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Summary
On episode 453 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan sits down with Dr. Lori Shemek, a doctor of psychology, certified nutritional consultant, and life coach who has been featured on The Doctors and written several books, including her latest, The Ketogenic Key.
Lori argues that ketosis, not just the ketogenic diet, is the real driver behind weight loss, slower aging, and lower inflammation, and that you can reach it through diet, intermittent fasting, exogenous ketones, or exercise, alone or in combination.
The conversation covers the difference between acute and silent inflammation, why saturated fat has been unfairly blamed for heart disease, and how intermittent fasting triggers cellular cleanup through autophagy.
Links
- https://www.amazon.com
- https://kirbiecravings.com
Key Takeaways
- Ketosis, not any single method, is the actual driver behind the benefits people associate with keto. You can reach it through the ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting, exogenous ketones, or exercise, and combining even two of those approaches makes the effect noticeably more powerful.
- Seasonal or cyclical ketosis can be more sustainable than a strict, year-round approach. Both Lori and Allan practice going in and out of ketosis with the seasons, similar to how ancestral humans naturally cycled between feasting when food was available and fasting when it was not.
- Exogenous ketones (BHB supplements) can put you into ketosis within about 30 minutes, but they are not a substitute for nutritional ketosis. They are most useful for endurance athletes or as a bridge through the early “keto flu,” and if your body isn’t using them, you simply excrete the excess.
- There are two very different kinds of inflammation, and only one of them hurts you quietly. Acute inflammation (a cut, a sprain) is intense but temporary and necessary for healing; silent, chronic inflammation emits only a trickle of inflammatory molecules but never goes away, and about 75 percent of Americans carry it without knowing.
- The ketogenic diet tends to improve the cholesterol markers that matter most for heart health, even when total cholesterol rises. It lowers triglycerides and raises HDL, and Lori cites the PURE study, which followed over 135,000 people across 18 countries and found the lowest saturated fat eaters had the highest rates of heart disease and mortality.
- Saturated fat isn’t the dietary villain it was made out to be, refined sugar and processed carbohydrates are. Lori points to Ancel Keys’ seven-country study, which she says cherry-picked data to blame saturated fat for heart disease instead of the sugar and refined flour that actually drive it.
- Intermittent fasting triggers autophagy, the body’s cellular housekeeping process, with a sweet spot around 16 to 18 hours. Deeper autophagy, which resets metabolism and cellular health more significantly, kicks in around 24 hours or longer, but Lori doesn’t recommend fasting 48 hours or more more than about once a month.
- Dr. Lori Shemek’s three strategies to get and stay well: live an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, whether through a ketogenic or Mediterranean-style diet, to boost both health span and lifespan; remove excess carbohydrate intake and target specific needs with nutrients like PQQ (with your doctor’s approval) to support mitochondrial density; and exercise regularly, one of the most underused ways to build mitochondrial health and even act as a natural antidepressant.
“It is the core underlying cause of most illness, disease, faster aging, and weight gain.”
Dr. Lori Shemek
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 455 – How to use seasonal ketosis in an ancestral-based healthy lifestyle