Dr. Colbert's Keto Zone Diet: Burn Fat, Balance Appetite Hormones, and Lose Weight

by Don Colbert MD

Overview

Achieve optimal healthy living and effective weight loss through Dr. Colbert's Keto Zone Diet.


Learn what the Keto Zone is, why the Keto Zone diet works, and how to put the Keto Zone diet to work for you. Forget every traditional dieting program you've heard of, or even tried. Dr. Colbert's Keto Zone Diet revolutionizes the dieting industry by helping you lose weight without starving yourself, feeling hungry, or losing energy by following a high fat, low carb, and moderate protein diet. Dr. Don Colbert provides special ketogenic recommendations for those with cancer, high cholesterol, Alzheimer's, and many other ailments. Following the Keto Zone diet will help you burn fat, balance appetite hormones, lose weight, and reverse or prevent many diseases! This book includes:
-A 7-day meal plan
-A shopping guide for the ketogenic lifestyle
-A guide for clearing your fridge and pantry of the unhealthy foods that keep you out of the Keto Zone
-Instructions on checking your ketosis levels and maintaining your unique Keto Zone

Start reclaiming your health today through Dr. Colbert's Keto Zone Diet!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683970248
Publisher:	Worthy
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	387,306
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Dr. Don Colbert has been board-certified in Family Practice, Anti-aging and Integrative medicine for over twenty-five years. He is an Amazon and New York Times bestselling author of books such as The Seven Pillars of Health, What Would Jesus Eat, What You Don't Know May be Killing You, and many more with over ten million books sold. He is the Medical Director of the Divine Health Wellness Center where he has treated over 50,000 patients. He is also an internationally known expert and prolific speaker on Integrative Medicine. He and his wife, Mary, reside in Orlando, Florida and Dallas, Texas.

Read an Excerpt

Dr. Colbert's Keto Zone Diet

Burn Fat, Balance Hormones, and Lose Weight

---

By Don Colbert

Worthy Publishing Group

Copyright © 2017 Don Colbert, M.D.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-68397-024-8

---

CHAPTER 1

MEETING A REAL NEED

THE WIFE WAS CONFUSED, but the husband was terrified. I could see it in his eyes. That was because his wife of more than thirty years had just been diagnosed with early dementia.

Believe it or not, mild dementia in its early stages is usually pretty easy to treat, even cure.

With her back against the wall, so to speak, they were willing to try pretty much anything. The good news is that within six months, she had a clean bill of health. Her dementia was completely gone.

And she lost almost forty pounds.

And she looked great, full of life, with a sparkle in her eye.

And her husband could smile again!

What was the secret? It is no secret at all. She went on a revised ketogenic diet that I call the Keto Zone diet. As a direct result, she got her life back. Today, years later, I am pleased to report that she is still doing well.

WHAT DIET IS THIS?

I have been practicing medicine for more than thirty years. About twenty years ago, something strange started to happen. People with incurable, inoperable, late-stage cancers began showing up at my office.

They all needed help, but I was not a cancer specialist. I had found a way to beat the psoriasis (my own twelve-year battle that was incredibly expensive, not to mention time-consuming) that had plagued me, but I did not feel qualified to treat these cancer patients adequately.

I wanted to help, and even more, I wanted to improve and prolong their life, but I knew what I knew and it was not enough. There had to be an answer. There always is. Many of them were also past the point where surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or some other form of prescribed cancer treatment would help.

Out of an intense desire to help, mixed with the humble reality that I needed to learn more, I went on a journey to find answers that would help my patients not only survive but thrive as well.

Every continuing education class that was remotely close to cancer, nutrition, diet, lifestyle, and longevity went on my must-attend list. I firmly believed the answer was a nutritional one. That was true for my psoriasis and I not only knew the stats on such things as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and mental illness, I saw those stats walk through my office door every single day.

The national rapid incline in preventable diseases that are wreaking havoc on so many lives was not new to me. I saw it firsthand. Part of the problem had to do with the foods we ate. That much I knew.

Along the way, I studied nutritional and preventative medicine, anti-aging therapies, and integrative cancer therapy. I visited cancer treatment centers and listened to specialists from all around the world present their best and most recent findings on alternative and nutritional therapy for cancer. In all, I cannot tell you how many seminars I attended (my wife probably could), but after several years of trainings and then coming back and working with my patients, I was convinced there was no silver bullet. There was no miracle cure.

I kept returning to food. I was convinced the answer for my cancer patients, and the multitude of preventable disease we are experiencing today, had to do with the food we ate. But even that is a pretty broad field.

During my fellowship in integrative cancer therapy, after one presentation, I asked the head instructor, "Is there any key nutritional therapy for cancer patients?"

He thought for a moment and replied, "The only major impactful thing is a ketogenic diet ... but nobody can really follow that. Nobody can stick to it long term."

So there was an answer! There was a diet that actually could help reverse, manage, or even perhaps cure cancer? No doubt it would also work on other diseases if it was so effective with cancers.

The only roadblock was that people lacked the stamina or motivation to stick with it?

I did not see how that was a good enough reason not to investigate the ketogenic diet further. I knew from countless experiences that most cancer patients would do absolutely anything to live a little longer. When faced with death, our comforts and wants and preferences do not seem as important as they once were.

EXPLORING KETOGENIC DIETS

I made it my goal then to find out just what made the ketogenic diet so beneficial. Could it actually help my patients?

Back then, the word "ketogenic" was looked down upon. Dr. Robert Atkins, whom I had known for many years, was the biggest name associated with the ketogenic diet. His famous Atkins Diet had always seemed very unhealthy to me, but I was determined to study it further.

In time, I would go through countless books on the subject from experts who were medical doctors, dieticians, nutritionists, naturalists, or researchers. I investigated every premise within the books. If it was important enough for them to write it down, and it could be verified in some way, then it was worth considering.

Another filter that I ran every detail through was the reality of my own patients. Outrageous claims have a way of being brought down to earth when applied to the living and breathing patients in my office. I wanted this to work for them, both scientifically as well as practically.

I knew, for example, that cancers feed on sugars. Lowering or eliminating sugar intake had a direct effect on the cancer. The normal high-carb, low-fat intake of most people was simply feeding the cancers. That much I already knew.

What about cholesterol? I did not want to start my cancer patients on a low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet that would blast their cholesterol levels through the roof and give them a heart attack. Some of my patients were dying of cancer, but I certainly did not want to speed up the process and have them die of a heart attack.

What about fats? I had been taught that low-fat diets were better because fats were known to cause heart disease. But were fats really the cause? Some ketogenic diets recommend large amounts of bacon, lard, beef tallow, and fried foods. How could those be healthy? Amazingly, the diet actually helped people lose weight, which was the goal, but could the same results be achieved in a healthier manner? And would that benefit my cancer patients?

I also knew inflammation was the cause of many sicknesses, including the psoriasis that I had battled for many years. For me it was certain foods that caused the inflammation, so it only stood to reason that many other illnesses were caused by inflammation from other foods we ate. Maybe not directly but probably indirectly.

After much sifting, sorting, examining, measuring, verifying, researching, and dissecting, it was time to start introducing a modified version (a healthy version) of the ketogenic diet to my cancer patients! The patients I initially started on the modified ketogenic diet had advanced cancers (stages 3 and 4) and were much more likely to die of cancer rather than heart disease.

EXAMINING THE KETOGENIC DIET

The ketogenic diet seemed to be part of the answer. But I had a lot of questions, not to mention reservations and feelings of responsibility for my patients.

Mentally, I had my list of critical components that needed sufficient answers, which included:

[check] Inflammation

[check] Cholesterol levels

[check] Fats

[check] Sugars

[check] Proteins

[check] Nutrients

[check] Starches

[check] Carbohydrates

[check] Medications

[check] Appetite hormones

I did my best to combine the best of everything I knew. I incorporated the nutrition and anti-aging and ketogenic diet and exercise and natural cancer treatments all together.

I had been taking patients off gluten for years, not just because some are deathly allergic to it (as are celiac patients) or because gluten-free is a good trend to jump on, but rather because of the inflammation associated with gluten and especially the inflammation and disruption that it triggers in the GI tract where approximately two-thirds of the immune system is based.

Whether it is bread, cereal, pasta, crackers, or chips, these foods are not what they used to be. Today, grains especially, but as are most wheat, corn, oat, and rice, are hybridized, crossbred, refined, and devoid of fiber and many other nutrients. It's almost like comparing an orange M&M with an actual orange. Not the same by any means!

I cannot tell you how many patients have shown immediate improvement after getting off gluten. I knew that to be the case, and the ketogenic diet being low in carbohydrates was in line with that form of thinking.

Fats were another source of inflammation, but what about raising cholesterol levels and weight gain? I had noticed that fats controlled appetite and helped tame hunger and I knew the body, principally the brain, could not thrive on a low-fat diet.

Clearly, fats were a vital part of a healthy body, but how much fat? What types of fat? Was there an ideal ratio or combination of fats that would help with weight loss while at the same time protect against disease? Balance seemed to be a vital part of the whole equation.

The numbers of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, obesity, and heart disease have been increasing dramatically for years. Nothing seems to hold these diseases back, no matter how many medications are prescribed or how many suggested daily caloric intake revisions are made. Was much of this because we did not understand fats? If so, this lack of knowledge was literally killing us on a scale of millions per year.

Some of the foods recommended in the ketogenic diets, such as excessive animal proteins and animal fats, may not be good for my advanced cancer patients. I was not worried about their cholesterol levels, because many of these stage 3 and 4 cancer patients usually had only a few months to a year to live. Nobody was checking their cholesterol levels any more. It was irrelevant information.

Yes, the ketogenic diets would help people burn fat and lose weight, but I would not put my patients on the exact same diet. The excessive animal fats and proteins were not the best. I had to adjust the diet some more for my cancer patients.

Appetite hormone levels were another part of the equation. They absolutely had to be managed. Obesity rates are a tell-tale sign that the hormones controlling appetite, signaling "I'm full" or "I'm hungry," are way out of whack. I have had patients who were obese who would tell me what they ate in one sitting, followed by, "And when I finished I was still hungry."

If the ketogenic diet would bring the hormones related to eating into balance, that would be a huge win for everyone battling obesity. The more I studied the ketogenic diet, the more I suspected these hormones would manage themselves once the patient was eating the proper foods and the correct balance of healthy fats.

That eventually led me to use the ketogenic diet for weight loss, a vital need for most people who are sick and an all-consuming desire for those who are trying to lose weight. The ketogenic diet became for my patients the fastest, easiest, and healthiest way to burn fat (especially belly fat) of all the other dietary programs I have used or recommended in the past thirty years of practicing medicine.

GIVING THE KETOGENIC DIET A TRY

Test after test, study upon study, bit by bit, I kept breaking down the parts of every ketogenic diet I could get my hands on. If I was going to prescribe it, I was going to understand it. I was going to know how it worked and why. And if I needed to tweak something for a patient or if a question arose, I needed to be able to respond accurately.

After much study and research, I felt it was time to begin implementing the ketogenic diet first with my advanced cancer patients. Admittedly, I still had some questions, but I knew that some questions were best answered by doing rather than by studying. Back to practicing medicine!

In case you are worried at this point, let me assure you by explaining that I live on the ketogenic diet myself. I have a strong reason why ... my dad died of Alzheimer's disease. I did genetic testing years ago on myself and found that I have the risk factor gene for Alzheimer's disease, which is the APOE4 gene. The risk of Alzheimer's is approximately ten times higher in those with the double variant of the gene.

Fortunately, I have the single variant of the gene, but still, I am going to do everything I can to prevent it. For me, I want to stay on this ketogenic diet. It is a strong preventative measure.

If I start eating a lot of sugars and carbohydrates, I could eventually develop Alzheimer's based on my genetic makeup. I do not want to go down that path. Instead, I control those genes by what I eat, and so can other people. For me, that is my compelling reason to stay in the Keto Zone, my version of a ketogenic diet, which I will explain in complete detail later in this book.

As cancer patients came, I would put them on a revised ketogenic diet. Even though a cancer specialist had told me "nobody can stick to a ketogenic diet," I'm telling you, a cancer patient with a one or two year life expectancy will do almost anything to live!

The patients followed the revised ketogenic diet. It was low-carb, high-fat, and low to moderate-protein. They carefully monitored their intake of carbohydrates, sugars, proteins, and fats. They gave up some of their comforts and habits, such as ice-cream, diet sodas, breads, and alcohol. Together we created menu plans and I had my patients write out their menus as well as their carb intake, calorie intake, and ketone status and email me their meal plans each week.

One adjustment that I made along the way was in the area of animal proteins. There was conflicting research at the time about excessive animal proteins being associated with cancers. I lowered animal protein intake for my patients, but now we know it is mainly the processed animal proteins (such as salami, sausage, pepperoni, hotdogs, and bacon) that are associated more with cancer compared to unprocessed meats.

Grass-fed meats, I later learned, are much healthier than grainfed meats. In fact, grass-fed meats have more of all the healthy fats, minerals, and nutrients that our bodies need. A small fatty piece of steak, such as a rib eye from a grass-fed cow, is actually very healthy for you! Of course, we are eating moderate amounts of protein, as we will discuss later.

It was not long before some of my cancer patients' lives changed dramatically. For some, they came alive! They got their energy back. They were happier. They lost belly fat. And most importantly, we were able to treat their end-stage cancer as a chronic disease. The diet slowed the cancer growth rates down and for some it was dramatic by taking away what was fueling the cancer in the first place.

No, not every patient was able to bounce back. Many of the advanced cancer patients did die. The ketogenic diet did not cure their cancer, but took it from a highly invasive cancer to more of a commensal state where instead of the cancer thriving, it shifted into more of a survival mode without the sugar and starches. In other words, for some, thanks to the ketogenic diet, their cancer becomes much less aggressive.

A great thing happened ... many of my patients started living longer. I started checking their cholesterol levels. After all, they were on a low-carb, high-fat diet. And guess what? Their cholesterol levels were usually improved. The HDL (good cholesterol) numbers usually went up and the LDL (bad cholesterol) numbers usually went down. Further proof that the high-fat diet was not killing them!

Thanks to the ketogenic diet, we were also quenching inflammation, which was one of the reasons it was working against cancer.

As I focused on trying to help my patients beat or co-exist with their cancer, I could not help but notice the other tremendous health benefits. People were losing weight, especially the belly fat, which is the most inflammatory fat in our bodies, but it was much more than weight loss.

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from Dr. Colbert's Keto Zone Diet by Don Colbert. Copyright © 2017 Don Colbert, M.D.. Excerpted by permission of Worthy Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

Part 1 What the Keto Zone Diet Is

1 Meeting a Real Need 3

2 Looking Back at History 17

3 Rise of the New Epidemics 29

4 Overview of the Keto Zone Diet 45

5 Benefits of Being in the Keto Zone 59

Part 2 Why the Keto Zone Diet Works

6 The Keto Zone and Your Cholesterol 67

7 The Keto Zone and Your Carbohydrates 83

8 The Keto Zone and Your Fat 95

9 The Keto Zone and Your Protein 115

10 The Keto Zone and Your Appetite Hormones 127

Part 3 How to Put the Keto Zone Diet to Work for You

11 Putting Your Plan into Action 143

12 Know Where You Are Aiming 149

13 Go Shopping for the Right Ingredients 165

14 Get in the Keto Zone 183

15 Stay in the Keto Zone with the Right Menu Plans 195

16 Discover Your KCL Number to Maintain Your Ideal Weight 213

Conclusion 223

One Last Word for Those over Thirty 225

Appendices

Appendix A Supplements 229

Appendix B Healthy Carbs for Finding Your KCL 231

Appendix C For Advanced-Cancer Patients 233

Appendix D For High-Cholesterol Patients 237

Appendix E For Autoimmune Disease Patients 241

Notes 245