Common Ketosis Side Effects And Treatments
There are many awesome benefits with come with adopting a low-carb ketogenic diet, such as weight loss, decreased cravings, and even possibly reduce diseases risks. That being said, it’s also good to talk about possible ketosis side effects so you know fully what to expect as you start this new health journey. Not everyone experiences side effects when starting a ketogenic diet, and thankfully, those who do don’t usually experience them for very long. It varies with the individual, but just to make sure all your bases are covered, we’re going to breaking down each possible side effect and go over ways to manage and alleviate them if needed. KETOSIS SIDE EFFECT 1 – Frequent Urination As your body burns through the stored glucose in your liver and muscles within the first day or two of starting a ketogenic diet, you’ll be releasing a lot of water in the process. Plus, your kidneys will start excreting excess sodium as the levels of your circulating insulin drop. Basically, you might notice yourself needing to pee more often throughout the day. But no worries; this side effect of ketosis takes care of itself once your body adjusts and is no longer burning through the extra glycogen. KETOSIS SIDE EFFECT 2 – Dizziness and Drowsiness As the body is getting rid of this excess water, it will also be eliminating minerals like potassium, magnesium, and sodium too. This can make you feel dizzy, lightheaded, and fatigued. Thankfully, this is also very avoidable; all it takes is a little preparation beforehand. Focus on eating foods that are rich in potassium, such as: Leafy greens (aim for at least two cups each day!) Broccoli Dairy Meat, poultry, and fish Avocados Add salt to your foods or use salty broth when cooking too. You can also dissolve about a teaspoon of regu Continue reading >>
The Dreaded Keto Flu
For all the excellent benefits of the ketogenic lifestyle, getting there can be a physically rough road. The primary reason for this is what is known as the “keto flu”. Almost everyone who has changed their life to the healthy ketogenic lifestyle has had to deal with the keto flu, and some have had a worse deal than others. Background The keto flu is the common name for the induction phase of ketogenesis. That means it’s the period of time when your body is getting used to the changes you have made to what you eat. When you change what you eat, you change everything about how your body operates and functions. Inside your gut (where close to 70% of your immune system lives) are billions of bacteria, and they are all battling for dominance. If your diet consists of highly refined carbs, the types of bacteria that thrive in your gut (e. coli, h. pylori, candida a, etc.) will be inflammatory and detrimental to your immune system. By changing your diet to be high in fat, those same bacteria die off rapidly, because they don’t have their preferred energy source. This massive bacteria death has consequences. These consequences are typically: Diarrhea Headaches Nausea Lack of mental focus and clarity Fatigue In short: You feel like you have the flu. That’s because, in a way, you do. Your immune system is taking a beating when you make the change, because it has grown accustomed to the way things have been. But once you get through the induction phase, and you start to feel better, your immune system will be several times stronger and more efficient. That’s one of the reason that Ketovangelists don’t get sick (and when they do, it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been). Changing Fuel Sources The best way to think about what you’re doing to your body is to i Continue reading >>
The 11 Most Common Keto Side Effects
The 11 Most Common Keto Side Effects The ketogenic diet is a powerful new tool to hit the mainstream recently. This style of eating has substantial data behind it showing that it can boost fat-burning, reduce inflammation, boost cognitive performance, and more. What has not been covered quite enough are common keto side effects and how you can avoid them to make the best of this powerful eating style. Although there can be many different side effects that manifest while becoming keto-adapted, many of them stem from similar underlying issues. In this article, I outline what those underlying issues are, their related side effects, and simple strategies to overcome them so you can become keto-adapted as smoothly as possible. Three Primary Causes Although there are a variety of symptoms that can arise during keto adaptation, they mostly manifest from the same three underlying causes. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction, and electrolyte/mineral deficiencies. While these three causes are seemingly different, they are actually all related. When becoming keto-adapted initially, your body has been running on sugar for years. When you suddenly switch to fats, your body has to essentially build the cellular machinery necessary to generate and utilize ketone bodies as a fuel source. This means that instead of generating tons of ketones from the very beginning, most people experience hypoglycemia for a period of time. With hypoglycemia comes a disruption in cortisol signaling which is what accounts for the HPA axis dysfunction. Finally, HPA axis dysfunction leads to an increase in secretion of minerals from the body in the urine. Together these three causes can create all kinds of side effects. Once you understand them, though, a lit Continue reading >>
What Is The Keto Flu Or Low Carb Flu And What To Do About It?
Keto flu symptoms, mitigation and getting over excess carbohydrates Any major dietary or lifestyle change has the potential to cause discomfort or lets face it, even mess you up for a bit. This is sometimes referred to as a ‘flu’. It’s the most common time during which people will quit their dietary or lifestyle shift as many simply feel they are unable to function without significant carbohydrates and snacking throughout day. Here we’ll discuss the major downside to starting a ketogenic diet or a low carb one, and how to minimize the discomfort often accompanying this adaptation period. Like most people you’ve probably spent 20 – 60 years feeding your body a significant amount of carbohydrates and much of them from poorly chosen overly processed sources. Your cells, organs, central nervous system and brain have all adapted to it through hormonal and metabolic responses normally running in the background. Switching fuel sources, like eating less carbs and more fat, is likely to throw your body and brain for a loop. To be clear, the “keto flu” label is a bit of a misnomer. It’s more akin to carbohydrate withdrawal symptoms resulting from a shifting hormonal states and imbalanced electrolyte adjustments that are along for the ride. Regardless, this buzz term is in the general consciousness now so we might as well keep using it for now. Before diving into the details, keep in mind that the following four books should teach you nearly everything you need to know about low carb and ketogenic diets, including how to handle the keto flu. The rest of the relevant science is dispersed amongst hundreds if not thousands of papers only a search away on PubMed. If you want to ask questions about it or be part of our community please visit Ask BreakNutrition. Sympto Continue reading >>
Troubleshoot Diarrhea On A Low Carb, Keto Diet
When transitioning into a low carb, keto diet, there are some funky things that happen with your digestive tract. As always, the preliminary stages are a time to adjust to your new way of eating. Usually, with a dramatic increase in fat and reduction in carbs, most people will experience a period of loose bowels or diarrhea, which is normal. There are claims that this effect is candida die-off, but I’ve yet to find literature in which that is verified. These symptoms last just a couple of days. For others, this period is lengthened and it can be a little trickier. If you are experiencing diarrhea, you could try the following: 1. Drink more water Many people don’t realize that when you start a low carb, keto diet that your body is flushing water much more rapidly than you have before. When this happens, it’s extremely easy to be dehydrated. Make sure you are drinking enough water to stay hydrated. You will notice that you will go to the bathroom a lot more frequently, but this is also an adjustment period. After a week or so, your body will be used to the increase in water intake and will level off. 2. Consume more electrolytes This goes along with the previous statement. When water is flushed from the body, electrolytes are also excreted through the urine. If the electrolytes aren’t replaced, you could very easily become dehydrated and develop diarrhea, among other things. Some good ways to replenish these electrolytes is to eat avocado, consume salty bone broth daily and if that isn’t cutting it, try taking Lite Salt with your food (this can replace your regular table salt). Drinking bone broth will also contain collagen which could help bulk up stools and aid in the gut-healing process. 3. Add probiotics and fermented foods Probiotics are excellent for bulki Continue reading >>
Keto Flu: Symptoms And Relief
Many people (not everyone!) who start a low carb diet experience what’s called the “keto flu” or the “induction flu” in the first few days while the body is adapting to burning ketones instead of glucose. What is keto flu? The basic symptoms are: headaches nausea upset stomach Lack of mental clarity (brain fog) sleepiness fatigue It’s called the “keto flu” for a reason: you feel sick. I’ve gone through it, and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Fortunately, it only lasted four days (2 of them were pretty bad) but then suddenly I woke up feeling much better, less hungry and my energy level was high and consistent throughout the day! While at one point (or three or four) I thought to myself: “what the serious F am I doing? I’m going to die!” but I plowed through it, and when it was over I didn’t regret a thing because what I gained mentally and physically was 100% worth it. Keto and autoimmune disorders I have an autoimmune disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis, and Fibromyalgia to top it off. So, I’m no stranger to brain fog and fatigue, but the fatigue and brain fog that comes with keto flu is a little different, and feel much more like having the regular flu. How long will the keto flu last? It depends. Some people don’t experience any symptoms at all, but some suffer anywhere from a day to a week. In rare cases up to 15 days. Everybody’s bodies are different, and some people handle switching over better than others. You might consider starting keto on the weekend or sometime when you’re able to get good rest deal with the symptoms. For those of you that are going through the keto flu, don’t give up! I know you feel like it’s never going to get better but stick with it and you´ll be so happy you did! I’m telling you, waking up r Continue reading >>
Keto-flu: Cheating On Keto Will Give You A Bad Time
“Keto flu” is very common state during induction phase of Ketosis. This state is also followed by dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, or muscle cramps. Ketogenic life is real science, but don’t let loose yourself in a whole bunch of numbers. This article is very important for beginners, because they often have higher goals than experience. For some keto beginner’s, “Keto-flu” can be a real challenge for continuing or stopping with keto diet. Normalize your blood pressure People who ends up on Keto diet automatically ends up with cutting a lot of processed food rich with sodium. Reduced intake of carbs causing proper leveling of blood sugar, for that reason our body doesn’t need to elevate levels of insulin to stabilize blood sugar. The final effect is, low blood pressure In normal conditions our kidneys tend to store high levels of sodium. But on low insulin levels, kidneys change their behavior. There are a lot of hormonal activities which the kidneys put in diuretic type mode. In this mode kidneys release stored levels of sodium, potassium, and water through the urine. The major function of the salt is maintaining blood pressure, but if you do not replace your daily needs of salt as a side effect you can feel dizziness, fatigue, or weakness. For that reason introduce salt and fluids in your diet. Fluids are essential part for right leveling blood pressure. There are certainly kind of beverages that are carb-free or very low in carbs. Check out a few ideas in the link below (Premium Collection of Keto Beverages) Another easy way to overcome this state is preparing (Natural Sugar-free Ketogenic Electrolyte Drink). This drink refuels your daily needs for sodium, magnesium and potassium. Prevent nausea and diarrhea Some people have bad experience with Keto-flu foll Continue reading >>
