Dr. Tim Noakes - Our Bodies ARE NOT Designed to Use Carbohydrates for Energy (full interview) 

Dr Noaks changed South Africa a few years ago. People went crazy for "banting" 100s of people started banting and changed their lives. He made it simple and easy to understand. I myself am truly grateful to him for teaching me that eating doesn't have to consume your every thoughts all day. I moved away from keto and am now carnivore which does great for me. But it all started with this man being brave enough to go against everything everyone believed.

I had wholegrains and fruits, not junks, but they still make me sick and obese. Now I eat mostly animal based foods and I feel healthier than ever.

After almost a year on keto I had to quit. No matter how much salt, Electrolytes or vitamins I took, my muscles always felt weak, especially during exercise. Don't get me wrong. It was great losing weight and I'm sure some people thrive with it. But my body simply can't adapt to it. So I switched to Paleo and started adding fruit and Immediately my muscles felt great. And I'm not even heavy on carbs, just added 50-100g of carbs daily and my body is thanking me for that. No need to eat rice or pasta, just 2-3 fruits and it's a game changer. Fruit is good.

Here is a ChatGPT summary: - Fat adaptation is the natural state of humans, evolved to burn fat instead of carbohydrates - Fat adaptation can occur within 5 days of switching to a high fat diet - Low carb athletes can switch back and forth faster due to gluconeogenesis - Elite athletes can burn up to 2 grams of fat per minute during high intensity exercise - Elite marathoners may be able to run a 2 hour marathon on fat alone - Low carb athletes can transition better from aerobic to anaerobic states - Muscles can burn fat up to 100% of VO2 max and supplement with phosphocreatin and ATP breakdown - Nutrition has little to do with exercise performance - Exercise physiologist have misled the public by saying that performance is all about nutrition. - Patrick Sang's book explains that performance is about the total being, not just nutrition. - Carbohydrates can act as a stimulant, but the placebo effect can be difficult to measure in studies. - High carbohydrate diets can lead to insulin resistance and inflammation. - Exercise can reduce insulin levels and glucose levels quickly. - Glucose levels can increase during exercise, which is a marker of insulin resistance. - 80% hard run for two miles or 5K can cause aggressive drop in glucose levels - Monounsaturated fats and omega-7s may help with insulin sensitivity in metabolically unhealthy people - Polyunsaturated fats have increased in consumption over the last 60-80 years - Natural animal fats have decreased over the same time period - Low carb diet with high amounts of olive oil, macadamia nut oil, and monounsaturated fats can help with glucose control - Coconut oil can have a negative effect on glucose levels - C8 MCT oil can have a positive effect on energy and athletic performance - Reducing sugar and carb addiction is key to fat adaptation - Eating real foods is important for health and performance - Micronutrients may play a role in athletic performance and long-term health - This is a story about a man who taught the speaker their PhD and would not allow them to eat saturated fat. - He died a crumpled up old man with dementia due to not getting enough fat and fat-soluble vitamins. - The speaker believes that the more carbs you eat, the more likely you are to have an inflexible spine. - The scientists studying runners with shin splints say they are not getting enough calories, but the speaker believes they are not getting proper nutrition and the micronutrients they need. - The speaker believes the body is capable of using its own on-hand energy systems and that the world's greatest athletes in East Africa come from poor communities and have survived and been successful despite not having great nutrition. - The speaker has formed the Nokes Foundation to educate the public and physicians about the low carbohydrate diet and to do research on it. - The Nokes Foundation is also working on the Eat Better South Africa campaign to get good nutrition to the poorest people. - The speaker can be found on Twitter at Prof Tim Nokes and has written a piece on academic bullying.

I met Tim in about 2010 in Durban just before the trials attempted to silence him. Fantastic guy without a selfish bone in his body IMHO. Humble and knowledgeable. What he and a handful of others have managed to do is amazing for human suffering and health. I would put him forward for a Nobel prize!

Never heard of Dr. Noakes before today and I am sure glad I now have. Thanks Thomas for sharing him with us.

Dr Noakes saved my life 12 years ago, I would have died from Diabetes and cancer

Prof Noakes is the most decent human being alive! Such a humble man that made such a huge difference!!

High quality carbs but in low amounts is what works for me. Most Americans are eating both the wrong kind and too many.

Everyone of these "diet and health experts" and even drs, especially drs, contradict each other. So the minute you start following one of them, another one pops up and says the opposite.

I was 250 pounds about 3 years ago. I got rid of carbs and added sugar and now weigh 145. I didn't follow a certain diet. I put down the pizza, cupcakes and soda.

Dr. Noakes is a legend in the world of LCHF/Keto and is featured in the movie Cereal Killers and the movie Fat Fiction which really both highlight his knowledge and the struggles he had promoting this lifestyle. I really admire him and love to hear him.

I started on Carnivore on November 27, 2023. My blood glucose constantly exceeded 18.3. Today, December 28, 2023, it tested at just 5.6!! 🥩 2:50 am. OMAD followed naturally, I just don't want to eat for a day after a small steak or leg of lamb chop. I also lost >5kg over this month. Feel healthy again. Beautiful yellow morning urine. I sleep well, no leg cramps, no restless legs. No insomnia.

I didn’t expect them to open with “for breakfast I had a buiscut, and a sweet potato for dinner” 😳

I'm no athlete but since switching to 100% carnivore 6 months ago, my recovery at 56yo is greatly improved after a heavy exercise session, got down 32lbs to my 30yo weight but regain much of my muscle mass with little effort. When I was on SAD, I HAD TO give myself a day or two to recover from a heavy exercise session and muscle gains were not that huge. Now I can exercise daily and only rest on Sunday. Thank you for a great interview. It totally agrees with what I'm experiencing.

Thank you for interviewing this man. It's about time someone started trying to put nutrition into medicine.

Thomas, this guy is pure gold! Doing the relevant research, experiments and studies, WOW! Your guest is the bomb, answering questions that i've been pondering for months. Please keep track of this gentleman's amazing work, best regards from Canada.

Prof Noakes's lifestyle enabled me to lose 24kg's and for the first time in my adult life I'm at my goal-weight! I mainly eat ground beef, eggs, ostrich meat, some butter and take no medications or supplements. I only eat one meal a day. Great discussion!

Great interview - first time hearing of your guest and looking forward to hearing more from him! Thanks for bringing this great voice forward.

I was watching a video about a woman who was captured by the Souix In 1864. She said their diet was almost exclusively meat and they may fast one day and eat meat frequently all the next day. They skinned bison so completely it looked like the bone had been boiled. They dried the meat immediately and it was hung and dried covered with dirt and dung.

I like how the conversation is about not needing carbs and Dr. Noakes starts off his day with a biscuit! ha! Such great information here - really enjoyed this interview!

I’m very carb sensitive too. People tell me as long as I’m within my daily calorie intake, I should be able to consume breads and pasta even twice a day or even once a day. If I do that, I tend to hang on to fat and even increase it on my body. If I eat low carbs, my body responds better.

Such an excellent interview. Wow Dr Noakes is the real deal 🙌🏼

OUTSTANDING! Great interview and so informative. Thomas, thank you for introducing Dr. Noakes, what tremendous and much needed work!!

Understanding that glucose is stored in the liver and then released when you try to go keto is so important to understand. Watching Dr. Boz I realized why even though I fasted for 5 days straight my glucose went UP for 4 of the 5 days. Sardines made a huge difference to me.

I have to thank Thomas not because of good information but because of the information of saying it’s okay to eat or these different foods which started me getting cravings for more and more of foods that push you out of eating healthy. So thank you as it made me find carnivore and now it’s been a year and I felt great from the time I started and still do.

Thank you Thomas for recording and making this video available. I eagerly anticipate your videos!

Dr.Noakes is great!! Thank you to have him on your channel! Great information!

YES...Carb Addiction is real.

This guy is just phenomenal- thank you Thomas , what a great interview.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Excellent interview! Thank you!

Never heard of Dr Noakes before glad to hear him speak today makes sense to me thank you from Johannesburg South Africa 🇿🇦

so first he says I eat biscuit and sweet potato, then says we do need carbs and the title says we are not designed to use carbs. makes sense. great start. some say there are people in some areas that eat exclusively meat and fat.

Low carb saved me from a bad cancer diagnosis. Things that normal medicine did not help. I can’t wait to see more about this study!

I gave up carbs 4 years ago and went low carb ketogenic and now at 60 I have never felt better ! I'm very athletic, weight lifting, sprinting, biking, mountain climbing and my muscle, strength, endurance and health have steadily improved the last 4 years of low carb diet ! I have been following Dr Noakes for those 4 years. I wish we could punish the large food companies and people pushing Gatorade and that sugar carb crap ruining people's health

Another great interview!

Great interview and discussion. I went keto a year ago and it was the best decision of my life. Much healthier mind and body

I can’t remember ever seeing a better interview/discussion. Well done Sirs.

Dr. Noakes is such an asset to human health and performance! Thank you Thomas!

Amazing informative video...thank you!

Wow, amazing content! I love Dr. Noakes and his amazing story. I am so glad to see him being interviewed on a big channel!

I enjoy your videos, thanks for the great content. I Lost 283 lbs on keto/carnivore and reversed my type 2 diabetes and all other medical issues!! Only Real food & very low carbs for the rest of my life!!! ❤

Great discussion, thanks for sharing!

Excellent interview!!! Please let us know when the book will be published!

Thomas, I listened, but it would be nice to have a short video with written summary with the best take aways to apply to our life. It is so much science.

Wow! Such an incredible interview. I'm a 19 year old, I used to be an elite Rhythmic Gymnast and going low carb assisted my athletic performance exceptionally. Some days I would train for 8 hours with only a 1 hour break and I couldn't have done it without Keto. I never got injuries, I recovered quickly and I had great mental clarity. I stopped gymnastics this year but I continue to train with the same intensity without additional carbohydrates. I never count calories, because once you switch to real food, your cravings completely disappear. As you both mentioned long term health is key- thank you for this extremely educational interview!

Great interview, thanks.

Great interview

Olympic gold medalist Björn Ferry was fat adapted when he won in Vancouver 2010. He ate very low carb.

Oh this is going to be a good one.

Hello from Africa, it's always been great to watch your channel 😀, keep up good work, bless,

Lovely video. Thanks x

I discovered my inflammation was caused by chemicals in food as well as gluten and sugar. The chemicals I identified and avoid include artificial sweeteners(diet soda gave me swollen joints)and herbicides. I lost stubborn weight after I switched to mostly organic foods. My blood pressure dropped too.Also much lower carbs and more healthy fat though not too much, and walk every day.

Great interview. I let myself go after years of good health. My middle grew, my skin and features changed and dark circles aged me. It was my own fault I trained less, consumed alcohol and ate a hi carb diet. A month ago I purchased a well respected mct c8 keto oil, stopped drinking alcohol and ditched the carbs in favour of steak, eggs, sausages, bacon etc. I do 3 heavy weight sessions with bench press every week and walk everywhere. I'm 62 and feel like a 30 year old. My dark circles have gone and my skin quality and face shape have drastically improved. Don't allow nay sayers to deflect you. Most people will compliment you on your appearance but some will warn you of the dangers of hybrid keto carnivore diets. Usually they're the ones that look very unhealthy. One of the benefits of MCT C8 is that it seems to quickly eradicate cravings for unhealthy foods.

Outstanding interview!!!! Tgank you so very much!!!!

excellent conversation!

Great Interview. I'm finde with Fruits (Berries, Papaya), microgreens and vegetables as carbs. But i could not exist without high quality meat, fish or eggs.

Have you ever ate a bunch of carbs or sugar and you feel like hell, shaking, etc? When did did that ever happen eating a bunch of fat? Exactly

Agreed so much w that first segment and also has an interesting learned perspective.

Brilliant conversation 🎉

I've not watched the video, but I can say one thing with absolute certainty: No matter what you may say, I *will* eat carbs again.

I see the wonderful Noakes and I click on it❤

thanks thomas 👍

Great discussion!!!

You guys Aced it! I did a low carb keto diet for 6 years after being 16.5 stone. I dropped to 12.5 stone. I have returned on a carb diet for 2 years now and weight has maintained, I reversed my dads type 2 diabetes with it. You describe a problem I had with training with carb creep in the morning, or morning dawn phenomenon. I only get it when lifting weights. Tried 3 times to solve it without effect. Basically Morning fasted Glucose is too high then I eat fat and it drops. But the longer I do this the higher it goes. I did find a video on Stephen Phinney saying he only knows to refeed which I have and it fixes it but as soon as you start ketosis again you are fine but if you train you get close to getting knocked out of ketosis in the morning. It is self repeating and I am curious if you solved it? I tried MCT oil before training, did not work, tried MCT with 50gram of glucose before training, did not work! Also regarding saturated fat you will be happy to know that it cant enter the blood stream when in ketosis! And in my opinion your blood lipids will go higher and not lower, but it is all the protective ones so total cholesterol means nothing! If you want my DATA I have recorded and will share! Good job!

Great interview! Thank you gentlemen. After trying both keto and carnivore I've found some carbs do help. Fruit and honey mostly with occasional rice, Italian pasta or sweet potato. I work out enough and stick to my plan enough that I will have some snacks on the weekend, as I think a balance is good for maintaining long term. Gotta enjoy life too!

Awesome video T.D.L.!! Thanks for all you do! Just a comment and a like for the algorithm.

Thomas what do you use to monitor your insulin levels during training? This is probably my all time favorite interview 🙌🙌🙌 Tim Noakes is a absolute legend! Thanks for all the great info!!!

I was strictly keto for over a year and down to one meal daily. Then, I started working out again, running and strength training. I was concerned keto wasn't my best approach, and I worked with a board-certified dietician that encouraged me to eat frequently and increased my carbohydrate intake significantly. After starting carbs in earnest, I immediately gained weight, mostly water weight, but some muscle gain from strength training and running. I still eat organic and healthy, but more or less ignored my keto eating principles to follow "dietician's orders." It took some adjusting, and I never felt very good eating the 420 grams of carbs recommended to me and eventually backed off somewhat. I don't really count calories or macros, but as a lifelong athlete, I am in tune with when I need to eat and when to back off. Unfortunately, running (I am 55) has exacerbated my knees and hips, so I can hardly continue. My goal was to be able to run ~ four miles regularly, and the pain radiating from my hip and knees began to hobble me once I increased my training volume. My dietician said the carb and protein intake would help recover, build muscle, and prevent injury. Still, I believe the wear and tear from being a 120-day-per-year skier, physical labor, etc., means that running is not suitable for me to exercise. When I ride bikes, everything is fine. My confusion comes from diet. I think that for an athlete training six days per week that OMAD is tough. I felt like I was cannibalizing lean muscle mass and at the least needed more calories per day. But Dr. Noakes talks about a biscuit, sweet potatoes, etc., and seemingly isn't strictly keto. I've consumed massive amounts of data from all sides of the nutritional spectrum and am more confused than ever. When I was a competitive cyclist, I fueled with a lot of the "science" food containing maltodextrin, whey, and soy protein, etc., with horrendous results. I've done ok on long-distance mountain bike rides fasted on keto, only consuming electrolytes, and I have performed reasonably well using carbs. Although, I have never done well with the 60-80 grams of carb per hour routine that the fitness world espouses. For reference, most of my bigger mountain bike rides are 3-5 hours. Thomas, I love your channel and content, but the more I watch, the more I am confused. I believe everybody is different, and what works for me might not work for someone else. But, I am also hesitant to believe my dietician entirely because it feels very much like talking to doctors about statin drugs. They all say it is safe and necessary, but nobody will stray from the script for individual needs nor admit the known side effects. I am very good about sticking to a plan, but the older I get, the less I believe it is imperative to be so strict about food choices. I do not drink alcohol, do not eat any added sugar, stay away from a lot of sweet fruits and stick mostly to berries. One well-known doctor that advertises like crazy that we all know of talks about the evils of lectins, but lately, I have leaned on quinoa and steel cut oats for carbs without issue. Lastly, I am not looking to lose weight, I just want to eat healthy and perform my physical activities well. What is the balance for an active athlete!?

In my view Noakes, Phinney and Volek are the most important researchers in metabolism of our time.

Thank you ❤ good topic. Always had question what happens on zero carb diet when you do HIIT. Fascinating

Wonderful discussion.Thanking you JHB-SA.

Great to see Tim Noakes interviewed. On the polyunsaturated fat issue, Eric Westman's clinical experience is that for his patients the quantity of sat or polyunsat consumed has made no difference to outcomes of weight loss and type 2 diabetes reversal. So, although I avoid polyunsaturated fats due to the 2 issues of unbalanced omega 3/6 ratios causing inflammation, and rapid oxidation, any other issues should be looked into of course, but can only be secondary, compared to high carb consumption.

Once upon a time I believed a vegan diet was healthy. My belief did not make it true.

Wow! I just love this interview!

THANK YOU GUYS

I should be dead according to the title of this video

One of the few points I disagree with him is that if glucose goes up during exercise, it means you are insulin resistant. I disagree with this because depending on the intensity of the exercise, adrenaline raises blood glucose levels by stimulating your liver to release glucose.This rise is an indication that you are mobilizing your stored glycogen (meaning the workout is too intense for your body to rely primarily on fat and needs to use glucose as fuel.

i did low carb for 30 years ended up needing a by pass ,feel much better on complex carbs now lost weight depression lifted full of energy .so not all people are better on low carb

1st!!! Thanks for all you do

I believe that. I seem to be much more active and burning fateating fat. At 64 I feel like I am 40

There are some individuals who do fine eating mainly carbohydrates ( from whole foods ) and actually prefer them. Genetics plays a role and a high level of activity such as 10 hour shifts walking, lifting, carrying..where as those who are less active may do better on a lower carbohydrate diet

Amazing video, thanks for the information. I went from Keto to carnivore a few months ago.

I didn't have diabetes or even pre diabetes. I had a suspicion that I started to become intolerant to carbs. Slight weight gain despite being fit and training. Anyway went keto 20 months ago and literally every extra pound fell off with no loss of strength. I'm with the Noakesmeister.....

My innocent question is this - if humans NEVER ate carbs, would some of the fat be stored in the muscles and liver as buffer storage??

Did he just say he eats biscuits for breakfast?! Hahaha

Are you factoring in the emfs from smart devices whilst training affecting metabolism and insulin sensitivity?

If you are looking at health and don’t know about Dr Noakes you haven’t looked into nutrition and diets enough.

My theory is we need various substrates as fuel for the body at different times in order to achieve metabolic flexibility. Basically conditions our metabolism. So any extreme exclusion diet for a prolonged period is unhealthy. We are designed to thrive via hormetic fluctuations.

I have been eating carbs (sweet potatoes, yams, some fruits/berries, cassava, etc) for some time now and it aids exercise a lot. It makes my diet sustainable too and my gut seems to like it. Maybe I'll do a keto cycle this year for 2 or 3 months. I personally think both approaches have upsides and downsides, and, since I'm not overweight/diabetic and I am lean I don't feel some carb sources // amounts are bad for me. I've watched part of the interview and will finish the rest this week. I've know Tim Noakes for a while too and he proposes some good interventions for sickened metabolisms.

Love Professor Noakes, what a legend

It goes against my thinking, but ut makes sense more and more. In my early 30s, i started eating tons of whole grain etc, working out, cardiovascular fitness. 5 years later, diagnosed with hypothyroidism, kept up an elite level of fitness, still high carb. At 63, diagnosed with thrombocytopenia, another autoimmune disease. But went the medical route, steroids, immunosuppressive drugs. No more i told the hemotoligist. I am drinking Asea, to supercharge my cells, and detoxifying my entire body. So this case for training in zone 2. I hsve trying to help my wife lose 30 pounds. Sounds like zone 2 and ketogenic way if eating will supercharge weight loss. This is very exciting. I have seen Tim few years ago and i was so closed minded to this. So i need to learn what to eat for satiated state, and studying glyogenisis. Which I guess it means, when you sprint, your liver etc. Will release glycogen for the bursts. ❤

Thomas thank you for educating me for free and all of your content out there helping literally millions of people to stay healthy and look good.

Right off the bat. Biscuits have carbs.

Outstanding !

Excellent speakers thank you.

I’ve not eaten meat in 40 years , 60 now and I’m in immaculate shape , 6’2 and 190 , still carrying a ton of muscle . This guy looks and sounds ancient I’m afraid . Eat carbs without fear . I’m living proof .

After years of deep diving into the subject of nutrition I've come to the conclusion it's an unsolvable puzzle. My belief today is that the human body is capable of keeping it's host (you) alive by digesting whatever is available at the time. If anything, I think exercise (not even hardcore sports) just exercise, keeping the body moving is vastly more important than diet. If you want a lean body, monitor your calory intake but that's it. Eat moderately, sleep well and keep your body moving with walks, light weight/resistance training and I believe you'll be okay. (bar any genetic defects you don't have much of a say in).

My all time favourite professor.

Yeah, that’s a great question Thomas on the Gluconeogenisis and how it affects the fat burning if you have used the muscle glycogen and I guess just glucose in general