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by Charles Weller

The Ketogenic diet refers to a diet with low carbohydrates, high fat, and moderate proteins. This diet puts your body in a metabolic state, which is known as ketosis. Once your body is in ketosis, your liver produces ketones, which become the main source of energy in the body.

The Ketogenic diet is also known as low carb diet, keto diet or low carb high fat (LCHF) diet. This diet is surprisingly taking the world by storm because of how it functions. As a matter of fact, it changes how your system works. Apart from this, it will also change your nutrition view.

The Ketogenic diet makes your body run more efficiently as a fat burner as opposed to a sugar burner. As a result, this diet gives a permanent solution to obesity. Unlike most weight loss diets, this one gives you long-term impacts. Therefore, if you are seeking to shed extra weight, this is the ideal approach that will help out with that

How it works

Once you consume high carb meals, your body produces insulin and glucose. Glucose happens to be the easiest molecule to convert and use as energy in the body. Therefore, most of the times, it is chosen over any other source of energy. Insulin, on the other hand, is a hormone secreted to process glucose in your bloodstream. Once the glucose is in the bloodstream, it is transported around your body.

how does the ketogenic diet work

Since the primary source of energy in your body is glucose, fats are stored in the system because they are of no use at that particular time This implies that glucose is the chief energy source M a body of an average individual. It starts being an issue when you realize that your body cannot store a lot of glucose.

Extra glucose is, therefore, usually converted in to fat and stored in the body. Once your system runs out of glucose, it informs your brain to crave for chips or candy. This is how you gain extra weight, which you later struggle to shed when it's too late.

However, with the ketogenic diet, there is a way out. It helps you start burning fat instead of glucose. Once you reduce the number of carbs in your diet, your system starts looking for an alternative source of energy. This is how it embraces the metabolic state known as ketosis.

During this state, your body generates ketones, which are the products of fat breakdown in the liver. Optimal ketone level generation in the body leads to numerous physical, mental, health and weight loss benefits.

This is the objective of keto diet in your body. Ketosis does not take place by starving your system. It occurs when you starve your system of carbohydrates.

Benefits of taking ketogenic diet

There are a lot of benefits that come as a result of embracing keto diet. This ranges from increased energy levels and weight loss to therapeutic medical applications. Therefore, the ketogenic diet is more than a normal diet. It is a new lifestyle that gives a million and one health benefits. They include the following:

  • Blood sugar regulation
  • Energy increase
  • Mental focus
  • Weight loss
  • Epilepsy
  • Enhanced appetite control
  • Acne
  • Insulin resistance
  • Blood pressure and cholesterol
  • Weight loss

benefits of a keto diet

Many individuals use a particular diet with high hopes of losing weight. Kato diet is one of the few effective ways to shed extra pounds in a healthy manner. Since this low carb diet uses stored body fat as the main source of energy, your body starts losing unwanted fat resulting in weight loss.

On this diet, the level of insulin drops and this makes it possible for fat cells to access the liver, where they are converted into ketones. Insulin is the fat storing hormone and therefore, with this diet, your system changes into a fat burning machine.

Blood sugar regulation

This is another major benefit that comes with this diet. People suffer from diabetes because of their body's inability to control insulin. Ketogenic diet minimizes the levels of blood sugar because the amount of carbs ingested is not adequate to produce glucose.

blood sugar keto diet

Since keto diet aids in the maintenance of consistent blood sugar levels, you will have more control of your life every single day while on this diet. The diet has proven to be highly beneficial to pre-diabetic individuals or those suffering from Type II diabetes.

What to consume and what to avoid while on keto diet

When on the keto diet, you cannot consume anything your body craves. Nonetheless, during this time, you will realize that your body will stop craving for what you do not need, unlike most diets.

Foods to eat

  • Leafy greens — kale and spinach
  • Seeds and nuts — walnuts, macadamia, sunflower seeds
  • Meat — lamb, eggs, fish, beef, poultry
  • High-fat dairy — butter, hard cheese, high fat cream
  • Berries and avocado — blackberries and raspberries among others
  • Above ground vegetables — cauliflower, broccoli
  • Sweeteners — monk fruit, stevia, erythritol
  • Other fats — saturated fats, high-fat salad dressing, coconut oil etc
  • Foods to avoid
  • Sugar — maple syrup, honey, agave
  • Legumes
  • Fruits — bananas, apples, oranges
  • Grains — rice, wheat, cereal, corn
  • Tubers — yams, potatoes

How to reach ketosis

Achieving this metabolic state is straightforward, but sometimes people find it complicated depending on their information source. Below are some of the tips that will help you achieve ketosis. 

achieve ketosis

  • Restrict carbohydrates ingestion
  • Restrict protein consumption
  • Do not worry about fats
  • Drink a lot of water
  • Be careful when snacking
  • Start intermittent fasting
  • Start exercising
  • Commence supplementation

Precaution

There are numerous misconceptions about low carb diet. This has resulted in an infamous keto outlook. However, you need to be careful when incorporating this diet into your lifestyle. Therefore, you should first consult your doctor for advice in case of any concerns.

If you are taking any medication, extra monitoring will be required. In case you are breastfeeding, inform

your doctor because you might need more carb intake. In rare cases, ketone production can be too high in the body, resulting in ketoacidosis. However, this is usually unlikely to happen in normal circumstances.

For most people, the Ketogenic diet is safe and beneficial. It remedies a lot of conditions and enhances weight loss with long-term impact. Just consult your doctor for examination and further advice.



Charles Weller
Charles Weller

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