My Keto Journey

Hello and welcome back to Mary's Kitchen!  Before we get started I have a few important disclaimers.

I'll use this picture for a side-by side comparison in the future.  This is one of our GIANT turnips I grew

First, I am not a doctor or healthcare provider and I am not offering medical advice.  If you have health-related concerns, please seek medical attention.

Next, I will NEVER try to sell you pills, potions or "magic cures" for keto or ketones.  That stuff is not necessary nor is it cost effectinve.

Lastly, the only affiliate or sales related links I will include are for Mary's Heirloom Seeds.  I am Mary @ Mary's Heirloom Seeds and we grow most of our own organic veggies here on our homestead/farm.  We grow from the same seed stock that we offer our customers.  I find that homegrown organic food is musk tastier and less expensive than store bought.  We choose to grow "beyond organic" meaning we go (grow) above and beyond organic standards.

Now for the FUN stuff!

Have you ever heard of the Ketogenic way of eating or the ketogenic diet?  I stay away from the word "diet" because for us, it's a healthier way of eating.  If you haven't already heard about it or you've heard misinformation that it's just "meat and butter" then I encourage you to keep reading.

From The Ketogenic Diet 101

The ketogenic diet (often termed keto) is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that shares many similarities with the Atkins and low-carb diets.
It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake, and replacing it with fat. The reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis.
When this happens, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy. It also turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain (6, 7).
Ketogenic diets can cause massive reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels. This, along with the increased ketones, has numerous health benefits (6, 8, 9, 10, 11).


There's a lot more to it than that but that's the basic explanation. Included in the explanation above are numerous links to studies and explanations to back up their statements.

If you read my last article, Cutting out the Crap, you know that I have cut out sugar completely.  It was not an easy task but I did it and I'm super proud of myself.  Sugar acts as a drug and is addicting.

Here's a little more from The Ketogenic Diet 101

The ketogenic diet actually originated as a tool for treating neurological diseases, such as epilepsy.
Studies have now shown that the diet can have benefits for a wide variety of different health conditions:

• Heart disease: The ketogenic diet can improve risk factors like body fat, HDL levels, blood pressure and blood sugar (32, 33).
• Cancer: The diet is currently being used to treat several types of cancer and slow tumor growth (4, 34, 35, 36).
• Alzheimer’s disease: The diet may reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s and slow down the disease’s progression (5, 37, 38).
• Epilepsy: Research has shown that the ketogenic diet can cause massive reductions in seizures in epileptic children (3).
• Parkinson’s disease: One study found that the diet helped improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (39).
• Polycystic ovary syndrome: The ketogenic diet can help reduce insulin levels, which may play a key role in polycystic ovary syndrome (40).
• Brain injuries: One animal study found that the diet can reduce concussions and aid recovery after brain injury (41).
• Acne: Lower insulin levels and eating less sugar or processed foods may help improve acne (42).

However, keep in mind that research into many of these areas is far from conclusive.


If you think that Keto might be a good fit for you, I suggest doing a bit of research.  Don't believe the hype that fat is bad for you or that the body needs carbs to survive.  Those bits of misinformation have been circling for a very long time and probably from the very industries that supply them.

The SUGAR industry for example, as I mentioned in Cutting out the Crap, was recently exposed for paying scientists to vilify fat instead of sugar.

Have you ever stopped to read the ingredients lists on some of those "low-fat" or "non-fat" foods?  They are usually FULL of sugar.

This is just the beginning.  Keep an open mind and enjoy the ride.  I have quite a few delicious recipes coming soon.  I will also post my stats as I continue on this Keto Journey

Cutting out the Crap

I've been debating sharing this info on my blog for a few days.  We're making big changes here at Mary's Kitchen and we hope you follow along.  This is going to be one of those no-nonsense kinda posts

Amelia here is all business.  No nonsense!

If you've followed my blog in the last few years you've seen plenty of crap posted.  I'm being real here.  I am fully aware that I have encouraged sugary, carb-filled recipes here all because they were organic.

Having done a bit more research into what sugar does to your body, I've made quite a few changes.  There will be no more junk food posts of any kind!

If you're eating organic for health reasons, Just going organic isn't enough

When I read how the Sugar Industry was paying scientist to blame fat instead of sugar, I was really interested in making changes.

Here's another source,
50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists to Point Blame at Fat

For the last two and a half months, I weened myself off of sugar, bread, pasta, rice and other junk carbs.  I'm going to share a bit of beginner advice from a friend:
"If eating this way seems confusing or overwhelming start with this. Easiest thing to do is just to stop eating refined carbohydrates and vegetables that grow underground. No fruit for now, it's sugar too. So if you cut out your sugar and bread and pasta and rice and potatoes that's a great start. Cook and eat a lot of healthy fats like olive oil, avocado oil, butter, things that you've always been told are scary. Drink lots of fluid's and make sure you aren't afraid of sodium. You can do this and if you just started with this you would be doing 99% better than you're currently doing"

I can FEEL the difference both physically and mentally.
-I'm not as tired after a long day (over 12 hours of working).
-I'm not as cranky when I wake up or when I'm hungry.
-I don't feel hungry all the time
-My clothes are much looser and I've lost a few pounds

Best of all, I'm not having frequent/daily headaches.  THIS is the most important benefit since I have had headaches for years.

I'll leave you with a few studies and articles to give you a little something to ponder.

SCIENCE:

Evidence for Sugar Addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects or intermittent, excessive sugar intake

The Relationship of Sugar to population-level diabetes prevalence: An econometric analysis of repeated cross-sectional data

Insulin and Cancer

Insulin Resistance and Cancer Risk: An Overview of the Pathogenetic Mechanisms

"A low-fat diet (≤30% of total calories) is still considered by many physicians to be a healthy choice for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) (1). An unintended consequence of emphasizing low-fat diets may have been to promote unrestricted carbohydrate intake, which reduces high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and raises triglyceride levels, exacerbating the metabolic manifestations of the insulin resistance syndrome, also known as the metabolic syndrome (2,3)."
The effects of Diet on Inflammation: Emphasis on the Metabolic Syndrome


PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

How Giving Up Refined Sugar Changed My Brain

7 Things that Happen when You Stop Eating Sugar


EYE OPENING

Sugar Breakdown

10 Surprising Foods that List Sugar as the first Ingredient

5 "Healthy" Yogurts with More Sugar Than a Doughnut

What's been happening here at Mary's Kitchen

I thought it would be nice to share what I've been up to and what's kept me busy.  I've continued to blog but on my site Mary's Heirloom Seeds.  I sharing mostly garden-related info there.

Mary's Heirloom Seeds keeps me pretty busy.  What started back in 2011 with 20 varieties of heirloom seeds is now a much bigger operation with over 450 varieties of heirloom seeds (probably closer to 500 by now).  I LOVE growing organic food and helping people grow.

2 years ago we made the cross-country move to be closer to family and have more land available to grow.  It's been an exciting adventure.

This year in April, we added Chickens to our homestead.  Well, chicks to be specific.  They were only a few days old when we brought them home.

A few weeks of being in their brooder, our Rhode Island Red chicks were ready to go into their big coop outside.  So we decided to add MORE chicks.  The same day we put the RIRs outside, we brought home 3 Blue Andalusians and 3 Black Silver Laced Wyandotte chicks.

2 weeks ago, the newest arrivals were sent outside to join the RIRs.  So far, everyone is getting along!

At the same time, we brought home JoJo.  Can you see why I've been away from my blog?  All of this cuteness overload is just too much to handle sometimes! 

We found JoJo thru our vet.  They recommended a local lady who does rescues and adoptions locally.  We met with her and fell in love.  She told us JoJo's story.  He had been found in an old, antique milk container with 3 of his brothers.  His mom might have birthed the babies in their and couldn't get back in or maybe they were abandoned there.  Either way, they were all very sick and needed round-the-clock care.

We had to wait an entire week until we could bring JoJo home because he wasn't 8 weeks old yet.

This is JoJo at 11 weeks old

So that's the catch-up part.  How have you been?  Anything new and/or exciting in your life?

Getting back to Mary's Kitchen!

Hey there!  Mary here and it's been quite a while since I posted here at Mary's Kitchen.  I intend to get back to sharing healthy recipes and post updates about my current journey.

Stay tuned...