Keto Diet Basics

The Ketogenic (Keto for short) Diet

If the word “ketogenic” sounds technical and science-based, there is a very good reason for that. This approach to eating is taken in an effort to get your body into a state of  ketosis, a scientific term which describes a type of fat-burning instead of carb-burning for energy.

By consuming dramatically fewer carbohydrates, you enter a natural state where your body produces more ketones. Since carbohydrates, a principal form of energy for most human beings (certainly in the western world), are restricted, your body begins to produce ketones as an alternative energy source. You do this by eating fewer carbs and more good, healthy sources of fat.

So here’s some essential information to answer the basic questions.

Question # 1: What is the Keto Diet?

The Keto diet isn’t going anywhere. It has been around for years and it is still continuing to gain traction as more people give it the attention it deserves. If you don’t know what it is already, the ketogenic (“keto”) diet is a lifestyle that many people choose in order to program the body to burn fat.

So when it’s all boiled down, the ketogenic diet is a dietary approach that focuses on minimal carbohydrates, moderate amounts of protein and high healthy fat consumption.

The ketogenic diet actually has very simple rules on paper. Here’s a quick look.

+ No or Low Carbs

The main thing about the ketogenic diet is that followers are told to restrict carbs as much as possible. In fact, if you can eat zero carbs in a given day, the keto rulebook will tell you that you are doing great. The whole purpose of restricting carbs is to eat more protein and fat (good fat). This makes the keto diet a low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet. This is known to be effective in promoting fat burning within your body.

Since your body won’t have any carbs to default to, with carbs being the body’s typical go-to energy source, your body will be forced to enter a state of ketosis where it relies on fat as fuel. This is how keto promotes continuous fat burning in the body, which can mean that the keto diet helps you lose weight more quickly than other higher carb diets out there, because it has no choice but to utilise the fat resources in your body.

+ Healthy Fats

Unfortunately, one of the potential downfalls of the ketogenic diet is that many people do not get the right type of fats. While many people are successful in following the relatively strict low-to-no carb rule, it’s important that you ensure you are getting good healthy fats from the right sources. Switching to fatty unhealthy foods will only work against your health in the long run, even if your body is able to burn fat initially.

In fact, the lack of healthy fats is one of the major reasons why many people find issue with the ketogenic diet. But, so long as you utilize healthy fats and limit unhealthy (processed and saturated) fats, you can likely find great benefits from the ketogenic diet.

+ Adequate Protein

Adequate protein intake is the final piece of the puzzle for achieving a healthy lifestyle on the ketogenic diet. Without enough protein, a person will likely end up consuming too many carbs or relying too heavily on fats. This can lead to nutrient deficiencies, so you need to find the right balance in your macro nutrients for the best results.

Question # 2: What Are the Benefits of a Keto Diet Plan?

The benefits are very significant! Here are the major ones.

+ Diabetes Prevention, Better Blood Sugar Control

Because a high-carb diet is linked to diabetes, this simple eating approach can help prevent the development of diabetes. Your physical health and well-being is dictated in large part by nutrition. When you eat certain types of foods, you can expect one set of results. Change those foods, and you change the results which are evidenced by outward, physical changes in health.

The foods you are going to be eating and avoiding on the ketogenic diet naturally lower your blood sugar level. As a matter of fact, there are multiple studies which show a low-carb, ketogenic eating plan is more effective than a low-calorie approach for controlling blood sugar. It is also easier to follow a ketogenic plan over time, rather than an unhealthy restriction of calories.

+ Weight Loss

If you have struggled to lose excess body weight, the ketogenic diet can certainly help in that regard.

People who have tried for years or even decades to lose unwanted, unhealthy fat and body weight have found success with a ketogenic approach to eating. This automatically happens because of the switch to fat burning for energy, which is accompanied by a dramatically lower number of carbohydrates consumed.

+ Improves Mental Focus

Weight loss and diabetes prevention are two very significant benefits of this low-carb, high-fat diet plan. If those were the only rewards you could expect, that would be enough reason to go keto. On top of those substantial benefits, you can also expect better mental clarity and focus.

The ketones you will begin developing in excess are the perfect energy source for your brain. When you lower the amount of carbohydrates you consume, this leads to fewer spikes in blood sugar. Elevated blood sugar levels are linked to poor mental performance and brain function. You will also increase the number of healthy fatty acids you are going to be eating, which has been scientifically proven to benefit brainpower.

+ All-Day Energy

When you begin to burn fat and lose excess body weight, your energy will improve. The way your body processes fat for energy leads to a steady release of energy over time, not the highs and the lows you get when you consume a lot of carbohydrates.

+ You Return to “Normal” Feelings of Hunger

When you eat a lot of simple carbohydrates, you often suffer from a nutrition deficiency. When your body is not getting the nutrients, vitamins and chemicals it needs to function properly, your brain sends out a hunger signal. Nutrient-poor simple carbohydrates can be very addictive, so you may reach for the foods that got you into this unhealthy nutrition picture in the first place.

You begin converting those simple carbohydrates to fat and gain body weight, and you constantly feel hungry. This is what happens when you consume too many carbohydrates and not enough of the nutrients you need to stay healthy. It creates abnormal hunger which is present much of the time you are awake. The ketogenic diet makes you feel full longer after you eat, thereby normalizing your hunger episodes.

+ Clears up Skin Conditions like Acne, and Leads to Healthier Hair

Simple carbohydrates are the enemy of your skin and hair. You may not be aware that excessive carbohydrate consumption is causing your skin and hair problems. Get on the ketogenic diet and you can begin to notice improvement with skin conditions like acne, as well as healthier, stronger, younger looking hair.

+ Treatment of Epilepsy

The ketogenic eating approach has been used for more than 2,500 years to treat epilepsy. Especially with children who experience uncontrollable epilepsy symptoms, achieving ketosis by eating this way is often successful in improving health and reducing symptoms of epilepsy.

Doctors often prescribe the ketogenic diet for children because it has been shown to reduce the number of medications children need to take to establish control over epilepsy. In the 21st century, traditional medical professionals have also begun recommending this healthy eating style to adults who have epilepsy.

+ Helps Level Out Your Cholesterol and Blood Pressure

Going keto improves your triglyceride levels. This leads to an effective control of your cholesterol level. That reduces the chance of buildup in your arteries, which can lead to several cardiovascular problems. Keto and other low-carb, high-fat diets increase the amount of good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol levels, which positively impacts your blood pressure and heart health.

+ The Ketogenic Diet May Help Lower Your Risk of Cancer

In his article “A Beginner’s Ultimate Guide to Keto“, Dr. Joseph Mercola notes that the Ketogenic Diet may help to lower the risk of cancer.

Here is what he says:
“Cancer is a devastating disease and is one of the leading causes of death all over the world. To make things worse, the medical profession has practically ignored evidence that indicates cancer as a metabolic and mitochondrial problem, causing conventional cancer treatment methods to fall short on their promises.

I believe (as well as the numerous experts I have interviewed) that over 90% of cancer cases are either preventable or treatable. The key here is to view cancer as a metabolic dysfunction, allowing you to gain control over this dreadful disease. Simply put, the right foods and strategies may help suppress cancer growth while simultaneously pushing it into remission.

What most people don’t know is that cancer cells are mainly fueled by glucose. In this regard, the ketogenic diet may be the best answer. By depriving them of their primary source of fuel, as well as protein restriction, cancer cells will literally starve to death.

In addition, research regarding the ketogenic diet in relation to fighting cancer has grown over the years, and the data indicate that aside from being a form of cancer prevention, the ketogenic diet may help complement common cancer treatments, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy.”