Hey FunLifers,
Today, I want to shed some insight into cyclical eating and how it can benefit your health, longevity and sustainability.
This year more than ever, we keep hearing about the benefits of Vitamin D aka. "the sunshine vitamin".
But what we haven't heard is how it can be advantageous to eat a more keto-centric diet in the winter, to accommodate for sunshine we're not getting.
Right now, there's not a lot of research on this but THERE IS enough data for me to tell you how this approach has optimized my own health.
First, lets talk about VITAMIN D.
Ahhh, good ol' Vitamin D. It's the "sunshine vitamin" that plays a huge role in supporting your body. Remember, there are two types of vitamin D; D2 (ergocalciferol) and D3 (cholecalciferol) 1. Vitamin D2: is made naturally by plants 2. Vitamin D3 is the form your body naturally produces when it’s exposed to sunlight. If you’re looking for vitamin D supplements, you want D3. It’s the form your body naturally makes and is much more easily utilized by your system.
STRONG BONES AND TEETH
So, your skeleton is kind of a big deal (who would've thought 😂) and your body does a great job of maintaining its integrity. But Vitamin D is a necessary part of that equation because it's is essential for calcium absorption and bone health as it plays a key role in bone mineralization and remodeling 🦴— aka the process your body uses to maintain strong bones and repair old bone tissue.
MUSCLES
You want strong muscles? 💪 Sure, you do. Well, guess what? Vitamin D plays a role in that too! Vitamin D deficiency is associated with muscle weakness and impaired muscle function. In fact, early studies suggest that adequate vitamin D supports normal muscle size, strength and recovery.
IMMUNITY
Your immune system is responsible for protecting your body against disease. Vitamin D helps regulate the cells in your immune system so they can do their jobs.✊ ______________
There's A LOT of research stating that a Vitamin D deficiency can contribute to metabolic syndrome, obesity, CVD, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, thermogenesis, atherosclerosis and can impact sleep.
Sooooo, with all that being said we can agree that there is enough science of why you need Vitamin D! The best vitamin D to absorb is from direct sun-to-skin contact but with the winter months approaching, clearly that's not an option. So how do we change our diet to accomodate for all this!?
The best foods to provide us more Vitamin D are Salmon, Sardines, Canned Tuna, Egg Yolks, Cod Liver Oil and Fortified Foods. When we look at those foods I think Keto and a maybe a little Mediterranean Diet. They're 2 diets that are higher in fat and lower in carb.
To bring this full circle, I've been a huge fan of a cyclical approach to both training and nutrition for myself and my clients - which basically means that we take different approaches to both training and eating during certain times of the year.
For training, I love to mix strength and aerobics during warm sunny months and more pure strength during colder months. Yea, this may be because I don't like going outside as much when its cold 😂, but it also gives us a good balance in our training so we never get bored.
Now, that you know why it may be beneficial to our health to eat more Keto/Mediterranean-friendly during winter months; we can take the same approach with our nutrition based off the season.
During the summer time 🌞, I love fresh produce, going out to brunch, drinking spicy margaritas, cold beers on hot days and all the carbs life can provide. But the cool thing about the excess carbs is that I also am doing excess aerobic work, so we can handle the extra carbs :)
Winter time 🌨️, my cardio goes down and so does the carb intake. Instead of eating more calories from carbs we now get them from FAT!
IT'S A WIN, WIN!
Food for thought! Hope this rant helps some of you find some balance in your nutrition.
Because at the end of the day balance and sustainability is the key to our success.
-Functional LIfestyles "Pursuit of Balance"