Last Updated on February 18, 2020 by Shane Corbitt
I’m sure you have heard about the popular keto diet but are still a bit unsure exactly how it works. Whether you have heard success stories from a friend or a family member you’re still not quite convinced it’s right for you.
The keto diet will help you lose weight, get in shape, stay healthy and will definitely help you achieve your health and fitness goals.
As with any major diet changes please consult with your doctor and make sure this diet is right for you.
What is Ketogenic Dieting?
Ketogenic dieting is any diet plan low carb enough to switch your body into a state of producing and burning ketones. For those of you that are interested in the specifics, the particular ketone bodies that are produced are acetoacetate (AcAc) and its derivatives beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and acetone.
AcAc and BHB are used by the brain and body for energy, and facilitate in a number of health benefits which we’ll discuss below.
How Does Ketogenisis Work?
I’ll do my best to not go full out scientific geek on you but there are a couple processes to understand so you can appreciate how this diet works.
Most of our diets, for a majority of our lives, have consisted of high carbohydrates with moderate to low amounts of protein and fats. When you eat high-carbohydrate foods or excess amounts of protein your body will use these as fuel by breaking them down into a sugar, known as glucose. Glucose provides your body with the quickest source of energy.
Once your body has an excess amount of glucose, which happens frequently with high-carbohydrate diets, your body tells your liver to stock up its glycogen stores. This is performed by the liver through a process called glycogenesis. Glycogen can be quickly converted back to glucose very easily and used for energy.
Once your glycogen stores are full, the excess glucose that your body has goes through a process called lipogenesis. This process allows glucose to be stored as fat, as a back up energy system.
So what happens when you are on a low carbohydrate diet? Your body has to switch gears and produce energy somehow, right.
Instead of using carbohydrates your body uses your fat stores and the fat you consume in your diet to produce highly efficient energy molecules called ketones. Now initially the fat is broken down into fatty acids and glycerol, which can be used by most of your body except for your brain.
Previously we talked about AcAc, BHB and Acetone. Well acetoacetate (AcAc) is converted into the ketone bodies beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and acetone. BHB is a much faster and cleaner fuel that your brain can function at optimal levels on.
This chemical and physiological process goes much deeper but for the sake of this article we will move on.
Types of Ketogenic Diets
Common variations of the veto diet include the standard ketogenic diet (75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbs), the targeted ketogenic diet (allowing you to base your carb consumption around your workout schedule, and high protein ketogenic diet (a cousin of the standard ketogenic diet, this one includes slightly less fat and extra protein: 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs).
What Types Of Foods Do I Eat and Avoid?
As you may already know this diet calls for restricting your carbohydrate intake. So the idea is to stick with low carb, high fat foods.
Food to eat (but not limited to):
- red meat
- bacon
- ham
- sausage
- fish (salmon, tuna, trout)
- Cage-free omega-3 eggs
- grass fed butter
- unprocessed cheese
- nuts and seeds
- organic extra-virgin olive oil
- avocados
- green veggies
Foods to avoid:
- surgery treats
- cereal
- pasta
- rice
- all fruits except for small amounts of berries
- beans
- high sugar condiments
- root vegetables
- alcohol
- sugar free and diet foods
How Do I Know My Body Is In A Ketogenic State?
Some signs that your body has reached ketosis include:
- bad breath (caused by acetone)
- weight loss
- lack of appetite
- heightened focus
- increased energy
- difficulty sleeping can occur initially
You can confirm that you are in ketosis by measuring the ketones in your urine or on your breath. This can be accomplished by using urine strips a breath analyzer or a blood ketone monitor.
Health Benefits
Besides losing weight and improving your focus and energy, the keto diet has several health benefits.
These benefits are:
- Lowering your triglycerides (bad cholesterol)
- Increased levels of HDL (good cholesterol)
- Lowering your LDL (the other bad cholesterol)
- Reduced blood sugar and insulin levels
- May lower blood pressure
- Preventing heart disease
- Decreasing inflammation
- Improved gastrointestinal health
- Improve symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
- Improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease
- Improve symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
- Improve symptoms of Alzheimer’s
- Prevention and treatment of some cancers
As you can see, there are many benefits other than weight loss and increased energy. The health benefits alone are enough to persuade me to change up my lifestyle and live healthier.
Please remember to consult your doctor before changing your diet.
I’d like to go deeper into diet recommendations and the science behind the ketogenic diet. If you’re interested please leave a comment below letting us know.
