The Keto Diet
Thinking about trying the Keto diet? Due to rise in Keto weight loss plans, keto recipes etc, I am going to go over the basics of Nutrition, and explain why Keto isn’t the best solution for weight loss in the long term.
Ketosis is a metabolic state that occurs when dietary carbohydrates are in such low quantities that your body must reply almost exclusively on using fats for energy.The “keto” in a ketogenic diet comes from the fact that it allows the body to produce small fuel molecules called “ketones”. This is an alternative fuel source for the body, used when blood sugar (glucose) is in short supply.
What happens when your body runs low on carbohydrates?
Ketones are produced if you eat very few carbs (20g a day or so,that are quickly broken down into blood sugar) and only moderate amounts of protein (excess protein can also be converted to blood sugar).
The liver produces ketones from fat. These ketones then serve as a fuel source throughout the body, especially for the brain.
The brain is a hungry organ that consumes lots of energy every day, and it can’t run on fat directly. It can only run on glucose… or ketones.
On a ketogenic diet, your entire body switches its fuel supply to run mostly on fat. When insulin levels become very low, fat burning can increase dramatically. It becomes easier to access your fat stores to burn them off.
The Ketogenic diet allows us to survive on little food intake for long periods. When we look at ketosis from a biochemical and physiological standpoint, ketosis is essentially a survival strategy/mechanism. It is indeed a survival adaptation, and one that raises some interesting questions.
Purefit KETO supplement
The Keto supplement called ‘Purefit KETO claims it actually helps your body achieve ketosis fast and helps you burn fat for energy instead of carbs’. Well actually if you just buy keto sticks on amazon, you can tell whether your body is in ketosis or not. You DON’T NEED a pill to make the diet work, as you can see from above your body is perfectly capable of getting into ketosis by ITSELF.
Drawbacks of the Keto diet
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Keto diet IS NOT sustainable!! It’s very low in carbohydrates, also dietary fibre which helps us helps feed the good bacteria in our gut, and keeps us regular. Yes you’ll loose weight initially, but I wish you luck with trying to maintain the weight loss.
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Due to restriction of carbohydrates in ketogenic diet, micronutrient deficiencies can result. Consider taking a multivitamin.
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You’ll end up damaging your metabolism. Low-calorie diets can result in a loss of muscle, and a fall in hormones that regulate your metabolism, such as thyroid hormone. Which means as a result you’ll end up burning less calories overtime!
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High fat diets with high protein can result in a build up of acidity in the body. I’ve seen many people go on keto diets and their Uric acid levels go up in their blood, which can result in in all sorts of issues such as gout, kidney stones and many others.
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Damage to the diversity in the gut microbiome. Our gut microbiome is essential for , immunity, B vitamin production, hormones and many more!
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The increase in ketones can cause bad breath, so it’s important to have good oral hygiene.
Benefits of the keto diet
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If you consume ketogenic diet, it improves your body’s ability to exploit stored fat for energy production.
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Lowers insulin levels – hence why the diet is popular among diabetics.
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The release of ketones results in lower appetite, which tends to lower overall calorie consumption.