Why Do Some People Believe A High Fat Diet, With The Intent To Limit Carbohydrates To Induce A State Of Ketosis And Allow The Body To Run Predominantly Off Of Fat For Energy, Is Ideal For Optimal Health?
Some of us have found with a series of self experiments that we feel better on low carb higher fat diets. Over time I've tried being a vegan, being a vegetarian, raw foods, eating just a whole foods diet, high whole grains..... so on and on. After several years on LCHF I've found that eliminating the vast majority of carbs helps 1) keep my blood sugar in a reasonable range - this has such a huge range of health effects that I won't even try to list them. 2) results in a very low triglyceride level and high HDL cholesterol level 3) keeps my moods even. Anxiety and depression have virtually disappeared. Ketosis is known for being beneficial for a variety of neurological problems. When I have slipped off eating this way a variety of unpleasant symptoms return. My diet is highly nutrient rich - I eat pastured/grass fed meats and eggs, wild fish, a huge variety of green vegetables - primarily leafy, butter, cheese and other fats from healthy animals, healthy vegetable fats - coconut, avocado, olives. Some nuts, limited quantities of berries, lots of herbs, brightly colored veg that aren't too high in carbs. This kind of diet can be appropriate for many people, not just Inuits! It may or may not be related to genetics (my guess would be probably), but this could include many groups. My background is primarily northern European, with most of my ancestors likely being exposed to agriculture no more that 3 to 5,000 years ago. There are cases of Pacific Island groups who had traditionally a diet very high in coconut fats. When moving to NZ and eating a lower fat diet, they suffer tremendously from obesity, T2 diabetes and other modern illnesses. There is considerable scientific evidence that LCHF diets are beneficial for a variety of conditions. Rather than try to cite all those Continue reading >>
Do You Know If Your Body Has Entered Ketosis?
A lot of people mentioned acetone breath, but I can tell you that is not a universal phenomena. I often test positive with either blood or urine testing and don’t have acetone test. The easiest and cheapest way are to use these: These have been around forever (since the original Atkins book in 1972.) They’re made by Bayer and they are laboratory quality. The problem is that many companies now make strips for much less money. These are the best seller on Amazon and about $9 for a bottle of 100. There are even cheaper brands. The gold standard for testing is to use blood. But that involves sticking the fingers and the test strips are expensive. There is now a maker who has a breath ketone machine for about $200. Continue reading >>
Lose Weight By Achieving Optimal Ketosis
Do you want to lose weight? Here’s number 16 of my 18 best tips. All of the published tips can be found on the How to Lose Weight page. Before we get started, here’s a short recap of the tips so far: The first and most crucial piece of advice was to choose a low-carb diet. The next were eating when hungry, eating real food, eating only when hungry, measuring progress wisely, being persistent, avoiding fruit, beer and artificial sweeteners, review your medications, stressing less and sleeping more, eating less dairy and nut products, stocking up on vitamins and minerals, using intermittent fasting and finally, exercising smart. This is number sixteen: 16. Get into optimal ketosis Warning: Not recommended for type 1 diabetics, see below. We’ve now arrived at tip number 16. If you’re still having trouble losing weight, despite following the 15 pieces of advice listed above, it might be a good idea to bring out the heavy artillery: optimal ketosis. Many people stalling at weight plateaus while on a low carb diet have found optimal ketosis helpful. It’s what can melt the fat off once again. So how does this work? A quick run-through: The first tip was to eat low carb. This is because a low-carb diet lowers your levels of the fat-storing hormone insulin, allowing your fat deposits to shrink and release their stored energy. This tends to cause you to want to consume less calories than you expend – without hunger – and lose weight. Several of the tips mentioned above are about fine-tuning your diet to better this effect. Video course Do you know exactly how to eat a low-carb and high fat diet (LCHF)? This is required for ketosis. If not the easiest way is watching this high quality 11-minute video course on how to eat LCHF, and the most important things to think a Continue reading >>
7 Signs You Might Be In Ketosis When Doing The Ketogenic Diet
One of the main goals of starting the ketogenic diet is to get your body into a metabolic state known as ketosis. Note: If you don’t know what the ketogenic is all about then check out the Ketogenic Diet: Beginner’s Guide to Keto and Weight Loss. This is when your body starts to produce a lot of ketones to supply energy for your body. Why is this good? Because it means your body has converted from a sugar-burner to a fat-burner. If your body is burning fat for energy then something amazing starts to happen. The fat on your body starts to disappear. But how do you know when you’re in ketosis? Besides using test strips or an instrument there are some signs that your body will give. 7 Signs You Might Be in Ketosis These don’t 100% guarantee that your body is in ketosis but if it is in ketosis then these signs will appear. 1. Weight Loss One of the obvious signs of ketosis is weight loss but this can also be pretty deceptive because many people don’t experience the kind of weight loss that they expect. This can happen for a variety of reasons but when you get close to entering ketosis or do enter ketosis you’ll find that you lose a healthy amount of weight quickly. For example, when you switch to low carbs you usually experience significant weight loss in the first week. In fact, my wife lost 12 lbs in the first 28 days of Keto and I lost 13. This isn’t your body burning fat but finally being able to release the water that was being held by the fat cells. If your fat cells don’t release this water then they can’t flow through the bloodstream to be used as fuel so losing water weight is a good thing. After the initial rapid drop in water weight, you should continue to lose body fat consistently if you are able to stick with the low-carb aspects of the diet Continue reading >>
6 Things That Happen To Your Body When You Go On A Ketogenic Diet
By now, you've probably heard of the ketogenic diet, or a low-carb, high-fat diet. It’s a popular diet trend among athletes and average folk alike. (Who doesn't love the idea of eating more steak and bacon?) But what actually happens to your body when you go on the ketogenic diet? To understand how the ketogenic diet works, you have to understand ketosis, the process by which your body is starved of glucose for fuel and must look to fat sources instead. Typically, you fuel your body by giving it glucose in the form of carbs, which can be found in flour, grains, vegetables, legumes, dairy products, and fruits. We usually introduce a steady stream of this type of fuel into our bodies with each meal or snack, explains Pamela Nisevich Bede MS, RD, CSSD, LD. These carbohydrates are usually the body’s first choice when looking for an instant fix. “When a carb is available, the body will naturally turn to this to make energy instead of dietary fat or stored body fat. However, when we remove carbohydrates from our diet, our bodies begin to break down fat and turn to a fuel source in the form of ketones, which is more efficient but generally underutilized,” explains Bede. Rob Gronkowski's Diet: This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. Ketones are a substance produced by the liver when the body breaks down fat for energy, which are then released into the blood. Your body's cells use ketones to power everyday activities. When there’s a buildup of ketones in the blood and you’re switching gears into an ketogenic state, your body changes in some incredible ways. 1) Your insulin levels drop. On a normal diet, after eating glucose-containing foods, your insulin levels will be higher. But when you’r Continue reading >>
If It's So Easy To Be "kicked Out" Of Ketosis, Doesn't That Suggest That Ketosis Isn't The Body's Preferred State?
Good question, I used to wonder the exact same thing! But then I realized that asking this question is akin to asking: If I live on land where there are deadly spikes all over the land, and it's so easy to fall on one of them and die, doesn't that suggest that living isn't the body’s preferred state? It's not that it's easy to be kicked out of ketosis, it's just that our modern diet and environment is so packed with carbs that it's hard to avoid it unless you strictly follow a keto diet. We used to not eat bread, we used to not have sugar on hand to sweeten everything, fruits were a seasonal and rare delicacy that we could only pick up from the ground, the concept of flour didn't even exist before agriculture. The stone age diet sans technology and agriculture could only include natural sugars (fruits) and carbs in veggies. Grains, before we learned to grow them at scale, weren't that prominent. Hence pre-agriculture humans were probably in ketosis way more often than us. Continue reading >>
Ketosis: What Is Ketosis?
Ketosis is a normal metabolic process. When the body does not have enough glucose for energy, it burns stored fats instead; this results in a build-up of acids called ketones within the body. Some people encourage ketosis by following a diet called the ketogenic or low-carb diet. The aim of the diet is to try and burn unwanted fat by forcing the body to rely on fat for energy, rather than carbohydrates. Ketosis is also commonly observed in patients with diabetes, as the process can occur if the body does not have enough insulin or is not using insulin correctly. Problems associated with extreme levels of ketosis are more likely to develop in patients with type 1 diabetes compared with type 2 diabetes patients. Ketosis occurs when the body does not have sufficient access to its primary fuel source, glucose. Ketosis describes a condition where fat stores are broken down to produce energy, which also produces ketones, a type of acid. As ketone levels rise, the acidity of the blood also increases, leading to ketoacidosis, a serious condition that can prove fatal. People with type 1 diabetes are more likely to develop ketoacidosis, for which emergency medical treatment is required to avoid or treat diabetic coma. Some people follow a ketogenic (low-carb) diet to try to lose weight by forcing the body to burn fat stores. What is ketosis? In normal circumstances, the body's cells use glucose as their primary form of energy. Glucose is typically derived from dietary carbohydrates, including: sugar - such as fruits and milk or yogurt starchy foods - such as bread and pasta The body breaks these down into simple sugars. Glucose can either be used to fuel the body or be stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. If there is not enough glucose available to meet energy demands, th Continue reading >>
Does Ketosis (from A Fat-rich Diet) Affect Body Temperature?
One finds a minor increase in metabolism early in ketosis, especially so when consuming MCTs. MCTs are converted into ketone bodies in their first pass through the liver. Humans do not store those well and metabolize them fairly quickly. Something similar happens with consumed ethanol. Ask yourself why metabolism decreases after dieting. How does the hypothalamus detect food shortage? It can’t do so from circulating ketone bodies or free fatty acids. Those are maintained from fat stores even when one is starving. It does that through glucose and insulin levels. On a strict ketogenic diet, I was found to have both low TSH and low T4. Normally, if T4 is low, TSH is raised to restore the required metabolism. Low T4 results in decreased basal metabolism. My condition was called central hypothyroidism and commonly seen only in patients who have suffered major disease or trauma. It reversed on restoration of a more normal diet. A true ketogenic diet is rather extreme in that it requires restriction of protein as well as carbs. Roughly half of ingested protein becomes glucose on its first pass through the liver. Continue reading >>
Ketosis
Tweet Ketosis is a state the body may find itself in either as a result of raised blood glucose levels or as a part of low carb dieting. Low levels of ketosis is perfectly normal. However, high levels of ketosis in the short term can be serious and the long term effects of regular moderate ketosis are only partially known at the moment. What is ketosis? Ketosis is a state the body goes into if it needs to break down body fat for energy. The state is marked by raised levels of ketones in the blood which can be used by the body as fuel. Ketones which are not used for fuel are excreted out of the body via the kidneys and the urine. Is ketosis the same as ketoacidosis? There is often confusion as to the difference between ketosis and ketoacidosis. Ketosis is the state whereby the body is producing ketones. In ketosis, the level of ketones in the blood can be anything between normal to very high. Diabetic ketoacidosis, also known as DKA, only describes the state in which the level of ketones is either high or very high. In ketoacidosis, the amount of ketones in the blood is sufficient to turn the blood acidic, which is a dangerous medical state. When does ketosis occur? Ketosis will take place when the body needs energy and there is not sufficient glucose available for the body. This can typically happen when the body is lacking insulin and blood glucose levels become high. Other causes can be the result of being on a low carb diet. A low level of carbohydrate will lead to low levels of insulin, and therefore the body will produce ketones which do not rely on insulin to get into and fuel the body’s cells. A further cause of ketosis, less relevant to people with diabetes, is a result of excessive alcohol consumption. Is ketosis dangerous? The NHS describes ketosis as a pote Continue reading >>
What Is Ketosis?
"Ketosis" is a word you'll probably see when you're looking for information on diabetes or weight loss. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? That depends. Ketosis is a normal metabolic process, something your body does to keep working. When it doesn't have enough carbohydrates from food for your cells to burn for energy, it burns fat instead. As part of this process, it makes ketones. If you're healthy and eating a balanced diet, your body controls how much fat it burns, and you don't normally make or use ketones. But when you cut way back on your calories or carbs, your body will switch to ketosis for energy. It can also happen after exercising for a long time and during pregnancy. For people with uncontrolled diabetes, ketosis is a sign of not using enough insulin. Ketosis can become dangerous when ketones build up. High levels lead to dehydration and change the chemical balance of your blood. Ketosis is a popular weight loss strategy. Low-carb eating plans include the first part of the Atkins diet and the Paleo diet, which stress proteins for fueling your body. In addition to helping you burn fat, ketosis can make you feel less hungry. It also helps you maintain muscle. For healthy people who don't have diabetes and aren't pregnant, ketosis usually kicks in after 3 or 4 days of eating less than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. That's about 3 slices of bread, a cup of low-fat fruit yogurt, or two small bananas. You can start ketosis by fasting, too. Doctors may put children who have epilepsy on a ketogenic diet, a special high-fat, very low-carb and protein plan, because it might help prevent seizures. Adults with epilepsy sometimes eat modified Atkins diets. Some research suggests that ketogenic diets might help lower your risk of heart disease. Other studies show sp Continue reading >>
How Can I Get My Body In Ketosis?
I am always concerned first and foremost with HEALTHY - and a good healthy plan will ultimately lead to weight loss and to keeping that weight off forever. But whether it's losing weight, trying to be healthy, or both - we need to do it safely - that is key to what I am about and what I will strive to research for and push for. Safety. So here we have in america and around the world maybe a hundred different diet types from atkins to Paleo and so on and so forth - most of them are variations on the same few diet themes we all are familiar with- eat less exercise more, less sugar, less carbs etc etc etc. Every once in a while we come across a diet that may appear to be extreme - but is rather docile and ends up being one of those variations on the themes I just mentioned. But we don't and wont know that always - unless we investigate. More than any other diet it seems that people have had quite serious questions about the KETO diet. And for good reason - and not the reason you think at first. At first, i am sure that everyone reads the words High Fat and raises and eyebrow - a collective What you Talkin bout Willis!? It is that HF in HFLC that has many highly curious and cautious and needing to get some answers. The problem is - on many websites, the answers are not quite clear, somewhat contradictory, and all over the place as far as science is concerned. Again, I'm not mocking when i say this next part; it could be in the best interest for whomever of the keto folk, to regroup among yourselves and come up with a better mission statement if you will for the keto evangelism that exists on the internet. And this mission statement should have all manner of clear and precise bullet points, including windows for modifications which is fine, and including most if not all of t Continue reading >>
The Beginners Guide To Ketosis: Investigating Low-carb, High-fat Eating
The only hard and fast rule of health is that health is personal and what works well for one person may not work for someone else. Aside from that rule, there are “frameworks” that seem to benefit large groups of people. One more level down from that are alternative strategies that benefit smaller groups. Ketosis is likely one of those alternative strategies that works well for certain, smaller groups of people. So, right off the bat I want you to understand that Ketosis might not be for everyone. I’m going to lay out the case for potential benefits of Ketosis. If it sounds interesting and beneficial to you, then consider trying it. (see our free cheat sheet to help you). What is Ketosis Ketosis occurs when liver glycogen gets depleted and the body burns fatty acids for fuel. The primary driver of this state is a very low carbohydrate intake. Often, it also requires a low protein, higher fat intake. You can also achieve a state of ketosis by not eating altogether. The creation of ketones is a byproduct of this metabolic state. Ketones are a source of fuel, just as glucose is a source of fuel. Ketones tend to have some added benefits, though. What role does Ketosis play in human health? Ketosis allows our bodies to function in the absence of carbohydrates, both physically and mentally. Instead of burning carbohydrates, or converting protein to glucose, the body burns ketones. This is pretty much a survival mechanism. It allows your body to function in a state of caloric deprivation. This is why ketosis often gets bad press (as it’s linked to “starvation”). Being a survival mechanism doesn’t make it invalid as a strategy, though. There can still be potential benefits to be had. Let’s cover a few of them… Ketosis and Accelerated Fat Loss Being in ketosis Continue reading >>
10 Signs And Symptoms That You're In Ketosis
The ketogenic diet is a popular, effective way to lose weight and improve health. When followed correctly, this low-carb, high-fat diet will raise blood ketone levels. These provide a new fuel source for your cells, and cause most of the unique health benefits of this diet (1, 2, 3). On a ketogenic diet, your body undergoes many biological adaptions, including a reduction in insulin and increased fat breakdown. When this happens, your liver starts producing large amounts of ketones to supply energy for your brain. However, it can often be hard to know whether you're "in ketosis" or not. Here are 10 common signs and symptoms of ketosis, both positive and negative. People often report bad breath once they reach full ketosis. It's actually a common side effect. Many people on ketogenic diets and similar diets, such as the Atkins diet, report that their breath takes on a fruity smell. This is caused by elevated ketone levels. The specific culprit is acetone, a ketone that exits the body in your urine and breath (4). While this breath may be less than ideal for your social life, it can be a positive sign for your diet. Many ketogenic dieters brush their teeth several times per day, or use sugar-free gum to solve the issue. If you're using gum or other alternatives like sugar-free drinks, check the label for carbs. These may raise your blood sugar levels and reduce ketone levels. The bad breath usually goes away after some time on the diet. It is not a permanent thing. The ketone acetone is partly expelled via your breath, which can cause bad or fruity-smelling breath on a ketogenic diet. Ketogenic diets, along with normal low-carb diets, are highly effective for losing weight (5, 6). As dozens of weight loss studies have shown, you will likely experience both short- and long Continue reading >>
Ketosis, Ketones, And How It All Works
Ketosis is a process that the body does on an everyday basis, regardless of the number of carbs you eat. Your body adapts to what is put in it, processing different types of nutrients into the fuels that it needs. Proteins, fats, and carbs can all be processed for use. Eating a low carb, high fat diet just ramps up this process, which is a normal and safe chemical reaction. When you eat carbohydrate based foods or excess amounts of protein, your body will break this down into sugar – known as glucose. Why? Glucose is needed in the creation of ATP (an energy molecule), which is a fuel that is needed for the daily activities and maintenance inside our bodies. If you’ve ever used our keto calculator to determine your caloric needs, you will see that your body uses up quite a lot of calories. It’s true, our bodies use up much of the nutrients we intake just to maintain itself on a daily basis. If you eat enough food, there will likely be an excess of glucose that your body doesn’t need. There are two main things that happen to excess glucose if your body doesn’t need it: Glycogenesis. Excess glucose will be converted to glycogen and stored in your liver and muscles. Estimates show that only about half of your daily energy can be stored as glycogen. Lipogenesis. If there’s already enough glycogen in your muscles and liver, any extra glucose will be converted into fats and stored. So, what happens to you once your body has no more glucose or glycogen? Ketosis happens. When your body has no access to food, like when you are sleeping or when you are on a ketogenic diet, the body will burn fat and create molecules called ketones. We can thank our body’s ability to switch metabolic pathways for that. These ketones are created when the body breaks down fats, creating Continue reading >>
Did You Notice Any Difference In Depression Symptoms Once Your Body Went Into Ketosis?
I would be very careful to adopt this type of diet. Reading through the webpage you linked to, it is typical marketing for a new “super diet” that tends to promote the advantages while covering the dangers in a bed of roses. Fortunately for you I’ve already tried such a diet and can save you from some suffering. A keto diet was a kind of fun experiment in my workplace where I saw at least one person eat salads or vegetables exclusively for lunch literally for months on end. They looked like they were up to something and being curious I brought along my sheep plushie to see them and asked why they were eating veggies only… like my sheep? They were amused and shared their diet plan with me. Fast foward to recent times where from August until now I appeared to lose a lot of weight so a keto diet definitely works. I had my SO say I actually looked like a Bollywood actress and we had a few charming conversations over it… But a diet that “works” on the surface to produce results is not a story that ends happily ever after. I was warned about the need for a lot of water during ketosis and also I may end up in a state of caloric deficiency especially with my quite harsh dance workout routines. I saved that thought for “later” because I was having a great time and people were saying I lost a lot of weight recently. I started noticing oddities from around the 5th week onwards. I had nausea and stomach pain nearly every day. Yes, I joked I had “morning sickness”. No I didn’t see a doctor. I knew this was from my diet. I suffered from lethargy and low motivation that would very strangely persist until something shocked me enough to pump out some adrenalin. But I felt perfectly fine and healthy. Even when I seemed to be unnecessarily aggressive on my expectat Continue reading >>
