Nutrition

Integrative Medicine

What's the best way to break a fast? Great question. The general rule for this is you want to get back into eating with stuff that's easy to digest. It's really that simple. So you want stuff that's not going to put a lot of demands on your digestive system that you don't want to go with a big fried food meal. But that's pretty much common sense. Now this matters more when you're doing long range fasting like a five day water fast. Then you want to be really careful about reintroducing food and doing it very very gently so you don't overwhelm your system. But it's less of a problem when you're doing it the way most people do it in America which is basically a 16-8 fast. So you're fasting for 16 hours and then you're kind of eating all your food within an 8 hour window. So you want to get back in with stuff that's easy to digest but it's not quite as critical as when you're doing long term water fasts. So I would suggest things like bone broth, fermented foods like yogurt or kefir, berries, avocado, any of these things are just a great way to get back into your eating window.

Start breaking a fast with easy to digest food such as bone broth, fermented foods, berries, avocado, etc.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/zhnrtzqfzbko9ehx9wxk.vtt

Why do people take MCT level? First of all, if you don't know what I'm Ctrl m, c, t stands for medium chain triglycerides. So it's a class of fats and they tend to be converted to Fat a lot less than other pets in the body. The body likes to use them for energy. So people use them sometimes for weight loss, they use them because these particular fats tend to convert to ketones more easily than some other pets. So people use it a lot for brain health. In hospitals, like Johns Hopkins, where they have programs for childhood. Epilepsy MCT is the fact that they tend to use in the diets. Interestingly enough, when I was first starting out in the 90s as a trainer, there was a world, famous trainer named, John Carrillo and he trained bodybuilders and during the contest preparation week when they really had to, you know, shred down and cut up, they would use MCT or a lot because they needed calories for energy but they don't want to put on. Any fat and MCT oil kind of fit the bill. So those are the reasons why people take it. And I in other questions, I've answered about the differences between mc2 Arlen, coconut oil, and there's a lot of subtleties to MCT oil, but that's the basic reason why people tend to take it.

People take MCT for weight loss, brain health, and energy as it is easily converted to ketones. It was also used by bodybuilders during contest preparation to get the needed calories without putting on any fat.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/r78cdw5mmi71o4wxbg5t.vtt

What's your opinion on sugar-free and "diet" foods?

What's my opinion on sugar-free and diet foods? They put it in quotes. I'm glad they did. I'm not a fan, almost every one of them that I've looked at is loaded with chemicals and artificial ingredients and artificial sweeteners. And there's a whole list of things that you can't pronounce and that can't possibly be good. I'm not a fan. Even of the artificial sweeteners to tell you the truth. I think that they still Kind of feed your sweet tooth. There is some discussion in functional medicine, it's not proven yet but there's some discussion that perhaps through the same mechanism that Pavlov's dogs, were conditioned to salivate. Just at the sound of a bell. We may possibly produce insulin when we taste something sweet because just through the conditioned response, there is good, some good evidence that artificial Owners of set the microbiome. So there's not really good stuff to be said about these sugar-free substitutes and and diet foods, I'm really a big believer in basically just eating real food whenever possible and not looking for these kinds of substitutes. That's my opinion. I don't use them, I don't recommend them and I don't think they're good for us.

I'm not a fan of sugar-free and diet foods as they are often loaded with chemicals and artificial ingredients. There is some evidence that artificial sweeteners may disrupt the microbiome. I believe it's best to eat real food whenever possible, instead of these substitutes.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/ncr1n93kw02uyepwezuk.vtt

So the question is, is low carb bad for your kidneys? And it's a great question because there is a general belief in the medical integrative medicine community that high protein diets are bad for people with kidney disease. And that is controversial, but probably true. There was a study recently at McGill University that looked at a lot of other studies and said, you know, actually high protein is good for kidney function, but a lot of studies question that. But we're talking about people who have existing kidney disease and we're talking about excessive amounts of protein. Remember, you can do a low carb diet that's 80% fat and only 10% protein, which is really too little. And it's still a low carb diet. So the question has to be broken down into is high protein bad for kidneys versus is low carb bad for kidneys? Because a low carb diet is certainly not bad for the kidneys. I would monitor my protein intake with a health professional if you have existing kidney disease. But let's be very clear that the high protein intake, if you are doing a high protein version of a low carb diet, that high protein intake is not making your kidneys bad. It's sort of like if you had a broken leg or you had a fracture, a step class is really bad for you because you've got something that isn't healed there and you're gonna be stressing it. But step classes don't give you broken legs. So be very careful in assuming causality when we talk about low carb in kidneys. Protein is extremely important for all bodily functions. And unless you have existing kidney disease and a prescription to not increase protein above a certain amount, you can certainly do low carb and you can certainly do a high fat version of the low carb diet.

Low-carb diets are not bad for your kidneys unless you have existing kidney disease and a prescription to not increase protein beyond a certain amount. If you do not have kidney disease, then it is safe to do low-carb and a high fat version of the diet.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/gtai0cye9hawtvqpcbax.vtt

What does the latest research say about artificial sweeteners?

What is the latest research say about artificial sweeteners? Okay, this is a interesting question. I'm going to bypass the part about research and I'll tell you why. All of the research on artificial sweeteners is basically done by the companies that make them and so big surprise, they're all considered extremely safe. Let me tell you what, word on the street is on this and this is what functional medicine, doctors see in their clinics and this is kind of what we believe is going on and we have good reason to believe it, but we don't have solid. Double blind studies to prove it. The first thing is many of us believe that artificial sweeteners can really disrupt the microbiome in various ways that have not yet been studied but will be at one point. I'm sure I hope. And if setting the microbiome is not a good thing for many, many different reasons. Also, there is a school of thought to which I subscribe that artificial sweeteners. Tell the body. Something sweet is coming in. What happens when something sweet is coming into the body. Your insulin goes up now. There may be no calories in those artificial sweeteners, but many of us believe, and many is of us have seen in our clinics insulin and blood sugar. Go up when you're eating a no calorie artificial sweetener and I believe it's kind of the same mechanism by which Pavlov's dog would secrete South saliva when they heard a bell. I mean, there's absolutely no reason. In that a bell would create salivary response but it's been conditioned to the meat. So the dog reacts that way. And we think that there is a very good chance that insulin and blood sugar may go up. In fact, we've seen it when people eat artificial sweeteners. So those are the things that I don't like about. Artificial sweeteners. The reasons I prefer not to use them and I'm not including in that things like Stevia and the subject of sugar alcohols is probably a whole different story. But that's that's my take on On artificial sweeteners. I try to stay away from them and I recommend other people do as well.

Artificial sweeteners are believed to disrupt the microbiome, and can cause an increase in insulin and blood sugar even though there are no calories present. It is recommended to avoid artificial sweeteners, and instead opt for alternatives such as stevia or sugar alcohols.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/cncokbb7by00hnewsrx0.vtt

If protein powder is not recommended for people under 18, what recs do you have for a 15-year-old who desperately needs protein?

So the question is, if protein powder is not recommended for people under 18, what recommendations do you have for a 15 year old who desperately needs protein? Well first of all, I'm going to push back on that recommendation. I don't know where you heard that protein powder is not recommended for people under 18, probably from a medical doctor who never took a nutrition course, but I don't accept that at all. Maybe other people on the site, other experts would disagree, but protein powder is absolutely acceptable for people under 18. And in fact, there is a company, I'm going to put a link in my answer, called healthyheights.com, that does nothing but research on the correct dosages for these kinds of things like protein powder for children. And they have something called Kids Protein, K-I-D-Z, that is a smaller dose, more suited to the weight and height of children, and all of their research looks at the correct dosage for all these kids, and there's absolutely no reason not to use a high quality protein powder in addition to grass fed beef and wild salmon and all the other good sources of protein. It's a great source of protein, and it is certainly, in my book as a nutritionist, a perfectly acceptable protein if it's used in the right dose in the right way. Look at the Healthy Heights website, you'll get some great ideas.

Protein powder can be used by people under 18 if the correct dosage is taken. A website called Healthy Heights has research on the correct dosages for kids and can help provide recommendations for a 15 year old who needs protein.

https://assets.anyquestion.com/raw/upload/qlcwok4qyfybi6u5h5yq.vtt

Neither AnyQuestion nor its Experts provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment or otherwise provide professional healthcare services.

Physician disclaimer

Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS answers your Integrative Medicine questions. See all the advice Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS has and get answers to your own Integrative Medicine questions.

Ask Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS on AnyQuestion

Starting out wanting to be a jazz musician, Jonny speaker studied at Juilliard and played piano for the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre. After studying music and psychology at NYU and working in musical theatre, the Jonny became an addict and was eventually able to recover. This experience inspired them to become a zealot for healthy lifestyles and become certified as a personal trainer. Later, he became Dean of the Equinox Fitness Training Institute, during which time he started questioning the conventional wisdom of low-fat diets. Jonny went back to school to obtain a PhD in holistic nutrition and board certification from the American College of Nutrition, earning the CNS (Certified Nutrition Specialist) designation. He's written books and columns, appeared on television shows, and lectured around the world.

What're the best ways to break a fast?

Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS