Remember “diet” in Greek actually means “way of life”.

You should choose a nutrition plan, a way to fuel, that is sustainable. Choosing to eat a specific way for say 6 weeks just to drop some weight is not going to solve the problem if you just go back to your old ways. Which is why it needs to be a lifestyle.

The ketogenic diet is one that is taking the nutrition world like wildfire. A great one to look into.

A keto diet is well known for being a low carb diet, where the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy. It’s referred to as many different names – ketogenic diet, low carb diet, low carb high fat (LCHF), etc. (info from ruled.me)

When you eat something high in carbs, your body will produce glucose and insulin.

  • Glucose is the easiest molecule for your body to convert and use as energy so that it will be chosen over any other energy source.
  • Insulin is produced 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. Typically on a normal, higher carbohydrate diet, the body will use glucose as the main form of energy. By lowering the intake of carbs, the body is induced into a state known as ketosis.

Ketosis is a natural process the body initiates to help us survive when food intake is low. During this state, we produce ketones, which are produced from the breakdown of fats in the liver.

The end goal of a properly maintained keto diet is to force your body into this metabolic state. We don’t do this through starvation of calories but starvation of carbohydrates.

 

example frittata recipe

Our bodies are incredibly adaptive to what you put into it – when you overload it with fats and take away carbohydrates, it will begin to burn ketones as the primary energy source. Optimal ketone levels offer many health, weight loss, physical and mental performance benefits.

 

Why keto? What are the benefits?

Weight Loss

The ketogenic diet essentially uses your body fat as an energy source – so there are obvious weight loss benefits. On keto, your insulin (the fat storing hormone) levels drop greatly which turns your body into a fat burning machine.

Scientifically, the ketogenic diet has shown better resultscompared to low-fat and high-carb diets; even in the long term.

weight loss on keto

Many people incorporate MCT Oil into their diet (it increases ketone production and fat loss) by drinking ketoproof coffeein the morning.

Control Blood Sugar

Keto naturally lowers blood sugar levels due to the type of foods you eat. Studies even show that the ketogenic diet is a more effective way to manage and prevent diabetes compared to low-calorie diets.

If you’re pre-diabetic or have Type II diabetes, you should seriously consider a ketogenic diet. We have many readers that have had success with their blood sugar control on keto.

You can read their success stories here >

control blood sugar with keto

Mental Focus

Many people use the ketogenic diet specifically for the increased mental performance.

Ketones are a great source of fuel for the brain. When you lower carb intake, you avoid big spikes in blood sugar. Together, this can result in improved focus and concentration.

Studies show that an increased intake of fatty acids can have impacting benefits to our brain’s function.

mental focus and ketones

You can read a few more benefits of keto for the brain by clicking here >

Increased Energy & Normalized Hunger

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.

On top of that, fat is naturally more satisfying and ends up leaving us in a satiated (“full”) state for longer. If you’re interested in the science behind how ketosis works, read more here >

low-carb and increased energy

Epilepsy

The ketogenic diet has been used since the early 1900’s to treat epilepsy successfully. It is still one of the most widely used therapies for children who have uncontrolled epilepsy today. Learn more at The Charlie Foundation

One of the main benefits of the ketogenic diet and epilepsy is that it allows fewer medications to be used while still offering excellent control.

ketogenic diet and epilepsy

In the last few years, studies have also shown significant results in adults treated with keto as well.

Cholesterol & Blood Pressure

A keto diet has shown to improve triglyceride levels and cholesterol levels most associated with arterial buildup. More specifically low-carb, high-fat diets show a dramatic increase in HDL and decrease in LDL particle concentration compared to low-fat diets. Read more on keto and cholesterol >

Many studies on low-carb diets show better improvement in blood pressure over other diets.

cholesterol benefits

Some blood pressure issues are associated with excess weight, which is a bonus since keto tends to lead to weight loss.

Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance can lead to type II diabetes if left unmanaged. An abundant amount of research shows that a low carb, ketogenic diet can help people lower their insulin levels to healthy ranges. Read more on keto and insulin resistance >

Even if you’re athletic, you can benefit from insulin optimization on keto through eating foods high in omega-3 fatty acids.

insulin resistance

Acne

It’s common to experience improvements in your skin when you switch to a ketogenic diet.

Here’s one study that shows drops in lesions and skin inflammation when switching to a low-carb diet. Another study that shows a probable connection between high-carb eating and increased acne, so it’s likely that keto can help.

acne low carb

For acne, it may be beneficial to reduce dairy intake and follow a strict skin cleaning regimen.

 

There’s a few leaders in that diet worth following:

One in particular is DOMINIC D`AGOSTINO, PH.D. .His website is: https://ketonutrition.org/.

Dominic is an excellent resource!

 

A few great places for Ketogenic recipes are:

Ruled.me

Dr. Axe

Wicked Stuffed