PK Nutrition

Paleo-Keto Lifestyle

A paleo-keto diet takes the best of paleo and keto science and combines them into a lifestyle much akin to our paleolithic ancestors. Both diets are low in carbohydrate, high in fat, moderate in protein and fibre. The only difference is that keto is lower in carbohydrate than paleo. The starting point is a paleo lifestyle. This can be all that is needed to heal many chronic health issues. If it does not, then further intervention is needed and a paleo-keto lifestyle is encouraged. The paleo lifestyle is for the rest of your life, whereas a paleo-keto lifestyle should be seen as a treatment for a period of time to heal the brain and the body. If you are not sure about trying paleo or keto, then I recommend that you just give it a go for 28 days, see how you feel and then decide if you want to continue with this way of living.

Why Paleo?

I support a paleo lifestyle because it aligns with the biology shaped by our ancient ancestors. Homo sapiens have existed for roughly 300,000 years. For the vast majority of that time, humans lived as hunter-gatherers, relying on whole, natural foods and active lifestyles. The agricultural revolution began only about 12,000 years ago, when humans started settling and farming. In evolutionary terms, that represents just about 4% of our time on Earth. In other words, our biology was formed over tens of thousands of generations adapted to a hunter-gatherer way of living.

Consider how recent some dietary changes really are. Widespread wheat cultivation dates back around 5,000 years — roughly 1–2% of human existence. Industrially processed foods, meanwhile, have only been common for the past 80 years — a tiny fraction of our history.

Given how rapidly our food environment has changed compared with the slow pace of human evolution, it’s no surprise that modern societies are experiencing unprecedented levels of chronic disease. A paleo approach seeks to bridge that gap by prioritizing whole foods and lifestyle habits that more closely reflect the conditions under which humans evolved.

Why keto?

The aim of a PK diet is to help you to achieve Nutritional Ketosis, where your body is enabled to burn fat for fuel instead of just glucose. When this happens you become a Fat Burning Animal! This is sometimes called Fat Adapted or Metabolically Flexible. You can achieve nutritional ketosis by eating a very low carbohydrate diet, with lots of healthy fats and moderate amounts of protein and fibre.

Burning ketones for energy (alongside a small amount of glucose) is a much cleaner source of energy for our cells. In addition, reducing the amount of glucose in your gut helps to heal the gut, immune system, nervous system and hormonal system. As well as reducing inflammation, being fat adapted also stabilises blood glucose, preventing metabolic syndrome which can lead to many health disorders including diabetes and obesity.

A keto diet, like a paleo, is not only satiating, but satisfying and energising and once in nutritional ketosis many good things start to happen including: more sustained energy, increased mental clarity, a calmer digestive system, reduced anxiety, less cravings, improved sleep and clearer skin.

Though it sounds simple it is actually quite challenging to achieve and that is why it is best to work with a professional to help you get there. Once fat adapted you can add back in healthy carbohydrates, but this is very individual, and I help guide you through the process of cyclical carbohydrate feasting.

Try it for 28 days:

For 28 days of a PK lifestyle you will not be relying on willpower or calorie-restricted eating which is painfully boring, difficult to stick to and has been proven to be ineffective long-term. If you love delicious food including meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits and a flexible eating plan, then you will enjoy PK living. If you have a big appetite and carbohydrate cravings or if you have yo-yo dieted in the past and feel that your metabolism is slower than it used to be, PK living is just what you need. Also, if you feel that you need more energy, increased mental clarity, a calmer digestive system, reduced anxiety , less cravings, improved sleep and clearer skin, then this lifestyle is for you.

Help is on hand throughout these 28 days, as I will be in touch daily to ensure you make the necessary changes to your diet and lifestyle to enable you to achieve optimum health; your ultimate personal physical and emotional well-being. 

 

Your clinical picture and health history is assessed by:

  • Firstly a free 20-minute discovery call.
  • An initial 1-hour face-to-face appointment – online or in-person.
  • A completed Medical Symptoms Questionnaire (MSQ). The MSQ, designed by the Institute for Functional Medicine, provides a comprehensive baseline of your health status, measuring health indicators from head to toe, all of which are impacted by nutrition and lifestyle.
  • A 3-day food diary to give me an idea of where you are now with your nutritional status.

Testing with Regenerus Labs

To support my work with clients I run a full range of functional testing, working directly with Regenerus Labs. Regenerus offer over 150 tests, so if during my work with you, if we feel that testing is necessary to decide on a course of action, then we can choose which is the best test for you.

If a client is showing symptoms of adrenal and thyroid fatigue, then I tend to test this early on, as it is difficult to follow a paleo-keto lifestyle, and get into nutritional ketosis, without fully functioning adrenal and thyroid glands. Other than that, initially I go by what I uncover in previous GP (or other) blood test results and the client’s clinical picture and health history, the latter of which I find a much more valuable diagnostic tool than any blood test will reveal.

 

Get in touch

If you want to take control of your health then get in touch with me today and book a free 20 minute initial consultation so we can get you started on the path to a healthier version of you.