KetoFast: Rejuvenate Your Health with a Step-by-Step Guide to Timing Your Ketogenic Meals

by Joseph Mercola

From Dr. Joseph Mercola, one of the world's foremost authorities on alternative a guide to using the principles of ketogenic eating, meal planning, and timing to treat disease, promote weight loss, and optimize health.We all know that food is medicine--yet going without food is one of the single best things you can do for your health. Short, doable fasts, when strategically timed, are an incredibly powerful metabolic intervention, dovetailing perfectly with a ketogenic diet to activate your body's fat-burning mode. This in turn can ward off insulin resistance, reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, optimize brain function, prevent neurological problems, support weight loss, and more.In this in-depth yet accessible guide, Dr. Joseph Mercola explores the profound health benefits that result when ketogenic living and well-planned fasting are combined. Topics our food is making us sick and what we can do about itThe physiology and mechanisms of fasting, including stem cell activationHow the cyclical ketogenic diet--with fasting included--differs from the conventional keto dietHow fasting works and how safe it is for youHow regular one-day fasts support fat burning and detoxification while minimizing hunger and side effectsHow to monitor your progress with lab testsAnd much more"This will be an exciting journey for you," Dr. Mercola writes. "I am beyond excited for you to implement what I consider to be one of the most powerful physical strategies to help you not only recover your health, but also improve it to levels you likely never believed were possible."

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Nutrition, Medical, Diets, Science, Food

205 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2017

About the author

Dr. Joseph Mercola is a natural health expert based in Illinois. He believes that people are capable of taking control of their health – they can harness their body’s ability to stay optimally healthy. He shares his recommendations through his website, Mercola.com. It is one of the leading natural health websites today, with over one million subscribers worldwide.

Dr. Mercola has authored three New York Times best sellers, "The Great Bird Flu Hoax", "The No Grain Diet", and his latest book, “Effortless Healing”, which he has written as an easy-to-read guide that can help you avoid the many pitfalls of the conventional approach to health through nine simple steps or healing principles.

Reviews

[Andrej Karpathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 ("it was ok"). I'm already on Keto+IF and enjoying it quite a bit so I got this book to collect more data about how/why the diet works, and some details on how to maximize its benefits. Unfortunately what I found was a seemingly hastily put together high-level hodge podge of related information that is breezily presented and then re-iterated a few times over and over, as if repeating the same high-level points would make a person understand things better. The book can't decide if it's a popular science book or not, and awkwardly ends up a bit of both. The un-cliffnoted version could earn more stars.

[Guillaume Belanger · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Ketofast, Dr. Joseph Mercola presents his recommendations for a programme to optimise health and longevity through the implementation of a cyclical ketogenic diet with intermittent fasting. He uses the term Ketofast in order to distinguish this partial fasting from other kinds of fasting because it emphasises the crucial, beneficial role of ketone production, and provides between 300 and 600 kcal (depending on lean body mass) in the form of supplemental protein (collagen or plant-based protein powder low in BCAA) and fat (coconut oil, MCT oil, caprylic acid, butter, cream) to both minimise muscle loss and maximise ketone production.

The programme is a refinement built on top of a foundation of a high nutrient density, low net carbohydrate, moderate protein, high fat diet with a classic intermittent fasting or restricted time eating schedule following the now well-known 16/8 hour windows of fasting and feasting, and a particularly strict rule of never eating or drinking anything but water at least 3 full hours before going to bed.

The key characteristic is the cyclical nature of the regime during which, out of seven days, one follows a ketogenic diet ($<$ 50 g of net carbs/day) for 3-4 days; a high carb, high protein, and lower fat diet for 1-2 days, and a partial ketofasting diet for 1-2 days. Naturally, everything eaten should be of the highest quality, highest nutrient density, and lowest toxic load.

I found it useful and learned a number of important details. I didn't like that, as is the case with many American-style health books, the essence of the message that could be written in a few pages is sprinkled here and there, and stretched out into a "book". This is a good example of this style of book-writing.

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of the information in this book is in Fat for Fuel. There is a bit more, some fine tuning. But it too is a little annoying - he recommends many steps that for most of us is burdensome, such as constant monitoring of food intake, many blood tests that doctors don't normally order, etc. The most troublesome, for me, was the notion that you HAVE to have access to a certain type of sauna to detox properly. The sauna costs over $5,000. Sorry, Dr. Mercola, we aren't all able to afford something like that - on top of the testing meters, the blood tests, etc. The books cost enough! LOL.
I skimmed through sections because, like I said, a bit repetitious and lots of medical terminology. I don't normally object to that, but I felt saturated.
By the way - I do not know why the only edition here on Goodreads is listed as Paperback. This book has not been released as paperback, it's hardback.

[CARLA · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://celebrityreaders.com/2020/01/...

This book had some good info but for the most part it was geared toward a more medically inclined mind than mine. I didn't understand half of what the terms were and honestly the keto-plan was just a over complicated version of what I had been doing on my own for months so really I spent money on a book for info that I already knew and was already implementing.....Bummer.

[Carol Bakker · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I am in essential agreement with Dr. Mercola, I was astounded at how complicated he could make a simple thing as fasting.

[Mădălina Turcu · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of useful information at start, but after, it’s pretty hard to follow the ideas and the overall plan. It’s a good plan for optimising your health, but it requires lots of tools and blood tests to be run. Not so practical for someone that wants to apply the concept and not really to monitor in very much detail.

[Andra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foarte interesantă! Chiar dacă nu sunteți interesați de dieta keto, merită citită pentru informațiile interesante.

[Brad Revell · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review is here: https://www.bradrevell.com/2019/06/ke...

Three key takeaways from the book:

1. Avoiding food for three hours before going to bed is the single most important step you can take in improving your health and wellbeing; more important than both ketosis and intermittent fasting combined!
2. Fat soluble toxins get released when your body burns fat. Hence why the initial switch from being a sugar burner to fat burner (prior to full ketosis) you will hit many symptoms that aren’t necessarily fun (e.g. head arches, fatigue, skin irritations etc.). I’ve actually noticed this a few times now when switching. It does go away after a few days.
3. Long-term calorie restriction or uninterrupted ketosis isn’t good. Your body will believe it is in starvation mode and down-regulate your metabolism by decreasing your thyroid function.

[Odreea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chiar daca nu esti interesat de o dieta (si mai ales de una bogata in grasimi si cam atat) aceasta carte este plina de informatii utile oricui este interesat de sanatatea proprie sau a celor apropiati. Multe notiuni de medicina sunt explicate pe intelesul tuturor. As recomanda aceasta carte oricarei persoane, indiferent ca e bolnava sau nu.

[Carolyn Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t think this book was particularly informative or inspiring about the benefits of fasting. If you’re looking to understand fasting, I highly recommend The Complete Guide to Fasting by Dr. Jason Fung instead.

[Jan Peregrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many years ago when I reviewed books for the late epinions.com, another book reviewer extolled the benefits of calorie restriction after reading a book about it. I skeptically read his review and was not convinced at all that there were health benefits to caloric restriction. I believe I rated it 'somewhat helpful' to his annoyance. How times have changed! Research into caloric restriction or fasting has exponentially continued for a wider understanding of the many positive changes it can cause in the human body.

Dr. Joseph Mercola's 2019 book Ketofast: Rejuvenate Your Health With a Step-by-Step Guide to Timing Your Ketogenic Meals has made me much less skeptical about the health benefits. The habitual three meals and practically non-stop snacking is not what our bodies thrive on.

Our evolving bodies had to learn to sometimes go without food for long periods of time when hunting was unsuccessful or nothing much could be gathered. When farming commenced the crops often failed or were destroyed. Anthropological evidence reveals the smaller build of farming people forced to starve when crops failed and there was nothing to eat as a back-up.

While fasting or caloric restriction has traditionally been embraced by all religions for ascetic purposes, ancient celebrities like Plato and Hippocrates recommended fasting for your health.

Its benefits include weight loss, of course, but also mitochondrial rejuvenation, more growth hormone, more neurons, cell repair, resistance to cancer and diabetes from metabolic flexibility, ketone production,, better mental clarity, longevity, and stem cell activation.

I' started using intermittent fasting a month ago when I heard a NIH neuroscientist speak about how intermittent fasting (IF) in diseased rats helped them to overcome their Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. It challenges a body to respond to the prospect of starvation and then when you start eating again the positive changes occur. Neuroplasticity is stimulated.

IF must be done gradually and sometimes only with your doctor's guidance. Your body may be insulin-resistant if you're very overweight and cannot lose and keep off the weight.

For such people a ketogenic diet blended with IF will be crucial to eliminate cravings, overeating, and all the health problems that ensue. Burning fat for fuel on a ketogenic/IF diet is key to your dieting success and it allows for limited indulgences.. For myself I'm too low in body fat as it is and am only doing an IF with 18 hours only drinking water and herbal tea, followed by 6 hours where I eat a couple meals. I do think I have more energy, but am struggling to quit eating three hours before bedtime, which Mercola highly recommends.

Many books have been written on IF, but it seems like this one was a great place to start.

[Diane Fogel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned some good information from this book, but also was left wanting.
I does not give a diet plan, recipes or examples to get you started.
It suggests many things the average person does not have access to such as daily sauna's, or the ablitiy to afford the suppliments and powders suggested.

The intermitten fasting was my biggest take away and have been doing it for about a month now.
I have changed from a keto diet to a high potassium, magnesium and calcium diet in an effort to lower my blood pressure (not suggested in this book). I have found that even though I am getting more calories in than my goal to lose weight, I am losing weight and inches with the intermitten fasting, and a healthy diet right with fruits and vegetables that are giving well over the carb intake allowed on the keto diet.
And its a lot easier for me to follow, the plus for me is I can stick to my low sodium diet also, and my blood pressure is slowly improving.

My takaway is yes intermitten fasting works , do not eat anything 3 hours before you go to bed so your body has time to burn and process the calories you've eaten properly instead of storing it as fat.
Fast for minimum of 12 to 18 hours, for the best results aim for closer to 14 hours or more. This has worked wonderfully for me. I am losing inches and about 1 to 2 pounds a week. A nice healthy amount that is more likely to stay off.
YEAH!!
This gives you 6 to 8 hours to eat your daily meals.
Having been working on losing weight (20 pounds so far), I have learned what works for me and what doesn't. I have tried Keto which is hard to do and still get my potassium, magnesium, calcium, and fiber in, while keeping my sodium under 1500 mg. I have tried Paleo, which is very similar, and the dash diet. I have found a combination that works for my needs, and its not low carb, but it is NO PROCESSED foods, which have a tenency to have high added sugar and sodium, both of which spike my blood pressure even when keeping within the 1500mg or lower guidelines for sodium.
Natural sugars and salts from fruits and vegetables do not do this. Which was a surprise to me.
So my advice is use the book as a tool on your journey to a healthier lifestyle, but don't stress or get frustrated if its not the plan for you. Take what works with you and add it to you health plan along with the things you've learned from your research to a healthier happier you.
And good luck on your journey to becoming healthier!!

[Kelli Emge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mercola actually said he was wrong in the first keto book “Fat for Fuel” (in which recommends keto for most folks most of the time, basically) and corrects the path in this one, where he changed to recommending *cycles* of keto, fasting and re-feeding. I’m giving 5 stars just because it takes serious consideration to renege like that! This is a more balanced way to do it, and it allows a wide variety of foods and plenty carbs👍👍 This helps many people find freedom from sugar cravings and the cascade of inflammatory issues that come with it. I have done short keto/fasting cycles loosely according to these new recommendations, and find it helps with inflammation. It can be safely done with whole foods, without the use of overly-processed, junk, keto-marketed fare. It is interesting that those who argue most vehemently against the keto fasting approach are the same ones who also carry that spare tire, and/or have metabolic / pcos / pre-diabetic / inflammatory issues...

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. This book seems to have a lot of differing reviews. I seem to be in the middle ground. I didn't hate the book. I did find some interesting information here. The most coming from a documentary he recommends, Stink! Which is less about Intermittent Fasting and more about additives in foods and everything else in our lives. I rented it from Amazon. I was interesting, yet it made me feel a bit helpless.

As for the book, some things are explained better than Doctor Fung's books but so few in comparison that I'd advise that you just read Dr. Jason Fung's books. The thing is, Intermittent Fasting should be easy and not cost anything. But nearing the end of Joseph Mercola's book, there are so many things a person should purchase to keep all the elements working to optimum health. Even a sauna. Nah.

[Jess Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The nice thing about this book is that you will not forget its key points, as it is very repetitive. Has great information with research to back it up. It has cleared up a lot of questions I had about intermittent fasting and made me feel more confident about the way I was doing it. One thing I felt it was lacking was a more subjective way to monitor fasting. Like signs to look out for if you are pushing your body too far and maybe the progress you should feel as your body adapts to it. There were chapters I breezed through because the information felt like it was just repeating itself without offering more insight into matter.

[Meg Grz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the book very interesting. I’ve been on a keto diet for half a year but unlike most people I haven’t lost massive weight (the probable cause is my thyroid). The keto fast and keto/carb cycling suggested by Dr Mercola might be useful in my case. Some information was new to me, some I’ve known before but I think it’s always good to have confirmation from many different doctors. The only minus is the chapter about sauna and testing methods. In my opinion they were too detailed as it was some sort of commercial however the very idea of sauna and passive sweating appeals to me.

[Greg Bae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ketofast by Joseph Mercola

I have fasted since 2016.

This book makes the case that cycling a ketogenic
diet is better than fasting alone, as fasting releases fat soluble toxins from the body, which just get
reabsorbed into the body. The solution is having one keto meal (broccoli! coconut oil!) when you fast, which will promote binding of the toxins to be expelled.

Logically holds water for me.

(There is a side bar about near IR
saunas in the book and now I am
super tempted to build my own
sauna with red-filtered near IR
incandescent bulbs.)

[Geoeng51 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Book About Gods and Fasting For Health

I’ve read several books about improving health using a low carb, moderate protein, high fat diet, or even a keto diet, and other books about the benefits of intermittent fasting. Dr. Mercola writes about these subjects in a knowledgeable, scientific, and fascinating way. I learned a lot about the whys and the hows of combining keto and fasting. He provides a practical, balanced approach that I believe will improve health in both the short and long-term. Thank you!!

[Taren Gesell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent book, it’s VERY repetitive and speaks about the benefits of fasting or things surrounding the topic of fasting for 95% of the book and just touches on Ketofasting for 5% of the book. I’d prefer if it was primarily about keto fasting with the remainder of the book talking about variations of how to implement the methods for athletes or people with different conditions. Instead it makes one prescription for all people which has been explained in Podcasts the author has appeared on.

[Karina Padureanu · Rating 4 out of 5]

TMM este un regim alimentar care ajuta la modificarea metabolismului, in asa fel incat grăsimile sănătoase sa fie folosite ca și combustibil primar de către organism, iar nu glucoza.
Deși complicat de aplicat aceasta dieta ketogenica, cartea m-a facut din nou atenta în ceea ce priveste alimentația, nocivitatea zaharului și am înțeles cum funcționează și cat de importante sunt mitocondriile, "micile fabrici de energie din interiorul celulelor".

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative resource for people who are interested in fasting and how that can partner with a Keto diet. This book was full of information, but is pretty dry to read and a lot of the medical terms were intimating and overwhelming.
The chapters on exactly how to fast safey were the best and worth the read just for that.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's complicated!

Very well written and researched, but way too complicated and time consuming to implement for the average person who just wants to find a way to improve their health. It would be great if that way of life didn't necessitate purchasing many different products and supplements as well.

[Miranda Casteel · Rating 3 out of 5]

TONS of great info in this book! I can't say implementing this method would work for me because I'm not one that would be able to stick to measuring and recording ALL the foods I consume (despite my best intentions), nor follow through with any of the rigorous testing he recommends, but I still feel like there's great steps in here I CAN implement that would be extremely beneficial to my health.

[D K · Rating 4 out of 5]

An improvement on keto and IF

Some useful fine tuning to how to most effectively use intermittent fasting and ketosis. Did it warrant a book this long? Probably not. While there is some real gems here there is a lot of repetition. A worthwhile read nevertheless.

[James Traxler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I already instigated the fasting bit of this.
I guess I'll try the keto bit next.
It seems logical.
A lot of science, although it is clearly explained.
Not meal plans/recipes - for that you'd need his separate Ketofast Cookbook, which I'll check out.

[Cosmic Arcata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. Helped me start some diet and behavioral changes. Would like to read again in 6 months, see how much I kept doing....add a few more.

1. Thing don't eat three hours before you go to sleep.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful reading about KetoFast and may have to borrow again when ready to take the next step regarding fasting.

[Laurie Freedle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great add on to my keto lifestyle

Very educational, but insanely redundant! The EXACT same information is repeated several times. It’s easy to skip over most of some chapters.

[Pilot Cienta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Demasiada paja para q al final se resuma en dejar de comer 3 horas antes de dormir, reducir la ventana de ingesta de alimentos y dejar de comer azúcar

[Rachel Miller Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit specific and niche; his earlier books may be less specific and prescriptive, but I didn’t enjoy his writing style enough to read anything else by him - and there are a lot!