What are the Benefits of a “Keto” Diet?

A keto (ketogenic) diet is becoming more popular as people are realising its many benefits.

It is a low carb diet where the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy.  It is referred to by many different names eg. Ketogenic diet, low carb high fat (LCHF), low carb etc.

Basically, how it works is when you eat food that has carbohydrates in it your body produces insulin and glucose.  As glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy, it will be the chosen energy to be used over any other energy source.

Insulin is produced because it needs to process the glucose in your bloodstream, by taking it around the body. Since the glucose is being used as a primary energy, your fats are not needed and are therefore stored in the body creating fat deposits all over the body.

On a normal carbohydrate diet, the body will always use glucose as its main form of energy.

So, what happens to you once your body has no more glucose or glycogen? Ketosis happens.  By dramatically lowering the intake of carbs, the body goes into a state of “ketosis” where it switches over from using glucose in the body to its own fat stores for energy.  This state is called lipogenesis.

When your body has no access to food, like when you are sleeping, the body will burn fat and create molecules called ketones. This is what happens on a ketogenic diet – we burn fat for energy. We can thank our body’s ability to switch metabolic pathways for that.

Ketosis is pretty amazing, and it gets even better. Studies show that the body and brain actually prefer using ketones and is able to run 70% more efficiently than glucose. From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes perfect sense.

Your benefits from a keto diet/lifestyle are:

– Weight Loss. As your body is burning fat as the main source of energy, you will essentially be using your fat stores as an energy source while in a fasting state.

– Energy. By giving your body a better and more reliable energy source, you will feel more energized during the day. Fats are shown to be the most effective molecule to burn as fuel.

– Cholesterol. A keto diet has shown to improve triglyceride levels and cholesterol levels mostly associated with arterial build up.

– Blood Sugar. Many studies show the decrease of LDL cholesterol over time and have shown to eliminate ailments such as Type 2 Diabetes.

– Hunger. Fat is naturally more satisfying and ends up leaving us in a “full” state for longer.

– Skin. Recent studies have shown a reduction in acne lesions and skin inflammation over 12 weeks.

The breakdown of protein, fats and carbs vary depending on how strict and how far into keto you want to go, but the long-term plan is to make it sustainable and something that can work for you, and not the other way around.

To start a keto diet, you will want to plan ahead. With any new diet that means planning ahead and having your diet plan ready and waiting.

What you eat really depends how fast you want to get into a ketogenic state. The more restrictive you are on your carbohydrates (less than 15g per day), the faster you will enter ketosis. Normally, anywhere between 20-30g of net carbs is recommended for every day dieting – but the lower you keep your glucose levels, the better your overall results will be. If you need ideas for food, there are plenty of keto recipes now for you to choose from.

You might be asking, “What’s a net carb?” It’s very simple! The net carbs are your total dietary carbohydrates, minus the total fiber. Let’s say for example you want to eat some broccoli (1 cup) –

• There are a total of 6g carbohydratesin 1 cup.
• There’s also 2g of fibre in 1 cup.
• So, we take the 6g(total carbs) and subtract the 2g (dietary fiber).
• This will give us our net carbs of 4g.

If you wish to find out more information on living keto and how you can reap the benefits of a ketogenic lifestyle contact Trudy Kither from Nature’s Temple on 0408900596 or www.naturestemple.net