15th July Skool: Unlocking Secrets on HDL, Magnesium, Collagen, Protein & More

This is a recording of a Keto School live session where Richard and Stephen discuss various topics related to the ketogenic and carnivore diet. They talk about ketogenic supplements, different types of fat, cholesterol, and how to raise HDL levels. They also answer questions from listeners about dry fasting, magnesium and calcium ratios, and the benefits of a keto diet for people with neuromuscular diseases. They also touch on the topic of dairy and when it should be limited in a ketogenic diet. The question is about when to take MCT ketones for athletic performance. The answer is that you can take them about 20 minutes before exercise, but for longer events like a marathon, you may want to take them an hour or so before to allow excess fluid to pass through the system. MCT will not break a fast and can actually enhance it. The answerer also shares their personal story of how they got into bodybuilding and then transitioned to running and cycling. 

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Transcript

15th July Skool Transcript

Summary

This is a recording of a Keto School live session where Richard and Stephen discuss various topics related to the ketogenic and carnivore diet. They talk about ketogenic supplements, different types of fat, cholesterol, and how to raise HDL levels. They also answer questions from listeners about dry fasting, magnesium and calcium ratios, and the benefits of a keto diet for people with neuromuscular diseases. They also touch on the topic of dairy and when it should be limited in a ketogenic diet. The question is about when to take MCT ketones for athletic performance. The answer is that you can take them about 20 minutes before exercise, but for longer events like a marathon, you may want to take them an hour or so before to allow excess fluid to pass through the system. MCT will not break a fast and can actually enhance it. The answerer also shares their personal story of how they got into bodybuilding and then transitioned to running and cycling.

There is no way to determine if a collagen supplement is microplastic-free without testing. Ionized calcium and a 24-hour urine calcium test are better tests for determining high calcium levels than a serum test. Taking collagen before bed may be beneficial for repairing injuries because the body heals and repairs while sleeping. Collagen should be consumed separate from other protein and before bed or in the morning. It does not count towards the overall protein intake and around 9 grams a day may be enough for most people. They explain the benefits of amino acids and protein for muscle building and repair, and the importance of a proper amino acid profile. They also discuss the negative effects of excessive sugar consumption and how living a low carb lifestyle can improve health and reduce inflammation. They advise against supplementing with calcium unless you have a deficiency and suggest focusing on consuming choline-rich foods to prevent gallstones. Richard answers a question about carbon and confirms that the results are different for everyone. He also shares helpful tips and advice. Richard then talks about collagen supplementation and how it's important for the structural protein in the body. He also discusses how to order products from New Zealand. Stephen adds that carnivore can help with peripheral arterial disease and discusses how it reduces inflammation. Richard also mentions a study showing that consuming excess carbohydrates and seed oils can contribute to inflammation in the body. He explains that by following Muscle mass is important for overall health, but there is an optimal amount. Pre-made hamburger patties may contain ingredients like rusk and lectins which can be harmful for those following a ketogenic or carnivore diet. To avoid these ingredients, it's best to make your own burgers using high-fat beef. If experiencing iron deficiencies, it's best to stop taking iron supplements 48 hours before a blood test. MCT oil can be added to electrolyte drinks or taken alone, preferably not.

 Transcription

 I'm going to introduce today's live question and answer. And we've got a question straight away from Gemma. Uh, when taking MCT ketones for athletic performance, how long before participating in exercise should I take them? Well great question. Yeah. Fantastic question. MCT in the form of C8 is instantly, almost instantly converted into ketones through the empathic portal vein in the liver. Um, in regards to MCT, I'd say maybe 20 minutes before an event. Um, the ketones are instant. Now, do I take these around an hour prior to an event, even though the instant the reason I take them before, uh, an hour before is to allow excess water that I've consumed with them to pass through the system. So, for example, if I'm running or it's not, it's so important when you say Glenn. But if if you're running, the last thing you you want to be doing is stopping for a pee, because that's not going to happen in a race. Um, and anybody who is, uh, used to running regularly will know that it's one of the last things that you do before before you, you know, you venture on that race. So I'll usually consume the ketones an hour to an hour and a half prior, drinking them slowly in around 500 to 700 mil of water. And then I'll stop 30 minutes before the event to allow time for the excess fluid, uh, to leave the system. The key dawns will stay active in a normal state in regards to, uh, just taking them and sitting down and, like, for example, me at my desk, if I take some ketones, they're going to be active between 6 to 8 hours, uh, depending on how much mental energy I'm using in a marathon. Uh, they can last as much as three hours. Uh, in a high intensity event, if you push in harder, they're going to last two hours. So you're not going to use an awful lot of ketones prior to the event. Uh, before you start and depending on the intensity. So I think German is doing high rocks, which is pretty high intense. Um, if you follow that protocol German before an event, um, and allow enough time for the excess fluid to pass through your system, then that's going to be plenty enough time for you. Um, if you're venturing into Ironman or longer distance, then I'd, um, I'd keep the ketones for injuries so you can take them prior. But if you do an Ironman event, for example, I'd keep these for the bike. Uh, get the swim done, get halfway through the bike and take the ketones, uh, maybe midway or towards the end of the bike. Maybe I have two bottles of those, but I'm sure Gemma is is high rocks. Um, so I'd follow that protocol, but hour and a half to, um, to an hour prior to, uh, to competition. Excellent answer. And a little extra question someone asked, uh, which is does the MCT oil break a fast? Naw. MCT is only going to further enhance a fasted state because it signals the body to increase ketone production. It does this even if one were not living a low carb ketogenic lifestyle. So if you were to take capilla acid in the MCT in the form of C8, it does work with C10 also. Um, C10 just means that there's more carbon chains. Um, C8 is the shortest of the medium chains, therefore the quickest to convert into instant ketone energy. Whether you were ketogenic or not, if you take MCT, you will create ketones naturally. To create ketones, you need to metabolize fat. Um, so MCT will not not break up fast. Uh, in fact, I usually preference MCT when fasting. So even though it has, um, a caloric value, and for any of the avid listeners, you'll know that Steven and I don't work in calories per se. Um, we can't get into that later if we get through the questions. Uh, but it does have an energy value. But the way that MCT works is sent straight to the liver through the empathic portal vein. So a lot of that energy value is not metabolized through the same process. But that said it is in calories. The break of fast. It's not energy to break so fast is the activation of mTOR. Um, thus um, making the mechanistic target of uh, rapamycin complex one is is what's going to, to break a fast. So we have a state of Ampk or fasting and mTOR and both are always active. So we think that it's a switch. We always think the one is switched on while the other is switched off. But that's not the case. One just predominates over the other. MP Ampk is fasting and mTOR is is anabolic. So one's catabolic ones are anabolic. Uh, when we consume uh, leucine uh excess amounts of leucine uh or protein for example, then this will overexpress or express mTOR complex one and it will allow Ampk to drop. And this is what breaks of fast. So this is why MCT and exogenous ketones, despite having an energy value, will not break or fast. Electrolytes will also not break a fast as long as they do not contain sugar or any other nasties in there. Um, that like lectins or something that could, uh, increase cortisol, for example. But electrolytes, MCT and BHB are all good to go when when in a fasted state. Great answer. So catabolic. Metabolic. You see, we're talking bollocks. So, um. Right. Um. Question from Mike. I like Mike's questions because they are for you, Richard. So I have a nice, easy time. Uh, Richard, I have to ask. Knowing the benefits of weightlifting and knowing the negatives that come along with endurance training, lean muscle loss, higher cortisol, etc.. What is your reason for switching to biking and running? Awesome question. I'll keep this short and sweet because I'm sure most people don't want to know about my, um, my athletic side of things. But I was drawn into into the bodybuilding initially to show people how, um, how life changing the lifestyle was after reverse in type two diabetes, losing £107, um, uh, reversing chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, arthritic pains. Lots of you guys know you know, most of my story, uh, I found that when I started lifting weights, I was, I was gaining muscle at an incredible rate, which we told is impossible. We told that we need carb in order to do that. So I sort of stumbled into the journey of men's physique bodybuilding, and I sort of got the bug for that and pursued that for a number of years, went on to become British and European champion at a professional level. Um, so I started as an amateur a couple of years in. I became professional and then went on to become number one in, in Britain and two years later, uh, number one in Europe. Um, I was getting too big for my frame. I'm small framed. My lower back was in agony. I couldn't cope with with the weight, the muscle mass that I was. I've never been huge. I've never been, you know, these. These mass monsters that you see. But I was carrying too much lean mass for my frame. Um, and I was working with triathletes. I had men, uh, runners and cyclists, and they, they asked me to to gravitate into that, to to see how this lifestyle could help them. You know, it's easy for me to stay away from a distance. Uh, I felt like I'd achieved everything that I was going to achieve in bodybuilding. Um, but interestingly, I was going to gravitate into powerlifting because at 75, um, I was benching 165kg deadlift in 230 and squatting 190, which put me in a pretty good place in regards to a championship, a British championship, uh, in British powerlifting. But I tore my pec. So when I tore my pec, that put me out of action for a few weeks. Uh, during that time, I decided to start running and cycling with, uh, with the guys that I was working with. Uh, I couldn't run back further than one and a half k uh, for the first two times that I ran. And that's that's the God's honest truth. Uh, I was suffering with back pain. I didn't have the cardiovascular fitness. Uh, the first 5KI ran, which was only in 2023. So last year I started running, um, possibly towards the end of 22 with the crossover between 22 and 23. The first five I did was 42 minutes. Uh, and now my five K is 17, my ten K is 37, and my half marathon is over 26. Um, I'm capable of a lot quicker on the 10-K and the half, but um, but yeah, it's surprising how quick that I've developed into that. But now I compete with, you know, pretty good runners, um, and good cyclists, which just adds more weight to the fact that this, this lifestyle is, is adaptable to any, any sport. It does increase cortisol. Um, I don't think that long distance running is good long term, but I'm trying to achieve something in this space. Once I've achieved that, I will drop the running back to less than than. And I don't think I'll ever stop running. But the way I run is also different. I do what's called split training. So after studying, um, Camille Heron's way of training, who is the world record holder for 100 miles and 500 miles? She's a scientist that's investigated fractures and best way to train in order to to build up um, uh, the endurance, uh, and the, the, the VO2 in order to, to achieve these things, she implements a split training, which means instead of running 20 miles a day, she'd run ten in the morning and ten in the in the afternoon. I'm not saying those are the distances she was running, but it's basically split in the amount that you would run into two. Um, and it carries a huge benefits in regards to upgrading lots of processes within the body. And that's what I tend to do. So I tend to run a lot less distance than everybody else. But when I can, I'll do it twice in one day and I try to do the same with cycling. Um, I just want to prove something in in triathlon. Um. I feel like I've done it already and do Iceland, but I can't swim yet, so I still haven't learned to swim. So until, like last year, I couldn't run, ride a bike or swim. So I've done two out of the three. I've still got one one to go, but I want to prove something in this arena in regards to endurance events. Um, I've got a couple of. I want to do an Ironman in less than ten hours. Uh, I want to run a sub three hour marathon. There are people out there that can run considerably quicker. But I'm not a runner. I'm a bodybuilder, you know? So to achieve these things in in that arena, I think is, is a statement. Uh, in regards to our lifestyle. So that's why I've gone into that. But I will gravitate into back into into weightlifting. Like I think it's beneficial. Um, muscle mass is incredibly healthy for the body, especially as we age. I do believe we can carry too much. It's probably a talk for another day. Um, I do believe there's an optimal amount, but muscle mass should be preference. Uh, it's a weight training. Body weight exercises as we age is really important to prevent things like sarcopenia and osteoporosis. That's my short answer. Yeah, well, you just set me up for another joke, actually, because Lisa's got a question, and the first sentence proves she doesn't know you very well because Lisa's asking. Can you briefly explain? What is the issue with purchasing pre-made hamburger patties? I have heard you mention that they can contain rust and like and lectins. Yeah, so I can keep this one down. I should say Rusk. Rusk. Yeah. So Lisa fantastic question. And I can keep this one short. Rusk is basically, uh, forms of grains, uh, wheat germ gluten. So they use rusk to bind the burgers, uh, which contain wheat germ or gluten. And wheat germ or gluten is what causes intestinal permeability. Uh, Intestinal permeability is what leads to autoimmune disease. The lectins will also bind to insulin receptors, and they can signal a five times higher insulin response, which is usually the reason that most people, uh, encounter a stall when living a ketogenic or carnivore based lifestyle. Uh, despite being low carb and having low calorie, anything that contains lectins can have a five times higher impact. So to keep this short and simple. If we look at a bowl of Mosley that contains 500 calories or bacon, an egg that contains 500 calories, the lectins and the carb elicitation of insulin within the muesli can, it is possible to cause a five times higher fat storage effect than the bacon and eggs. This is why it's not calories. We can't compare a high carbohydrate diet to a ketogenic or carnivore based diet because of the solicitation of insulin and other compounds, which will cause that elicitation of insulin. So when you buy hamburgers, um, they contain binding agents in the form of rusk, which will elicit this response. So it's not to say you can't eat them. Just be mindful that they are in there. Uh, sausages are the same. If you go to your local butcher. Your local butcher will quite often make these for you with containing no risk, you can make the burgers with with binding by an egg. The reason they don't do this is because they don't last very long, but it is something you can do. So just buy some mince. Um, the higher the fat percentage, the cheaper it is. And you can make these into patties. Crack an egg, mix an egg into it. Make them into nice little patties. Um, and you can do them yourself. I'm too lazy to do that anymore. So I just check the mince into a pan and just have minced beef or ground beef for our friends over the other side of the pond. Um, and that's it. And that's right is a plate of minced beef. Sometimes I'll add an egg or two if I can be bothered. Um, but beef and salt is usually my go to nothing flash. Uh, nothing too complicated. But that's the reason that I use mince or not. Um, hamburger patties from from the supermarket shortly. And yeah, that's great. And just for people that think I still want to go to the supermarket for price, maybe you can look at the percentage of beef if you want to make an informed choice and think, well, it's 75% beef, or that means 25% of it is all the other stuff I don't really want. Or you can have an 80% or 90%. The best thing is to do it yourself. It really is. Anyway. Uh, Victoria. Hello. I'm having a blood test, uh, the week after next. And I was so exhausted for months that I pulled the doctors as I wondered if it was my hormones. However, two weeks ago, I put my iron tablets to 200mg and I felt so much better. But I'm thinking I shouldn't take them for a while. When I have my blood stone, how soon before should I stop taking them? Well, uh, the answer is 48 hours. I am a qualified phlebotomist and can tell you that that will be cleared out within 48 hours, which is also an interesting concept. I'm not going to do a rich. It can go on too much, but, uh, it just shows you how quickly you can clear iron from the supplements out of your body. Just 48 hours. Um, just as a little side note, if you have dairy or tea or coffee that inhibits the absorption of iron. So if you're having iron problems and you don't like taking supplements of iron, you could also experiment with taking tea or coffee out of your, uh, way of eating or dairy and see if that is what you need to do. So that's that right, Brian B it's not Brian blessed is it. Of course, but it's, uh, it's Brian. I could see, uh, I've given up bulletproof Coffee as a trial. Any suggestions for taking MCT oil? Now, I have 500ml of electrolytes. Every morning. I do one hour of exercise in the morning. Thanks. Yeah. Awesome. Add them to your electrolytes. Check them in the electrolytes. Um, that's what I tend to do. So I use I use the powder. Brian, I don't know if you've got the powder or the oil. Um, the powder is. Says oil. I was in there as it is. It's in there. It's in black and white. Apologies come up with all of these big words and I can't read oil. So yeah. Look, you can add the oil. Um, I mix it with the electrolytes. Uh, you can use the powder. Also, the powder tends to mix and work a little bit better with the electrolytes. Uh, if, if you carry it in, in, in a container, for example. But there's no reason why you can't put the oil in there. Um, I sometimes mix it with, uh, the BHB exogenous ketones if I'm doing that. Also without the coffee, obviously, because I'm now coffee free. This is electrolytes, by the way. You can see in there. So that is the electrolytes unflavored. And it's the artisan thing that gives it that color by the way. So completely naturally flavored. Um, yeah. You can mix it with them or you can just take it from the spoon. So with the oil just put it on to a spoon. It's, um, it's not as bad as it sounds, I promise. Um, you can you can add it to food, but it it will compete for absorption, and it doesn't make sense to do so. So, you know, the oils and things try to take, um, an hour or two each side of, of consuming food. So try not to take them around meal times. This is why I usually preference the first thing in the morning, sometimes just before bed. Uh, even though MCT oil is pure clean energy, it does. It's not a stimulant, so it won't give you this effect. The caffeine does. Um, so I take MCT sometimes before bed. Sometimes I'll add it with a BHB. Um, I'll take both. Uh, but yeah, you can take them whenever to avoid meal times of, uh, 1 to 2 hours each side of meal time. But you can mix it with anything you want, but it's, um, if you don't mix it with protein powder, obviously, because this is going to elicit an immortal reaction through, uh, leucine and the alanine. Um. So other than that, you can mix it with anything else that isn't going to elicit that reaction, but mix it with electrolytes. That's what I tend to do nice and easy and try the powder if you haven't tried that as well. It mixes so well, it roughs up the electrolytes, um, and just adds a little consistency to a different consistency. So something new, something new to try. Yeah, I think this way of eating a texture is one of those underestimated things. People say they miss the crunch or they miss the anxiousness of yoghurt and stuff like that. So it's always good to experiment with different things like that. So Matthew has written I've got a new favorite sea salt. Have you tried Cornish sea salt? And then there's a bit more. But firstly, Richard, just answer that. Yes or no? Have you tried Cornish Cecil? No, no, neither have I. Right. So that's one part. Then there is this huge description, Matthew, which really is going to take me over such a long time to read. Um, but uh, they're basically saying Cornish thistle is harvested fresh from the sea, just eight meters from its eco friendly salt house on the Lizard Peninsula, Cornwall. Drawn from the unique properties of Cornwall's clear ocean waters that provides Cornish seesaw with its elevated and unique taste profile, with natural sea minerals including calcium, potassium and magnesium. The diverse range of sea salts are hand harvested to deliver maximum flavour with the abundance of the sea minerals, reducing the sodium content and delivering more flavor with less salt. The grade A waters rose and possesses a distinct mineral profile thanks to the area's unusual rock geology, delivering the unique Cornish mineral profile that makes our flavor so distinctive. Now, the reason I read that is because the next part of the question is, do you reckon this salt is low or even better, free of microplastics? I don't know is the answer, but this is the reason that I consume the Celtic Sea salt that we stock. It is microplastics free. It's tested, it's tested. Each batch is batch tested to be microplastic free. Um, sea salt is better than pink Himalayan, by the way. And the reason being is Pink Himalayan is created through many, many years of of rocks being crushed together to create the salts. Whereas when it comes from the sea it contains organic matter, and quite often matter that has come from animals that have been decomposed and matter that is travelled through the digestive process, which means it is organic. It's way more bioavailable. So there's nothing wrong with pink Himalayan, but Celtic sea salt is is a better choice compared to um, compared to pink. Now the brand that I stock, I'll pop a link in. And again, this isn't a sales pitch. This is a third party product. So I don't make anything on on third party product. But I'm going to pop it in there because this brand, not all Celtic Sea salts are microplastic free just because it comes from, you know, just because this kind Celtic Sea salt doesn't mean it's microplastic free. But this brand batch test, so all of theirs are microplastic free, are incredibly cheap, and they're sold in one one kilogram, uh, packs. But again, I don't make anything on these. This is a third party product. So this isn't a sales pitch. But in answer to your question, I think, I don't know, um, I've never tried it and I've never looked into, uh, to whether it's microplastic free. If it was, I should imagine that anyone selling it would be screaming up from the rooftops, because the brand that I stock does, um, and they regularly, uh, show each cert to show the batch testing shows that it's microplastic free. I think if it was microplastic free or if they were testing. So it's not to say that it's not microplastic. If they were testing to see if it was microplastic free, then I would assume anyone selling it would be screaming it from the rooftops. But I don't know is the honest answer. Um. Mission for you by next week. Do some investigation and see if you can find out. Yeah, that's great for the people listening to the audio podcast. Um, there will be a link in the description as well. Right. Uh, Lisa is saying, I'm starting to wonder if I may have an issue with the build up of calcium in the blood vessels in my lower legs. Stephen. Hey. That's me. I understand that serum is not the best way to test for high calcium in the body. Can you tell me the name of the other calcium that would show a more accurate picture? Yes, I can do that. Ionized calcium. That's the best test. It measures the biologically active form of calcium in the blood, which is not bound to proteins. That's the big thing that's about it. And it's a more accurate reflection of the body's calcium status. Like Steve I missed that then. Ionized are fantastic. Did I not say clear. And I'm sorry about that. You did. Sorry. Ionize the gaps right. Oh yes. And you can also do a 24 hour urine calcium test. This measures the amount of calcium excreted. Now this is one of the things that is common. If you want to test iodine. Whether you're deficient, you do an iodine clearance test or if you you know other things, you can you can get a urine test that show your body's workings. So for instance, iodine, using that as an example, you have 100 units of iodine in your drink. You drink it. And then over 24 hours a year in is analyzed. And if in that urine there's 100 units of iodine, you haven't got an iron iodine deficiency. So you can also do a 24 hour calcium one. Um, calcium is strictly regulated in the body. All the biochemistry in the blood. Ten years have been doing, uh, well, longer than that, but ten years. Low carb, keto and carnivore bloods. And the biochemistry, the serum. Uh, biochemistry is so tightly regulated, the things like the ionized calcium is a much better test. But they are expensive. And whether you can get that from your doctor without having to pay extra money is a thing. Um, you might have to, um, contest with. Right. So, Richard, you mentioned the other week that taking collagen before bed was better to repair injuries, etc.. Can you explain why, please? Yes. Fine and simple. The body heals and repairs when we're sleeping. So if we take, uh, collagen or protein, for that matter, before bed, this is going to. And I'm not talking eating a meal now and then going straight to sleep. Although with a collar and drink, you can if you add collagen peptides to some water or drink some bone broth, for example, that's not going to interfere with any sleep. Um, we're told not to eat before bed. I eat probably an hour or two before I go to bed, and if I don't, then I seriously suffer with, uh, with sleep disturbances. Um, eating before bed works well for me. It doesn't work well for everybody. But in regards to collagen, it's so little that it's not going to interrupt any sleep. But it will help aid and repair. But with collagen, don't consume collagen when you consume any other protein or any other food for that matter. Um, the collagen, the amino acids within the collagen will compete for absorption with the amino acids from any dietary protein that you consume. It doesn't mean that none will get absorbed. It just means that the bioavailability or the amount that's going to be absorbed is going to be less. So try to take your collagen supplements. If you're taking collagen, um, again, two hours either side of a meal, uh, if you are. Obtaining your collagen from, um, bone broth, then treated the same way. Uh. Drink it. Uh, two hours besides either side of a meal. Now, obviously, when you eat in the, uh, the collagen compounds found in chicken bones, in the knuckles. So when I talk about the chicken bones, I don't know if people actually understand that. I mean, the natural. Not not just like the the the fluffy, stringy bits on the end, the actual knuckle right on the bone. I eat these because they're jam packed with collagen. Um, that might sound absolutely disgusting to most people, but it's it's jam packed full of college and incredibly good for you. If you are eating chicken, then just try it. Um, or, you know, take the time and try to, uh, boil the bones down and create some bone broth for, uh, some type two collagen, which is, uh, predominant in, in, in chickens. Um, but you can obtain all the college you need from, from diet and lifestyle. Again, you know, we've I think we covered this last night, Steve. My memories, um, all these days and lies are melding into one still suffering with the effects of the 24 hour labeling. Uh, but the connective tissue on the bones, on the beef and things that we eat, or any animals for that matter, uh, particularly lamb really high in collagen, as Stephen mentioned in one of the videos he's done, uh, which is had like a million views or something. The, uh, the skin on the outside of an egg, which separates the, the egg itself from, from the shell is jam packed full of collagen. So we can get these things from from diet. Obviously when we are eating those we are co consuming them with the animal proteins. But this is how nature intended. But the reason I take it separately is just to increase that bioavailability. So if you do consume it any other time it doesn't mean that you're not absorbing. It's just not optimal. Um, if you are supplementing with collagen to get the best bang for your buck, uh, that's when I would suggest or first thing in the morning you can consume it in the morning. Also, um, I tend to consume it twice a day, but I'm. I take it before bed. The I don't always take it in the morning. I'll be honest, I do forget. But I do eat a lot of collagen from the foods that I consume also. But the last. The reason that I suggest that we consume it just before bed. Yeah, there's an additional question from Lucy which says to add to my first question does collagen activate mTOR? Marxism is Marxism. We all know Marxism once said that you shouldn't count towards overall protein. Do you agree? How much collagen a day would you recommend? Yeah. So I agree with the M2 activation. It um, this the two amino acids in particular there will elicit an mTOR response leucine which is an anabolic amino acid. This is how we signal the body to heal and repair. So this will activate what we discussed earlier which is more complex. One um, this will allow us to heal and repair and grow. So this isn't just about bodybuilding. When we talk about M2 activation and building muscle, people think that we, you know, it's all about this. This is about building and healing every cell in our body, including bone, um, brain cells, uh, the protein help with the metabolism and digestion, healing and repairing, uh, increasing immunity and all these sorts of things. So these compounds are important for doing all of these things. Um, so M2 activation is important. Uh, there's not enough leucine or alanine or alanine, depending on what part of the world you come from, uh, in college in to elicit a response. So you can take collagen during a fasted state and you will not break a fast, in my opinion. Um, do you agree? Uh. We should. Oh. Where are we? Um. So they shouldn't be counted towards total protein. Um, I wouldn't, because, again, if we're looking at a protein, I'm looking at healing and repair in the body. And again, collagen heals and repairs specific parts of the body. But they do these separately. So um, type one for example, is going to heal and repair hair. Skin heals tendons, joints, ligaments, uh arterial wall uh type three, which is particularly bovine. That's going to help with intestinal permeability and heal and repair the gut. Um, so yeah, I'd go along with that. I wouldn't count it towards overall protein. Uh, how much collagen. You don't need an awful lot. You don't need an awful lot. Um. Nine grams a day is probably going to be enough for most people. If you are super active or you have an injury, then maybe twice that amount. It is going to be different for everybody. We had a similar question yesterday on the live, you know, how much MCT air, and I think there was another one in regards to something about how much something else. These things are different with everybody. It depends on your body's requirement. It depends how active you are. Uh, whether you have a preexisting condition, whether you're damaged. Um, but I wouldn't I wouldn't advise you to collagen from a dietary perspective, but they can be an argument to avoid collagen if you do have things like oxalate dumping. Uh, as Matthew mentioned last week, uh, glycine and hydroxy proline, which are two amino acids that are found, uh, in college. And this is what makes collagen, um, they can they're treated as waste, uh, when, when the body breaks them down from either from amino acids, um, so they can lead to oxide build up. And the other which is more common is histamine. So for some reason, uh, we can we can suffer with histamine intolerances if we, uh, supplement too greatly with a collagen supplement. Um, I shouldn't really say this to people because I sell collagen, so I sell collagen supplements, but I offer I always offer full disclosure on everything. Um, you know, I don't come on these labels to sell products. Uh, if you are suffering with a histamine problem and you are taking a collagen supplement, then you know I would take it out. Uh, and this includes bone broth, which is incredibly natural. Um, so I take it out and see if that does, uh, solve that problem. Or you can supplement with a kidney supplement, which I don't sell, by the way. Or you can take kidney, you can eat kidney. Kidney as high in diamine oxidase, uh, which will help with histamine intolerances. So again, look, we're all different. Um, how much a person needs is going to depend on that individual, but, you know, I consume around 18g a day, give or take. I mean, 20g is usually two scoops. I take once, once or twice a day, one scoop twice a day. Um, but it's very much an individual project. The thing when it comes to collagen is it's not one of those things, you know, does anything with. So, you know, if you drink a cup of coffee, for example, which I wouldn't know about anymore because I'm now coming into my sixth week of being coffee free. Never mind the fact that I was highly addicted to coffee prior to this mine, but. Um, you know, when you drink a cup of coffee, it's a stimulant. You. You know that you've drunk a cup of coffee. Um, you know, if you're hungry and you eat a meal, you know that you've had food. Now with collagen. It does everything behind the scenes. It's almost something. It's one of these things that many people don't even notice the positive benefits. It's one of those things that you tend to notice when you take back out. Well, when you stop eating, you know, the knuckles off the bone and the connective tissue or consuming your bone broth. Um, so it's a very tricky one. Collagen. Uh, but again, it does make up. It's the structural protein in the body. And it is essential. So we we do need collagen from, from our diet, uh, or through supplementation. Brilliant. Uh, Lisa has asked a question. I'll have a I'll have a go at it first, Richard, because there's a couple of things that are not really nutrition related that might be, um, might be part of the answer. So Lisa, sign does a faint oil sheen in the toilet when I have a bowel movement, and a lot of oil ended up in my bathwater when I bathe, indicate that I'm not absorbing fats well, or that I am eating too much fat. I have been carnivore for one year, and figured that I would have, and figured that I would have thought that my liver would be making sufficient amount of bile by now to absorb the amount of fat that I eat. And the reason I want to dive in here is it could be the hard water. Uh, if you've got if you're living in a hard water area that will have minerals in it like calcium and magnesium, and that can actually leave a film, the only reason I'm saying that is because of the two things you mentioned, which is the bath and the toilet. If it was just a bath, that could be sea bum, that could be excessive production of that. You know, if you're using, um. You like skincare products or if you just produce a little bit more sebum and if it's in the toilet, then that can be by oils and fats. But because it's both. I think it might be the water. So there is a way to do this. You get other people to use those facilities and, uh, you know, somehow surreptitiously look to see if there's a film, uh, you know, if you've got a partner that's happy with you doing that. Um, but yes, I think because it's those two things, I. My money's on hard water or the type of water and the type of minerals that are in the water supply. But do you have anything you want to add to that, Richard? No, I think yeah, I agree. I think you've nailed it. Thank you very much. Do try my best. Uh, I am open for questions, by the way. But, Richard, you know, everyone loves the electrolytes and the MCT and all that sort of question, so. And I'm happy to just stand here and, um, let people ask. And here's another one. Uh, Melissa is saying, hello, Melissa, by the way, good to see you. At present I cannot buy from New Zealand from you or can I? Okay. So we do you know, we used to ship to New Zealand to you. Goodness. Lisa Moore was her name. Steve. Award winning author. I really can't remember one of the first podcast that I ever went on. So I can't think of. I think, in fact, I look when when Stephen's answering one of the next questions. Um, so there was an author, award winning author in New Zealand. Um, she reversed her mum's terminal cancer, so her mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Five years later, she's out riding a bike and training five days a week. Um, through diet, through adopting a ketogenic lifestyle. Um, you can't make this stuff up. So she, um, she wrote a book, and it was a an award winning book. Now, she used to stock my products in New Zealand, and the cost to ship there became incredibly expensive. So she hasn't stocked any for a while, But if she knew that she had a constant supply and the demand was there, then I'm sure that we can organize something and send it to to Lisa in bulk so she could then sell her on to you for for less than it would cost for you to ship direct. We can get a quotation. So again, anyone listening who wants to buy product anywhere in the world, we can ship anywhere. Um, what you'll need to do. And I'll drop this in the chat. Um, if you email the following email address and explain that you're looking to get product shipped to your address. Um, pass on your address in there and we will get a quotation from several courier companies. We don't make anything on the carriage. The the carriage you pay is what we were charged by the courier company. Um, is either going to be worth it for you or it's not, you know, but it's, um, New Zealand. The thing is, with that, with our products, we are considerably more expensive than the most other brands. Um, and I dare say around half the price of something that isn't even as good quality as I was. Um, so it could be a case that the extra coverage offsets the cost of you buy in, said the brand in New Zealand or America or whatever else you are in the world. Uh, but that is going to be very much an individual choice. But send it through to there. We'll get a quotation for you and we can go from there. Excellent. Could you say out loud the email address as well for the audio podcast? I can indeed it's info at Quito hyphen Proko UK. As a side note also we mentioned yesterday I am working with Fedex in regards to setting up a DDP system, which means when you go to checkout, um, the full carriage costs will be there, available anywhere in the world and it will include any potential duties. And this is the other reason that it becomes difficult with shipping since Brexit. Um, shipping abroad is very, very difficult and many countries um, uh, charge duty and it can change from state to state in the US. It can change from locations in the same country. Uh, some locations in some countries don't. They don't they don't get charged duty and others do. And then it leads to nasty emails from customers. You didn't say that I was going to be charged. The reason that I don't say is I don't know. We don't know when we're going to be charged. But with this integration, which is going to cost a lot of money to do, it'll all be there pre-set. Um, but it is going to take a couple of weeks to, to, to get set up. But something to watch, watch out for for the future. Yeah. I'm sorry for the cough there. By the way. I was watching the football last night, so being a bloke, I was shouting at the television screen, but they do actually hear me. Uh, because I said please lose at the end. And they did. So there you go. Right now, uh, does carnivore help to reverse peripheral arterial disease, which is basically the arteries that supply the limbs. So normally the lower legs people are thinking about or numbness, cramping those sort of things. Uh, I'll just put my two pennies in. Yes. It does help to reverse the symptoms of peripheral arterial disease. That doesn't say it removes the blockage. I think it does, but we can't prove that. But it definitely improves symptoms. So people will say, ah, that tingling had in my fingers, those cramps in my legs. They've all gone since I've been carnivore. It's plenty. Plenty of, um, success stories on my YouTube channel got over a 200 video success stories and over a thousand reviews, and many often say about their peripheral arterial disease, but they don't mention it in that way, by the way. They just say, I had cramps that have gone or, you know, there's some things like that just even like hair growth on your legs, you know, that actually improves. There's loads of things. Just the color as well, color of the skin. People say that they have, um, no coldness. There's loads of different things that happen with this way of eating. It's down to systemic inflammation actually reducing. I think that's that's the main reason. But of course if you take the illness or condition name peripheral arterial disease, they're talking about atherosclerotic plaques in the arteries. Do they go um, I would say they do. But some people say you can't prove that. So, uh, the improved blood flow of the heart rate, improving blood pressure, lowering all of these things sort of indicate that that is actually, um, something that's happening. Yeah, I agree. And I think, you know, Stephen, you and I have seen a number of studies which would suggest that you can reverse it to some degree, how much, you know, we're unsure of. But again, just to echo what you've said, it's um, it's this information that is the cause of almost every illness and disease that we know of. The root cause is, is always an inflammatory response. Um, ketones, beta hydroxybutyrate blocks a pathway called Nlrp3 inflammasome, which is, uh, a downstream pathway of uh necrosis factor, uh kappa B, I think it is, which is is responsible for most of the inflammatory cytokines and chemokines within the body. When we block this, we block our body's ability to, to become inflamed. Um, now it does that as one aspect. But as Stephen said, when we are not consuming the compounds that are causing it secondary, which are typically things like excess carbohydrates, seed oils, seeds, predominantly seed oils cause more insulin resistance than excess carbohydrates do. Uh, we're not consuming damaging compounds like the grains, which are higher in wheat gluten in. We've removed plants. If you carnivore we're removing plants. So we're removing fight or hemagglutinin. Uh, nuts and seeds. We're removing the fighting acids, um, along with things like synergetic glycosides. And so all of these things contain lots of compounds which can cause an inflammatory response. And when you remove them, there's no information BHB is there to help aid and repair any other current inflammation. And then we have its ability to increase mechanical efficiency of the heart. So, um, you know, studies have shown that it will increase mechanical efficiency of the heart by as much as 35%. Uh, we had, um, Doctor Ovadia on to 24 alive. And this is a question that I put to him. Um, and he confirmed that, yes, it is possible to if the heart is in a stressed state, it will allow it to improve how much it improves in a healthy state. Um, you know, we're unsure of, uh, but if you are suffering with these issues of our school system, it's quite possible that your heart is, uh, isn't functioning to its full capacity. Um, it increases blood flow by as much as 70%. So all of these contributing factors, not only are they aid in to heal and repair, but we're removing the main, uh, contributing factor that's causing that inflammation. And that's what many, uh, within the medical industry, I believe, done. And again, just to reiterate what Stephens mentioned earlier, I think we've mentioned this isn't medical advice, Stephen, and I can't give medical advice. Um, but. Your doctor probably won't tell you to remove a compound that's causing it. They'll just off your medication. Um, doctors are trained in medicines. They trained to treat a symptom, not look at the root cause. And that's what we do as as nutritionists. Um, and the best way to do this is live in this lifestyle, because this seems to this is the the complete elimination diet. Um, by living this, we remove all of the compounds without question that could be causing an issue. And then we start to feel better. Now Stephen says blood flows better. Um, healing, and repair and becomes better. BHB supply superior energy and so on and so forth. So I genuinely believe that living this lifestyle is the healthiest way to live, and the best approach to heal and repair in any issue that a person is suffering with. Um, Parkinson's? Dementia, Alzheimer's. We don't know if we can reverse these, but we've seen we've seen that the progression stopped dead in its tracks by changing lifestyle. Um, for a number of reasons, but it's, um, it cancer and Stevens worked with cancer patients. I've worked with two cancer patients. Um, I did a podcast recently, and Stevens did a podcast with him also, um, Andrew Scarborough, who was given three months to live. Uh, 11 years later, he's still pushing forward. Um, this is how powerful the lifestyle is. And I genuinely believe that to be the case. If if we are suffering with any injury, any problem, any illness, um, I wouldn't hesitate to, to to suggest someone gravitate into this way of eating. Yeah. And I mean, the CAC score of, of, uh, one of my guests went from 240 down to 14. Well, I mean, these are facts. So that is a reversal of the calcium in the artery. Uh, and even this proof, people who find hard to believe, they just don't want to believe it, right? Um, so I think we've nailed that answer, right? Mike is asking if we have time. We do have time. Um, I think we're going to finish before the top of the hour. So yeah, we can definitely do this. But it's a, it's a it's one of those questions that I hate this thing. True or false. Because one of us could go through the other one could go false. But we will back up the answer. Sugar has a negative effect on the body every time we consume it. Well, I'd say false because there will always be always be examples where you can say it's got a positive effect. And this is because I work with diabetics. If I got someone hypoglycemic and they can't exercise, I tell you what, that sugar is going to have a positive effect. Why they went hypoglycemic is because of the sugar management or the way that they are dosing their insulin. So there is there is a true the false thing. If you go through what is what are the benefits of sugar. Um, you can say there's lots of good benefits, but then if you go to the root cause, you know, well, it was the sugar in the first place. So if you look at it as a quick energy source, why do you need a quick energy source? Well, because you're not fat adapted. So is it true and a false thing. Uh, here's a true one in enhances taste. Now, for some people, that's absolutely, categorically true. Except when I've been eating this way a long time and they go back to the thing they used to eat three years ago that they used to love. And they literally say, wow, that is so sweet. I don't like that anymore. Um, so that would be another one. Um, and then that goes in hand-in-hand with mood and pleasure as well, because some people will say, oh, I used to love donuts. Oh, and then, you know, I have this in coaching. Someone will say, last week they said, I still have Krispy Kreme donuts. And I fell for it. Stephen, I went the weekend. I could smell them. I could see them because I got like a little factory where I could see them being made. And I had one. Oh boy, it was awful, I hated it. I can't believe I threw it in the bin. So I think it's a great question because you can't deny those benefits initially, but you have to look at why people saying that in the first place, you know, and even as we age, our tastes and palate change. So when I was 23, for instance, and my stepfather used to have Bournville dark chocolate, I think, oh, my word is black chocolate. This is horrible. How can anyone eat this? This, this chocolate has no milky stuff. It's not sweet or anything. I used to hate this dark chocolate. Well, now, if it's not 90%, I wouldn't touch it. And to be honest, even then, it's just like a square. Maybe once every two weeks. Because it's not. It's not the same. So I love the question. But anyway, I'll hand over to Richard. You probably have a much better answer that I just come up with. Spot on. It's like a glucose is essential for life. We can't live without it, but the body makes all of the glucose that we need. Um, every cell in the body contains glucose, uh, in the form of polysaccharide, and it's around 2%. So the weight of of the average cell in the human body, 2% of that is polysaccharide, 70% is water. Um, so excluding the water, we're left with 30% or 2% of that. 30 uh, is is polysaccharide the predominate is protein. So 18% of the weight of the average human cell is protein. Um, so it's the highest compound excluding the water. The next is fat which is 5%. So sugar is considerably lower than everything else. But it is essential. The beauty is we can create this. We can create all of the of the sugar that we need through gluconeogenesis. So gluconeogenesis is a similar pathway to glycolysis in reverse bar three steps which are slightly different. And it involves using lactate or lipid or even protein in order to create uh, to create glucose. Um, we don't need eggs or exogenous sources of glucose. Um, that said, we would have consumed some during our evolutionary period, but this would have been seasonal. So it depends on where you are in the world. Um, for me, in the UK, uh, this would have been in the form of berries, which would have come into into season at the end of the summer in order to fatten me up, ready for a cold winter. Berries then, didn't resemble the way the berries look today. All of the foods, the vegetables and the fruits that we see today have been hybridized have been bred and um, uh, let, uh, interbred basically to produce a bigger yield, to sell more product and to taste sweeter and so on and so forth. These things many years ago looked very, very different, but we would have consumed some. The problem with glucose is in modern day we consume far too much. We consume it not just every day, but we consume excessive amounts daily. And then there lies the problem. So yeah, it's I think it again, it's it. I agree with Steve. It is a benefit. Um, but it. Exogenous in excess of amounts is going to lead to a negative effect. Ultimately, we don't need sugar through a diet. Does that mean you can't eat it? I'm not telling you can't eat sugar. It depends on what your goals are. Just understand that you don't need it. There are two cells in the body, um, that require glucose. Uh, one is the erythrocyte or the red blood cell, and another is the glutamatergic, glutamatergic neurotransmitters in the brain. Now these cells do not have mitochondria. And only mitochondria can use ketones for energy. So these need Brian getting bored. Sorry, Brian. So only these can use glucose. Um, but again, just to reiterate, we make all of the glucose that we need. So our requirement for exogenous glucose is zero. Yeah. Great. Now India has got a question on the school community. Uh, hello. If a person has gallstones, which does not cause problems, is it wise to avoid dairy products and all supplements containing calcium? I saw that some normal electronic products have added calcium. Or am I completely wrong? I decided to follow a carnivore diet which also which should also have a higher proportion of fat. Doctors say that this should be avoided. What experience or recommendations do you have in this regard? Any advice is greatly appreciated. So just to summarize, if a person has gallstones which are not causing problems, is it wise to avoid dairy products and all supplements containing calcium? al-Sham, a massive bugbear of mine. Um, I'll get into this if we've got time after. But, um, I don't think we should be taking, uh, calcium as a supplement unless we have calcium issues. Um, I don't see an issue to remove that. No. Gallstones is usually caused by inadequate choline. We need choline, uh, in order to transport the bile. Uh, and it's it's cholesterol basically built up that hasn't been transported, which has led to, to gallstones. Um, so consuming choline would would be the answer. Eat lots of eggs. Eat lots of animal proteins. Consume the fats. Don't fear the fats. We need choline in order to transport this and allow the fats to, um, to to emulsify the the amino acids, the proteins and the fats that we consume. Um, not a lover of supplementing with calcium. I don't see a reason to avoid it, particularly through diet. Unless you suffer with intestinal permeability or you're over consuming calcium and you're suffering with leg cramps, um, uh, or migraines and things. In my case, if I consume too much calcium, it'll lead to a migraine. I get lots of triggers for migraines, but calcium is a big contributor. Um, but, yeah, I mean, consume more choline, eat the natural fats. Uh, avoid supplementing with calcium. But if you if your magnesium to calcium ratio is right within your diet, and I don't see a reason that you need to suffer, uh, to, to restrict, um, any other form of dairy unless you suffer with intestinal permeability. If you've got anything to add, Steve. Now. I think that's that's great. And I'm, uh. I thought that was going to be the last question. Um. Please, people, can you, uh, we've only got an hour. Make sure the question is in nice and early. So we've got, uh, just if you could do a very quick answer. Richard, when can we buy the new unflavored electrolytes? Um, we're planning to produce this within the next 2 to 3 months. So they're going to be asked to something three, three, three, not three as the last three. Um, so they are going to taste a lot better. Just it's a way easier, uh, drink than, than drinking one with the artisan thing. So very, very soon is the short answer. Yes. Okay. And Lisa has just said, uh, any thoughts on a short stint of dry fasting to help boost reversal of Pls, which is primary lateral cirrhosis, a rare and neuromuscular disease that is so, um, dry, fast and help. Do you know? I don't know, um, I've never even tried dry fasting because, um, I say, um, I haven't tried for extended periods of time because if I go too long without consuming, uh, water, it leads to to dehydration in my case, which further contributes to to migraine. So I need to stay hydrated. And I know that goes against everything that people say in regards to the science with the fat cells and things holding water. But it doesn't work for me, so I've never gone into it to look into the detail in regards to the benefits we did have. Um, one of the guys in the 24 hour fast go into the benefits of dry fasting. It's not one that seems to benefit with me, and I don't know an awful lot about it, but I'm sure Steve does. Yeah, I mean I have dry fasted, I would say in this particular condition, which is all about the sort of stiffness or getting rid of stiffness and muscle weakness. I don't think it's going to help with reversal. It might actually bring on some symptoms. In saying that dry fasting is very good for like body composition and removing sort of stubborn fat. Uh, if you've not fasted before, which is not eating fasting, it's not eating basically. Um, if you haven't done that, then, uh, you can have a water fast, which is good. You just stay hydrated and you're not eating if you do a dry fast, um, that's no water as well. So you literally ingest absolutely nothing. It is something you can do on a short term as well. I mean, if you thought, um, it sounds like that's really interesting, make sure you've, you've done a water fast few times beforehand. You can do 18 hours 24 hours. Get good at fasting. And then you could try a dry fast. But that is something I think, uh, you need more sort of 1 to 1 coaching on to start with. But it can be beneficial but probably not in this situation. So anyway, that's great. Thank you for listening on the audio podcast. Thank you for turning up on school. I am going to stop the recording to the cloud. So, um that's great. Thank.