caveman doctor – BJJ Caveman

Ketogenic Diet and Cancer

Posted on August 26, 2013October 9, 2014 by BJJ Caveman

I was flipping through a medical journal just skimming things when this article popped up: Ketogenic Diet Aids Cancer Patient’s Sensitivity to Radiation, Chemotherapy.

Folks at Iowa University are looking into the effect of a ketogenic diet on patients with pancreatic cancer or lung cancer to see if it improves outcomes after radiation and chemotherapy.

They discuss the idea that cancer cells prefer to run on glucose as fuel and in the setting of a ketogenic diet, when they are deprived of glucose, they become weakened and more susceptible to therapy.… Read More

Low Carb and High Cholesterol from Around the Web

Posted on July 31, 2013July 30, 2017 by BJJ Caveman

Great article by Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple, a blog I follow daily, discussing potential reasons for elevated LDL in people who eat Primal (a paleo low carb variation). Potential explanations include:

Weight Loss
Micronutrient deficiency
Grazing all day
Activity levels that don’t match carb intake
Not moving frequently at a slow pace
Not lifting heavy things

An interesting point is his description of the role iodine and thyroid hormone plays in the expression of LDL receptors and subsequently LDL-C which pretty much is in line with everything I’ve been reading about.… Read More

Why I Decided To Try Nutritional Ketosis

Posted on February 18, 2013October 9, 2014 by BJJ Caveman

I’ve always been on the heavier side and struggling with my weight was the norm for me. While I wouldn’t have called myself morbidly obese or anything, I would say that I was doughy with a good amount of ‘spare tire’ and ‘love handles’ with an estimated body fat percentage of around 30%. I am 5’9″ and at my heaviest weighed around 215 lbs. I managed to lower my weight to around 200 lbs using a lot of caloric restriction which left me hungry and unsatisfied most of the time. … Read More

Nutritional Ketosis: Do Calories Matter?

Posted on January 14, 2013October 10, 2014 by BJJ Caveman

One of the main questions I had regarding nutritional ketosis is regarding the potential for weight gain despite rigid adherence to the high fat, low carb, and moderate protein model recommended by Volek and Phinney. In my reading of both of their books, they write frequently of how nutritional ketosis promotes fat burning and subsequently weight loss and body recomposition, and the benefits of ketoadaptation for athletes.

But they never really satisfactorily answer the question of whether or not you can actually gain weight from nutritional ketosis and exactly how important overall caloric intake is in weight loss vs weight gain.… Read More