ANTI-AGING, ANTI-ANXIETY, ANTI-DEPRESSANT, BRAIN FOG, COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT, DIET,

FEATURED, GENERAL HEALTH, GUT, ILLNESSES AND TREATMENTS, MITOCHONDRIAL

ENHANCEMENT, WEIGHT LOSS

HOW TO GET INTO KETOSIS FOR

OPTIMAL COGNITIVE
PERFORMANCE
DECEMBER 8, 2014 | JOSEPH M. COHEN | 48 COMMENTS

Contents [hide]
1 Executive Summary
2 Introduction
3 Supercharge Your Brain With These Four Cognitive Fuels
4 Who Should Try This Protocol?
5 How is Ketosis Beneficial?
6 Whats Critical For This Protocol
7 Highly Recommended: These Help Us Get Into Ketosis More Easily
8 Recommended: These Help Us Get Into Ketosis More Easily
9 Recommended: Nutritional Supplements For Ketosis
10 Optional
11 Recommended For Making Ketosis Easier By Giving More Mental Energy
12 Pathways to Get Into Ketosis
13 What Can Inhibit Ketosis?
14 My Ketosis Protocol
15 Some Previous Mistakes I Made
16 Negatives to This Protocol
17 Ketosis and Cancer
18 Benefits of Caprylic Acid

19 Ketosis and Weight Loss

20 Cod Liver Warnings
21 Images/Video
21.0.1 Share this:
21.0.2 Related

Executive Summary
Heres a sample protocol. Ive given more options below for you to tinker with,
but if you just want clear and simple instructions, here you go. I think this is
simple enough and doable. You dont have to follow everything here, but its
just a sample protocol.
Morning:
Bright light device by work station. Keep it about 2 feet away and use for
2-3 hours.
Molecular hydrogen machine drink tons of water from this.
Brain Octane -1 tablespoon 2X in the morning.
Cod liver 1/2 can with some leafy greens. Cod liver powerfully thins the
blood, so be careful. See warnings below.
Rooibos + Cinnamon use liberally. Drink lots of rooibos and Stevia .

Nutritional Yeast 1 serving

Synephrine 1 pill
Carnitine 1000mg
Niagen Nicotinamide NAD+ 4 pills
PQQ - 1 pill
Pregnenolone 1 pill. You can start out with a half of a pill.
Lysine 2g ,
250mg Calcium, Potassium citrate 800mg elemental potassium
Slippery elm 5g
You can have some protein from food or Rice Protein as well in the morning,
but dont overdo it.
Afternoon
Extra Virgin Olive Oil use liberally on leafy greens
LLLT do it for a few minutes in total all over brain (15 sec per a spot)
Cold exposure (or in morning)
Before supper
Hi-maize -50g
Kombucha
You can eat whatever you want for supper. Follow a diet that you can keep to
and that suits your individual health needs.

Introduction
Ive gotten into ketosis before but it didnt work out very well. This protocol is
pretty cutting-edge.
Ketosis is a state where your brain uses ketones for fuel. The most common
fuel for your brain is glucose.
Recently, I thought about what went wrong and though about how I could

change this. Ive been experimenting with a modified ketosis version for about
a month on and off.
This protocol will be updated as I do more experiments and tweak it.
This modified version solves most of the problems I had with ketosis when I
previously tried it.
I had a lot of issues with low carb diets in general, but this protocol is NOT a
low carb diet.
I dont do this protocol anymore because I need carbs. See my current regimen. I still recommend that you try this or a variation of it.

Supercharge Your Brain With These Four Cognitive Fuels

My protocol doesnt rely on ketones for fuel only. I like to get brain fuel from 4
different sources. This is one way in which this protocol is unique.
I use 1) butyrate from Hi-maize/resistant starch, 2) lactate from exercise and
kombucha, 3) glucose from carbs and now 4) ketones by getting into ketosis.
I find if I get too much of one of these four fuels then it starts to decrease brain
function.
Lactate, butyrate and ketones from ketosis all have different cognitive effects
for me, but they are more similar than different. They all provide a relaxing
buzz, but theres an intangible strain at the same time.
The most healthful product of ketosis, beta hydroxybutyrate has similar benefits and structure as butyrate produced from resistant starch. See the structural similarities:

Having a small dose of these is great, but having too much is annoying for me.
My memory also starts to get worse if I take too much resistant starch for too
long.

Who Should Try This Protocol?

Ketosis has many health benefits. There are few main conditions that Id recommend this ketosis protocol for.
Getting into ketosis a few days a week can help even healthy people enhance
cognitive performance.

I would recommend this protocol to anyone suffering from:

Inflammation (Ketosis inhibits TNF and Nf-kB (R))
Any anxiety based condition (OCD, GAD),
Fatigue,
Depression,
Brain fog,
Lectin sensitivity,
Overweight/Obesity - ketosis induces FGF-21 (R)
Epilepsy (R),
Cognitive impairment - a study in older adults with mild cognitive impairments found that ketosis caused memory improvements. (R)
Cognitive disorders bipolar, schizophrenia, etc A case report found
that two people with bipolar did better with a ketogenic diet than medication. (R) Theres also a case report with someone who cured
their schizophrenia. (R)
Alzheimers, Parkinsons, ALS, (R, R2)
Brain injury (R)
Stroke (R),
Aggression or if youve got the Warrior Gene
I also recommend this to people with office jobs who cant exercise or move
around for most of the day.

How is Ketosis Beneficial?

Ketones are capable of improving mitochondrial function possibly by decreasing free radicals/ROS (R).
In fact, ketosis can create new mitochondria and increase ATP in your memory cells (in certain mouse models) (R) and probably many other cells. This
should improve your memory.
Ketones can also decrease glutamate excitotoxicity and neuronal excitability (R), which is a driver for OCD, anxiety and a host of other cognitive disorders.

Ketosis increases our natural production of antioxidants by activating Nrf2.

(R) It can also decrease oxidative stress by inhibiting HDACs (specifically
HDAC1, which increases Foxo3a and Mt2). (R) As you can see, Catalase and
MnSOD, two antioxidants our body produces, are increased by hydroxybutyrate (BOHB):

As a result of carbohydrate restriction, getting into ketosis can activate

AMPK, which has many health benefits. It can also inhibit mTOR (R). Inhibiting mTOR is a pathway that increases longevity.
Ketones are acidic and likely increase wakefulness via orexin.
Ketosis is responsible for much of the benefits of fasting and activates many of
the same genes. (R)
Getting into ketosis can positively affect us epigenetically by inhibiting
HDACs and therefore increase our gene expression (R, R2). See its inhibitory
potential of various HDACs:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles
/PMC3735349/

Ketosis/-hydroxybutyrate can also increases NAD+ levels. (R)

Part of the mechanism by which ketosis reduces neuronal excitability is by increasing potassium inflow into the mitochondria.
When ATP levels are low as a result of low glucose- potassium flows in and
this decreases the Calcium concentration in the cell. High calcium levels, especially when chronically elevated, send out signals to self destruct. See pictures below.

Whats Critical For This Protocol

None of these are actually necessary, but I find it makes a significant difference for me.
Brain Octane -1 tablespoon 2X in the morning. If you get a headache or
other negative effects then reduce the dosage. This is the most important
component by far. Ive tried MCT oil on a few occasions but it made me
smell and feel like rusting iron. I find this to be better. Short and Medium
Chain Fats dont require carnitine to cross into our mitochondria. (R)
Cod liver I eat about 1/2 of can of this in the morning right when I wake
up. This is important because it has critical nutrients the decreases inflammation and its a source of energy. Since the fat is omega-3s DHA and
EPA, I dont feel the general weakness that I get from saturated fat. Cod
liver oil or other fish oil can work as well, but I get a better effect from the
whole cod liver. Omega 3s can help us get into ketosis. Both EPA (R) and
DHA (R) are AMPK activators. It also increases PPARy and Glut4. Be careful about using this dosage with blood thinning meds. Cod liver can thin the
blood so be careful.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil I use this on leafy greens instead of oils with primarily saturated fat. Olive oil is mostly oleic acid, which is an adequate fuel
for ketosis. As opposed to ghee or coconut oil, I dont feel weaker with
olive oil. Olive oil activates AMPK, PGC-1a (R), and SIRT-1 (R), all of which
can help get into ketosis. Specifically, it activates fatty acid burning in muscle cells. (R) I dont think my muscle cells handle saturated fat well and they
make me feel weak. Leafy greens arent ideal for staying in ketosis, but if

you want good bowels and the nutrients they contain then you must consume them. If you follow the recommendations below, you should be fine
with leafy greens.
You can also use strong MCT oil, which has over 65-77% caprylic acid or
weaker MCT oil with 50-65% Caprylic acid. However, I get better effects from
brain octane/caprylic acid.

Highly Recommended: These Help Us Get Into

Ketosis More Easily
You dont really need any of these, but I include them. The most important
thing by far is that you include caprylic acid above.
You only need to include tea or rooibos, not both. I wouldve included teas
into the necessary for the protocol section, but I realize people may have reactions to them (although Ive never seen people have a reaction to rooibos).
Carnitine 1000mg. Carnitine increases our ability to get into ketosis. (R,
R2)
Hi-maize -50g/day. Butyrate increases our ability to get into ketosis. (R)
Take when you are out of ketosis, since 40% of it is digestible starches.
This is a good alternative fuel that functions similarly to ketones.
Tea (Jasmine) instead of coffee. I get inflammation from both caffeine
and coffee, but Jasmine Tea has less of it and it makes ketosis easier. EGCG
affects many of the pathways to get into ketosis more easily and Caffeine
increases Norepinephrine, which makes it easier for us to get into ketosis.
(R) You can put the brain octane in the tea or not. If I use tea, I put the first
brew in my kombucha pot and drink the second brew.
Rooibos this is what I use instead of tea. I get really good results. Some
people are very sensitive to caffeine, such as myself. Rooibos can help the
ketosis process instead of tea. I use Stevia to sweeten it and put in
some Cinnamon as well. These are AMPK activators and can lower blood
glucose as well.
One Stimulant: Increasing Norepinephrine makes it easier for us to get into

ketosis. (R) Synephrine, Caffeine (R) or Yohimbine. The linked caffeine is to

one that you can spray on your skin, and I do a bit better with it. If youre
including Jasmine tea then theres no need for additional stimulants. I use
one pill of the linked synephrine.

Recommended: These Help Us Get Into Ketosis More Easily

I dont include all of these myself, but Ive included all of them at least once. If
you include all of these, you will probably end up with a headache.
I recommend working down the list one by one, especially if ketosis is not
working for you.
Molecular hydrogen machine I find this give me a good boost in the morning, probably by increasing metabolism through increasing FGF-21 (R). It
turns out that FGF-21 is also needed to adapt to a ketogenic diet, so molecular hydrogen can hasten the process. (R) Mice lacking FGF-21 have reduced levels of ketogenesis. (R)
One AMPK Activators: 1-2g Curcumin, 6g Cinnamon (R). Activating AMPK
allows us to get into ketosis more easily. (R) 1 cap Berberine or 6
pills R-Lipoic Acid are more powerful AMPK activators but they can be
rough on your stomach if not taken with a big meal. Curcumin, cinnamon
and berberine activate PPARy and reduce blood glucose levels (via GLUT4).
There are many supplements that help, but these are the top.
Forskolin by elevating cAMP it increases Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase I
(R), which increases ketogenesis. (R)
PQQ - Increases PGC-1a, PPARa, PPARy, and increases fatty acid burning.
Niagen Nicotinamide NAD+ 4 pills or 500mg Trans-Resveratrol to activate SIRT3. (R, R2) I prefer NAD because resveratrol isnt easy on the stomach. Activating PGC-1a will also activate SIRT3.
Cold exposure cold showers or being outside for 15 min in winter increases CPT I (R), PGC-1a, PPARy,
Exercise can inhibit ketosis because of lactate in the short run. (R) However, it activate the cellular machinery that supports ketosis.

Recommended: Nutritional Supplements For

Ketosis
You should be drinking a lot of water. This is to prevent constipation and kidney stones. Drinking a lot of tea will help, but you should be drinking a lot of
water.
Calcium if you are getting into ketosis with this protocol, you arent getting enough calcium. Calcium also activates PGC-1a, so its something you
especially want. (R)
Potassium citrate If you follow this protocol, theres no way youre getting enough potassium. Its almost impossible to get enough potassium
without grains. You want the citrate version because ketosis elevates your
risk for kidney stones, and the citrate helps dissolve free calcium. I put this
in my nutritional yeast shake with the caprylic oil. I use about 800mg of elemental potassium in that shake, and I use more throughout the day.

Optional
Slippery elm 5g to soothe the stomach. Potassium, tea and brain octane
are hard on the stomach.
Lysine -this is a strictly ketogenic amino acid (R). Tastes horrible. Leucine is
also strictly ketogenic (R), but it potently activates mTOR, which can inhibit
ketogenesis. Dont take lysine if you want to seriously inhibit mTOR. Lysine
is also good because its used to make carnitine. (R)
Red Yeast Rice Statins are an HMG CoA reductase inhibitor. This is the
enzyme that takes the fuel'(substrate) HMG CoA and uses it to create
cholesterol. HMG CoA can also be used for making ketones (via HMG CoA
Lyase). If we inhibit the cholesterol synthesis pathway, well allow more fuel
for ketones.
Pterostilbene good at lowering blood glucose levels.

Recommended For Making Ketosis Easier By

Giving More Mental Energy

These dont actually help you get into ketosis, but it could make the process
more tolerable.
Bright light device this is stimulating, though it probably has more to do
with increasing orexin.
Nutritional Yeast I use this as my medium with which I put the brain octane in. I use this as my base to mix with other ingredients. Its a good
source of nutrition.
Pregnenolone Ketosis decreases some neurosteroids (R), which is supposedly good for people with epilepsy, but I would guess not for others.
Also, we create pregnenolone with cholesterol. However, the fuel used to
create cholesterol, HMG-CoA, is instead being used for ketogenesis. This
means that in theory getting ketosis will lower pregnenolone levels.

Pathways to Get Into Ketosis

In general, we want to lower blood glucose to more easily get into ketosis. Ive
placed images below to show you how these mechanisms are working.
General pathways that help us get into ketosis:
Glut-4 translocation will decrease blood glucose.
PGC-1a (R),
AMPK (R) also decreases HMG CoA Reductase (R)
SIRT-1 (R),
SIRT-3 (R),
FGF-21 (R) Mice lacking FGF-21 have reduced levels of ketogenesis. (R)
PPARalpha (R) master transcriptional activator of ketogenic
genesMice lacking PPARa have reduced levels of ketogenesis. (R)
mTOR Inhibition (R)
Norepinephrine (R)
Glucagon increased by Hypoglycemia, Adrenaline, Acetylcholine, Arginine, Alanine, CCK.inhibited by insulin, PPARy, somatostatin,
Acetyl-CoA carboxylase inhibition (R)
Malonyl-CoA inhibition (R)

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase I increase (R)

HMG CoA Transferase increase
HMG CoA Reductase inhibition. Inhibiting SREBP (transcription factor
that helps make the reductase enzyme) can help this. (R)
(Acetyl-CoA carboxylase inhibition > decrease of malonyl-CoA concentration > carnitine palmitoyltransferase I deinhibition > enhanced ketogenesis)
(R)

What Can Inhibit Ketosis?

Obviously, carbsBut here are some less obvious ones:
Protein. Probably the important thing to get into ketosis is not to consume
too much protein because most amino acids can turn into glucose.
Insulin as a result of protein or carbs.
Exercise temporarilyExercise is great for many reasons, but lactate can
inhibit ketosis. (R) If not for lactate, exercise would be great for ketosis.
However, a short bout should fine. Otherwise, Id recommend going for a
walk, which doesnt produce lactate. Lactate has its own benefits, but if
your goal is ketosis, save it for a different time, such as during your carb
window.
Oxaloacetate the supplement is good, but it can inhibit ketosis by activating the TCA cycle.
Thyroid hormones. Thyroxine enhances release of glucose from glycogen,
which could theoretically work against ketosis. Thyroid hormones increase
mTOR, which can also work against ketogenesis.
Inflammation: TNF and IL-6 can inhibit you from getting into ketosis. (R)
Artificial Sweeteners. By increasing bacteria that create glucose, artificial
sweeteners can block ketosis.

My Ketosis Protocol
My protocol is simple and its that you dont eat 3 or more hours before bed
and you dont eat ANY carbs for the first 11 hours after waking up. Even

eating coconut shreds has too many carbs for this protocol.
This combined with Brain Octane will make it very easy for you to get into ketosis.
For me, I try to wake up about 7am and go to bed at 11pm.
I dont eat after 8PM at all and I dont eat any carbs until 6 pm (on the days I do
this protocol). So its kind of like youve got a carb window. You also want to
consume most of your protein in this window.
If I feel excess energy, Ill do some push-ups or use my Pull-up bar.
At 6 pm Ill eat carbs either dried Blueberries or my carb shake. If going to
6pm is hard for you, then try to go to 2pm and work your way up to 6pm
This would be a good time to include about 50g of Hi-maize, because it will
fill you up and prevent you from overeating. It also takes about 20 hours to hit
and will therefore give you some butyrate the next day around the afternoon.
When I eat carbs, I make sure to go for a walk for about an hour and 15 minutes and this is also when I do some errands.
I may include some kombucha here to prevent the suppression of orexin,
which causes fatigue.
Whats important here that you plan your exercise regime around your carb
intake.
If youre drinking kombucha, you want to drink it around your carb intake as
well.
I find purple sweet potatoes are the least inflammatory starch/carb source.
Its on par with fresh blueberries. Chicken and tempeh are the least inflammatory proteins for me.

However, you can eat whatever you feel healthy from.

When I go for a walk theres I dont experience fatigue because exercise in general increases wakefulness (R).I find walking to be the best nootropic for me.
At 6PM, I have my main meal of the day, and I make sure to include carbs, protein and fat. Generally, whatever I crave Ill eat. I also try to have kombucha
here as well.
I personally follow a diet even stricter than the lectin avoidance diet, but,
again, you are welcome to follow any diet you want.
I understand that everyone has different circumstances and cant follow the
exact same protocol, but try to follow something along the same lines. You can
tweak it as necessary.

Some Previous Mistakes I Made

The biggest mistake about doing a low carb diet is doing it without getting into
ketosis. However, even when I did get into ketosis I had some problems.
I used to include too much saturated fat and this just made me too weak to
function and also tired. I didnt use cod liver and olive oil as my main
sources of fat.
I didnt include the above supplements/equipment, making it more strenuous and harder for me.
I tried to exercise/walk while in ketosis a big no no.
I would try to get into ketosis for the WHOLE DAY.
I tried to use MCT oil
I used too much of MCT oil/Brain Octane you dont want to use too much!
I would include some carbs. To get into ketosis, its best to not have any
carbs. I still have carbs at night.
I wouldnt time my carb intake right. I would look at the total grams, not
when I consumed those carbs. So even if you go low carb, you still might
not be getting into ketosis.
I would eat too much protein. Be careful because protein can get you out of

ketosis pretty easily, since amino acids can turn into glucose. First try without protein and then try with.
I didnt give it enough time to adapt. It takes most people a few weeks to
adapt and sometimes longer. I just wasnt willing to give it the necessary
time to adapt previously, although this protocol makes adaptation easier.
I still had inflammation when I tried it the first time years ago I still had
significant levels of inflammation. Inflammation (TNF, IL-6) makes getting
into ketosis harder.
I didnt use Hi-maize. Resistant starch is an alternative butyrate source
thats a good brain fuel. When I was having health issues, hypoglycemia
was a serious problem for me, but not anymore. Hypoglycemia is a common complaint. Hi-maize can make ketosis easier for you if you get hypoglycemic.
I didnt include Pregnenolone. Many people dont synthesize enough pregnenolone, perhaps because of inflammation, chronic stress or pain or other
reasons. Ketosis can theoretically lower pregnenolone. Being in ketosis
would be much more difficult for me without pregnenolone.
You can use Ketostrips to make sure youre getting into ketosis, but I know
when Im in it by the familiar buzz.

Negatives to This Protocol

My libido goes down and I dont have as much physical energy. This is probably because of reduced IGF-1. But its worth the tradeoff.

Ketosis and Cancer

Some people recommend ketosis for cancer.
Some people who claim authority say that most cancer relies solely on glucose from the blood as a source of fuel. (R)
This is false. Cancer cells can use ketones for fuel, which will similarly drive
cancer growth. (R) Cancer cells can use lactate as well.

There was a pilot study in 10 advanced cancer patients who did a very
low-carb, ketogenic diet for 28 days.
4 of the patients continued to have progressive disease, while 5 remained stable and 1 had a partial remission.
The patients who produced more ketones saw the most improvement (R).
Another pilot trial was done with 16 people using ketosis in advanced cancer
patients. Two people died early and most of them quit early because of difficulty.
6 people completed the 12 week trial and they had improved emotional
well-being, but it generally didnt halt their disease. (R)
Its not surprising that their emotional well- being was better, because they
probably didnt exercise and ketosis improves mood.
It might be beneficial for some cancers, but the evidence thus far is not too impressive or non-existent, but to be fair the studies so far that Ive seen have
only been in advanced cancer patients.
If ketosis did reduce cancer, its probably as a result of reducing IGF-1.

Benefits of Caprylic Acid

Brain Octane is simply caprylic acid, but its cheapest source on the market
because its not in pills (that Ive seen).
Caprylic acid is something people commonly use for candida and is antimicrobial. I find it better than MCT Oil for getting into ketosis.
Caprylic acid allows us to get into ketosis more easily and also makes us feel
more full. (R) It doesnt require carnitine, as opposed to other fats. (R)
It increases mitochondrial oxygen consumption, which gives our brain more

energy. (R)
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, caprylic acid improved cognitive
function in people with Alzheimers who werent on a low carb diet. (R)
Another smaller studied showed the same. (R)
A review of case studies similarly showed that it was able to slow the decline
in people with Alzheimers. (R)
It was able to improve performance in mouse models of ALS (R).
A case report of a 70 year old man with mild Alzheimers who used caprylic
acid for 109 days resulted in markedly improved cognition. He went from being mildly cognitive impaired to normal.
The guy went from a 23 to a 28 on a test to measure cognitive performance
(MMSE). 23 is indicative of mild impairment, while over 27 indicates normal
cognitive function. (R)
It has anti-tumor properties. (R)
My own experiments verify the capacity of caprylic acid to improve cognitive
performance and this regimen specifies how to do this in an optimal way.

Ketosis and Weight Loss

In mice, most studies show they lose weight, however some show that they
gain weight.
In the studies showing weight gain, the mice at over 20% of their diet as protein and in the studies that demonstrated weight loss had less than this. (R)

Cod Liver Warnings

I personally use 2/3 of a can of cod liver daily. I have experimented with dou-

ble that and have been ok, albeit there were some side effects, which is why I
scaled back.
Ive been taking this dosage for about 9 months now and I do well with it, but
its more powerful in thinning my blood than aspirin, so you must be careful.
It may seem innocuous because its a food, but its a powerful blood thinning
drug.
I also never consume the oil for this exact reason and dont take supps/drugs
that are blood thinners as well. I wouldnt take aspirin with this level of cod
liver.
For myself, I wouldnt take the dosage that I do if I was an athlete or even if I
just played intense sports.
I would be very careful if youre an athlete because injuries are more dangerous when you have thin blood. Thin blood is good for longevity, but if you get a
serious injury youre more likely die from it.
I dont know anyone who has been hurt by this dosage of cod liver (or any
dosage), so my warning are more theoretical.
You have to be responsible for your own safety and listen to your body! Im
not your doctor. This means doing your own research on safety for your specific body.
You should always treat my recommendations as more like hey this is what
Im doing right nowif you want to try it out go for it.

Images/Video
Only saw this video after the post. Seems like Attia is a big ketosis fan. His
body seems way more adapted to it then I think Ill ever be.
I get really weak from excess saturated fat and he doesnt. I cant work out in

ketosis and hes doing some hard core workouts.

His cholesterol plummeted, but on average cholesterol goes up. (R) Goes to
show you that everyone is different.
Anyway, he mentions that before he was only able to focus well for 2 hours in
the day, which isnt the case anymore since hes in ketosis most of the time.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4010764/

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27

How to Cure Autoimmune

Diseases and Allergies
With Oral Tolerance

How To Do An Elemental
Diet

Natural AMPK Activators

48 THOUGHTS ON HOW TO GET INTO KETOSIS FOR OPTIMAL COGNITIVE

PERFORMANCE
Ole
FEBRUARY 5, 2015 AT 5:49 PM

Just a note: Rooibos gives me insane fatigue and the most intense nausea out of anything except nicotine overdose.
Not even eating 2000 calories of butter in one go gives me half the nausea of this

 Joseph M. Cohen
FEBRUARY 5, 2015 AT 6:24 PM

Interesting

ella m
JANUARY 20, 2015 AT 4:17 PM

I know that I and others have experienced aburn-out after doing ketosis for an extended time (~weeks/months). What makes your protocol safer to be practiced for
long?

Joseph M. Cohen
JANUARY 20, 2015 AT 5:46 PM

You get in and out. You dont stay in it.

Hilary
JANUARY 9, 2015 AT 7:06 PM

Hi love your website and amazing information.I would love to know what your
thoughts are on this brain fog I have personally been experiencing. It seemed to have
came out of nowhere, I do have GI problems/ a slight gluten intolerance and reoccurring yeast infections. I have tried going on a diet of proteins and veggies, no sugar or
wheat/yeast, assuming I have candida overgrowth due to the fact that I have used antibiotics more than Id like to think about over the past 10+ years (the candida diet) it
is NOT clearing my brain fog, and almost making it worseWhat are your thoughts on
this? I am doing this in the mean time before I can get to a doctor to get tested, but still
am having a very hard time experiencing any relief from this debilitating brain fog and
am desperate for some type of a solutionAny help would be most appreciated.
Happy 2015! Hilary

Smurfed
JANUARY 3, 2015 AT 3:52 AM

although Ive never seen people have a reaction to rooibos

I react to Rooibos.

Joseph M. Cohen
JANUARY 3, 2015 AT 8:08 AM

You react to everything

Rollia
DECEMBER 22, 2014 AT 8:03 PM

I have been taking following your lectin free diet + supplementing with ~20% potassium gluconate daily.
Recently I tried following the above protocol and after the 4th hour being in ketosis I
got crazy muscle cramps all over my body despite supplementing with 20% potassium
gluconate.
Did you have a similar experience? what did you do?

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 22, 2014 AT 8:17 PM

Its prob from the acidity of ketones. No cramps, but my muscles feel more fatigued?

Rollia
DECEMBER 20, 2014 AT 6:43 PM

I found that eating 4oz of cod liver (discard oil) + supplementing K2 every three days is
really thinning my blood.
What is your experience with eating 4 oz of cod daily?

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 20, 2014 AT 8:52 PM

It certainly does thin my blood by quite a bit, which is why I wouldnt go over that!

I changed my recommendation to half of a can and put some warnings.

D-Ribose 500mg 60 Capsules

DECEMBER 20, 2014 AT 4:05 PM

Beta-carotene, like all carotenoids, is an antioxidant. An antioxidant is a substance that

inhibits the oxidation of other molecules; it protects the body from free radicals. Free
radicals damage cells through oxidation. Eventually, the damage caused by free radicals
can cause several chronic illnesses.

dave
DECEMBER 19, 2014 AT 1:50 AM

I am following your strict lectin free diet and together with this ketogenic diet, it appears I will be deficient on biotin and vit b5 as well as selenium, do you suggest taking a
multivitamin daily?

dave
DECEMBER 19, 2014 AT 1:52 AM

(These are the only vitamins that are not in N yeast)

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 19, 2014 AT 9:02 AM

Hard to become deficient in biotin, but I add all of those in.

dave
DECEMBER 19, 2014 AT 1:24 PM

Do you just add as multi vitamin or separately per need?

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 19, 2014 AT 1:38 PM

separately

Rollia
DECEMBER 16, 2014 AT 10:41 PM

Brain octane is cheaper in amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P8E0QQG/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1418787557&
sr=1&keywords=brain+octane
Also what do you eat until 6:00PM? only cod/olive oil/octane , greens and some rice
protein?

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 17, 2014 AT 8:09 AM

Nope. Amazon=16oz for 30 vs 32oz for 45

dan
DECEMBER 16, 2014 AT 3:01 PM

On days you are not in ketosis , what are your main fuel sources in the morning? Glucose? Butrate? Lactate?

Lucas N
DECEMBER 14, 2014 AT 10:10 AM

Hey Joe, any cheaper replacement to Brain Octane? Cause in my country I cant get
that. Thank you!

Seb
DECEMBER 11, 2014 AT 4:21 AM

Why do you think you capric acid shouldnt be consumed along with the caprylic acid?
Why do you think MCT oil made you smell and feel like caustic and rusting iron?

Rollia

DECEMBER 10, 2014 AT 9:00 PM

How much cod oil (as opposed to actual cod) can you take per day? Or- to put it differently how much cod oil is in 4oz of cod liver?

Smurf
DECEMBER 11, 2014 AT 7:53 AM

Can you answer this question joe? Im struggling to understand how much to take in
pill form too. I certainly will not be wanting to eat cod liver in the morning.
Thanks

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 11, 2014 AT 10:12 AM

I never tried this, but you can experiment with it on your own

Daniel Shapiro
DECEMBER 10, 2014 AT 7:21 PM

How far apart do you separate your two tbs of octane oil?

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 10, 2014 AT 8:16 PM

2 hours maybe. Sometimes I take 2 tbsp in a shot in the morning and thats it.

Ko i
DECEMBER 10, 2014 AT 5:11 PM

nice, might try it! do i need to fall into ketosis first or i just follow your schedule and i
will fall into ketosis every morning?

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 10, 2014 AT 5:13 PM

just follow

Ko i
DECEMBER 11, 2014 AT 12:57 AM

thanks!

George
DECEMBER 10, 2014 AT 10:29 AM

Hi
is there anything to substitute cod liver? I despise the taste of all kinds of liver, I cant
bring myself to eat any, especially when I wake up.
I notice you say you take it for the EPA/DHA, so could I substitute it with fish oil capsules like Life Extensions Super Omega 3?
Id be interested in giving this a go, but any kind of liver is a deal breaker for me
thanks

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 10, 2014 AT 10:39 AM

I havent tried it, but cod liver oil will work as well.
The point is to get energy from fat, but not from saturated fat. You can have Sat fat at
night.

Solomon
DECEMBER 9, 2014 AT 8:00 PM

Joe,
Great stuff.

When you say carb drink, is that the product youve been developing or is it something that anyone can put together? If the latter, what do you use?
Thnx

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 9, 2014 AT 8:13 PM

Ive developing. Anyone can put their own together.

See carb sources in the lectin avoidance diet
Or carb sources in the elemental diet.

Alex
DECEMBER 9, 2014 AT 7:55 AM

Are there any contraindications? Should people with some conditions avoid going into
ketosis, or is it totally fine for everyone?

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 9, 2014 AT 11:04 AM

Not for the vast majority of people

Medical contraindications to the ketogenic diet include metabolic disorders with a
defect in fat metabolism, ketone metabolism, or mitochondrial disorders. These include -oxidation defects, primary and secondary carnitine deficiency, carnitine cycle defects, electron transport chain defects, ketogenic defects, ketolytic defects,
pyrvuate carboxylate deficiency, and pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase deficiency. Though the diet can exacerbate ketotic hypoglycemia, this condition is not an
absolute contraindication.
http://neuro.wustl.edu/patientcare/clinicalservices/pediatricepilepsycenter/patientfamilyphysician/ketogenicdiet/

These are pretty rare.

Jevgeni
DECEMBER 9, 2014 AT 4:26 AM

And another one.

Can cod liver be substituted for cod liver oil?
Thanks!

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 9, 2014 AT 11:05 AM

Nope, I discard the cod liver oil and only consume the actual liver.

Jevgeni
DECEMBER 9, 2014 AT 4:24 AM

Nice post, as usually!

I suppose there is some use for Dave Aspreys products.
Would it be a good idea to add some kombucha in the morning with MCT?
Or would it negatively impact ketosis in your opinion?

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 9, 2014 AT 11:06 AM

Thx,and lol re Asprey

No, kombucha has some carbs. It needs to be pretty close to ZERO carbs.

dan
DECEMBER 8, 2014 AT 5:19 PM

How and when do you incorporate hi maize into the protocol?

Joseph M. Cohen

DECEMBER 8, 2014 AT 9:09 PM

Added it

Deane Alban
DECEMBER 8, 2014 AT 4:35 PM

How in your opinion is Brain Octane different from other MCT oils? Ive been to the
Bulletproof site but dont see any thing special in the ingredients.Thanks!

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 8, 2014 AT 9:09 PM

Brain octane is only caprylic acid

Daniel
DECEMBER 8, 2014 AT 3:55 PM

Good post. Like it.

Daniel
DECEMBER 8, 2014 AT 3:57 PM

btw. have you had a look into d-ribose instead of glucose?

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 8, 2014 AT 9:09 PM

Never noticed a benefit and the research is unimpressive

Joseph M. Cohen
DECEMBER 8, 2014 AT 9:10 PM

Thx