I recently started a modified keto diet and intermittent fasting because I had read it helps reduce inflammation. I have a ton of military related joint and back issues and other things and I would say in one month, 95% of pain is gone. I dropped 13 lbs. I wasn’t looking to lose weight but out of desperation, I felt like I needed to try something. Grains bothered me, dairy bothered me, I couldn’t eat anything without GI issues and I was so tired. Arthritic. So I tried it and within days felt better. I still take Aleve in the morning but pain is mostly gone and nothing helped before.

So I said “modified” because I don’t want to say I adhere to it religiously (there are a lot of prepackaged “keto” products that I am very skeptical about, plus they’re expensive so-no) but I stopped drinking beer completely. Stopped grains, stopped fruit except for limited raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and lemons and I keep everything simple. No processed foods. I just buy meat, eggs and lots of green vegs and stay away from the higher sugar vegs (such as carrots, tomatoes etc) and the miracle is that I can have basically any dairy without my stomach going crazy like it used to. So probably it was the grains. I love pasta..... but I cut that out and no bread or rice though you can substitute some things like cauliflower for pizza crust etc. It makes cooking a lot easier because it’s so simple.

The intermittent fast is- I just eat lunch at noon and dinner around 6pm. Nothing between. I used to always eat breakfast but after 3-4 days, I’m not missing it. Way more energy. I’m cold now and I used to be hot all the time. Everything is different. Sleeping better, working out better.

This is getting long but I was very skeptical about keto and now I’ve tried it, I think it could be valuable for some people.