Uploaded September 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
In this video, I explain my N-of-1 experiments: what I am interested in, how N-of-1 works, what the interventions are, and some of the limitations and caveats.
N-of-1 trials can be a robust and serious scientific tool--if properly designed. N=1'ery on the Internet is not scientific. This has resulted in N-of-1 being highly misunderstood.
For information about N-of-1, see:
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N_of_1_trial
History: jameslindlibrary.org/articles/history-development-n-1-trials
PubMed search: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=n-of-1
If you are skeptical, I urge you to learn more at the above links before continuing further.
In my case, I am interested in testing (on myself) a plant-based ketogenic versus a plant-based high-carbohydrate diet. I have conducted several months of pilot and have gained a lot of information about how I handle these diets, as well as what findings are commonly found in others who undertake them.
Currently, my plan is to pit:
4% carbohydrate, 15% protein, 81% fat
against
4% fat, 15% protein, 81% carbohydrate.
The design will follow an ABABAB pattern, according to N-of-1 convention, where A is keto, B is high-carbohydrate, and the interval on each diet is a month. There will be blood biomarkers taken at the end of each interval. The biomarkers will be as extensive as my limited funds might allow. Ideally, I will have advanced CVD and inflammatory biomarkers, as well as thyroid and a panel of standard biomarkers. If funds are limited, I may have to be strategic.
During each interval, I will frequently take glucose, ketones, blood pressure, body fat %, weight, and sexy shirtless pictures (after having poured water on myself). I will keep calories identical, and I will strictly regulate physical activity.
In the course of my pilot, I have discovered many interesting phenomena, including joint pain when eating grains and higher-than-expected ketone readings on a plant-based ketogenic diet (frequently much above 3mM). I have small experiments planned to look at these effects, including a double-blind wheat protein isolate vs. pea protein isolate supplementation N-of-1 trial. Something else I discovered when food logging is that, nutrient-wise, wheat is a superfood, despite the way it seems to behave with my joints.
Also, a carnivorous versus plant-based ketogenic diet is in the works, but only after I have completed the currently planned trial.
I cover some of this stuff, as well as my motivations, and much more, in the video below.
Note: this video was made after nearly 16 hours of work, and I was exhausted, so I spoke really slow. Therefore, I sped up the video 1.5X to make the pace tolerable. That's how us med students roll. (Folks involved in medical education will know what I mean!)
===
As an MD/PhD student, my passion is for communicating the cutting edge of medical science and fighting misinformation. If this post is of use to you, please consider donating to my Patreon account. Your contribution will make a significant positive impact, and I will be greatly personally appreciative. You can find a link to my Patreon profile, here: patreon.com/kevinnbass
===
You can find me on Twitter at @kevinnbass.
In this video, I explain my N-of-1 experiments: what I am interested in, how N-of-1 works, what the interventions are, and some of the limitations and caveats.
N-of-1 trials can be a robust and serious scientific tool--if properly designed. N=1'ery on the Internet is not scientific. This has resulted in N-of-1 being highly misunderstood.
For information about N-of-1, see:
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N_of_1_trial
History: jameslindlibrary.org/articles/history-development-n-1-trials
PubMed search: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=n-of-1
If you are skeptical, I urge you to learn more at the above links before continuing further.
In my case, I am interested in testing (on myself) a plant-based ketogenic versus a plant-based high-carbohydrate diet. I have conducted several months of pilot and have gained a lot of information about how I handle these diets, as well as what findings are commonly found in others who undertake them.
Currently, my plan is to pit:
4% carbohydrate, 15% protein, 81% fat
against
4% fat, 15% protein, 81% carbohydrate.
The design will follow an ABABAB pattern, according to N-of-1 convention, where A is keto, B is high-carbohydrate, and the interval on each diet is a month. There will be blood biomarkers taken at the end of each interval. The biomarkers will be as extensive as my limited funds might allow. Ideally, I will have advanced CVD and inflammatory biomarkers, as well as thyroid and a panel of standard biomarkers. If funds are limited, I may have to be strategic.
During each interval, I will frequently take glucose, ketones, blood pressure, body fat %, weight, and sexy shirtless pictures (after having poured water on myself). I will keep calories identical, and I will strictly regulate physical activity.
In the course of my pilot, I have discovered many interesting phenomena, including joint pain when eating grains and higher-than-expected ketone readings on a plant-based ketogenic diet (frequently much above 3mM). I have small experiments planned to look at these effects, including a double-blind wheat protein isolate vs. pea protein isolate supplementation N-of-1 trial. Something else I discovered when food logging is that, nutrient-wise, wheat is a superfood, despite the way it seems to behave with my joints.
Also, a carnivorous versus plant-based ketogenic diet is in the works, but only after I have completed the currently planned trial.
I cover some of this stuff, as well as my motivations, and much more, in the video below.
Note: this video was made after nearly 16 hours of work, and I was exhausted, so I spoke really slow. Therefore, I sped up the video 1.5X to make the pace tolerable. That's how us med students roll. (Folks involved in medical education will know what I mean!)
===
As an MD/PhD student, my passion is for communicating the cutting edge of medical science and fighting misinformation. If this post is of use to you, please consider donating to my Patreon account. Your contribution will make a significant positive impact, and I will be greatly personally appreciative. You can find a link to my Patreon profile, here: patreon.com/kevinnbass
===
You can find me on Twitter at @kevinnbass.
