CANCERS RELATIONSHIP TO GLUCOSE

 In my September 24th blog post a made a list of some of the most prominent metabolic diseases that are responsive to nutrition.  My goal is to take each on and give you scientific information on how ketosis is beneficial and can cause remission of these diseases.  

The BIG C is the most feared and difficult diseases to cure.  Cancer is on the rise and is showing up in younger and younger populations.  The current method for treating most cancers are chemotherapy, immunotherapy agents and radiation in an attempt to kill those cells and tumors that are malignant.  Those medications are toxic and sometimes life threatening.  There is also the threat of recurrence of the disease.  Some groundbreaking research is being done by Thomas Seyfried PhD a professor of biology...management and Prevention of Cancer at Boston University.  He has published numerous papers and studies on how cancer cells react to glucose and glucagon as opposed to ketones.  

He has found that in order for a cancer cell to grow and multiply it needs both glucose and glucagon as its energy source...AND in the absence of glucose primarily and the inclusion of ketones the cancer cells shrivel up and die.  He has done experiments with animals (I now my heart breaks too) and clinical studies with humans and his results are really amazing.  I will include a link so you can watch an interview which explains in detail all the mechanisms involved.

In short he says that a very low carb or carnivore diet or even other types of diets which cause keto adaptation are a first step.  He also emphasized other life style interventions such as exercise, reducing stress, good sleep,  eliminating smoking, drinking alcohol on a regular basis, and avoiding environmental toxins.  He emphasizes that genetics are simply risk factors and that cancer is primarily a metabolic disfunction of the mitochondria in every cell of our body.  

Since I don't have a PhD in cell biology will post a wonderful and sometimes goofy interview with Thomas Seyfried and Dr. Ken Berry, a family physician who helps thousands heal using keto/carnivore nutrition.  

https://www.youtube.com/live/EN58tZ6dspA?si=RXWFgv4HGxotLQHb

I hope you learn from and enjoy this video.  I appreciate any comments or questions and please subscribe to my blog.

Until next time, 

Michele

KETOSIS FOR WEIGHT LOSS....AND WAY BEYOND...

Lots of exciting things are happening in the scientific world  about ketosis.  Not only is ketosis good for weight loss it also successfully addresses and either minimizes or reverses:

    TYPE 2 DIABETES

    PCOS

    HEART DISEASE

    CANCER

    IRRITABLE BOWEL AND CRONES DISEASE

    ADHD

    ALZEIMERS 

    SCIZOPRENIA AND BIPOLAR DISORDER

    DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY

    AUTISM SPECTRUM

    ALCOHOLISM

and the list goes on

I have been in some form of ketosis for many years.  This year I doubled down and became carnivore because I wasn't happy with an A1C of 5.9.  Within a week of the change I started seeing blood glucose consistently under 100!  There are so many benefits.  No more hangry, mood leveling out, I get to eat lots of butter and bacon (who doesn't love bacon), really good sleep, no more cravings for anything, and memory improvement (barring difficulty with nouns and names....Im 74 in October) and a stable weight for the first time in my life.

I have been working with clients as a recovery coach, a mindfulness coach and in the last year as a metabolic coach.  With gentle loving shoves, many of my clients have adopted the diet with wonderful results.  One is off 3 meds for diabetes.  Many have lost lots of weight and feel better.  Many report stable mood and less anxiety.  And all report a freedom for craving and addiction to carbs....because they have severely reduced carbs to under 20 total.  I spend hours each day researching all the best science around therapeutic ketosis.  It abounds and is fascinating and gives me a good foundation for helping others in my private practice.  It also helps the I ran one of the first eating disorder units in the country in the 1970's.  

I am on a mission.  It makes me so happy for my clients to get such great results just by changing what they put in their mouth.  I have started a text group for all of them and want to expand to others who are interested in healing their metabolism. If you are interested give me a call or text.  All my practice is video now so it doesn't matter where you are worldwide.  As a practicing Buddhist my commitment to kindness and non harm has enabled me to be of service with a small slice of the population in my endeavor to heal the world....

Until then...be well

Michele Happe MA

775 230-1507    email: mhappenow.happe@gmail.com

My Experience with the Ketogenic Diet

After menopause I gained about 20 lbs.  I was eating about 1200 calories per day and still gaining.  My diet was very low carb.  I was desperate as my sister will later die of a heart attack at 54.  I know that in our family the road to health and longevity was very narrow.  I lost 30 lbs on Medifast and loved it but did not want to continue to eat packaged food.  I began to research.

I found information on the Ketogenic Diet which is similar to Atkins but not identical.  I am a geek so I looked for scholarly info and found a bunch of lectures by Jeff Volek and Steven Phinney who are medical doctors actively involved in scientific research on the effects of the diet.  After hours of watching videos and reading articles I decided to give it a try.

One of the things I loved about starting out was figuring out the proper proportions of what they called "macros".  It was a steep learning curve but since I am a geek I enjoyed the new technology involved in getting proper proportions of macros while keeping calories reasonable.

Within a week I felt wonderful.  I was full and satisfied all day, I enjoyed all the high qualities foods I was eating and my mind became so clear.  I had energy and found that my mood was so much more stable and I was content.  I have a long history of being a food obsesser.  I would plan after one meal what the next meal would immediately be.  All of that was gone.  The only time I get weird and cravey is when I get hidden sugar, especially in Thai food.  I never even consider eating grain related foods or high carb vegetables or fruit because I don't want to lose this wonderful feeling of non attachment to food.

I am planning on having my blood work done in November so I can do a comparison with last year before Keto.  I will let you know how it goes.

In the meantime,

Be Well

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

Michele Happe MA 

January 1, 2015

I don’t really believe in New Years resolutions.  My Buddhist practice teaches me that each day is precious and that living in the moment brings the most happiness.  I was asleep by 8 pm last night and I rose early at about 5 which is my favorite time of day.  

When my sister died of a heart attack at age 54, I realized that with the genetics in my family I could no longer rest on my laurels.  So I made the commitment to my health even more stringently.  I am early to bed and early to rise, to the occasional chagrin of my husband.  I eat in a healthy way 6 times per day with restricted calories.  I do indulge once per month and am always happy to return to my discipline after that wonderful day is over.  I exercise regularly in a moderate way.  I do walking, kettle bell swings, and restorative yoga except when I am sick…then I go to bed and rest until I have good energy to resume my activities.  

I nurture my spirt through spiritual practice in our Buddhist tradition.  I also have the opportunity to teach many of these general principles to my clients who use me for spiritual coaching as well as those who use me for health coaching.  

I read that the average weight gain over the holidays is 8 lbs.  Many over eat, over drink and are sleep deprived during this time of year.  The pressure that family brings often hits us the hardest especially those who grew up in dysfunctional families.  So the emotional toll can be great towards our general health and well being.  

January is typically a time of new clients who are trying to recover from a month of over doing.  I welcome anyone who wants to get on a healthier path.  If you are interested in health coaching remember the coaching is free.  Our plan is very healthy and satisfying.  

I do hope that you all have a wonderful healthy year one day at a time..

Blessings,

Michele

MAINTAINING YOUR WEIGHT LOSS

Michele Happe MA

November 19, 2014

When you think about it, losing weight is easy.  Once you get up the willingness to let go of your coping mechanism (food), which can actually take quite some time, getting on a food plan for weight loss is the start of some fun.  I recommend weighing monthly at the same time of the month, after morning poop and pee.  If you can stay on your plan it is fun to feel your clothes loosening and the numbers moving on the scale.  Once you have lost the weight the hard part begins.  

First you have to figure out a transition plan.  Take shape for life recommends a very good one because you very methodically add in healthy foods to shape a long term food plan.  This will vary for everyone.  Be prepared to make very few changes to your maintenance food plan because since we are in a very slight fat burn, once you reach a good healthy weight you will slow and often stop weight loss, even on  your previous weight loss plan. Since I am 64 and was once anorexic, my maintenance plan is very similar to my weight loss plan.  Fortunately I am very satisfied with the 5 and 1 with addition of vegetables and some dark chocolate with my brownie at night.  

When you are transitioning it is important to weigh more frequently.  I recommend once per week.  Give your self a few months to be in transition.  If you put on weight, don’t fret, just make adjustments accordingly.  Don’t worry about keeping the number on the scale exactly the same.  If you go up just tighten your food plan to get into fat burn again.  

Once you have figured out your maintenance plan which should include regular moderate exercise and activities to feed your spiritual life, I recommend weighing once per month again.  I give myself one time per month to eat a regular, kind of fancy meal with dessert.  Not all people can do this as it can lead into a  period of binging.  So keep in close touch with your coach as you maneuver the mine field of maintenance.  

The most important element of all of the is your ongoing RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR COACH.  This can be a time of great insecurity and fear.  All of us have gained back the weight we lost so we certainly know how to do that.  If you use your coach and are comfortable committing to the discipline of a healthy life style you are so much more likely to succeed.  If you even want a bigger boost to continued health, become a coach yourself.  Helping others is rewarding and is a commitment in itself.  We have a tendency to isolate and go into shame when we slip up.  Your coach has this tendency to so together we can help each other to succeed.  

Until next time, 

BE WELL