Fueling Success Part 1

By Valerie Driscoll, Lead Coach and Coaching Program Developer for Apollo Health

In working with Apollo Health members, Mastering Nutrition for Cognition participants, and clients, I have come to realize that the important concept of fueling oneself is both misunderstood and underutilized toward brain-health goals. Much of the confusion comes from viewing measuring fuel as a task rather than a tool, and when one switches that mindset, it will help to facilitate getting into ketosis and to broaden dietary choices and create more delicious eating experiences while still creating ketones.

For Apollo Health members, we have an excellent guide called Getting Enough Fuel?, which ranks 2nd in importance when implementing the Bredesen Protocol. Yes — even ahead of all of the Bredesen Seven. Why? Because if you don’t understand how to adequately fuel your brain — and how to measure whether it’s getting enough — it can consistently undermine your progress.

Both our guides and Dr. Bredesen’s books take a deep dive into metabolic health and how it relates to fuel, so please take the time to reference those important resources if needed. My focus here and next month is to look at fuel monitoring as a tool rather than a chore. Here are some Facts that will help you to build your Fuel Toolbox. These are statements that Nutritionist Deb Sobel and I repeat every time we facilitate a cohort of Apollo’s Mastering Nutrition for Cognition Education Group:

• You can’t manage what you don’t measure – you cannot and will not be implementing the Bredesen Protocol if you are not measuring your glucose and ketones. End Stop.
• Your fuel journey is front-loaded – whether you begin by using Keto-Mojo or a Continuous Glucose Monitor, you will be measuring a lot during your first few weeks/months until you become metabolically flexible. While this requires some finger sticking at the outset, doing it consistently and mindfully will eventually let you assess more by how you feel than by a number.

Test Timing	Glucose Goals Mg/dL	mmol/L
Fasting (upon awakening before coffee, tea, supplements, or medication)	70 to 90	3.9 to 5.0
Before breaking your long fast	Lower than the fasting check	Lower than the fasting check
1 hour after eating	90 to 125	5.0 to 6.9
2 hours after eating	90 to 110	5.0 to 6.1
5 hours after eating	70 to 90	3.9 to 5.0

• Know when to test – When first beginning the program, everyone needs to test glucose TWO times per day: upon awakening (to learn your fasting blood glucose) & right before you break your long daily fast. If you aren’t hitting the goals above, post-prandial (after-eating) testing can be helpful to learn which foods may be spiking your blood glucose.
• SOS (Save Our Strips!) – If you are not consistently reaching these goals for one to three weeks, it is a waste of expensive strips to measure ketones. Numbers higher than these likely indicate that you are not yet metabolically flexible enough to produce adequate ketones, and your goal should be to consistently improve these numbers until they are in range.

Numbers higher than these likely indicate that you are not yet metabolically flexible enough to produce adequate ketones, and your goal should be to consistently improve these numbers until they are in range.

Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) to the rescue – if you have the ability to invest in several rounds with a CGM, do it! Remember that keeping a food/lifestyle journal will help you to correlate behavior to glucose readings. At this time, sadly, there is no way to continuously measure ketones, so it will require a finger stick.

This is a lifestyle, not a diet – yes, your fuel is heavily driven by what you eat, but also remember that stress level, sleep, and exercise play critical roles in your glucose and ketone levels.

Exercise … yes, I am giving it its own mention, and it is well deserved! Apollo Health also has a wonderful guide on exercise, Why Exercise, that explains the connection between exercise and fuel. I also give it special mention as I often run into resistance when trying to move a discussion about exercise beyond walking around the block. Exercise will also get a longer discussion in Part 2

These are the basics; next month I am going to discuss how to make monitoring fuel another super skill in your Bredesen Protocol toolbox. When you learn how to wield fuel as a precision-medicine tool, your KetoFLEX 12/3 food journey will become easier, more varied, and much more enjoyable. Stay tuned.