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Optimising Nutrition - Dietary approach questionnaire

This survey is designed to help people select the most appropriate dietary approach from the following options:
1. Nutrient dense maintenance
2. Insulin sensitive weight loss
3. Insulin resistant weight loss
4. Diabetes and nutritional ketosis
5. Therapeutic ketosis
6. High insulin load nutrient dense for athletes.

Maximising nutrient density is critical to mitochondrial function and metabolic health, however people who are still insulin resistant will benefit from a lower insulin load approach.
If you are looking to also lose weight then a lower energy density approach will likely be useful.
Most people know if they want to lose weight. This survey help people decide if they are insulin resistant and hence which dietary approach will be most useful for them.

Q.1
Do you have a chronic health condition such as cancer, epilepsy, dementia, alzheimer's, parkinsons, severe insulin resistance or traumatic brain injury?

There are a number of conditions that a therapeutic ketogenic diet appear to be useful for, at least as an adjunct to normal standard of care.
A therapeutic ketogenic diet is typically most effective in conjunction with fasting and / or calorie restriction.
People who do not have a serious metabolic disease may benefit from a dietary approach that has a higher nutrient density and lower energy density.

Q.2
diabetes

People with diabetes struggle to process energy well, particularly carbohydrates.
People who with Type 1 Diabetes need to dose with insulin for non-fibre carbohydrates and to a lesser extent the protein.
A diet with a high insulin load requires large amounts of insulin which makes matching insulin with food impossible and leads to large swings in blood sugar.
Someone with Type 2 Diabetes is typically insulin resistant struggles to produce enough insulin to overcome their insulin resistance and hence their blood glucose levels run high. Insulin resistance also means that someone will struggle to be able to access their body fat stores for fuel and which will affect appetite.
A lower insulin load dietary approach along with extended periods between meals may assist in improving insulin sensitivity.
If you do not have diabetes then a higher nutrient density approach may be more beneficial in the long term.

Q.3
HbA1c

Your HbA1c is an indication of your metabolic health and insulin resistance based on your average blood glucose over the past three months.
A higher HbA1c is an indication that you are not processing glucose well and may need to reduce the insulin load of your diet.

Q.4
fasting blood glucose

Fasting blood glucose is an indicator of your metabolic and insulin resistance.

Q.5
post meal blood glucose

High post meal blood glucose is an indication that you should consider reducing the insulin load of your diet.

Q.6
bulking

A high insulin load nutrient dense approach can be useful if you are looking to build size and bulk or recover from intense excercise while still maintaining good metabolic health.

Q.7
triglyceride : HDL ratio

high triglycerides relative to your HDL is an indication that you may be insulin resistant and benefit from a lower insulin load diet

Q.8
HDL (high density lipoprotein)

a low HDL blood test value is another indication of insulin resistance.

Q.9
triglycerides

high triglyceride levels are and indicator of insulin resistance.

Q.10
BHB ketones

Metabolically healthy people have lower insulin levels and will easily be able to metabolise fat, and thus have some ketones.
Reducing the insulin load of your diet will help increase ketones, however simply eating more fat may not be optimal in the long term if your goal is weight loss.

Q.11
fasting insulin

Fasting insulin is a lab test that tells you how much insulin your requires to keep your blood glucose levels under control down.

Q.12
C-Reactive Protein

CRP is a measure of your inflammation and insulin resistance.

Q.13
blood glucose response to protein

people who are very insulin resistant or who have Type 1 diabetes may see their blood glucose increase after a low carb high protein meal.

Q.14
where is your fat?

People who are insulin resistant tend to carry their fat around their organs (visceral) while people who are not insulin resistant more carry their fat just under their skin (subcutaneous) (e.g. hard beer belly is IR versus softer external fat is IS).

Q.15
Do you have diagnosed gout, high uric acid levels, low bicarbonate / CO2 levels, a high anion gap, high potassium or a low sodium / potassium ratio.

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