needed though.

If anyone has anything else they think should be in the mineral water, then feel free to comment below or send me an email :)




Update (20/12/13) - Version 2:

Mineral water #0: Water Base

• 2,000ml distilled or very pure water
• 2tbsp vinegar, white/distilled
• 2tbsp lemon juice
• 1-2tsp Himalayan pink salt or similar
• 200mg silica / silicic acid
• 200ug lithium oratate (optional)
• 1.5-3.5mg iodine (1 drop 3-7% Lugol's solution)

Mineral Water #1: Magnesium

• 315mg magnesium citrate (1/2tsp powder)
• 250-500ml mineral water #0

Mineral Water #2: Vitamin C

• 2.5g vitamin C / ascorbic acid
• 250-500ml mineral water #0
• Update (21/12/13) - version 2.1: Due to acidity issues with my teeth last night, always add some bicarbonate of soda (bicarb) in equal amounts to the ascorbic acid.

All can be sweetened/flavoured if desired. Drinking one of #1/2 plus two plain #0s, results in exactly my original recipe, minus the low/no-sodium salt which I am removing because I feel the potassium isn't that critical really.

Why the split? For better timing of nutrients, for example drink #1 before bed. #2 is optional, drink #0 through the day.

What to do if you can't filter crappy water (thanks for the reminder Raphi!):

• Chlorine: boil water and allow to cool to room temperature, the chlorine will off-gas, so best to place outside or by open window to cool.
• Chloroamines: add 1/4tsp vitamin C / ascorbic acid to the water base to neutralise chloroamines.
• Fluorine: Use 4-8 drops 3% or 2-4 drops 7% Lugol's solution depending on level of fluoridation, this won't remove it from the water but combat the effects of the fluorine in your body.

Boosting Glutathione

We've talked previously about how important good glutathione levels are, so here we'll talk about how to boost them naturally and also with supplements. First a quick review of how glutathione is made:

1. First methionine is converted to homocysteine, via methyl acceptors (opposite of donors).
2. Next homocysteine is converted to cysteine via vitamin B6 with the addition of serine.
3. Cysteine combines with glycine and glutamate, using selenium to make glutathione.
   

So the nutrients needed to make glutathione are:

• Methionine + vitamin B6 (to make cysteine)
• Then, cysteine + glycine + glutamate + selenium
  

The best foods source of each 'ingredient' is:

• Methionine: eggs.
• Vitamin B6: red meat.
• Cysteine: red meat, eggs.
• Glycine: gelatin (heads, hooves/feet, tails, ears, skin, cartilage, powder/sheets, etc)
• Serine (inter-converts with glycine): any protein source.
• Glutamate: any protein source.
• Glutamine (inter-converts with glutamate): any protein source.
• Selenium: kidneys, brazil nuts.
  

Notice red meat and eggs come up multiple times, this means they're very good foods to include in your diet if you want to boost glutathione production. But the other components are equally important, so brink your gelatin-rich broth and eat your kidneys/brazil nuts.

Ok, now you're eating everything you need to make glutathione, lets make sure you make as much as possible. Methods for doing this include:

• N-acetyl-cysteine: this is a special 'locked up' form of cysteine that really helps boost glutathione production. Never supplement normal cysteine as bacteria tend to get to it first and use it for their own reproduction. Suggested dose: ~600mg.
• Milk thistle/Silymarin: this is a herb (and its active ingredient) that helps the liver to work properly, boosting its functions, including... you guessed it, making glutathione. Suggested dose: 100-200mg silymarin. This supplement is boosted when taken at the same time as choline, so eat some egg yolks with it for maximum effect.
• Turmeric/curcumin: this spice boosts glutathione S-transferase which is hormone that regulates glutathione production. Suggested dose: 1tsp turmeric.
• Whey protein: this boosts glutathione, due to its natural cysteine and other nutrients.
  

Ultimate glutathione production method:

• Diet based on red meat (for cysteine, B6, zinc), with additional egg yolks (choline), poultry liver (folate), kidneys/brazil nuts (selenium), and gelatin-rich bone broth (glycine).
• Supplements: 600mg N-acetyl-cysteine, 200mg silymarin as milk thistle, 1tsp turmeric, 1 scoop whey protein powder.
  

Glutathione nutrients for the carnivore RDA example diet (link):

• Methionine: 2,180mg.
• Cysteine: 1,130mg.
• Vitamin B6: 1.66mg.
• Glycine+serine: 13,700mg.
• Glutamate+glutamine: 13,510mg.
• Selenium: 194ug.
  

2000 calories of rib-eye (877g raw) would have:

• Methionine: 4,600mg.
• Cysteine: 1,700mg.
• Vitamin B6: 3.6mg.
• Glycine+serine: 15,300mg.
• Glutamate+glutamine: 27,600mg.
• Selenium: 212ug.
  

As we can see, both diets are strong glutathione producers. But I don't recommend a diet of JUST red meat steaks for many other reasons already stated in this blog, but glutathione production is not one of my concerns with such a diet. Bare in mind the rib-eye diet has a lot more protein overall too (~170g versus ~100g), so has more of the critical amino acids just from bulk.

Recommended intake:

• Methionine: 2,000mg.
• Cysteine: 1,500mg. ???
• Vitamin B6: >0.016mg/g protein.
• Glycine+serine: 13,500mg.
• Glutamate+glutamine: 20,000mg. ???
• Selenium: 200ug.

Inner Wolf Unchained

I'm currently writing a book on nutrition, with my good friend Danny Albers of Primal North assisting. It's called 'Inner Wolf Unchained', with a subtitle of 'Eat and Train like a Wolf to Get Healthy and Conquer Survival of the Fittest'.

It will cover our evolution in Africa, and how it essentially makes us fur-less wolves; it examines from the base up what we need and don't need in our diet; it looks at the latest science to understand what amounts/ratios of macronutrients and micronutrients we need; it draws this all together into a simple and easy to follow diet framework; it looks at the science of exercise and what forms are best for us; it looks at what supplements one should take based on what they don't eat to ensure complete nutrition for optimal health. The book will include plenty of meal plans and recipes too.

Here's an extract:
"There are certain nutrients we must get from our diet, such as essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, fat- and water-soluble vitamins, macro, trace, and ultra-trace minerals, and energy itself.

There are many nutrients the body requires but can make for itself, but only partially so, such as glucose (with heavy exercise), fat, choline, co-enzyme Q10, semi-essential amino acids, and many others.

Then there are substances in our food that negatively affect our health, either by blocking nutrients or doing direct damage, including fructose, gluten, excessive blood glucose, linoleic acid, anti-nutrients such as phytic acid, tannins, and many other phytochemicals.

We must balance these three aspects together in order to achieve maximum health and wellness."

Carnivore RDA Chart, The End of A Long Road

Amino Acids:

Nutrient	Unit	USDA RDA	cRDA	NPCD*	Recommended Foods
Total Protein	g/kg	0.8 (54.5g/150lbs)	1.2/lean (82g/150lbs@20%bf)	97g (1.78g/kg lean)
Serine+Glycine	mg/kg	N/A	200 (13,620mg/150lbs)	13,700mg	Glycine: gelatin Serine: muscle meat
Methionine	mg/kg	10.4 (708mg/150lbs)	30 (2,088mg/150lbs)	2,180mg	Egg yolks

Vitamins:

Nutrient	Unit	USDA RDA	cRDA	NPCD*	Recommended Foods
Vit A	IU	3,000	10,000	10,927	Liver, egg yolks, dairy fats, cod liver oil
Vit B1	mg	1.2	0.5	0.52	Pork meat, pork heart, lamb kidneys
Vit B2	mg	1.3	N/A	3.10	Liver, kidneys, heart, egg yolks, meat
Vit B3	mg	16	N/A	25	Liver, fish, kidneys, heart, tongue, meat, egg yolks
Vit B5	mg	5	N/A	7.47	Liver, kidneys, egg yolks, heart
Vit B6	mg	1.3	0.016mg/g protein (1.6mg/100g protein)	1.66 (0.0171mg/g protein)	Liver, kidneys, tongue, heart, meat
Folate	ug	400	~200	191	Liver especially poultry, egg yolks
Vit B12	ug	2.4	12+	27	Liver, kidneys, meat, egg yolks
Biotin	ug	30	30+	50 (estimate)	Egg yolks, liver
Choline	mg	550	~550	534	Egg yolks, liver, meat
Vit C	mg	90	0	17 (when raw)	Raw organs, but none strictly needed
Vit D	IU	200	Use blood levels	469	Oily fish, pastured lard; sunlight. Vit D should always be eaten/ supplemented based on blood levels
Vit E	mg	15	0.65mg/g PUFA	5.60 (0.67mg/g PUFA)	Grass-fed fats/yolks/dairy has more, though plenty in grain-fed
Vit K1	ug	120	0	53	None needed with sufficient K2
Vit K2	ug	N/A	80?	70.3-86.6+ (estimate)	Grass-fed fats/yolks/dairy has more, though plenty in grain-fed; supplement 1mg every 2 weeks if paranoid

Minerals:

Nutrient	Unit	USDA RDA	cRDA	NPCD*	Recommended Foods
Calcium	mg	1,000 (WAPF: 680)	544 min: 200-300	558	Bone broth, egg shells, fish with bones
Phosphorus	mg	900 (WAPF: 1,300)	878	1,149	Protein-rich foods, bones
Magnesium	mg	420	420 ideally, ~170 minimally	418	Supplement 300mg citrate
Potassium	mg	4,700	2-3,000	2,567	Losalt, meat (juices from cooked meat very rich)
Sodium	mg	1,500	3-5,000	3,946	Salt, meat (juices from cooked meat very rich)
Copper	ug	900	1-2.4	1.28	Liver, kidneys, heart
Zinc	mg	11	12-29	15.40	Muscle meat
Selenium	ug	55	~200	194	Pork, kidneys (pork best)
Manganese	mg	2.3	1	1.24	Spices, tea
Iron	mg	18	18	20	Liver, heart, muscle meat
Iodine	ug	150	1,000-3,000	Without seaweed: ~600 With seaweed: ~3,115 (estimates)	Shellfish, fish, sea weed
Molybdenum	ug	45	60?+	70.5+ (estimate)	Liver
Chromium	ug	25-35	50-200	260+ (estimate)	Liver

* Nutritionally Perfect cRDA Carnivore Diet:
10oz 30% fat beef/lamb (~284g)
80g beef/lamb tallow
2oz mackerel (~57g) [or 75g salmon or 40g sardines or 5g/week DHA fish oil]
1 2/3oz pork liver (~47g)
1 1/4oz pork kidney (~43g)
2 large eggs

3tbsp gelatin powder (or equiv from feet/hooves, skin, heads, tails, ears, cartilage), and
~1 cup bone broth (alt: egg shells)

2g potassium salt
9.5g sodium salt (unrefined sea salt recommended for ultra-trace minerals)

Technically plant foods:
1/2tsp tea or other manganese-rich spices (or alternatively shellfish such as mussels)
1g  kelp/kombu flakes, for iodine (or shellfish)

Supplements:
300mg magnesium citrate

Nutrition:
~2100 calories, 97g protein (20% of calories), 2.3g carbohydrates (<1%), 184g fat (80%).

Ratios, etc.:
Calcium:Phosphorus = 0.49 (WAPF ideal 0.52)
Zinc:Copper = 12.0 (ideal ~12)
Potassium:Sodium = 0.65 (ideal ~0.6-0.66)
Omega-6:omega-3 = 2.6 (ideal <2, good <4)
Saturated:Mono-unsaturated = 1 (ideal ~1)
Poly-unsaturated = 3.6% of calories (ideal ≤4%)

- - - - - - - - - -
Tweaks:

Less salts:
Using no potassium salt and only 3.5g salt maintains the potassium:sodium ratio at a lower total level of these minerals. This should be fine for those who've been on a ketogenic diet for a while rather than those just starting.

Cod liver oil:
Substitute 4.5ml cod liver oil for the pork liver and use 3g beef liver or 4g lamb liver for the copper.