What do you eat when you’re feeling doubtful that Punxsutawney Phil is going to see his shadow? When Daylight Saving Time is so close, yet SO FAR AWAY? When the relentless, all-consuming darkness is dimming the light on your dinnertime daydreams? Comfort food. That’s right — you hunker down in the coziest nook that you can find and tuck into the yummiest thing you can imagine.
No matter what your zodiac sign is, there’s a comfort food soul mate out there for you, written in the stars. Can’t quite put your finger on what exactly that something-something is? We did the soul searching/star gazing for you.
So you start your keto diet, and things are going well. You’re dropping excess fat, your carb cravings are noticeably reduced, your energy is steady throughout the day… and then one day you start to have the sneaking suspicion that you’re shedding more hair than usual. After a few days, it’s unmistakable: your hair is definitely falling out at an alarming rate.
Take a deep breath. Nobody wants to lose their hair, obviously, but it’s probably a harmless and temporary condition called telogen effluvium (TE). Hair growth is cyclical. Each hair follicle goes through a growth phase (anagen) and a rest phase (telogen). Usually the cycles are staggered from follicle to follicle, so some are growing while others are resting and shedding. With TE, more follicles than normal go into resting at the same time, leading to noticeable hair loss.
The good news is that TE usually resolves itself within a few months. For many people the answer is simply to wait it out. However, hair loss can be caused or exacerbated by issues that you can address on your own or with the help of a medical practitioner. Let’s dig into it.
What Causes Telogen Effluvium?
TE is one of those diagnoses that describes what is happening but not why. It’s kind of a catch-all label to describe diffuse but likely temporary hair loss that could be caused by a number of factors, and it’s not terribly well understood. The general consensus is that TE can occur whenever the body experiences stress. Unfortunately, the body can interpret any big changes, even ones that feel positive like the birth of a child, as stressors. Dramatic dietary changes and/or sudden orrapid weight loss, as often occurs when starting a keto diet, are two such potential stressors. (This isn’t unique to the keto diet, by the way!)
If you think back three or so months from the time you started to notice your hair thinning, can you identify a major change or stressful life event that happened around that time? If so, it’s likely that you’re experiencing TE.
Eating in a big caloric deficit and eating too little protein might also trigger TE, and both are potential (and easily remedied) issues for keto dieters. When the body has limited resources to devote to building, repair, and maintenance, hair growth will go on the back burner, since it’s a non-vital process.Specific nutrient deficiencies have also been implicated in TE, particularly iron and zinc. The link between iron deficiencies and TE is stronger for women, while zinc deficiencies might affect men more, but the evidence for both is mixed. In part, it is hard to pin down dietary causes because the same foods that are the best sources of iron are also rich in zinc andamino acids.
Why Doesn’t Everyone Lose Their Hair When They Go Keto Then?
Great question. Whether or not your body interprets any given situation as too stressful is complicated. It’s a factor of your chronic stress levels, other acute stressors that happen to co-occur, your physical health and hormone status, and probably tons of other things. Your mindset undoubtedly has a lot to do with it, too. You can inject stress into a situation with how you think about it, whether you worry or try to micromanage, whether you feel optimistic or pessimistic. It’s also possible that some people who experience TE don’t really notice it because their hair loss is fairly minor.
Is There Anything I Can Do?
First, prevention is the best medicine. There is no way to guarantee that you won’t experience TE when starting keto, but The Keto Reset Diet approach is specifically designed to mitigate stress. Whereas other methods of keto induction involve severe carb restriction and sometimes multi-day fasting to body slam you into ketosis, the Keto Reset is a kinder, gentler process (not to mention a more nutrient-dense approach). First, you get fat-adapted, then gradually lower carb to ketogenic levels to avoid an acute shock to the system. This is also why we ask people to take the midterm examin the book before even starting keto. The midterm exam looks for signs that you are already stressed (poor quality sleep, for example) in an attempt to prevent your “stress bucket” from overflowing (and the hair from shedding!).
If you’re already thinning, and it’s pretty clear what probably initiated it two to four months prior, then chances are you can just wait it out. Within a few months you should be seeing regrowth, and in six months to a year you’ll be past it. Yes, I know it’s easier said than done to just wait six months to see if your hair is growing back, so if you want to be more proactive, here are a few ideas.
Manage stress. While TE usually follows more acute stressors, chronic stress can also contribute. Whatever you can do toreduce your day-to-day stress might help your hair loss and if nothing else will improve your overall quality of life.
Look at your diet. If you are eating in a caloric deficit, especially if it’s greater than 20% of your baseline calorie needs, perhaps try adding back some calories. You’ll know if you overshoot it if you stop hitting your weight loss goals or if you start gaining if you were at maintenance already.
How’s your protein intake? Too many keto dieters have been scared away from protein by the gluconeogenesis boogeyman. TheKeto Reset Diet recommends starting with 0.6 to 0.8 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. You can increase to 1.0 gram/lb/LMB if it seems appropriate for your situation.
Make sure you’re incorporating plenty of iron- and zinc-rich foods. Even though the evidence is not conclusive as to whether iron and zinc are linked to TE, they are still vital for health. The best sources are red meat, seafood (especially oysters), and poultry. You’ll notice these are all animal products, which means if you’re vegetarian or vegan, you have to work extra hard to get these nutrients. Leafy greens, nuts and seeds, and legumes (if you choose to incorporate them) can provide some of what you need, but they are not the best options.
A well-formulated multivitamin/mineral is worth considering if you don’t already take one, but get your iron and zinc levels tested before supplementing either of those on its own. With both, there are concerns about over-supplementing and developing toxicity. Iron overload such as that caused by the genetic condition hemochromatosis can also cause hair loss, so consult a doctor before taking iron supplements. Lastly, some people also swear by adding biotin, a member of theB vitamin family. While biotin is associated with nail and hair health, there is not empirical evidence to support biotin supplementation for TE.
When to See Your Doctor
Now that I’ve spent all this time telling you it’s probably TE and nothing to worry about it, I must add the caveat that TE is only one ofmany potential causes of hair loss. Be sure to enlist the help of a medical professional if you are experiencing any other unexplained or disruptive symptoms, or if there isn’t an obvious reason why you might be experiencing TE. Do not ignore symptoms such as unexplained weight gain or weight loss, fatigue, sleep disturbances, feeling cold all the time, menstrual irregularities, or digestive issues, especially in combination with significant hair loss. Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may want to test you for nutrient deficiencies, sex hormone imbalances, orthyroid issues.
Have any follow-up questions? Join theKeto Reset Facebook community for answers to all your keto queries! Thanks for stopping by today, everybody.
Anthropologie just released a new collection and it’s a perfect match for those of us who love florals and bright colors and hate restraint when decorating. The exclusive collection reimagines the work of Paule Marrot (1902–1987), a French textile designer who favored bold patterns and rich hues in her work. Designed in collaboration with the editors of Paule Marrot Paris, the collection includes goods for the whole home, from the bedroom to the kitchen and everywhere in between. We rounded up our favorites below, and you can see the entire collection here.
Costco is one of my favorite places to stock up on everyday healthy plant-based foods, including frozen fruits and veggies, fresh produce, non-dairy milk, and pantry staples like whole-grain oats and almond butter. But aside from the common staples we all know and have seen before, I also like to keep an eye out for anything new and healthy to try every time I go. You just never know what you’ll find at Costco!
Some of my favorite new finds from 2018 included steamed beets, avocado mash, blueberry dark chocolate, coconut snacks, wild blueberry jam, and a variety of frozen fruit blends. And so far, 2019 is proving to be another year of great Costco finds as well.
Here are some of the trendiest grocery finds I spotted at Costco this month!
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This is Chris Kresser. Welcome to another episode of Revolution Health Radio. This week we are going to answer listener question from Patrick, let’s take a listen.
“Hi Chris, my name is Patrick. I’m really confused about a recent podcast and website. I’d be checking on mastering diabetes with low fat, high carb, vegetable diet, whole vegetable diets, and it’s really annoying to see that this is completely opposite to what we have been following for the last years checking on you and different people. So, I’m really confused as I am sure a lot of people are, and I don’t know if you’re familiar with that, but I would like you to comment on that and see what we can get out of all these. Thank you.”
Thanks so much Patrick for sending in that question. It’s a great question and I completely understand why you’d be confused. There are both sensible reasons for that, I think, and there are some frustrating reasons for that as well.
Why There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Your Diet
The reality is that there are many different diet approaches that can be effective for treating diabetes. I think this points to a larger issue that I’ve talked about many times on the show and written about extensively all the way back to my first book Your Personal Paleo Code which was later published asThe Paleo Cure. There really is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to diet. Everyone has different circumstances, goals, health, conditions, genes, gene expression and all of that and more will affect what the best dietary approach is for that given individual. This is why you can see studies indicating that:
Of course the other obvious thing about this is that all of those diets are far, far better than the Standard American Diet which is what the vast majority of people in this country in the industrialized world at this point are following. If you take a highly refined and processed flour and other foods out of people’s diet, you remove sugar, you remove industrial seed oils, and you replace that with some combination of whole food, nutrient-dense choices like fish or meat, various animal products, nuts and seeds, and fruits and vegetables and some starchy plants even, that is going to be an enormous difference regardless of whether you’re talking about a combination of those foods that’s even vegan or vegetarian, Paleo or a ketogenic, Mediterranean or some combination or twist on any of those approaches is going to be a vast improvement over what the majority of Americans are doing.
When it comes to managing diabetes, which diet is best? Should you go low carb, low fat, or ketogenic? Check out this episode of RHR to find out how to choose a diet that works for you. #nutrition #optimalhealth #chriskresser
The other question is, what is the time frame that is being discussed in terms of the therapeutic effect of the diet? There are many diets that can be effective in the short term. We know this. Most of the diets and randomized trials that are looking at the effectiveness of diets are short term lasting only a few weeks. But there are now some some longer-term studies that have shown diets to be effective over a six-month to one-year to even 18 months to two-year period. I think the low-carb diet overall performs a little bit better in those longer-term comparisons than a higher carb, lower fat approach for both diabetes and weight loss, but it’s not a huge difference.
Why Quality Always Matters More Than Quantity
The other thing is, what is the quality of the foods that is being consumed? I think this is the most important factor and I’ve again written quite a bit about this. If you if you Google “Kresser quality over quantity” you’ll see some articles that I’ve written in the past few years. Historically we have fallen into this trap of what some call “nutritionism” or nutritional reductionism which is the idea that a calorie is a calorie, a carbohydrate is a carbohydrate, a fat as a fat regardless of the source of those macronutrients. Carbohydrate coming from white flour and sugar is no different than a carbohydrate coming from a piece of whole food or sweet potato.
Now I think if you say that to most people though they’ll intuitively know that that’s preposterous and not the case and it doesn’t fit with their experience at all. But that’s really the assumption that most nutritional research has has made and has based on for the last several decades really. It’s only been recently that we started to see some studies that are actually designed to measure the impact of changing food quality rather than just the quantity of micronutrients that are consumed.
One was the Gardner Study of Stanford and they it was a randomized controlled trial that lasted for a year. They assigned randomized people into two groups, one was a low-fat group and one was a low-carb group, only the difference with this study compared to others was that they gave people specific instruction on what types of food to eat. No processed and refined foods, focus on nutrient-dense whole foods so that they weren’t just addressing quantity of macronutrients, they were addressing quality. What they found was that both groups lost weight after one year. It’s quite a significant amount of weight, but there was not that much of a difference between weight loss between the low-carb and the low-fat group. That was a phenomenal study that proved that quality is much more important than quantity when it comes to weight loss especially over the long term.
How to Choose the Right Diet for You
There’s a ton of argument, controversy, and just heated discussions on the internet about whether low carb is better or keto or low fat or vegan or Paleo, it’s really quite sad actually because when you look at the data, what you find is that many of these approaches can be effective at least especially with the shorter term but even long term and then the question of which one is the best fit for you to follow as an individual comes down to your own individual circumstances, needs, and goals.
Also, it comes down to other considerations. I believe that a vegan diet is potentially dangerous over the long term for many people because of the potential for nutrient deficiencies if supplementation is not being done wisely and blood markers are not being tracked to make sure that the supplements are meeting the nutritional deficiencies because in many studies for example up to 70 to 80 percent of vegans were deficient in B12 even when they were supplementing.
We start to get into other considerations for which of these diets is best over the long term that aren’t necessarily related to their efficacy in treating diabetes in studies or especially in the short term and other considerations might be, does that person just feel better on a higher-fat, lower-carb diet which is certainly the case for many people or do they have another condition or set of conditions that might actually contraindicate a very high-fat, low-carb or ketogenic diet. For example, do they have Hashimoto’s and HPA axis dysfunction or so-called adrenal fatigue? Are they pregnant or are they trying to get pregnant or nursing?
There are so many other considerations that go into what the best choices even if the person does have diabetes and addressing their blood sugar and weight issues is the primary goal, there are always or often other conditions that are present too. Many people with diabetes that’s not the only thing that they have going on. You have to look at all of those other factors and then consider what the best approach is over the long term based on those factors.
The Functional Medicine Approach to Diabetes
It’s really no wonder you’re confused. I think anybody who’s been following me and just general internet headlines about diet would absolutely be confused because you see apparently contradictory headlines all the time, but when you get beneath the surface and you start to consider some of the nuances that I’ve been talking about and just comparing most dietary interventions they’ve used in studies versus the Standard American Diet that most people are following today, you can see how this is actually not confusing really. It makes quite a bit of sense that people would lose weight and improve their blood sugar when they go on virtually any diet versus the standard American approach.
I think that really brings us back to where we started with this show and what I’ve been kind of harping on about for years now which is the key to success over the long term for anybody no matter what condition they’re trying to address or whether they’re just trying to optimize their health and create an approach that works best for them is to individualize and customize what they’re doing for their own circumstances and needs. I’ve been treating patients now for almost a decade and for over a decade actually and I‘ve been training thousands of healthcare practitioners from around the world and have a lot of exposure to their caseloads and what’s happening with them and the more I do this work the more convinced I am of this fundamental truth that you really can’t figure out the best diet for you by just looking at what other people are doing or listening to gurus who are really passionate about a particular approach. We see a lot of this on the Internet—people who are convinced that everybody should do a particular diet whether that’s vegan, Paleo, low-carb or keto.
My advice to you is to run fast from anyone who makes that suggestion because I think those people are not being intellectually honest about what the research says or even their own experience if they’re working—or they just haven’t worked with a lot of clients or patients because as soon as you start working with real people, you quickly find that there is no-one-size-fits-all approach and there’s no single diet approach that will work best for every single person.
Working with a nutritionist, a dietician, or a Functional Medicine practitioner who is up to speed with a number of different approaches that can be effective in certain situations and knows how to do a comprehensive evaluation based on your health history and do some initial testing blood work and other types of testing to create an individualized prescription for you is kind of the optimal approach.
That, I understand, is not available to everybody for various reasons, so another way to get at that same information is to do some experimentation, either on your own or under the guidance of a health coach or a nutritionist where through listening to this show and reading my articles and other people’s work and listening to other shows, you basically come up with a hypothesis about what might work well for you given your situation.
For example, if you do have type 2 diabetes and you’re overweight and that’s the main issue and if you follow some of the research and work that’s suggesting that lower-carb and ketogenic diets may be effective, you give it a shot, you see how it works, you see what symptoms improve and if any symptoms get worse and then you basically tweak as you go. I mean it’s certainly easier to do with guidance but many people out there have been able to figure this out just by listening to podcasts and reading books and online articles. Although that isn’t optimal, I think it’s perfectly legitimate and sometimes the only way forward for some people depending on their resources and what they have access to.
The key thing that I want to get across here is just whether you’re working with a practitioner who’s helping you to create an individualized approach or whether you’re doing it on your own, really be rigorous about it and don’t accept what your friend, your cousin, or even the healthcare practitioner that you know and trust or respect says will work unless you have tried it and you have seen if it works for you because ultimately your body is the final arbiter and will be the decision-making authority in terms of whether it works or it doesn’t work.
I’ve seen so many people that have been harmed by standardized diet advice and prescriptions and these people often end up in my clinic a couple of years after they started a program that was totally not right for them. But they kept doing it because they were told to do it or they believed it was best based on what they had read. I would just love to save those of you listening to this from that fate because it doesn’t have to be that way.
Thanks again Patrick for sending in the question. It’s a great one. I know a lot of people are also confused understandably and I hope this was helpful in charting a clear path forward.
Thanks for listening everybody. Continue to send in your questions at chriskresser.com/podcastquestion and I’ll see you next time.
Now, I’d like to hear from you. Have you tried a low-carb, low-fat, or Mediterranean diet to manage your diabetes? What were your results? Comment below and let me know.
Kitchn’s Delicious Links column highlights recipes we’re excited about from the bloggers we love. Follow along every weekday as we post our favorites.
The fact that you can cook dry pasta in an Instant Pot full of sauce is one of my biggest epiphanies of the year. The world of one-pot cooking just got a whole lot bigger, and in less than half an hour it’s possible to make a rich, creamy, velvety chicken Alfredo pasta like this one, without even having to use a second pot to boil the pasta. If you’re trying to convince someone that the Instant Pot is a game-changer, send them this recipe.
Spices are hard to organize. They’re contained in these tiny little bottles that always get knocked over and rearranged every single time you go to cook something. (You know you have cumin in that cabinet somewhere!) Annoyingly, there’s not a TON of innovation when it comes to storing spices. Once in a while, though, we see something that’s actually mind-blowing. Like this under-the-cabinet-magnetic-knife-rack situation pictured above. And these inexpensive organizers, which can be bought on Amazon.
I am very much of the “everything in moderation” mindset — I fill my plate with lots of veggies but fully embrace a fudgy brownie when the craving strikes. The internet, however, is rampant with “skinny” versions that guarantee the richness of a classic brownie in a less calorie-dense size.
Weight Watchers is the leader of this pack — there are hundreds of recipes that deliver just a few WW points but claim to taste as good as brownies that would be much higher point-wise due to containing more butter, eggs, and other ingredients that are high in points on the WW Freestyle program. So, are they any good? And are they really better for you than traditional brownies? As both a Registered Dietitian and a lover of baked goods, I was more than curious. Here are my results after baking two popular WW versions: chocolate brownies and lemon brownies.
Here’s the thing about small kitchens: While we may all moan and groan and wish for palatial spaces with ample counter space and gobs of storage, it’s the teeny-tiny spaces that force us to be smart about what space we do have. Take this 38-square-foot kitchen in Brooklyn. It’s seriously small, with a galley layout that doesn’t afford too many options, but owners Ali and Chip make it work. It’s not only functional for a couple that likes to cook a lot, but it’s also super cute — and smart.
Here are three lessons you can steal from their well-designed kitchen.
One of the best ways to use an air fryer is as a mini oven that won’t heat up your whole kitchen for party snacks. You can turn out batch after batch of wings, mozzarella sticks, and, yes, mini calzones that are warm, crispy, and delightfully nostalgic from a single air fryer.
These mini calzones use prepared pizza dough to make delicious pockets filled with gooey cheese, piquant tomato sauce, and spicy pepperoni that are perfect for parties, after-school snacks, or for satisfying your craving for the pizza rolls of your youth.
For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
Book your class NOW!
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Warrior Fit Testimonials
First, I want to say thank you for convincing me to do Tabata! I was struggling to lose weight and Finally I found something that helped! I really appreciate your coaching! - Craig T.
Ever since I was convinced to do Tabata I have seen huge results, I lost 6 pounds and gained energy in the first 3 weeks. I have been working out for 3 months before I decided to do Tabata and I struggled to lose weight.
At first I thought "How am I losing weight by bringing my heart rate up then cooling down then bringing it up again?" I don’t know how it works but it does!
Thank you!! - Theresa F.
The first day of Tabata, I wondered WHAT AM I DOING - I AM 56 !! Five weeks later I knew that it was what I needed. I learned that I could push myself well beyond my comfort zone and feel good later. I have a marked improvement in physical as well as emotional endurance. - Lyn C.
When I was first told about Tabata I was very excited from the word go, however that excitement stemmed from the fact that I had no clue what it meant. I missed the first week of class b/c I was traveling for work so when I came in during the 2nd week I had some making it up to do.
It was hard at first b/c my body wasn't used to working out at such a fast pace, but once I got into a rhythm I started to feel very good. These classes are no joke. If you stick with it you will leave there feeling stronger, healthier and overall better about yourself and what you've accomplished.
I would recommend these classes to anyone. Darrin is a great trainer and he'll keep you going with his energy.
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Warrior Fit uses High Intensity Music to get ya Moooovin' So we can all "Get Our Sweat On"
The link below will give ya a freeee shot at Audible plus a couple audio books just to try it out and if you haven't used audio books on your commutes you are missing out. Get pumped up before you get to where you are going and exercise your mind. I use it Everyday. Go get yours now!
So you start your keto diet, and things are going well. You’re dropping excess fat, your carb cravings are noticeably reduced, your energy is steady throughout the day… and then one day you start to have the sneaking suspicion that you’re shedding more hair than usual. After a few days, it’s unmistakable: your hair is definitely falling out at an alarming rate.
For now classes are 6pm and 640pm at 2840 Wildwood st in the Boise Cloggers studio.
Book your class NOW!
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