In this interview, Nick Norwitz outlines the details of his ketogenic diet and supplement regimen. He emphasizes protein and fat sources, primarily fatty fish (sardines, salmon, mackerel), eggs, Greek yogurt, and a variety of high‑fat foods such as extra‑virgin olive oil, macadamia nuts (a sponsor), pecans, pistachios, and tahini. Due to a sensitive gut, he limits fiber‑rich vegetables and most fruit, opting for occasional low‑fiber options like eggplant, zucchini, wild blueberries, and frozen cherries, and uses targeted carbs (30‑50 g) after intense workouts for recovery. He is a self‑described cheese enthusiast, regularly consuming Roquefort, manchego, goat cheese, halloumi, buffalo mozzarella, and others. Regarding supplements, he recommends vitamin D3 (2,000–4,000 IU), a high‑quality omega‑3 source aiming for ≥2 g EPA/DHA (e.g., Nordic Naturals), and suggests magnesium (glycinate or threonate) for low‑carb users, calcium with vitamin D if dairy is limited, and vitamin K2 (MK‑7). He advises tailoring additional supplements to individual needs and prioritizing whole‑food sources. When asked about seed oils, Norwitz distinguishes between industrial highly oxidized oils (e.g., fast‑food fryer oil, corn/soybean oil) and whole‑food sources of omega‑6 (walnuts, pecans, sesame/tahini). He argues that whole‑food omega‑6 does not inherently harm health and cites his own blood work showing a 1:1 omega‑6:3 ratio with a high EPA/DHA index. He explains omega‑7 (palmitoleic acid) as a lipokine found mainly in macadamia nuts (≈20 % of total fat) and, to a lesser extent, buckthorn oil and ruminant meat. He notes emerging research suggesting omega‑7 improves insulin sensitivity and may aid weight management despite its caloric density. Overall, Norwitz presents a pragmatic, experience‑based keto approach, balancing nutrient density, gut tolerance, and performance goals.
Chapters
Let's talk about your diet as a whole over a day, over a week. And obviously this is going to change, but just as a general sense. And then I want to move into supplements and talk about what you think somebody, if they want to prioritize their money, would want to— what you value there.
My diet is, um, I'll emphasize my protein and fat sources because that's basically most of my diet. Protein, I eat, um, a lot of fish, a lot of sardines, a lot of salmon, um, and, uh, mackerel. So fatty fish. Um, every now and then I'll have leaner fish, um, or shellfish. I really like scallops when bought economically, shrimp, things like that. Um, for fat sources, I love extra virgin olive oil. I have a ton of it. Macadamia nuts. Now I am sponsored by House of Macadamia. That is a partner, but they're a sponsor because I've been a macadamia nut monster ever since I went keto. They have some really interesting metabolic properties. They're a very rich source of omega-7. I won't dig into that, but I love the taste of macadamia nuts and I eat them every which way. As well as some other nuts as well. Pecans, pistachios. I do like tahini, which is pretty good. There's a lot of things you can do with tahini too in terms of dressing, like a little like garlic tahini dressing. When I do have vegetables, like over a little bit of eggplant or zucchini, I don't eat a ton of vegetables. Again, I'm not anti-vegetable. It's just I come from a place of having a very, very sensitive and vulnerable gut. So I operate best when my fiber intake is on the lower end, just symptomatically. I don't know if it's good for my overall health, but right now I'm in a very like active and busy portion of my life and I'd prefer to spend as little time as possible in the bathroom, quite frankly. So that's my rationale for that. Not making any claims about longevity, just saying this is what I do and why. Oh, I meant I missed eggs. I eat a lot of eggs. Greek yogurt, Fage 5%. I'll often add extra fat to that in the form of olive oil, macadamia nut oil, or crushed macadamia nuts, maybe with a dash of vanilla. And for fermented foods, on occasion, sauerkraut, kefir. And then beyond that, dark chocolate. I really like dark chocolate. My go-to brand is Tezo Wicked Dark. I tend to prefer 95%, but I go for Tezo. Um, sorry, I tend to prefer 100%, but they only go up to 95%. The reason I like them though is because, um, they've been tested and are low in heavy metals. And I know people have concerns about heavy metals in chocolate, about that cons— after that Consumer Reports. So they're low in cadmium and, um, lead. So because I really like chocolate, that's my go-to. Um, the ginger flavor is my favorite. Also, stone ground chocolate's crazy high in fiber for those wanting it. Like a little single bar that I'll have will have 16 grams of fiber. Um, mostly insoluble, so it's a little bit less likely to cause bloating. So that would be a dessert for me. I very rarely eat fruit. If I do eat fruit, it would be something like, uh, a few wild blueberries, or I have a thing for cherries. You know, you get like the frozen red cherries with that have been pitted. And if I ever feel, I don't usually feel like something sweet, but if I have 'em in the freezer, those red pitted frozen cherries, just like 3 of those maybe with some cacao nibs really sometimes hit the spot. Or if I have something sweet including cherries, blueberries, or even a little bit of honeycomb, I'll sometimes do it after a workout when my muscles are just like little sponges for sugar. If you're someone who's very active, you can do targeted carbs that way. Sometimes I find I recover better and have a better workout the subsequent day if I have say 30 grams, 50 grams of carbs after a hard workout. So yeah, I play with targeted carbs. And other than that, trying to think, ooh, cheese. I love cheese. Oh my God, do I love cheese. My serving size for cheese is whatever the block is. My number one cheese is Roquefort. You give me even like a kilogram of Roquefort, I probably could eat it in a sitting. Mm, manchego cheese is delicious. Goat cheese. Um, Cypress Grove Midnight Moon is one very good cheese that if you haven't tried it, you should go find. Uh, feta cheese, halloumi, fried halloumi, buffalo mozzarella. I do love cheese. I never used to like cheese, and then I moved to England, and then I became a cheese snob after living there for a few years, uh, in the UK. So That are the high-level dietary intakes. I do eat chicken, I do eat red meat, I do eat pork. Um, I just probably eat a lot more fish just because I like it. I've always liked seafood more.
So what about avocados?
Because of the high fiber load and the type of fiber, they tend to cause a little GI upset in me. So I will eat them. I think they're a great food. I wish I could eat more of them. Um, I just don't they cause a little bit of GI upset for me at this point in time. That's, that's not a common thing. I don't think avocados are like a typically a GI irritating food and I will eat them. I'll just eat 'em at a point in time when I, you know, don't mind being a little bit farty for the next 12 hours. So if there's gonna be like romantic endeavors that evening, there will not be avocado at dinner. If I'm alone that evening, there might be avocado at dinner. I'll leave it at that.
All right, let's move into supplements.
Yeah. I, you know, I think everybody, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, probably should be taking vitamin D supplement, D3. Dose varies. I take 2,000 IU, maybe in the winter 4,000 international units. I think a quality omega-3 supplement probably can benefit most people targeting a total EPA and DHA dose of about 2 grams or more. I use Nordic Naturals. There might be benefits to certain things like krill oil because of the specific form of omega-3. You can delve into that if you want. I also just dropped a video on fish intake and it goes beyond with respect to fish, just omega-3s. There's some really interesting things with probably different forms of selenium there. So you can check out my channel for more on fish intake and the data on that with respect to all-cause mortality and cognition, but prioritizing getting enough vitamin D, Getting enough omega-3. And then, um, beyond that, the only supplements I'd recommend are those that are kind of tailored to you specifically. So like what your objective and needs are. Some people on low-carb diets have trouble getting enough magnesium. So like a magnesium glycinate might help or magnesium threonate. Um, especially if you're having trouble sleeping, some people swear by that. You know, for gut health, there are some butyrate supplements that people have used that I've heard are helpful. You know, making sure you're getting enough calcium. So if you don't eat dairy along with vitamin D, probably taking a calcium supplement. Again, you can see, and probably a vitamin K2, MK-7. A lot of these are just based on what your individual use case is.. But other than that, I don't recommend a lot of supplements. I recommend trying to get things mostly from Whole Foods. Not the grocer, just whole food ingredients. Grocer's kind of expensive. But yeah, I'd start there. If you wanna take a multivitamin, take a multivitamin if it's gonna cover your bases.
Well, let's come back to the food piece. You mentioned the fact that you're a big fan of olive oil and you mentioned macadamia nut oil, which for me brings up seed oils. Which is a very controversial topic in the health and wellness space. How do you feel about those? Are you using any of those in your cooking? I'll have you expand on that.
Yeah, sure. So first thing I'd say is like, we need to— every time we say seed oils, I think we need to be very specific as to what we're talking about and what we're extrapolating to. Are we talking about the fryer oil at McDonald's, or like processed corn oil and soybean oil? Soybean oil isn't even— and corn isn't even seed oil. You know, these aren't seeds per se. Um, generally I see it bleed into things that are high omega-6, which is considered a fragile fat. Specifically linoleic acid is the omega-6 people talk about a lot. So you hear seed oil, you're gonna hear other terms like omega-6 or PUFA, which is polyunsaturated fat, including omega-6 and omega-3, or linoleic acid. I'm gonna speak broadly to that category of fat type because I think we can agree, even if we don't agree on the reason, like highly oxidized fryer or fryer oil at McDonald's or like, you know, corn oil or soybean oil in like a clear plastic container at the grocery store probably isn't the healthiest choice with negative metabolic impacts, even going beyond the calories. That might be a little controversial in some circles, but I think I could stand by that statement. What I would say and where I'd like to put the emphasis is with respect to omega-6 and linoleic acid, because I think there's a lot of fear around then having anything that's high in these fats, the omega-6 fats. I would say I do not think the data support that eating whole foods, whole natural foods rich in omega-6 is necessarily damaging. There are data that omega-6 to 3 imbalance, say in the serum, can be damaging, but it doesn't necessarily translate to, oh, you need to optimize your omega-6 to 3 dietary intake to a 1:1 because these polyunsaturated fats get processed in quite complex manners. So I think there are a lot of healthy foods high in the quote seed oil omega-6 linoleic acid. Those that I consume include walnuts, pecans, sesame seeds, and sesame seed butter, tahini, that I mentioned. And I think these are perfectly fine to have as part of a, your normal diet. If you want the proof in the pudding, I eat, say, tahini liberally and macadamia oil too, but it's actually not high in omega-6. It's the one nut that's very low in omega-6, or one of the nuts. But I've gotten my omega-6 to 3 ratio tested in my blood and it's a perfect 1 to 1 with an EPA/DHA index of 17.2%. So like, I challenge you to find someone with a ratio as optimized as mine, and then ask them what they eat and if they're avoiding, quote, seed oil or omega-6 rich foods. So basically, like, you can still eat tahini and walnuts and have a great omega-6 to 3 ratio. So I would not avoid those foods for that reason. French fries at McDonald's, I'd avoid them. So, you know, kind of a boring moderate stance there. I will say I find the idea of the impact of omega-6s broadly on metabolism interesting. In an area ripe for exploration, but I, I'm not convinced by the data existing now that they are uniquely harmful. And I would say if you want to have, if you like those foods and want to crumble a little walnuts on your salad, have a tahini dressing on your eggplant or your chicken, then totally go for it. I don't think it's going to hurt you.
You quickly touched on omega-7s and the fact that they're in macadamias. Talk about other foods where we can find those and what their special benefits are.
Omega-7. So you've probably heard a lot of omegas. Omega-6 is the linoleic acid. Most people are scared of that one. Omega-3s are like in fatty fish and people like that one. Omega-7 is one that you don't hear about a lot. It's called palmitoleic acid. It's actually a monounsaturated fat. It can be found in like buckthorn oil, which is kind of esoteric. Other than that, macadamia nuts are the primary source. Um, macadamia nuts, uh, I think they're 20% total fat is palmitoleic acid. And the interesting thing about palmitoleic acid is, um, it's actually the founding member of a group of dietary hormones called lipokines. Lipo meaning fat, kine is kind of the suffix for hormone in a lot of settings. So hepatokine is hormone from the liver. Osteokine is hormone from the bone. Myokine hormone from the muscle. Lipokine in this case means from dietary fat. Adipokine is from your body fat. Terminology aside, I think it was Cao et al., C-A-O, 2008, I think it was Cell, maybe Cell Metabolism, that first coined the category lipokine based on palmitoleic acid and its broad metabolic effects, which appear to be overall beneficial. In things like improving insulin sensitivity, which we mentioned earlier. Um, you can watch my omega-7 video on the details for that. I don't want to dig too into the weeds now because it is such a messy topic, and it's also one of those examples where doing the science on it actually becomes very complicated because it's not just a matter of, oh, Eat omega-7 from macadamia nuts and then measure it in the blood and then measure outcomes because there are also endogenous pathways which are influenced by carbohydrates. So actually eating macadamia nuts and eating a bagel can cause the same spike in palmitoleic acid, but from different sources with different impacts. There can be conversion from other fats, including fats that are primarily found in animal products and like ruminant meat. So it ends up being a very complicated area to study, which I find very cool, but it's a— on balance, the data suggests that dietary palmitoleic acid, especially from macadamia nuts, or including from macadamia nuts since it's the main whole food dietary source, has metabolic benefits that will improve insulin sensitivity among other things. And that's consistent with the literature on macadamia nut supplementation, which I only know of one study looking at weight outcomes with macadamia nut supplementation. I think it was at something like I think it was like 15 to 30 nuts per day, like 1 to 2 ounces of nuts per day. And people were like, oh, they're high in calorie, they're gonna cause weight gain. This is only a 4-week trial. And even after 4 weeks, this, it wasn't powered for weight loss, but there was a statistically significant drop in BMI, which kind of grates against the whole calories out, calories out, calories in, calories out concept. Like eating the super high fat food and then people from this intervention are actually having weight loss. Why? Well, fuel partitioning. And we're back to that topic we spoke about earlier. So I do not think they should be feared for calories. I think that they have cool metabolic benefits potentially, and you can link more resources for that if you want. But yeah, big fan, big fan. There's a lot of fun things you can do with them too. Versatile food.
If you enjoyed that clip, you're gonna want to head over here and catch the full episode. I'll see you over there.
Towards the end of college, I started developing GI upset with basically anything I ate. So I ended up becoming quite desperate, and after trying a bunch of medications that didn't end up really working to keep me in remission or help my symptoms, tried a bunch of different diets because I was desperate.
