Today, I am blessed to have here with me a certified whole-food nutritionist, blogger, published author, and one of the leading voices advocating for a food-based approach to healing, Vivica Menegaz. Vivica was the first to use the now popular expression “Keto Paleo” to describe her lifestyle and eating habits. She is the founder of the “The Healing Foods Method’ – a 14-week online nutrition program where she works 1-on-1 with clients to turn their health around utilizing a therapeutic ketogenic diet for healing (keto paleo). Tracing back to her Italian origins, Vivica is a passionate cook whose love of healing food has been shared with millions through her blog, “The Nourished Caveman.” While living in Northern California, pursuing her self-sufficiency dreams and practice of nutrition, Vivica’s life came to a turning point when she discovered she was pre-diabetic. The nourishing Paleo foods she had been advocating are not the whole solution to modern health problems. Fueled by this discovery, Vivica dove into research and found the ketogenic diet. It was love at the first bite. Within the first couple of months, her blood glucose levels dropped, she shed excess weight, her brain fog cleared up, and her energy levels skyrocketed. After a year of successful keto paleo lifestyle, Vivica’s own health journey took another turn as she was now diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and Hypothyroidism. Again she had to rely on her studies and practical applications to resolve those challenges, and that is how she became the first holistic nutritionist to successfully utilize a ketogenic approach as the foundation to endocrine rebalancing. She has made it her mission to help others reclaim their health and quality of life. Vivica is also the author of three cookbooks: “The Ultimate Paleo Cookbook” 2015, together with nine other bloggers, and “The Big Book Of Fat Bombs” in 2016. Her latest book: “The Keto Paleo Kitchen,” was released in December 2017. In this episode, Vivica Menegaz dives deep into her roots and how she grew up eating only the best and fresh meats. Then, Vivica reveals what the media has wrong about Covid. Why aren’t we talking about the immune system, the gut, and getting out in nature? That’s what will actually help you overcome this virus – we aren’t going to get rid of it! Then, Vivica explains how your healing journey may lead you to ayahuasca. Plus, we chat about how Vivica found the keto lifestyle, and we talk all about Vivica’s cookbooks. / / E P I S O D E S P ON S O R S PureForm Omega Plant Based Oils (Best Alternative to Fish Oil): http://www.purelifescience.com Use ben4 for $4.00 off. ☕️ Purity Coffee: http//:www.ketokampcoffee.com, use ketokamp at checkout for 10% off [00:35] About Vivica Menegaz Growing up, Vivica ate loads of fresh meat. As she traveled the world, Vivica would explore local and native foods. Vivica was following her dreams of practicing nutrition. However, she discovered that she was pre-diabetic. After working with Dr. Deborah Penner, her mentor, she was first introduced to a ketogenic diet when only a handful of people were writing or talking about it. Vivica’s therapeutic approach to food, lifestyle, and supplementation, utilizes the healing power of nutrition and mindset to address the incapacitating symptoms of many lifestyle-diseases that have plagued our modern lives. [10:15] Wrapping Our Heads Around Covid There is so much misinformation about Covid. As a practitioner, Vivica is looking for trustworthy resources. However, there’s not a lot out there! Finally, we understand how Covid makes people sick and who it makes sick. There are levels of sickness that we cannot treat as nutritionists. Eventually, people will need to go to a hospital. However, most people will benefit from nutritionists. A person with an intact immune system whose microbiome has resilience will not be affected by the ‘dangerous’ virus. In order for the virus to be dangerous, there needs to be microcirculation problems and metabolism issues. These conditions are making all the difference. Covid could actually benefit you by making your body stronger. A small percentage of people need to be quarantined, but that’s not the majority of us! The real virus is FEAR. [17:20] Using Plants To Heal Ayahuasca is the main plant that Vivica uses to heal. Practicing as a nutritionist, people would just heal from diet changes. However, some people would do everything right but they wouldn’t heal. It would drive Vivica insane! She wants all her patients to get better and heal everything. When they don’t heal correctly, Vivica takes it personally. Now, Vivica likes to find the deep cause of diseases. Her goal is to have as holistic practice where she can treat people as fully human. [22:10] Diving Into The Keto Lifestyle Seven years ago, when you said ketosis, people had no idea what you were talking about. Ketosis is the opposite of insulin resistance, so Vivica knew she needed to be in ketosis. You could say Vivica was an early adopter and researcher for keto. For Vivica, her focus had always been on whole, unprocessed foods as in the Paleo diet. However, she used her personal diabetic challenge as fuel for her research in the ketogenic diet to help Vivica control her blood sugar and hormonal issues. There is no cookie-cutter approach to health – you have to experiment and see how it works for you. [38:15] The Essential Carnivore Diet Cookbook There are a few different categories for the carnivore diet: Purist (meat and salt). This diet is for people who have severe gut issues. We are talking about clean meat, which is the least toxic food on the planet. You can find all the nutrients you need in clean meat. It’s an elimination diet and not meant to be done for extended periods of time. Ancestral (includes fruit and honey). What would a hunter and gather eat? It’s seasonal fruit and meat. Occasionally there would be nuts, but not often. You can’t use olive oil on the carnivore diet, so Vivica uses bone marrow fat. Cookbooks are helpful for people who have no idea how to make high-fat meals. Nutrient-dense healing food is what will heal our bodies. AND MUCH MORE! Resources from this episode: The Nourished Caveman: https://thenourishedcaveman.com Follow Vivica Menegaz Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheNourishedCaveman LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivica/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenourishedcaveman YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyl1J_UOu5QPtHkefgYgv5g Join Keto Paleo For Women: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ketopaleo/ The Essential Carnivore Diet Cookbook: https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Carnivore-Diet-Cookbook-Delicious-ebook/dp/B0871BWDQB/benazadi-20 The Everything BIG Book of Fat Bombs: https://thenourishedcaveman.com/the-everything-big-book-of-fat-bombs Get The Keto Paleo Kitchen: http://www.theketopaleokitchen.com Join theKeto Kamp Academy: https://ketokampacademy.com/7-day-trial-a WatchKeto Kamp on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUh_MOM621MvpW_HLtfkLyQ / / E P I S O D E S P ON S O R S PureForm Omega Plant Based Oils (Best Alternative to Fish Oil): http://www.purelifescience.com Use ben4 for $4.00 off. ☕️ Purity Coffee: http//:www.ketokampcoffee.com, use ketokamp at checkout for 10% off Text me! 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