How to Piece Together the Puzzle of Chronic Illnesses Like Mold and Lyme Exposure with Shawn Bean

How to Piece Together the Puzzle of Chronic Illnesses Like Mold and Lyme Exposure with Shawn Bean

Shawn Bean is a Clinical Nutritionist who has a mind for putting the puzzles pieces of complex cases, like mold and Lyme, together. His unique ability to see the big picture and link symptoms to genetic expression is forward-thinking. Moving away from a specialist mentality to offer more generalist type care, says Shawn Bean, is the way we’ll begin to repair our health. Using specialized tests like the Organic Acids Test, he dives into each one for connections that can’t be made with a typical glance of “normal”/”not normal” lab results.

With a Bachelor of Science degree in Clinical Nutrition from West Chester University, Shawn Bean continues to further his own education through PubMed articles, genetic studies and more to help clients, practitioners and doctors to put the pieces of these complex puzzles like mold or Lyme exposure together to begin the healing for their bodies.  Together with Michael McEvoy, Shawn Bean runs a mentorship — Metabolic Healing –where they teach other practitioners how to utilize these tools, like the Organic Acids Test, to take their clients and patients toward health and healing. He also sees clients in his private practice at Matrix Health.

Shawn believes that AI and self-tracking can open up insights for individuals that would never have been able to access these insights. He also offers support for those who need help understanding what will take them the 60-100% of the way that tracking alone and self-investigation may not be able to take you. 

Listen in iTunes!

This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up, a web app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health!

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In this podcast you’ll learn:

  • About Shawn Bean’s role models: Arnold Schwartzenegger and Frank Zane. How he learned to change his body from a pretty in-shape guy to a pre-contest guy in 16 weeks, doing it with a healthy mindset [4:10]
  • That Shawn Bean’s health journey really began after his last bodybuilding show. After years of exposure to mold, it was a gradual decline. He found himself with an out-of-sync circadian rhythm which led to weight gain [6:07]
  • How he used to train in a basement that would flood with water in the 1980s where he was initially exposed to mold. Later, exposed to black mold, everything went down from there [8:02]  
  • How he lost 100 lbs lean muscle tissue in 9 months and got depressed. Then after a GI test, discovered he had infections in his gut. This led to hormone replacement therapy, including testosterone and thyroid hormones [9:00]
  • After looking online for answers, he found himself in PubMed articles where he realized he could put patterns together fast [10:20]
  • What looked to be a curse turned into a blessing. Diagnosed around age 40 with Aspergers, Shawn has been able to bring his body back to a better balance through genetic support and other supports [12:50]
  • “There are too many specialists out there and not enough generalists.” [15:15]
  • How Shawn Bean doesn’t ask his clients to fill out questionnaires. He knows it’s hard to fill out paperwork when you’re chronically ill. Instead, he asks them to use a timeline and describe what they think is wrong with them [17:02]
  • He breaks health issues down into three pillars: environmental, emotional and pathogens [18:00]
  • What trans-generational issues encompass and how they can show up in children and their parents based on family experiences including autism [18:40]
  • Why focusing on the parent’s preconception risks will reduce genetic expression in future generations by addressing nutrient deficiencies, emotional traumas, and toxicities, gene expression, etc. [20:04]
  • The Organic Acids Test (OAT) has markers that can help tell if you have stored or active mold in your system through a marker for cell permeability off of the phosphatidylcholine pathway. If you’re heterozygous or homozygous for MTHFD1 or PEMT the cell will lock up and go into a danger response and will hold onto that material and not let it go. You store toxins in the tissues, as the body is trying to protect you from the damage [21:15]
  • Trans-generational stress can go back 16 generations according to some studies. For example, if Shawn tracks a person’s heritage back and finds that they’re Native American they are going to have a higher rate of PTSD, as well as descendants of Holocaust survivors [22:30]
  • How quantum healing allows one person to do the spiritual/emotional/energetic work and affect multiple generations positively [24:05]
  • Shawn and Dave discuss Ayahuasca, mushrooms and other plant-based modalities to help heal trans-generational traumas [24:45]
  • Shawn utilizes the Organic Acid Test by Great Plains, DUTCH Complete hormone test, and general bloodwork to narrow down if clients are dealing with pathogens, toxins, gut dysbiosis, fungal, mold, yeast, candida, h. pylori, etc. The Organic Acid Test helps to show genetic expression, rather than to test genes specifically which he finds most useful over standard genetic testing like 23 and Me [28:02]
  • The problem with functional medicine is that it’s still not looking at the whole big picture, but focusing instead on a specialty.  “Mast cell activation is becoming the new MTHFR” [32:15]
  • “The issue I’m seeing with these complex cases is that they fall into what is called protocols or Standards of Care.” Hear more about why these are important, but also how they are also limiting in the complex cases [34:25]
  • AI is phenomenal but there has to be human interaction to take you the last 60-100% [36:50]
  • How Shawn can find Lyme with a probability of 70%, for less than $16 [40:42]
  • How Michael McEvoy and Shawn Bean run a mentoring group for practitioners where they teach these concepts [46:10]
  • The testosterone-estrogen ratios and how they have affected Shawn Bean for years and how he works to support it, and why the sub-ratio patterns matter [48:50]
  • One of the first things you can do is to look at your water source. Are you drinking good water? Visit www.scorecard.org to find out more about your water supply and what toxins are in it [54:00]
  • Having a gene doesn’t necessarily set you on a certain fate like mold toxicity or Lyme disease, but looking at the gene expression and the presenting symptoms is where you heal [54:30]
  • Why Facebook groups for chronic illness can either be a blessing or a curse [57:00]
  • “The more we move away from nature, the sicker we become.” [58:30]
  • Those with NAT gene expression are more EMF sensitive as it fuels the adrenal pathway [58:50]

References

Metabolic Healing Institute – Metabolic Healing Practitioner Mentoring 

matrixhealthwell@gmail.com

www.scorecard.org

Our Partners:

Learn more about LEVL, a clinical-grade ketone breath meter, which measures your level of fat-burning and ketosis through a simple breath. Find out more at HeadsUpHealth.com/LEVL.

You can learn more about the Oura ring, a state of the art ring that can track sleep cycle analysis, activity, and recovery at HeadsUpHealth.com/Oura.

Learn more about Keto-Mojo, a highly accurate and affordable device for testing blood sugar and blood ketones. Check it out at HeadsUpHealth.com/Ketomojo.

All of these amazing products are integrated with Heads Up.

They all allow you to quantify your health in novel and powerful ways.

Thank you to our partners!

About Heads Up

Heads Up is a website designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health.

Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now!

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Top 11 Genes for Keto Diet Success

Top 11 Genes for Keto Diet Success

Setting Yourself up for Success

Whether you’re ready to dive into the ketogenic diet for the first time, or you’ve tried it in the past and didn’t achieve the results you’d hoped, this article is for you! Using your genes for your methylation status, digestion and to help you avoid metabolic syndrome, we walk you through Sarah Morgan’s work in using your genetics to optimize the keto diet for you.

Genetics, through the study of epigenetics, can provide a framework for understanding why we react to our food and environment in a certain way, and why the same diet produces different results in individuals. Why do some people do exceptionally well from the beginning with a ketogenic diet while others struggle? Well, genetics may play a large part in that.

Due to the large increase in the quantity of fats consumed on the ketogenic diet, some people may struggle to be able to break down those fats and turn them into ketones for energy and brain power. It turns out that this is often due to several genes that affect how we process fats in our bodies. 

Whether you want to focus on more of a traditional keto diet, a carnivore diet or a ketotarian diet, your success will come down to what your genes need to support them. So, you can see why knowing this information before beginning a dietary shift like this can be beneficial.

Just like you don’t have to fall victim to the keto flu with proper support, you also don’t have to struggle to get into ketosis if you know ahead of time how to navigate what your unique body needs.

The following genetic interpretations and information are based on the work of Sarah Morgan, the “Gene Queen.”  (Make sure to check out her podcast episode). So grab your Nutrition Genome, 23 and Me or other genetic SNP report and learn how you can customize the keto diet based on your SNPs. Make sure to sign up to track your data with the Heads Up app (download in the app store for on-the-go tracking), where you can directly sync your blood test results with your food tracker, Keto Mojo, blood sugar, HRV, sleep and more.

Reading a Genetic Report

When interpreting genetic data, you will commonly see plus and minus signs next to the gene.  The more plus signs you see, the more variants of that gene you have. Use the following to interpret them if they are not already labeled as such:

  • -/-  Normal or Wild Type
  • +/- or -/+ Heterozygous
  • +/+ Homozygous
# 1 Gene: PEMT

What it does: Makes choline to support liver functioning. The liver needs to converts fats to ketones, so this is super important with the keto diet for keeping the liver healthy and not bogged down processing the increased fat in the diet. Choline is also supportive of brain health for memory and cognitive ability.

Where to find it on your report: Methylation
Common symptoms associated with it/indicators for support:

  • Anxiety
  • Trouble with fats
  • Pregnancy
  • Nursing

How to support it: Eat choline-rich foods like egg yolks, Brussels sprouts, liver, and can also be used in a supplement form.

What labs to run to monitor its functioning: Liver function tests ALT and AST to monitor liver functioning and the potential need for additional choline in the diet. 

# 2 Gene: FADS2

What it does: Indicates your ability to convert shorter chain omega 3 fatty acids to longer chain fatty acids, like EPA/DHA, which are critical for brain health. If you have one or two copies of this gene, you will need more fats from fish or supplemental support to get enough EPA/DHA for brain health, as you will not be able to convert enough of the shorter chain omega 3’s, (such as from plant sources like chia seeds, flaxseed, hemp hearts, etc.) for your brain’s needs.

Where to find it on your report: Digestion
Common symptoms associated with it:

  • Metabolic symptoms
  • Neurological symptoms

How to support it: Eat more fish or take a fish oil supplement
What labs to run to monitor its functioning: Check EPA/DHA levels to see what your status is based on your diet and ability to convert plant-based fats to DHA and EPA for optimal brain function. 

# 3 Gene: FUT2

What it does: Plays a part in how well you absorb your fats based on the type of bacteria living in your gut microbiome. If you have one or two copies of this gene, then you’ll need to bring in more prebiotic rich food for your good gut bugs to feed on.

Where to find it on your report: Digestion

Common symptoms associated with it:

  • Craving more veggies on a keto diet or not doing well on a carnivore diet.
  • More inflammation, or increase in inflammatory blood markers in response to a higher fat diet.

How to support it: Eat more fibrous vegetables (prebiotics) to feed the good bacteria in your gut and increase levels of bifidobacteria, which also helps lower inflammation. You’ll need 25 different plant species per week.
CAUTION: Extremely restricted diets can be potentially detrimental, so use caution if you don’t have all of the information on how it will affect you before beginning a very restricted diet. Test, don’t guess, then monitor frequently in the beginning.

What labs to run to monitor its functioning: Comprehensive GI panel or Viome testing to see microbiome diversity as well as homocysteine, CRP, and Sed Rate to watch for inflammation.

# 4 Gene: ACAT

What it does: Allows your body to convert proteins and fats to ATP (energy). We make our body weight in ATP every single day, so we want to make sure we can get good energy from our fats and proteins when this is our primary source of fuel.  

Where to find it on your report: Digestion

Common symptoms associated with it:

  • Fatigue or hypoglycemia symptoms on a high fat or carnivore diet.
  • Cholesterol goes up eating a high-fat diet.

How to support it: Eat a more vegetable-heavy form of keto and avoid carnivore if you have one copy of this gene, but especially if you have two copies. You are not a good candidate for a carnivore diet.

What labs to run to monitor its functioning:

  • Cholesterol labs – Total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, HDL, and LDL particle cholesterol testing if budget allows.
  • Liver Enzymes AST, ALT
  • Hemoglobin A1c, to monitor blood sugar averages
  • Fasting glucose, to monitor blood sugar levels
# 5 Gene: ADIPOQ

What it does: Relates to a hormone released in the intestinal tract when we eat foods, which has to do with how much insulin is secreted, affecting blood sugar, type 2 diabetes, etc. Those with this gene are more predisposed to metabolic syndrome.

Where to find it on your report: Digestion

Common symptoms associated with it:

  • Insulin resistance
  • Heart disease
  • Increased risk of colon cancer

How to support it:

  • Exercise
  • Intermittent Fasting
  • Omega 3’s to increase adiponectin secretion
  • Turmeric
  • Berries
  • Ginger

What labs to run to monitor its functioning:

  • Fasting insulin, to watch for insulin resistance
  • Hemoglobin A1c, to monitor blood sugar averages
  • Fasting glucose, to monitor blood sugar levels
  • Daily monitoring of fasting glucose at home with Keto Mojo
  • CRP to monitor for inflammation
# 6 Gene: SLC22A5

What it does: Picks up fats and shuttles them to the mitochondria to be burned as an energy source, which then goes through the digestive tract and is absorbed across the gut barrier. L-carnitine then picks up the fats and shuttles it to the mitochondria.

Where to find it on your report: Digestive
Common symptoms associated with it:

  • Low energy

How to support it:

  • Getting enough L-Carnitine in your diet or through supplementation if needed
  • Adequate vitamin C intake
  • Making sure you’re methylating well
  • Adequate intake of amino acids
  • Optimizing digestion

What labs to run to monitor its functioning:

# 7 Gene: PPAR Alpha

What it does: This plays a role in fatty acid metabolism and can make it difficult to get into ketosis.

Where to find it on your report: Digestion
Common symptoms associated with it:

  • Difficulty getting into or staying in ketosis
  • Problems in a cholesterol panel – HDL, LDL, triglycerides
  • Hypoglycemia on a high-fat, low carb diet

How to support it:

  • Exogenous ketones to get into ketosis

What labs to run to monitor its functioning:

  • Watch cholesterol levels closely if homozygous and taking exogenous ketones. Total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides.
# 8 Gene: ACSL1

What it does: Has to do with how well you metabolize saturated fats from animals like bacon, fat bombs from dairy, etc.

Where to find it on your report: Digestion
Common symptoms associated with it:

  • Higher fasting glucose
  • Insulin resistance

How to support it:

  • Focus on getting your fats from plant sources
  • Eat a more Mediterranean style keto diet
  • Coconut oil is okay

What labs to run to monitor its functioning:

  • Fasting insulin, to watch for insulin resistance
  • Hemoglobin A1c, to monitor blood sugar averages
  • Fasting glucose, to monitor blood sugar levels
# 9 Gene: APOA2

What it does: This runs an enzyme that regulates appetite. People with this gene who eat more fat, tend to be more hungry and consume more calories in a day.

Where to find it on your report: Digestion
Common symptoms associated with it:

  • Weight gain with higher fat diet

How to support it:

  • Exercise
  • Don’t have a sedentary desk job

What labs to run to monitor its functioning:

  • CRP to monitor inflammation
  • Fasting glucose, to monitor blood sugar levels
  • Liver enzymes, ALT, AST to monitor liver functioning
# 10 Gene: FTO

What it does: Relates to the hunger hormone ghrelin, which regulates hunger.

Where to find it on your report: Digestion
Common symptoms associated with it:

  • Especially those who are homozygous (2 copies) may feel hungry all the time

How to support it:

  • Don’t consume a high glycemic diet
  • Pay attention to hunger signals

What labs to run to monitor its functioning:

  • Fasting insulin, to watch for insulin resistance
  • Hemoglobin A1c, to monitor blood sugar averages
  • Fasting glucose, to monitor blood sugar levels
# 11 Gene: TCF7L2

What it does: Has to do with incretin hormone which relates to insulin sensitivity.

Where to find it on your report: Digestion
Common symptoms associated with it:

  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Weight gain
  • Dysregulated insulin
  • Carb cravings

How to support it:

  • Be careful with your carbs. If homozygous, be REALLY careful with your carbs.

What labs to run to monitor its functioning:

  • Fasting insulin, to watch for insulin resistance
  • Hemoglobin A1c, to monitor blood sugar averages
  • Fasting glucose, to monitor blood sugar levels

About Heads Up

Heads Up is an app designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use data to optimize your health.

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Which Keto Tracker App is Right for You?

Which Keto Tracker App is Right for You?

The ketogenic diet has gone mainstream, and with it, so have the number of apps available to efficiently track your progress. But finding the right keto tracker app can get complicated and confusing quickly. There are big differences between free tracking apps with basic functionality and premium apps offering a broader range of keto diet tracking plus other useful features that help you more easily monitor and manage your overall health, no matter what your goals.

So here are some useful tips to help determine if a free keto tracker app is right for you, or if you may want a little more ‘spice’ in your ‘keto app sauce.’

The Freebie Options

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is a popular calorie counter web and mobile app for tracking fitness and food intake. This keto tracker app diary feature couples with the calorie counter to help track every calorie, nutrient and vitamin you consume. The macros feature helps you analyze eating patterns to determine where you may be out of balance so you can make necessary adjustments to stay on track with your goals.

  • The Pros: MyFitnessPal is convenient to use with easy access to a huge database of foods and information, offering instant feedback and flexible diet plans. It also integrates with other health dashboards as well as a host of other activity, fitness and lifestyle apps as well as wearables (see all integrations). 
  • The Cons: The food database has many listings that are not verified, which can make it hard to find the right food in their system. There is also more emphasis on calories versus macros, and for some, not having net carbs displayed without running a script can make it less keto-friendly than other keto tracker apps. The app also requires an internet connection to access the database in real-time. It may be best suited for those who are steadfast in their dedication to calorie counting as the best method to reach their goals. 
  • Cost: Free; in-app purchases on Apple watch
  • Platforms: Web app and mobile app on Apple & Android
MyFitnessPal Diary
Carb Manager App
Carb Manager App

Carb Manager

The Carb Manager Low-Carb Diet Tracker is a great option to track your keto diet macros. You can log meals using photos, search, voice input or barcode scanners, making it flexible and user-friendly no matter what method(s) you prefer. The database of foods, although size is uncertain, seems large enough to accommodate most dieters, and you have access to meal planners, diet forums, recipes, eBooks and more. Total and net carbs are verified instantly and the user interface is simple.

  • The Pros: As another free keto tracker app option, this one is full-featured and easy to use, and lets you enter your own carb limits and track water intake. The database of foods is plenty big, you have access to a plethora of relevant diet resources, and it’s applicable for Keto, Atkins, Paleo and other diet plan preferences that espouse a similar low-carb lifestyle approach. You can also chart your body mass index (BMI), weight and progress against your personalized goals, access via the web or mobile device and use unlimited logging for taking food pics. 
  • The Cons: Although free, you may reach a food limit on what you enter before being required to upgrade, and is sometimes challenging to search for and upload their own food items from a personalized meal plan. The user interface is also a bit lacking compared with some of the other nutrition apps covered here.
  • Cost: Free with in-app purchases
  • Platforms: Web app, mobile app on Apple and Android

Lifesum 

Lifesum is another food and fitness tracking app available on mobile devices only (no web app) that offers calorie tracking, recipes and nutrition tips. This keto tracker app offers some recipes along with social media integration and gamification that allows users to connect with friends to challenge, motivate and inspire each other. The app’s food rating guide also makes it easy to quickly assess the foods with the best nutritional value versus those that are high in calories, saturated fats, sodium or sugar.

  • The Pros: Track meals and physical activity through an easy user interface and select your health goals from three simple options, “be healthier,” “lose weight,” or “gain weight.” It includes some recipes and a filter to find and track foods based on what’s popular in your area.
  • The Cons: The food database is much smaller than MyFitnessPal and some of the nutrient information is inaccurate. Significant features such as the full food database and the larger catalog of recipes also require a paid upgrade. 
  • Cost: Free with in-app purchases for additional foods and recipes
  • Platforms: Mobile app available on Apple and Android
Lifesum App

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Total Keto Diet App

Total Keto Diet

The Total Keto Diet app offers a wide variety of healthy recipes for people on the keto diet plan, as well as a host of educational articles on the ketogenic lifestyle in general. You can select and save your favorite meals and recipes and from that, create a personalized shopping list. Users can share recipe ideas with other users. The keto tracker app also includes a macronutrient tracker, helping you log carb intake and overall diet macros.

  • The Pros: This is an easy and convenient way to keep track of your keto plan, weight-loss progress and offers an easy spot for keto education and logging of shopping lists.
  • The Cons: For users that may want to incorporate tracking other health metrics, through integration with other devices or apps, this may simply be too basic of an option to do everything on your wishlist. It’s also difficult to adjust the amount of specific food entered (i.e. entering ½ cup of cooked cauliflower).
  • Cost: Free 
  • Platforms: Mobile app available on Apple and Android

When FREE Falls a Little Too Short

Keto Diet App

When you’re ready to step into the paid keto app world for more robust features, The Keto Diet app offers more to help users adopt a healthier lifestyle rather than just losing weight at any cost. For people interested in using the ketogenic plan to follow a low-carb eating plan with a high degree of accuracy, this is a great choice. Its intuitive diet planner lets you create a custom profile using options from hundreds of meals and snacks. Beyond calorie counting and carb monitoring, this keto tracker app helps you more easily track your ketogenic diet macros, and you can set your carb intake, pull from hundreds of free recipe ideas and use its built-in keto calculator. The virtual shopping basket also helps simplify grocery shopping.

  • The Pros: This app is big on both accuracy and data privacy, so your personal info is secure, and all of the tracker’s nutritional details are from verified sources. Its simple interface is user-friendly, and the diet guide is well-suited for beginners and advanced keto dieters, with thousands of delicious recipes that are formulated for keto via a whole-foods lens. 
  • The Cons: Although the app is user-friendly, it is sometimes considered time-consuming to use. Measuring options for some items are only in ounces or grams, not cups, tablespoons or teaspoons, so volume accuracy can be a challenge on-the-fly.
  • Price: $8.99 per month with in-app purchases
  • Platforms: Apple and Android
Keto Diet App

Heads Up (formerly Heads Up Health)

Heads Up (formerly called Heads Up Health) takes ketogenic diet tracking to a different level and is a more robust personal health app designed to give users an easy way to see all of their important health metrics in one place, whether the goal is weight loss and changing body tape measurements, chronic disease management, athletic performance, biohacking or general health and well-being. 

This keto tracker app integrates with a growing number of popular fitness apps, diet trackers and wearables, such as MyFitnessPal, MyMacros+, Fitbit, Apple Health, Cronometer, BioStrap, Oura Ring and KetoMojo, with more being added. In fact, whatever keto tracker app you decide to use, Heads Up is a great complement to seeing the big picture of your health.

  • The Pros: Heads Up lets users track a much broader range of health and medical data to monitor total lifestyles, while still tracking specific diet plans such as keto. A wide range of popular integrated apps and wearables automatically sync, and the dashboard can be customized to feature the most important stats you need to monitor most often. The Care Team Access feature allows users to share health data with loved ones and medical practitioners if desired, and remove access at any time. Data privacy practices are in place to make sure all your personal and medical information is secure.
  • The Cons: For users that only want to only track a specific diet or food plans such as Keto, Paleo or Low-Carb, the app may have more features than needed.
  • Price: Free 30-day trial / $8.99 per month 
  • Platforms: Web app, mobile for Apple and Android
Heads Up Health App

Try a Health & Keto Diet Tracker Free

https://app.headsuphealth.com/users/sign_up

The Bottom Line

The list of keto diet tracking apps is wide and long, and clearly, there is a lot of overlap between options, especially when it comes to the free ones. The pack begins to separate when you get into the more robust paid options that offer a deeper, feature-rich experience. So the best way to choose…?  Start with the end in mind. If it’s a diet plan and you’re on a budget, free is the way to go. But if you want to monitor more health stats over the short and long term, then upgrading to a paid solution will be way worth the investment in monitoring your broader health metrics. 

Keto diet, HRV, and tracking bodybuilding recovery with Thomas DeLauer

Keto diet, HRV, and tracking bodybuilding recovery with Thomas DeLauer

Having grown up an athlete, Thomas DeLauer quickly found that without the intense exercise, his then-current way of eating lead him to gain 100 pounds. Deciding that he wanted a different life, he was introduced to the keto diet though forward-thinking physicians and decided to try it for himself.  

He lost the weight, got super fit using bodybuilding and the keto diet, and has even been featured on the covers of several health and wellness magazines! Not only that, he started a whole new business helping other people to reduce their inflammation, lose weight and reclaim their health. 

Thomas DeLauer describes keto as a “gateway drug” to other fitness and wellness tracking and biohacking strategies, such as intermittent fasting, tracking HRV, heart rate, sleep, temperature and more. 

If you’re interested in bodybuilding without trashing your health, this episode is for you!

Listen in iTunes!

This podcast is brought to you by Heads Up, a web and mobile app designed to help you centrally track all of your vital health data. Instantly synchronize your medical records, connect your favorite health devices and apps and use your data to optimize your health!

Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial. Or, read on for more information about our latest podcast episode!

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In this podcast you’ll learn:

  • About Thomas DeLauer and what brought him to where he is now – from teen athlete to 100 lbs overweight and back down again to transform into a bodybuilding keto influencer, fitness model, and nutrition and business performance coach [2:55]
  • As a physician recruiter right out of school, Thomas developed a lot of physician relationships with concierge docs who were really progressive thinking. In fact, this is where he first learned of the keto diet [3:50]
  • Merging his business background with his experience as an athlete and a drive for self-transformation led him to create his current business [6:50]
  • As an analytical thinker looking for something different, he discovered how much keto appeals to that because it’s more black and white and easier to control than overly simplistic “calories in calories out” approaches [9:15]
  • He views keto as a gateway drug to the Oura ring and sleep tracking, HRV, nutrition genome data, mouth taping, etc. to improving health and becoming a biohacker [12:10]
  • That for blood sugar support, keto can give you an opportunity and sense of hope of how to control what you’re doing regarding weight loss, etc [13:00]
  • How Thomas DeLauer tracks HRV with Oura and Whoop to see the big picture as another piece for overtraining or being under-recovered. Rather than believing overtraining to be the problem, he puts more emphasis on proper recovery as the key to improving health and fitness [14:45]
  • That heart rate variability takes it all into consideration, and assesses where you’re at now, and whether your under-recovered or not. It takes all the data and computes it, and it takes all the hard black and white part of trying to compute it in your head out of the equation of wondering if you worked out too hard today or didn’t recover enough. 
  • Thomas describes how HRV and proper recovery can support you in your training, and also how not being recovered can feel and affect you [17:00]
  • How alcohol and late meals can trash your HRV [18:20]
  • “Bodybuilders are pushing their bodies to the limits and they need to have these periods of taxation, but then follow it up with enough recovery time but bodybuilding culture teaches us that we need to be constantly pushing ourselves.  If we were tracking the data on it we would probably be having very poor HRV all the time. They think it’s the training that’s taking the weight off of them, but it’s the diet and the recovery time that ‘s taking the weight off of them. A bodybuilding cutting cycle could be cut in 3-4 weeks if you apply these principles” (of keto diet and recovery) [21:03]
  • “Only a small percentage of the bodybuilding community is tracking, but their outcome could be much different if tracking became more popular in this area.  Bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Frank Zane was much more in tune with their bodies and there was much more respect for the body, whereas today we are much more disconnected. We are out of touch, and it’s so difficult to get in touch with your body…it’s a meditative thing” [21:50]
  • Thomas talks about how out of touch we are with our bodies and how we can use the technology, which is ironically keeping us from being in touch with our bodies to our advantage. Using it, we can  get biofeedback on how we are recovering from our exercise routine and what our food is doing to our bodies [23:05]
  • Direct to consumer testing allows individuals to learn more about their own bodies.  Keto tends to open the door, and then intermittent fasting usually follows as it’s a natural step that easily flows from burning fat for fuel.  Following that usually is mitochondrial support like cryotherapy, HRV, photobiomodulation, redlight therapy, sun exposure, cold therapies, high sympathetic nervous system exposure in a controlled way [25:35]
  • How safe sun exposure has benefits and yet wearing sunscreen all the time blocks the benefits of vitamin D from the sun.  Covering up and limiting time in the sun is a more effective way to manage sun exposure safely than chemical sunscreens for average sun exposure [28:34] 
  • Why cryotherapy is great, but getting in cold water regularly can be really effective without the high cost of cryotherapy, and why regular exposure is better [32:15]
  • Breathwork and how it can be incorporated into meditation to master the mind-body connection [35:04]
  • Working with breath for performance, using breathing through your nose. Using box breathing, as a way to get out of the sympathetic response before doing a cold shower, and utilizing the breathing during a cold shower can really affect the changes in the autonomic nervous system [39:18]
  • Practicing belly breathing helps to reduce hiccoughs by strengthening the diaphragm [41:24]
  • Learn about the top metrics that Thomas DeLauer currently tracks [47:30]

References

Thomas DeLauer YouTube Channel

Thomas DeLauer website

Purathrive.com

PuraTHRIVE Curcumin Gold

PuraTHRIVE Turmeric Extract

PuraTHRIVE Keto Balance

Whoop

Oura Ring

Dry Farm Wines

The Oxygen Advantage

Our Partners:

Learn more about LEVL, a clinical-grade ketone breath meter, which measures your level of fat-burning and ketosis through a simple breath. Find out more at HeadsUpHealth.com/LEVL.

You can learn more about the Oura ring, a state of the art ring that can track sleep cycle analysis, activity, and recovery at HeadsUpHealth.com/Oura.

Learn more about Keto-Mojo, a highly accurate and affordable device for testing blood sugar and blood ketones. Check it out at HeadsUpHealth.com/Ketomojo.

All of these amazing products are integrated with Heads Up.

They all allow you to quantify your health in novel and powerful ways.

Thank you to our partners!

About Heads Up Health

Heads Up is a web and mobile app designed to empower individuals who want to take a self-directed approach to managing their health. Instantly centralize your medical records, connect your favorite devices and apps (e.g., Oura, MyFitnessPal, Keto-Mojo, FitBit, Apple Health, MyMacros+, Withings and many more) and use your data to optimize your health.

Click on the button below to start your free 30-day trial now!

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3 Ways to Simplify Your Dieting with a Keto Food Tracker

3 Ways to Simplify Your Dieting with a Keto Food Tracker

If your goal for beginning the keto diet is to lose weight, trying to learn the ins and outs of your new diet can be a struggle. Add in all the numbers and ratios, and it can be a bit overwhelming at first. Fortunately, there’s good news – you can simplify the process to make it more easy, convenient and intuitive with a keto food tracker. 

However with the keto diet, tracking your macronutrients (i.e. carbs, protein, fat) is critical – especially in the beginning – to ensure you stay in ketosis (when your body uses fat as fuel instead of carbs) and ultimately ensure your success.

Consistently Monitor Your Food Intake in a Keto Food Tracker

Let’s face it, if something isn’t easy and quick, we aren’t likely to stick with it. That’s why for keto diet followers, convenience and consistency are key. If you aren’t tracking what you are eating, you are likely to drift off course and fall out of ketosis. 

The best way to combat this is to use a convenient app that allows you to easily enter your food intake whenever and wherever you are. Fortunately, the tech-driven world we live in means there is a variety of free (or close to free) keto food tracker apps to choose from. We recommend apps like MyFitnessPal, Cronometer and MyMacros+ to track your daily food intake and ensure you are adhering to your daily goals.

When you start out, calculate your target protein, fat, carb and calorie goals by using a macronutrient calculator designed for ketogenic diets. (You can find a list of calculators as the bottom of this blog. Note: If using a keto food tracker such as Cronometer, the keto calculator is built-in.) Once you have your target numbers, simply enter them into the app. This will allow you to track your day-to-day progress against those numbers. 

Still not sure how you are going to have time to enter those details as you go? Try entering your meals in advance to help you plan your day and ensure you are not over-consuming in any area of your ratios. This will not only help you stay on course but will simplify the process of trying to remember to enter what you ate during the day. If you need to deviate from the plan, you can easily update it. 

Identify Macros You are Over or Under Consuming with a Macros Tracker

By monitoring the ratio of your fats, proteins and carbs (keto macro ratio), you can ensure you are successfully staying in ketosis. Although this may sound daunting, all of the keto food tracker apps noted above allow you to easily track your keto macronutrient ratios and see where you stand against those ratios. 

Once you see where you are falling short or consuming too much, you can adjust your diet to get the right mix. This takes a bit of work upfront, but it’s an important step in helping you achieve the right balance for ketosis. Once the ratios are entered, you’ll be able to easily see where you stand. It won’t take long for you to reach the point where eating to your target macronutrients is intuitive. Additionally, as you become more advanced with the ketogenic diet, you can adjust your macros based upon your progress to best suit your specific body and health goals. 

Get a Holistic View of Your Keto Journey

The keto food tracking apps give you a good start for tracking your macros, but you will want a more comprehensive view of how your ketogenicdiet is impacting your overall health and success. This allows you to monitor other key areas impacted by the keto diet, such as your blood glucose, blood ketones, blood pressure, weight, measurements, HbA1c, insulin levels, etc. Based on this information, you can adjust your macros and diet to account for the most critical areas of your overall health.  

With Heads Up, you simply enter the food you’ve eaten into your keto food tracker. The trackers mentioned link directly with your Heads Up account, and the calculations for your ketogenic ratio are done for you. You’ll not only know at a glance if you are on track, but you will also be able to compare those levels side-by-side with your ketone and glucose levels, weight loss, measurements, lab numbers and more.

We hope these three tips will help you closely monitor your food intake, keto levels and track your success with ease. If you are interested in making your keto diet journey easier and more meaningful, you can get started with Heads Up for free using the button to the right.  We’ll give you the tools to track all your data and make it simple in the process! 

Keto Macro Tracking

Try a Keto Food Tracker for Free

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