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Sardine Fasting: Less Hunger, More Health

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Sardine fasting beats hunger with a smile.

Being hungry just plain sucks. Your stomach growls. Your mood tanks. Energy dips. No one smiles through that for long.

Yet fasting shines for good reasons. It sparks autophagy—your body’s natural cleanup crew. Cells recycle junk. They clear out damaged parts. This promotes renewal and better health.

But full fasting risks muscle loss. Sarcopenia—age-related muscle wasting—is the enemy. Losing healthy muscle hurts strength, metabolism, and quality of life. We avoid that at all costs.

Enter sardine fasting. Eat controlled doses of sardines. You get protein and fat to hold onto muscle. This lets you extend a healthy fast, training your body to burn fat for fuel and shifting you into a ketogenic state. Fat adaptation kicks in. Insulin sensitivity improves. You feel steadier energy without the crash.

Open can of King Oscar sardines in extra virgin olive oil

One 3.75 oz can of King Oscar sardines in extra virgin olive oil (drained, 85g serving) packs 16 grams of complete animal protein. For someone targeting an ideal weight of 175 lbs (about 80 kg), aim for 80–96 grams of protein daily. That means roughly 5–6 cans spread throughout the day.

Sardines deliver high omega-3s (around 2,200 mg EPA+DHA per serving). These fight inflammation and support heart and brain health. They also provide vitamin D, calcium from edible bones, B12, and selenium. Low mercury risk since they’re small fish. Affordable. Easy — pop the can and eat. No cooking drama.

How to Dose Protein and Best Practices

To protect your muscles, target 1.0–1.2 grams per kg of ideal body weight daily (about 0.45–0.55 g per pound). Base it on your ideal weight, not your current one (which might be a little higher than ideal).

For an adult targeting 175 lbs ideal weight with King Oscar in olive oil (3.75 oz can), eat 5–6 cans a day. Spread them out: one can every 3–4 hours, or group into breakfast, lunch, and supper.

Most people enter ketosis after 2 days. Stop after the 3rd day and resume a healthy diet.

For best results, avoid all sweetened beverages — even artificial sweeteners can tweak insulin levels. Your morning coffee with a little MCT oil is more okay and makes things easier.

Combine with light walks or resistance training to boost muscle retention. Start slow: 1–3 days per week or month. Listen to your body.

Safety First

This works best for healthy adults wishing to improve insulin sensitivity and fat adaptation. We are NOT medical providers — just well-informed laypeople. Always talk to your health care professional before any dietary changes.

Skip if pregnant, breastfeeding, underweight, or have kidney issues. Watch for signs of trouble: dizziness, extreme fatigue, irregular heartbeat. Stop and eat normally if needed. Don’t go extreme long-term without guidance. Balance with nutrient-rich foods on non-fast days.

Sardine fasting keeps the good parts of fasting. Ditches the misery. Adds a little ocean-powered happiness to your day.

Sources

Eggs Are the Perfect Food

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Eggs really are the perfect food. They’re nutritious, versatile, and loaded with what our bodies crave.

Take choline. Our bodies make a little, but not enough—especially during pregnancy or when kids grow fast. We need foods to fill the gap. Egg yolks shine here. They’re one of the richest sources, right up there with liver, meat, poultry, fish, and dairy. Plants like broccoli, beans, nuts, and grains offer some too, but eggs deliver it easily and in big amounts.

Choline helps make acetylcholine, the brain chemical tied to memory, mood, and muscle control. Too little, and your thinking can fog up. It also protects your liver. Without enough, fat piles up and raises the risk of fatty liver disease—even if you stay fit.

Most Americans fall short on choline. Data show average daily intakes hover around 402 mg for men and 278 mg for women—well below targets. Only about 10% of people hit the mark. Vegans and vegetarians often struggle more since they miss top animal sources.

Pregnancy ramps up the need. Low choline links to higher chances of neural tube defects and weaker brain development in babies. That tiny brain demands plenty! If you’re plant-based and pregnant, smart planning or supplements become key.

In 1998, experts declared choline essential. They set daily goals: 550 mg for men, 425 mg for women, and 450 mg during pregnancy. Old fears about egg yolk cholesterol kept many away back then. Now we know eggs are safe and smart. They’re an easy, tasty way to boost choline and stay sharp and healthy.

Eggs just make sense. They fuel your brain, guard your liver, and bring a smile with every bite!

Ultra-Processed Food: Snickers Test

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Ultra-Processed Food and the Snickers Test

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s no secret that many of us lead hectic lives. Between work deadlines, family commitments, and endless to-do lists, finding time to prepare wholesome meals can feel like an impossible task. As a result, busy people often turn to ultra-processed foods (UPF) for convenience—think ready-to-eat snacks, frozen dinners, or quick grabs from the vending machine. While these options save time, they come with well-documented health risks, including links to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and even mental health issues. Despite knowing this, the allure of UPF is hard to resist when you’re on the go. But what if we had a simple way to evaluate these foods? Enter the “Snickers test,” a straightforward mental shortcut to help us pause and reflect on what we’re really putting into our bodies.

Let’s take a closer look at the Snickers bar as our benchmark. Snickers is a classic mass-market candy bar, undeniably ultra-processed and loaded with sugar, fats, and additives. Yet, when you flip it over and read the ingredients list, it’s surprisingly straightforward: milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, skim milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, artificial flavor), peanuts, corn syrup, sugar, palm oil, skim milk, lactose, salt, egg whites, and artificial flavor. That’s it—no endless parade of unpronounceable chemicals or obscure emulsifiers that dominate the labels of many other UPF items. Compare this to something like a typical frozen pizza or a boxed macaroni and cheese, which might list dozens of ingredients including high-fructose corn syrup variants, artificial colors, preservatives like BHT or TBHQ, and modified food starches. Even some “healthy” granola bars or energy drinks can have longer, more convoluted lists than Snickers. The point here is that despite being a quintessential junk food, Snickers maintains a relatively recognizable and limited set of components, making it a useful yardstick for spotting even more heavily engineered UPF masquerading as everyday eats.

So here’s the Snickers test in one easy question: Does this food feel even further from real, whole ingredients than a Snickers bar? If the answer is yes—maybe it has a longer ingredient list full of lab-made stuff or strange additives—pause and smile at the chance to choose better. Pick something closer to nature: a handful of nuts, a piece of fruit, or veggies with a little dip. Your body will thank you with more steady energy and real happiness. One small question, one big win for your health.