Are you diet conscious? Looking to follow the ketogenic diet to lose weight? For the ketogenic diet, a complete understanding of ketosis...
Are you diet conscious? Looking to follow the ketogenic diet to lose weight?
For the ketogenic diet, a complete understanding of ketosis is highly important.
Ketosis is a natural state of the production of ketone bodies from fats. You can start ketosis by consuming high fat keto diet.
In the long term keto diet causes the loss of appetite, which results in rapid weight loss. Moreover, the glycogen reserves in the body also contribute to the lower calorie intake.
Besides weight loss, ketosis may offer many health benefits such as heart health, brain health etc.
What does ketosis mean?
Ketosis is a state that happens due to the high level of ketones in the blood. This occurs when the fat burns to provide energy, and the body doesn't have enough glucose. Glucose is the major source of energy for the body cells.
Ketosis is a word that has close relation with low carbs or ketogenic diets. Ketosis also commonly occurs during infancy, pregnancy, starvation and fasting.
To begin the process of ketosis, you must have to ensure the intake of lesser than 50g of carbs each day or sometimes fewer than 20g daily. However, the exact carbs intake varies from person to person.
To adhere to the keto diet, you must omit some of the food items from your dietary habits, like; sugary fizzy drinks, wheat grains, and sweet candies.
You should also stop the intake of starchy foods (e.g., potatoes), legumes, and fruits.
When consuming a very low carbs diet, insulin level decreases and fatty acids extracted from the stores of fats are used as body fuel.
However, the fatty acids, when reach the liver, get oxidized and converted into ketones. These ketone bodies serve as an alternate energy reserve.
Ketones are much smaller than fatty acids that they can cross the BBB (Blood Brain Barrier) and fulfill the brain's high energy demands.
Do the ketones provide energy to the brain?
There is a misguided belief for a long time that carbs are highly important for brain functioning. The steady supply of glucose is considered to be an important fuel for the brain.
But a significant portion of the brain uses plenty of ketones to supply a good amount of energy, for instance, during fasting or when you take limited carbs.
When you starve for almost 3 days, the ketones will provide 25% energy to the brain. However, for the longest time of fasting, the level will increase to almost 60%.
Additionally, to fulfill the increased demand for energy of the brain, the proteins and other molecules break down into glucose for the process of ketosis.
This mechanism is known as gluconeogenesis.
Fortunately, both gluconeogenesis and ketosis can sharpen the brain by providing essential energy.
Here is more information about the keto diet.
To get the educational video on ketosis, click here.
Also you can get the in depth information on keto diet on this article: a comprehensive guide on the ketogenic diet for beginners.
Ketosis is not similar to ketoacidosis.
People usually misunderstood the terms ketosis and ketoacidosis.
As ketosis is a natural process of metabolism in the body, ketoacidosis is a serious medical condition that may lead to coma or death if not treated.
In ketoacidosis, the level of glucose and ketones rises to an extremely high level. Due to this, the acidity builds up in the blood, which is highly fetal.
If you have type 1 diabetes and it's uncontrolled, ketoacidosis is more likely to develop. People with type 2 diabetes may also have this condition, but this is rare.
Moreover, ketoacidosis may also happen due to severe alcohol abuse.
Ketogenic diet and epilepsy
Epilepsy is a mental ailment characterized by recurrent episodes of seizures. It's a very prevalent brain disease, affecting almost millions of people around the world.
Most people prefer anti-epileptic drugs to deal with their seizers. However, despite the use of medications, almost 30 percent of people still experience seizures.
In the 1920s, the keto diet was the most effective cure for seizure management in individuals who don't show a positive response to antiepileptic drug treatment.
In most epileptic children, the keto diet has shown a significant reduction in the symptoms of epilepsy, and in some cases, the complete remission of the disease has been observed.
Ketosis and weight loss
Many people following the keto diet show a huge reduction in weight.
Many studies suggest that unlike low-fat diets, ketogenic diets are more effective for fat burn. One research showed that the keto diet people lose weight 2.2 times more rapidly than those following calories restricted diet.
What's more, people feel full and suppression of appetite, which is due to ketosis. Due to this, calorie counting is not necessary for the ketogenic diet.
Furthermore, it's a known fact that following the keto diet for the long term is important for success. For some people, the adherence might be easy, while others may find it challenging.
According to some studies, the keto diet is not much sustainable way for weight loss. It might also not help people with a certain metabolic disorder.
For weight loss, get the customized keto diet plans from here.
Benefits of ketosis
Some scientists also recommend ketogenic diets due to their tremendous health benefits. However, indeed, all experts don't agree.
Cardiovascular disorders: According to some studies, cutting carbs from the diet to start ketosis is beneficial for heart health. It improves the risk factors like blood triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Despite the positive impacts on the heart, the people on the keto diet omit healthy heart foods like legumes, pulses and whole grains.
Diabetes mellitus: The ketogenic diet may also lower the risk of diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity and losing fat.
Parkinson's disease: The individuals having Parkinson's disease may overcome their symptoms within 28 days.
More details on keto diet benefits are here. Click here to read.
Is there any side effect of ketosis?
Although a ketogenic diet can have health and weight loss benefits, it also has some negative effects. Some side effects like fatigue, headache, bad breath, high cholesterol levels and constipation are short-term and die out after some days or weeks of the diet's beginning.
Another disadvantage of keto-diet is that there is a chance of kidney stones generation.
Because of a ketogenic diet or low carbs, ketoacidosis is developed in many women breastfeeding their children.
Diabetic patients, having medications for lowering blood sugar, must consult their physician before starting the keto diet, as ketosis can lower the drug's needs.
In ketogenic diets, there is a small amount of fiber. Therefore, it is a good practice to take a lot of low carb and high fiber vegetables.
Let's have a look at some of the valuable tips that will keep you fit and healthy while you are on the keto diet:
• Take enough fluids, especially water.
• Before starting the keto diet, always consult your doctor and accept their recommendations.
• While you are on the keto diet, make sure to check the working of your kidneys.
• If any of the side effects appear, immediately ask for help from your physician.
• Some people can take advantage of the keto diet, but before changing your diet to a low carbs diet, it's necessary to talk to your doctor about whether it will suit you or not.
Conclusions:
A natural metabolic condition obtained through the keto diet is called ketosis. It can have various advantages related to health like:
• Lowering blood sugar levels
• Weight reduction
• Decreased seizures in children with epilepsy
However, adhering to a strict diet to treat ketosis can be complicated, and of course, there are some side effects. Also, all researchers don't recommend the keto diet for weight loss. It does not work well for all people, but yes! It is beneficial for some.
You can get other info about the keto diet on a comprehensive guide on the ketogenic diet for beginners.
For more details, have a look at this video on ketosis.
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