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Leverage Ketosis and Fasting to Reverse Disease

With: Ben Azadi

About the Episode

Explore the detoxification benefits and disease-reversing powers of Ketosis and intermittent fasting.

Join The Health Detective, Ben Azadi, as he deep dives into the ins and outs of fasting and Keto dieting. He discusses the health-resetting benefits of each, how flex-dieting helped him reverse his autoimmune disease, and the life-changing journey with detox.

Flush out your toxins and start feeling better now!

What We Discuss

It’s important not to be dogmatic about the Ketosis Diet and intermittent fasting because they are useful tools, but not the only ones at your disposal. Ben uses Keto to reset the metabolism and re-teaching the body to burn fat rather than sugar. Burning ketones also can cross the blood-brain barrier, giving our brains an additional fuel source, and communicating with the mitochondria to duplicate, increasing energy production and eliminating free radicals.

Intermittent fasting also resets the gut, encourages autophagy, and helps with detoxification. When Ben talks about intermittent fasting, he’s referring to sticking to a time-restricted feeding schedule. For example, eighteen hours of fasting with a six-hour window for eating. He’s also experimented with block-fast and water-fast to see how each impacts his glucose and ketone levels.

Toxins and The Fasting Process

Block fasting consists of several days of fasting done periodically instead of intermittent daily fasting. Wendie has dabbled in several different fasts, including one that involved drinking a mixture of fiber and peppermint several times a day for five consecutive days. Before that point, she’d never fasted longer than 24 hours, but she realized her hunger hit a certain point and would resolve, after which she no longer felt extremely hungry.

Day 2 is when most people see the most significant spike in the hunger hormone ghrelin; after that, it begins to taper down. It’s more psychological than physiological for most people trying to do a longer fast. We have this amazing innate intelligence in the body, and when you take away the interference, you have all this energy diverting to areas that need it to heal.

Toxicity also plays a large part in the ability to fast. While dealing with mold and mercury toxins, Ben couldn’t block fast for longer than three days because of the rate his body was dumping the toxins. However, after Ben removed his silver-mercury tooth fillings, treated the mold, and changed environments, fasting became much more bearable. So, if you eat right, exercise, regulate your sleep, and still don’t feel right, it’s time to consult a functional medicine doctor because something else might be happening.

To Keto or Not to Keto

A 2018 study determined only about 12% of American adults are metabolically healthy. Ben believes the other 88% could benefit from a Ketogenic Diet to reset their metabolism and train their body to burn fat instead of sugar. The pitfall is we fall in love with the tool and think it’s the only one we use for the rest of our lives. Keto is a great health tool, but you don’t want to become dogmatic about it, or even dieting long-term.

Chronically low levels of insulin, like when in Ketosis, can create dysfunction in hormone production and lead to slow thyroid hormone production. Ben recommends an 8-12 week approach to Keto and to flex in and out of Ketosis. Staying in Ketosis for too long, eating the wrong kinds of fats, and too much fasting and not enough feasting are three of the big issues Ben sees with the Keto diet.

Reverse Disease and See Results

Ben sees results when doing Keto and fasting. He has an autoimmune disease called Renaud’s, which impacts the blood flow to his extremities. His symptoms were at their worst when he was struggling with mercury and mold, and he was seeing flare-ups multiple times a day. After several years of using the Keto Diet and intermittent fasting, he gets a mild flare-up once every 2 months.

Many diseases such as cancer, autoimmune, or women’s issues, can be caused by some sort of inflammation. And the foods we eat, the toxins we expose ourselves to, stress, and our lifestyle are some of the biggest causes of inflammation. Ben now runs a detox program to help others flush the toxins from their body, including a 90-day protocol that supports the gut through diet and fasting, meditative affirmations, gratitude practice, and pulling neurotoxins from the brain.

Depending on toxin levels and health history, many people benefit from a 1-on-1 approach tailored to their situation.

Learn how Keto and fasting can help detox your body and start feeling better today!

Bio

Ben is the author of four best-selling books, Keto Flex, The Perfect Health Booklet, The Intermittent Fasting Cheat Sheet, and The Power of Sleep. Ben has been the go-to source for intermittent fasting and the ketogenic diet.
He is known as ‘The Health Detective’ because he investigates dysfunction, and he educates, not medicates, to bring the body back to normal function. Ben is the founder of Keto Kamp; a global brand bringing awareness to ancient healing strategies such as the keto diet and fasting.