Dr. Lukaczer’s Toolkit Item of the Month: Updated Mito Food Plan

Dan Lukaczer, ND

We have done some revamping of the Mito Food Plan Comprehensive Guide, which was recently presented at the Energy Advanced Practice Module in Denver. The purpose of this update was to make this food plan simpler and more efficient to use. I’ve been using this particular plan a bit more in my practice, perhaps in part because of the patients that I’m seeing and in part because of the research that is mounting supporting a low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet in various conditions. The guide offers a low carbohydrate, modest protein, and higher fat macronutrient ratio as a foundation. While this approach is generally not strictly ketogenic, it can be used fairly easily for long-term maintenance in individuals who may be carbohydrate sensitive. I will often put metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetic patients in this category. The foundational Mito Food Plan also allows you to easily incorporate another handout I use frequently—the Phytonutrient Spectrum Foods handout. We’ve streamlined the guide to make a strict ketogenic approach easier to incorporate if desired. This approach is on the continuum of the Mito Food Plan, but pushing healthy fats up to 80% or so of total calories and net carbohydrates down to about 5-10%. The two-page handout on foods to eat and avoid now calls out those foods that would be appropriate on the standard Mito Food Plan and those that should be avoided when on the stricter keto version of that plan. We think that makes it easier for the practitioner to discuss either plan with the patient. If you are prescribing the ketogenic approach, the only one sure way to determine if one is in ketosis is to test using a blood ketone meter (ketometer). We have an expanded discussion of that in the FAQ of the Comprehensive Guide as well.

To access the IFM Clinical Practice Toolkit, log in to your account, select My Education from the left-hand side, then click on the IFM Toolkit tile. To find these toolkit documents, search for “Mito Food Plan” within the toolkit.