5 Best Foods To Keep You In Ketosis When You’re on The Road
Hey, it’s Thomas DeLauer with Keto-Mojo, and today I’m giving you the lowdown on what you can keep with you, whether it’s in a backpack, glove box, or suitcase, so that you can make sure the ketogenic lifestyle is something that you can maintain but also enjoy. I’m going to give you five foods that you can carry with you and five foods that are going to help you out on your keto journey. One of the things I want to lay down for you first, though, is when you should be measuring when it comes down to eating. You see, you want to be measuring your ketones before and after you eat, at least in the beginning, so you can start monitoring how certain foods affect you. You see, even ketogenic foods, foods that could be totally low carb and keto-friendly can affect one person differently from the other. You want to test it out and always leave the measuring to the meter and leave the guesswork out of the equation.
Benefits of Eating Macadamia Nuts
Any of the foods that I’m breaking down here, go ahead and measure before you eat them and then measure after. But another thing you want to be cognizant of is when it comes down to measuring, when you find that your ketones are getting lower, that’s usually an indicator that you need to eat. It helps you understand that you should be consuming some more fats at that point in time so that your liver can convert those free fatty acids into ketone bodies. Let’s break these foods down fast. The first one is one you probably already know, but it’s Macadamia nuts. Now a lot of us know the Macadamia nuts are great for when you’re on a ketogenic diet, simply because they’re low carb and they’re high fat. But they actually have some other attributes that people don’t usually talk about. One, they’re extremely high in flavonoids. You see flavonoids convert to antioxidants within the body, which means you’re one step ahead of the curve. Flavonoids convert to antioxidants, then the antioxidants go around and scavenge up free radicals and allow your system to run in a lot more of a smooth state. But they contain a different fat, a fat known as omega-7 palmitoleic acid. Palmitoleic acid is a whole different ball game. You see, we’re all so focused on omega-3, six and nine, which are important, but omega-7 is sort of the forgotten omega, and what that does is allows the production of specific fat-burning enzymes. Omega-3, six and nine, can’t even really function unless omega-7 is there. Omega-7 is going to allow the fat-burning to occur, and by fat-burning, I mean mobilization. The mobilization of the fat gets it over to the liver so it can be converted into ketones and give you energy and gets the ketone readings up on your Keto-Mojo meter. Now the other cool thing that we learned about Macadamia nuts is that omega-7 fatty acids have been found by the Cleveland Clinic research team to reduce c-reactive protein levels by over 30%. C-reactive protein is the main indicator of inflammation within your body. So, not a bad little gig. Consume some Macadamia nuts, get some extra energy, but also get rid of some inflammation in the body.
Sardines are the Highest Omega-3 Food on the Planet
The next one I want to talk about is one you might not be something you want to carry around in your glove box, but it could be something if you’re just in a pinch, and that’s going to be sardines. Sardines are kind of an interesting food. They’re not something that you just, again, want to just be eating casually in front of a bunch of people, but their omega profile is what makes them so unique and particularly unique when it comes down to ketosis. They are the highest omega-3 food on the planet and the nice thing about sardines is at least they’re sustainable, so you’re not consuming something that’s going to be really hard to catch and something that’s going to be hurting the environment. It’s nice from a sustainability standpoint, so you can at least feel a little bit better about what you’re eating. The other thing that we want to look at with sardines, is the suppression of cyclooxygenase enzymes. When you take an aspirin or an ibuprofen, you are suppressing COX enzymes, cyclooxygenase enzymes. That’s how you’re reducing inflammation via that pathway. Well omega-3s reduce cyclooxygenase enzymes. You’re basically having the same kind of effect that you would have by taking ibuprofen by consuming something that’s higher in omega-3s. That’s why it’s one that’s good to go when you’re on the road.
Benefits of Eating Cacao Nibs
The next one is cacao nibs. Now cacao nibs, for a multitude of reasons, are tremendous when you’re on a ketogenic diet, but I do want to say, first and foremost, make sure you test when you consume cacao nibs, before and after. There is a high fiber content and some people do end up having a reduction in ketones when they have higher amounts of fiber but not everyone, so again, everyone’s unique, bio-individuality. Test your blood and measure with the meter. When it comes down to the cacao nibs, what makes them so awesome is the fact that they have phenylethylamine and indamine in them. This gives you that euphoric feeling and it gives you that state of wellbeing. Okay, it’s not the sugar. People usually think it’s the sugar in the chocolate that’s giving you that rise and that ultimate feeling of wellbeing, but that’s not what we’re after here. We’re actually after the phenylethylamine.
What is Oxalic Acid?
But the other cool thing we want to talk about is the oxalic acid. Oxalic acid inhibits calcium absorption. Sounds kind of crazy, right? But the fact is, when you’re on a ketogenic diet, you’re usually in a dehydrated state and that means you lose a lot of minerals. That means you’re losing the magnesium, you’re losing the other minerals like the phosphorus, you’re losing the ones that are really important to you and sometimes you have a concentration of calcium because it’s harder to get rid of calcium. If you have too much calcium which is excitatory, it can make you anxious, can make you not feel so good, and then you’re stuck with it and you’re not getting in the other minerals. The oxalic acid makes it so that you’re not absorbing as much calcium but you’re able to absorb the things like the magnesium and what you’re getting from those cacao nibs and from some of the other foods that you’ll eat on a keto diet.
Benefits of Eating Seaweed & Porkrinds
The other food that I want you to consume is nori, good old seaweed. Now one of the reasons why I wanted to include this on the list is a lot of people think that simply because you’re on the ketogenic diet, that you’re going to have a suppression in your thyroid, particularly with women because they’re a little bit more sensitive when it comes down to thyroid functions, but when we’re talking about nori, we have a nice bioavailable form of iodine, not the iodine that’s coming from salt that’s going to be on your table. We’re talking about iodine that’s truly in its usable bioavailable form. So, supporting thyroid functions, the thyroid can actually create its T3 to give you the metabolism boost that you want. Plus, again, super high in fiber so it’s going to keep you satiated. Lastly, if this one’s for you, not everyone likes it, but pork rinds are something that you can carry with you. Again, it all depends on the person, not everyone is into those, but it’s something that you can carry in your suitcase and it’s lightweight and zero carbs. So as always, I want to make sure that you know to test with every food that you eat but you also need to experiment with other foods as much as you possibly can to see if your body is ever changing. As always, I want you to keep it locked in here with Keto-Mojo and leave the guesswork out of the equation and leave the measuring to the meter. I’m Thomas DeLauer with Keto-Mojo and I’ll see you soon.
