It's Episode 440, Q&A #33 time!

Submit your own questions for the podcast at: https://robbwolf.com/contact/submit-a-question-for-the-podcast/

Individual question videos are linked in each question title, but if you want to see the complete video for this podcast, be sure to check out our YouTube channel.

Show Notes:

1. Chocolate-Coated Peanut Diet? [2:18]

Troels says:

I normally base my diet on paleo principles, but for the past month, I have been eating roughly 400 grams of sugar- and chocolate-coated peanuts a day. This should be unhealthy, but my digestion has improved after having been out of whack for months because of SSRIs, and I have consistent morning wood which, mainly due to SSRIs has been rare. Despite eating more than 2000 kcals just in candy each day - half of which is sugar - I still look lean (almost too lean), and, if anything, I'm adding muscle. I notice a small sugar high and subsequent low, but that's pretty much the negative effects. Also, by doing this, I'm ingesting good amounts of Mg and Zn (~400 mg and ~10 mg). I'm male and 32 years old.

Two questions:

- Am I doing too much latent damage for this to be a good thing, or could it be that this could work for some people, at least for some period?

- How do I make sense of obesity epidemics, the grocery shoppings of fat people, and energy balance when I can consume much more than 2700 kcals a day and stay lean? (I don't think I work out much, and many days, I also eat an energy rich evening meal.)

2. DHEA and Pregnenolone Supplementation? [12:08]

Jason says:

Rob - 45 year old male. Job is sometimes stressful but for the most part I get 8 hours sleep and follow a lower carb paleo diet 6 days out of 7. Been doing this for close to a decade. I've been experimenting for a year or more with Pregnenolone and DHEA in varying amounts. When I take preg in doses of 200-400 mg before bed I feel great and everything works really well. Focus, mind and man things. Same if I take 100mg or so of DHEA. I'll use these on weekends mainly and not so much during the week. I notice during the week without them I tend to be bitchy and emotional with low sex drive. If I take Preg or DHEA these issues go away. I'm afraid I'm taking too much or somehow dependent on these supplements now. What should I be looking out for or the downsides to these substances? I feel like I'm playing with fire.

3. How To Know If Keto is Right For Me? [16:28]

Radu says:

Hi Robb,

I would like your opinion regarding how would somebody decide if the ketogenic diet is beneficial or not, or if you have recommendations for tailoring a ketogenic diet to people with increased cholesterol reaction to this diet. Are there relevant tests that can help in deciding in this regard?

In my family health history there are lots of cancers, some heart disease, and some neuro-degenerative (Alzheimer) disease. I am 48 years old, caucasian, in very good health and decent physical shape. My diet is a loose paleo type (occasional milk and grains) and I have no allergies.

I would like to have some periods of ketosis, as I feel some benefits from it, but I do not know how concerned I should be.

******

Thank you for taking the time to read the question. I totally understand if you do not have time to answer this question directly, but I find this subject is not cover with enough clarity. Maybe you can touch on this in your regular podcasts when discussing related topics.

To understand the background of my question:

I experimented with Ketogenic diet a couple of times, and I felt great. My main reason is general health and well being, with an accent on mental clarity. This aspect was improved by the Ketogenic diet. Unfortunately my cholesterol had some unexpected behaviour:

My 1st Keto experiment: I was in ketosis from Feb 15 to April 15, 2015, below are the blood tests before the diet and 9 month later.

Date Total_Ch LDL HDL Non_HDL_Ch Triglycerides

12/15/2014 194 125 58 137 254

12/22/2015 178 101 58 121 44

So far so good! Encouraged by these results, I repeated the diet 1 year later, but this time I tested myself while in ketosis.

After 1 ½ month of ketosis, I did my 1st blood test (3/1/2016). I repeated the test (still in ketosis about a month later (4/7/2016). This time I also measured the ApoA1 and ApoB, and the numbers only confirmed the cheap test. I stop the diet, and 8 month later (12/29/2016), the values are back to normal-ish.

Date Total_Ch LDL HDL Non_HDL Triglycerides ApoA1(g/L) ApoB(g/L)

3/1/2016 321 232 75 - 31 - -

4/7/2016 298 230 55 243 30 1.69 1.18

12/29/2016 212 124 66 145 47 - -

I measured my ketons level with Keto-sticks. The level was on average at 2, with variations from 0.5 to 4, depending on the diet macro-ratio and mostly on physical activity level.

Blood work: https://www.specialtyhealthwellness.com/offer/robb-wolf-wired-eat-panel/

4. Genetics & Body Composition? [28:57]

Sara says:

I know genetics have a large part in how our bodies form and react to foods, the environment, etc. But how much do we have control of when it comes to body composition? I am in my mid-thirties and have always been athletic and a focus on healthy eating, now Paleo focused. However my weight - while I am still in a healthy range - doesn't budge easily despite my efforts. And it's been like this ever since my teens. I don't want to compare myself to others - but it is frustrating when I eat so clean, am active with weights and cardio and the person next to me has a slimmer waistline and eats fast food and rarely exercises.

I know can become slimmer with extreme effort - but those extreme efforts are not good to my body and I dont want to add additional stress. Should I just "give up" and not fight my body and just focus on my healthy living or do you think I can loose some extra fat without extreme measures?

About Me female 37 5'7 147-155 lbs Body Fat % ~18 (16-20 depending on the test) Athletic build, muscular legs and upper body, chubby midsection that rarely firms up I have SIBO/Gut Issues Paleo/Low-Fodmap (I cycle IF 16:8 or 18:6 and sometimes Keto) Heavy Weight Lift 2xweek, HIIT/OTF 2x/week, Steady state cardio (walk/jog) 2x/week If I breathe on peanut butter or eat too much Paleo granola I gain instantly and have to go back on strict IF/keto but my midsection is never "firm"

5. Ketosis and Carbohydrate Timing? [35:50]

Ryan says:

Hi Robb. I don't know if this will reach you, but while listening to your podcast and reading your first book, a hundred questions pop into my head. This is one of them. I thought about asking my doctor, but I knew a blank stare and a sweaty forehead would be his answer. So here goes: Does frequency of carb intake play a role in disrupting ketosis? For example, if I am going to eat 150 grams in total of carbohydrates today, will eating all 150 grams of carbs at the same meal knock me out of ketosis for an EQUAL amount of time as eating 15 grams every hour for 10 hours?* My theory is eating 15 grams of carbs an hour for 10 hours will be just enough to keep a person out of ketosis for a longer period of time than eating all 150 grams in one meal while carb-fasting for the rest of the day. I could be wrong, but that's why I'm asking the master. Thank you in advance for any time you can dedicate to this question. Have a great day.

Where you can find us:

Submit questions for the podcast: https://robbwolf.com/contact/submit-a-question-for-the-podcast/

Transcript:

Download a copy of the transcript here (PDF)