Jack Kruse Tells You How To Live Like A Polar Bear And Eat Like A Great White Shark

Affiliate Disclosure

Biohacking, Podcast

Listen on:

Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.

Jack Kruse is a brilliant but highly controversial neurosurgeon who originally joined us for the podcast episode “How You Can Use Cold Thermogenesis To Perform Like Lance Armstrong And Michael Phelps”.

Today he's back.

And he's going to tell you how to live like a Polar Bear and eat like a Great White Shark.

Don't know what that means? You're about to find out…

In this Jack Kruse podcast, you're going to find out:

-Whether you actually need carbs for performance…

-How long it takes to turn yourself into a fat burning machine…

-How something called the “Pentose Phosphate Pathway” (PPP)  is an untapped wealth of energy for most people…

-Why you can’t access the fat burning pathway when your molecular sense of timing is off, and how to fix that timing…

-Which foods that have higher ATP densities and more electron density, and why that's importance…

-A sample day of eating for a high performance individual who wants to use ketogenesis and the PPP…

During our conversation, Jack references the following articles (which I'd highly recommend you read):

Why You Might Need Carbs For Performance

Quantum Scaling

Questions, comments or feedback on how to live like a polar bear and eat like a great white shark? Leave your thoughts below.

A big thanks to Facebook fan page winner Fredrick Felter for the Polar Bear Great White Shark image he contributed to this episode.

Ask Ben a Podcast Question

46 thoughts on “Jack Kruse Tells You How To Live Like A Polar Bear And Eat Like A Great White Shark

  1. Jen says:

    I’ve been reading over the comments about Jack Kruse, and can understand why people feel overwhelmed by his heavy explanations.

    I’ve been taking on what he has been saying for a month now, changed my diet and way more sun.

    So far, the diet of mostly fish and seafood, (I also eat eggs, cheese, diary) is not as satiating as red meat. Maybe I still need to experiment. I was on carnivore for 2.7 years prior.

    However, my new routines chasing the sun morning and afternoon rays have been nothing but life changing! I also, switched all light bulbs over to red and amber blue light blocking lamps.

    My son has noticed huge changes since buying the “red lights”. He’s 6.

    I’m no brainiac, but I am instinctive, I’m giving the diet another few months (calling it the DHA diet on FB) . I may wind down though, my reading of Jacks work because he actually scares me. I know he’s right about many things and I don’t want to live in fear.

    Ignorance WAS bliss.

    He can also be very inspiring and motivating sign of a good leader.

  2. Noah says:

    Hey Ben! Loved the podcast. Always do. I think jack was way more clear than most commentors felt, but I felt like he was unclear about the relationship between a ketogenic diet and the upregulation of the PPP. So as I understand it: we innately prefer the PPP to the CPP (when digesting carbs) but due to mitochondrial damage from a million modern reasons, we are forced to spend extra atp and methyl groups for a less efficient pathway. Is Dr. Kruse suggesting that ketogenesis itself activates this pathway, or takes away the oxidative stress that then allows mitochondria to repair themselves to their natural state?

    I am specifically asking from the perspective of myself, who has been doing cyclic keto for a year, but also my girlfriend who has mthfr methyllation issues. Would a ketogenic diet relieve her of her symptoms in real time, by taking reliance off of the CPP, or would change come in time with the slow activation of the PPP that Dr. Kruse is talking about. Thank you so much Ben, it is always a joy to learn from you.

    1. Hey Noah, A ketogenic diet does BOTH (activates pathway and reduces oxidative stress). More here <a href="http:// :https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2015/12/how-to-get-into-ketosis/” target=”_blank”> <a href="http://:https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2015/12/how-to-get-into-ketosis/” target=”_blank”>:https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2015/12/how-to-get-into-ketosis/ This is just my personal opinion and nothing I say should be taken as medical advice. If you want to go into detail feel free to book a consult at <a href="https://greenfieldfitnesssystems.com/ben” target=”_blank”>www.greenfieldfitnesssystems.com/ben and choose 20 or 60 minutes and we'll get you scheduled for a Skype consult.

  3. Raphael says:

    Hi Ben, all alright, but please, don’t mention Lance Armstrong, please. Everyone Knows that he made all with EPO. The rest is alright. Thanks for all the information!!

  4. Todd says:

    Interesting content, but this is the first interview that I thought you allowed the interviewee to effectively run over you — normally you draw out the best from your guests.

    Overall, I couldn’t stand listening to Jack in spite of the interesting and possibly even groundbreaking content. He comes across as if he knows everything and others are basically stupid — the pontificating comment above was completely on point. I’d be very interested in hearing more about this but unfortunately not from Jack.

    1. Valerie says:

      Agreed, Jack Kruse is far too arrogant to be fully trusted. People who are that condescending have blind spots that affect their research and judgement.

  5. Chris says:

    Thanks for the great interview Ben! Wether Jack is legit or not is really up to the listener. I myself am going to read further on this topic.

    What I really want to know, is how the hell did you get the shark suit on that polar bear!!

    Cheers,

    Chris

  6. Helen Driscoll says:

    There is speculation among energy practitioners that these carbon nano tubes that run through fascia are the conduits for the meridian system. The meridian system and the fight/flight/freeze system of the body seems to be governed by quantum mechanics. Some of the extra-ordinary body processes move faster than possible via nerves. My friends who are advanced black belts (both male and female) have highly developed fast twitch and superfast twitch muscle. Which explains how they strike so fast but not some of their other more esoteric skills. Thanks again – this interview is great!

  7. Helen Driscoll says:

    There is speculation among energy practitioners that these carbon nano tubes that run through fascia are the conduits for the meridian system. The meridian system and the fight/flight/freeze system of the body seems to be governed by quantum mechanics. Some of the extra-ordinary body processes move faster than possible via nerves. My friends who are advanced black belts (both male and female) have highly developed fast twitch and superfast twitch muscle. Which explains how they strike so fast, but not some of their other skills.

  8. This interview is THRILLING!!! Much easier to understand because I read McGuff's Body by Science, which explains many of the metabolic pathways Kruse refers to.
    Kruse's work is helping me to fill in a conceptual gap I have had for 10 years. I know some 70 year old energy people capable of simply amazing feats. One guy is 70 years old, 10th degree black belt in kung fu, 7th in kempo etc etc. He is also a sport psychologist, NLP advanced trainer, and amazing energy healer/fighter. I have watched him do things that simply defy explanation. Kruse's work is helping me formulate how acupuncture works, chi, etc.

  9. Max CO says:

    Ben, huge fan of your podcast. This is the second time I've listened to you interview Kruse and I think it should be the last. He spends most of the interview pontificating in highly technical jargon, and unless you have a science background, I don't know how you're supposed to get anything out of the interview. He couldn't even answer the simple question of what a cold-adapted breakfast, lunch, and dinner would look like without launching into some indiscernible babble. Bottom line: I learn nothing from interviews with Kruse. Until he can communicate his ideas to people who don't have PhDs in science, I don't think he should be invited back.

  10. Oddwell / Jim Newell says:

    Ben – I'm not entirely sold on his ideas either but definitely an interesting talk. I fear what such a diet could do to my cardiovascular system and my blood pressure, which is high due mainly to heredity. I've dropped it considerably and reduced medication through a plant-based diet.

    But the real reason I'm posting a comment is I'm curious how the ideas in this talk fit in with the ongoing research into myelin and its affects on performance. They seem interrelated.

    What are your thoughts?

    Thanks.

    1. Can you be a bit more specific as to what you're referring to with myelin Jim?

      1. Oddwell / Jim Newell says:

        Yes. From what I understand, it's a white sheath that wraps around the axon of a neuron. The thicker the sheath, the quicker the transmission can occur. With deep practice and training, the myelin becomes thicker and talent / speed improve. Have you read The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle?
        http://thetalentcode.com/book/

  11. Tom says:

    Ben I have read and listened to Dr. Jack for a long time and this is the best interview I have heard. You do a great job of bringing him down to a level I can understand. Great job. I hope you continue to do more podcasts with him.

  12. Troy says:

    Ahhhh, "Your comment must be approved by the site admins…" I hope this explains why there are no other comments baffled by this episode.

    1. I approve everything except the oodles and oodles of spam we get. ;)

      1. Troy says:

        Hahahaha… Nice.

  13. Troy says:

    Sometimes, you have really good guests, and sometimes they come across as a little out there. But Ben, how could you publish this podcast??? That man is clearly out of his mind, or a (really bad) BS artist.

    As someone who has studied quantum physics enough to have an understanding of what the theories imply, it's quite obvious this guy is just throwing words in there, with no idea what they mean, but thinking it sounds impressive.

    Then he throws this gem out there "…dehydrate your carbon nanotubes that you need to superconduct…"?!? And this doesn't set off your BS detector?

    And when you ask about the specific athlete, he replies with "He has a blog, but he keeps it quiet" Okay, all he's missing is "These were uncovered while exploring a cave in China, buried for thousands of years" and "The government is actively trying to suppress this information". Seriously Ben, I've got a secret I don't want to share, and I'm going to blog about it?

    He throws a bunch of catch words together that make about as much sense as 5 + y = Giraffe, and you call him "brilliant"!?

    Oh, and the diet he recommends… You don't see anything wrong with that high a protein content? Seriously?

    1. You should visit his blog Troy. He's legit.

      1. Troy says:

        Okay Ben, I did, and it doesn't get any better. Ben, do you realize what he's talking about is in no way related to quantum physics? And that your cells do not contain carbon nanotubes? Or the principles of superconductivity?

        And when he says you don't need to do double blinds studies, because Einstein already proved all this with quantum physics, 1) This IS NOT quantum physics 2) Of course you would need to test how this would apply to a complex organism… whether or not it were quantum physics.

        Ben there are several red flags to what this guys says and writes. You know enough about protein absorption, and how the body treats excess protein, to at least call him on that.

        And anyone with any kind of science background knows he is using a lot of technical phrases that just don't go together in the way he is using them. Seriously, what he is saying makes as much sense as 5 + y = Giraffe.

        Reading his site is like reading the ramblings of a mad man. I stick by my original statement. He is either crazy, or a (really bad) BS artist.

        1. Ron says:

          Troy rather than attacking Ben and spitting out gibberish like 5 + y = Giraffe, are you able to bring anything useful to the conversation? Jacks ideas are bold and I would love to see someone intelligent argue his ideas, but your posts are garbage, are you lazy or not as intelligent as you claim to be? For example why don't you argue why you do not believe the cells have carbon nanotube structures? I believe Jack is referring to the cytoplams microtubules. According Pampaloni & Florin carbon nano tubes are the closest equivalent to microtubels among theknown nanomaterials. So while they may not technically be carbon nanotubes, that is the closest thing known to man to describe them as. I believe that carbon forms the basis for all of the organic molecules in the body, therefor it's likely that these microtubules contain carbon. I am not intelligent enough to say that these Microtubels are or are not acting in a quantum fashion. However Jack is not the first person to suggest this, others including Hameroff and Penrose have suggested this as well. Hameroff suggests that they might be quantum because the tubule individual subunit (tubulin) conformations may be coupled to quantum-level events (electron movement, dipole, phonon) in hydrophobic protein regions.Microtubule paracrystalline lattice structure, symmetry, cylindrical configuration and parallel alignment promote long-range cooperativity and order. Hollow microtubule interiors appear capable of water-ordering, waveguide super-radiance and self-induced transparency." Again, I'm not saying everything Jack says is correct, he might be 80%, but I would love to see his critics actually argue the facts and theorys he is presenting intelligently and not say silly things like 5 + Y =Giraffe.

          1. Troy says:

            How do I give a reasonable argument against nonsense? He said "carbon nanotubes" and "superconduct". Please tell me his athlete that keeps a blog, but it's private, at least made you pause. And how about his sample menu.

            He has a complete air of BS about him. As did the "Extreme Iso" guy, despite his interesting ideas.

            You want examples of good science. Look more into "Perfect Health Diet". That is 90% good science. My only issues would be his large smattering of anecdotal evidence (useless), and some of the facts did not present good evidence for his case (Greenland Eskimos eat 5lbs of salmon, and have a high stroke rate… So what? How do I know it's not genetic? How do they respond when living in a different environment? This is only cause for further investigation, and should not be presented as evidence.)

            However, he attacks everything from 15 different (mostly well reasoned) angles, and has the most exhaustive data I've seen yet on what he believes is a good diet. My only fear is he will now become defensive of it, and not continue his critical research. I only say this, 'cause his argument against the recent red meat criticism, had a defensive air about it. And though he had interesting points, they were not reason to dismiss the study, or its need for further research.

            Again, if you're going to explore alternative modalities, at least filter out the obvious wack jobs, and those that are clearly not using good scientific methods ("You don't need double blind studies"???). Otherwise, you will be wasting an extreme amount of time, and possibly doing damage.

          2. Ron says:

            You give a reasonable argument against nonsense by explaining why you believe it is nonsense, ideally supported by science. For example if someone said, "Cats can fly." That is nonsense, I would respond with statements like cats do not have wings, no one has seen a cat fly and many people own cats. Just because something is nonsense does not mean you can't argue against it. If you are unable to argue against it that typically means you are not educated on the subject enough to do so.

          3. Ron says:

            I can see how he can rub people the wrong way, however I care more about the information he is presenting than his tone/attitude. I am not suprised that he does not have many testimonials. What he is suggesting is to me nearly impossible. Living on a Paleo/ketogenic diet mostly from raw shellfish, avoiding EMF/ELF, avoiding artifical light, not eating after 7 at night, cold thermo, it all adds up to a lifestyle few would want to live even if people believe in his ideas.

          4. Troy says:

            Actually no, you can't prove a negative. If someone says there is an invisible pink unicorn in the backyard, it would be impossible to prove there is not.

            Even your cat example above is not scientific proof of what you are saying. Only that we can reasonably assume cats can't fly, due to the preponderance of existing evidence. When you get into much more vague statements, it becomes clearly impossible to prove the negative.

            The weight of proof always lies with the claimant, and as Carl Sagan used to say, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence".

            I did point out the red flags that anyone should see, and not consider him a reliable source. I'm curious… After pointing them out, does that not at least give you pause.

            I have as much willpower an anyone. I went 6 years, eating only 3 days a week. I take cold showers (cracked two roots in my teeth because of it though. Jaw tension which led to teeth grinding… I kid you not. Getting fitted for a night guard tomorrow ). I am very strict with the Perfect Health Diet now.

            I am always willing to listen to new, and "far out" ideas, but if someone is not taking an appropriate scientific approach (Rob Wolf, Phinney, and far and away, Jack Kruse), or is giving clear red flags (secret blog, etc)… Well then, I'm just not going to waste any time with them.

            If someone approaches this in a much more sane manner, I'll line right up and listen. Someone shows me a study that has been peer reviewed and reproduced with significant sample sizes, and I'll jump right in AND sing it from the roof tops.

          5. Brandie says:

            When people are at their wits end, they are willing to try different things. I see Dr. Kruse as highly educated and pasionate and excited about helping people. It may come across as BS if he were selling something, but he isn't even charging to access this information he is sharing. Once you see even the smallest results, you are willing to try the next step. The common person frustrated with their own doc not spending time with them or answering their questions are excited to have Dr. Kruse helping.

      2. Matt says:

        If he's legit and his results are so amazing, where's the journal publications? He claims to have produced "unheard of improvements in VO2max"- can't he at least publish one case study to back this up? I know RCTs are hard to produce, but I'd really like to see someone adopt his methods and go from Cat 3 cyclist to Pro, because it sounds like that is what he is claiming. I guarantee you he could find plenty of volunteers if he told athletes he could double their VO2max.

    2. gibberade says:

      Don't worry, Troy, Jack Kruse is a quack.

      Yeah, eating fish, paying attention to circadian cycles, etc., is all good, but Kruse wraps it all with pseudoscientific dribble.

    3. joshfinlay says:

      Don't criticise things you don't understand, Troy. Go to 8 minutes 20 seconds and Jack explains carbon nanotubes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsUSkVXg9C8

  14. Will M says:

    Thanks for the great podcast. Anetodally, I have found that I have my best runs in a fasted state, especially trail runs exceeding 2 hours. The recovery time after the workouts though seem to really take a long time and so I'm very excited to take some of Jack's tactics with nutrition and supplementation to encourage my body to live in the PPP. Ben, could you possibly post a reaction to Jack's critique of your labs and how you feel about implementing his methods? With your ketosis experiment, is Jack's methodology the cornerstone of your experiment or is it piggy backing a different prinicple that you are doing an N=1 case study about? I'm very interested to hear your opinion on what he had to say. Thank you both for helping people step outside the box to see performance, and life long health in a new way.

    1. If you go over and read my labs Will, and the comments section there, you'll see that I already responded to Jack! If I have TIME I may get into more detail later, but I'm definitely using much of Jack's methodology…

  15. Stephen says:

    I have tried to find the last name of “Barry”, the TDF cyclist that uses ketogenesis. Couldn’t find it. Does anyone knows?

    1. Tom says:

      May be referring to Michael Barry. I think hes Canadian

    2. Hemming says:

      I'm pretty sure Jack referred to a user called Barry on his forum. His log can be found here http://jackkruse.com/forum/showthread.php?297-Fas…

      1. Eric Shadden Ŧ says:

        Hemming…thank you for the link

    3. Andis says:

      Barry Murray, he trains TDF cyclists. Not sure if he competes in cycling, but he runs trail ultramarathons. http://jackkruse.com/forum/showthread.php?297-Fas…

  16. jeff says:

    That is a lot to take in, great information. Question: When you are converting over to the PPP, how do you know you are converted?
    Also, would it be best to not engage is strenuous activity until the conversion takes over?

    1. These breath ketone monitors help quite a bit….and I think hard exercise is going to make it a lot tougher to make this conversion…

  17. jackkruse says:

    The science may be complex, but the application can be quite simple.

    1. Hemming says:

      Exactly, that's why this podcast is one of the best in a long time. I'm looking forward to reading through all of your blog posts on your own site.

      Thanks Jack!

  18. Dan Ordoins says:

    Great podcast, thanks for putting it on Ben. Great questions too. I know it seemed difficult to get them in as Jack can really get into his explanations.

    Again thanks!

    – Dan

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *