THE KETO DIET EXPLAINED

The Ketogenic Diet was developed in the 1920’s as a therapy for epilepsy due to scientific observations of fasting’s anti-seizure properties. It’s positive health benefits continues to contribute to the diet’s popularity today. Read this article to find out how the keto diet will help you lose weight, boost your energy, improve your health, and much more.

Normally, the human body uses glucose, a form of carbohydrate, as its main source of energy. However, during a fast, your body begins to use fat stored in your body as an alternate fuel. As this occurs, your liver also begins to use fat to create ketones, which supplies energy for your brain.

This process is called Ketosis.

The Ketogenic Diet differs from fasting in that it forces your body into a state of Ketosis without limiting the calories in your diet.

How? By drastically reducing the amount of carbs in your diet and replacing it with fat. The standard Ketogenic Diet should contain about 75% fat, 20% protein, and less than 5% carbs.

Why should I care about the Ketogenic Diet?

The Ketogenic Diet Supports Your Psychological Health

The phrase “you are what you eat” may have more wisdom than previously thought. Scientists have discovered a strong link between your digestive system and your brain that may have dramatic effects on your mental health. Depending on your diet, this Brain-Gut Connection allows your digestive system to trigger mood and behavioral changes that can either enhance or impair your cognitive performance.

Eating too much refined carbohydrates can induce inflammatory responses in your gut that translates to poor memory, depression, and fatigue. Replacing the unnecessary carbs with healthy fats provides your brain with ketones – the ideal energy source – for increased focus and function.

Beyond its proven effects for reducing epileptic seizures, the Ketogenic Diet has also been shown to improve conditions such as depression, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s.

The Ketogenic Diet Helps You Lose Weight

The standard American diet consists of high levels of carbohydrates that causes spikes in insulin levels in your body. Insulin is a hormone that signals your body to store carbs as fat. Cutting your carb intake naturally reduces insulin levels and boosts your insulin sensitivity by a significant amount. With less insulin in your body, you begin to burn your own body fat for energy and create a chain reaction that helps you lose weight quickly.

The Ketogenic Diet Fights Cancer

Cancer cells and normal, healthy tissue have huge differences in their metabolism. Once you change your standard diet, with high levels of carbs, to the Ketogenic Diet, your body must adapt to use ketones as energy.

Normal, healthy cells in your body can easily adapt their metabolism to use ketones, but malignant cancer cells cannot.

On a Ketogenic Diet, you will literally starve your cancer cells of food and prevent them from growing. Several scientific studies have supported the diet’s positive effects on gliomas, prostate cancer, and gastric cancer.

The Ketogenic Diet Helps Manage Type II Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes, often induced by obesity, lack of exercise, and poor dieting, causes high blood glucose levels that leads to high levels of insulin.

If left unmanaged, this can cause damage in blood vessels, organs, and nerves. In a 2005 study at Duke University, researchers found that the Ketogenic Diet can reduce triglyceride and glucose levels in the blood. This led to many subjects reducing or discontinuing their diabetes medications.

Adverse Effects of the Ketogenic Diet

At the start of this diet, your body will take time to adapt. Carbs, once an abundance and easy-to-process fuel, will no longer be available.

During this transition phase, you may feel headaches, nausea, and other flu-like symptoms. You may feel decreased endurance or strength, but this is normal.

As your body gets used to burning fat and ketones, you will feel an improvement in your energy levels that may even exceed your pre-diet starting point.

The Bottom Line

Whenever making major diet or lifestyle changes, it is always a good idea to consult your doctor to avoid any complications. For those with a history of kidney issues or type I diabetics should exercise caution when considering this diet.

Do you have questions about keto diet? Please, leave your questions below. I’d love to help you figure out if keto is the right diet for you.

Thank you so much for reading.