This Anti-Aging Keto Diet Will Help You Lose Weight and Look Younger
Not long ago, Leanne Tornatore was exhausted. “I was living on Advil and Prilosec, carrying my asthma inhaler everywhere and praying constantly for the Lord to help. My prayers led me to Dr. Berg,” recalls the Florida reader, 66. Her body adjusted to his keto meals in three days. “In two weeks, my indigestion, back pain, and breathing problems were gone.” A month in, Leanne added fasting. “I felt great and in control.” She normalized her cholesterol and reversed pre-diabetes. “And my skin is better now than before I lost weight. Dr. Berg’s plan heals — and your body truly thanks you!”
Women in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond are flocking to keto diet guru Eric Berg, DC — and it’s no wonder. “My keto approach not only helps burn fat quickly, it has a tremendous anti-aging effect,” says the Virginia-based natural-health expert, whose wildly popular YouTube videos on reigniting metabolism, sag-free weight loss, and more have racked up more than 370 million views. His secret? “The right dietary choices make every cell, organ, and system healthier, and that takes years off the way you look and feel.” Leanne Tornatore is living proof. “At age 66, I was able to drop 75 pounds without any sagging,” marvels the Florida grandmother. “Plus, my energy soared, and I could actually see wrinkles disappearing!”
For those who aren’t familiar with the keto diet, the gist is this: By reducing carb intake, you drastically lower blood sugar, the body’s preferred fuel. This forces your system to turn fat (both fat you eat and the stuff in your fat cells) into compounds called ketones that are used as an alternate fuel.
When we’re running on ketones instead of sugar, fat burn spikes by up to 900 percent. Plus, ketones suppress appetite, so hunger decreases dramatically even as fat cells rapidly empty.
And keto benefits go far beyond weight loss. Lowering high blood sugar fights diabetes and soothes inflammation from head to toe, reducing the risk of joint pain, autoimmune issues, heart disease, and countless other conditions. It also helps prevent what Baylor College of Medicine researcher Rajani Katta, MD, calls “sugar sag.” Turns out, excess sugar molecules can attach themselves to protein in our skin and organs. This literally weakens the protein that holds us together, leading to problems typically blamed on aging — everything from wrinkles and sagging to cataracts, memory loss, and arterial stiffening. “A keto diet is a very effective way to stop this, helping protect overall health while keeping skin firm and elastic”, says Dr. Berg, who has even more tricks up his sleeve.
Most keto diets limit carb intake to 5 percent of total calories. Dr. Berg doubles that amount, making room for 7–10 cups of veggies a day. “Eating more kale and broccoli has little impact on ketone production yet provides crucial nutrients other keto diets lack,” he insists. That includes fiber, vitamins, minerals, and a host of antioxidants proven to do things like speed metabolism and slow aging. Dr. Berg’s keto dieters also incorporate intermittent fasting.
“That just means going longer between your last meal one day and your first meal the next day, which most people find easy,” says the doc, who recommends gradually shrinking the window of time during which you eat each day to six hours, such as 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Why? First, “fasting has been shown to stimulate a 1,300 percent surge in human growth hormone, which is the hormone that forces your body to burn fat,” he notes. More important, USC research shows that fasting triggers a self-cleaning mode inside us, destroying sugar-damaged cells and generating brand-new ones in their place. Says Dr. Berg: “You literally replace cells that drive aging and disease with optimally functioning cells!”
In poor health and struggling to care for her chronically ill son, “I found Dr. Berg’s videos and never looked back,” reveals Oregon mom Angela Doescher, 44. “It took two weeks to adjust to fewer carbs, but it kept getting easier.” She quickly shed 105 pounds. “I figured I’d need surgery for excess skin, but since I was finally giving my body the right foods, sagging wasn’t an issue. My rheumatoid arthritis hasn’t flared up once since I started, and my blood pressure, cholesterol and liver problems are gone. I used to drag through the day; now I feel wonderful!”
Jennifer Christmas agrees. “I was pre-diabetic, my joints hurt, and the doctor said I’d be on blood pressure meds for life,” recalls the Florida cosmetologist, 46. “Just eight weeks on Dr. Berg’s plan, and none of those things were true anymore!” Down 151 pounds, “I’m smaller than I was in high school, my skin is better than I thought was possible, and my energy is unlimited. This is the best plan in the world!
Anti-Aging Keto Meals
Dr. Berg calls for 70 percent of your calories from fat, 20 percent from protein, and 10 percent from carbs (including 7–10 cups of veggies daily). To skip diet math, just go for a serving of protein, 2–3 cups of veggies, and 2–3 servings of fat per sitting. Start out eating three meals a day, then gradually switch to brunch at midday and an early dinner, eating all your food in the same six-hour window each day. For more tips, visit DrBerg.com or search his 3,000+ videos at YouTube.com. As always, get a doctor’s okay to try any new plan.
Breakfast
Avocado egg bake: Crack 2 eggs into pitted avocado halves; bake at 425°F to desired doneness, about 20 minutes. Enjoy with nitrate-free bacon.
Green Boost
Blitz 3 cups frozen kale, 1 cup berries, 2 cups water, 3 tsp. lemon juice, 1 tsp.wheatgrass powder, and stevia to taste. Enjoy as your veggies at any meal.
Lunch
Tuna cakes: Mix 1 can tuna, 1 egg, 1/4 cup almond flour, and 2 diced scallions; form patties and cook in olive oil, 3 minutes per side.
Dinner
1 serving steak grilled with olive oil and spices. Enjoy with 1 1/2 cups steamed cauliflower mashed with olive tapenade or heavy cream, butter, and salt.
This story originally appeared in our print magazine.
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