I have been listening to a lot of ketogenic-related podcasts. I have noticed that many female ketogenic diet followers say that they prefer to do cyclic ketosis, meaning they eat more carbs intermittently and go in and out of ketosis.
They say this makes them feel healthier overall.
I have not felt any need for that. My menstruation is regular, and I have good solid energy levels. But I do believe that it is important to keep certain things in mind.
For example, it is important to have a really good fat intake around 70% of calories. That is the "Cinderella" zone for me. Too little fat and I get headaches. Too much fat gives me digestive issues and weakness. But right around 70% calorie intake from fat and the rest from protein is perfect!
I think the quality of the meats and fats are incredibly critical. I do not agree with using pork, poultry, or dairy (not even butter or ghee), because I believe they are inflammatory. I use 100% grassfed red meats such as beef and lamb instead, since they are higher in omega 3 fatty acids. I focus on the fattiest cuts that I can find, and organ meats for vital nutrients.
It also is important to eat enough salt, and it has to be the right kind of salt. I have experimented with various sea salts. They all have different ratios of mineral content. Some are much higher in magnesium, or potassium. So far what works best for me personally are French and British sea salts.
Good quality water is also really important. Again, there are so many varieties of spring water with various amounts of minerals. I notice that I have to avoid getting too much calcium or I get headaches. I found a spring water from Arkansas that works well for me.
To be fair, there is evolutionary background for women probably having more carbohydrate intake than men. In many traditional hunter/gatherer cultures, the men get the fatty cuts and the women and children (and dogs) get what is left. So the women and children have to supplement with carbohydrates from plant matter to obtain enough calories.
If our homo sapiens ancestry lived that way for 180,000 years before modern agriculture, then it would make sense that perhaps women and children might be more adapted to a slightly higher carbohydrate intake than men. However, it would still not have been anywhere near the very high carb intake that modern agriculture has produced, causing diabetes and metabolic syndrome. So it is certainly not a free pass to gorge on baked goods!
A good portion of our ancestry was during ice ages, and there really just was not all that much plant matter to be had. From my research, it seemed there might have been some nuts, tubers, and berries (seasonally), a small amount of wild grains (which would have been very time consuming to collect and process), and in certain tropical/coastal areas, coconut.
I believe that zero carb ketogenic is perfectly healthy for women and children when ensuring a good fat calorie intake around 70%, intake of nutrient dense organ meats from 100% grassfed or wild red meat animals, and good quality salt and water.
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Grassfed beef brisket with sea salt
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