What is a keto diet and how does it work? Eating keto means following a low carb diet that is moderate in protein and higher in fat. Most people have heard of the Atkins diet that became famous in the 1960s, popularised by cardiologist Robert C. Atkins. The keto diet or ketogenic diet is similar to this.
The main difference is that whereas the Atkins diet is very protein-heavy, the keto diet requires you to limit protein consumption and increase fat intake. This encourages your body to get into a state of ketosis, where it uses stored fat to make ketone bodies which act as fuel for your body to use instead of glucose.
When you restrict the amount of carbs that are consumed, the body will be forced to utilize excess fat to use as energy. This is the primary goal of the keto diet, to force your body to make ketone bodies, hence the name ketosis, or keto! This process is the basis of the keto diet.
Insulin suppresses ketone production and the objective of a keto diet is to get into ketosis and stay there. To do this it is important to minimize insulin production as much as possible. The best way to do this is by changing what you eat. Insulin is produced in response to different foods, so by changing your diet, you can minimize insulin production. By switching from eating high carb foods (which cause insulin production) to low carb foods (that curb production) the body enters ketosis. That is how the ketogenic diet works, in a nutshell!
WHAT IS A KETO DIET AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
What is a Keto diet? Short for “ketogenic diet,” this diet minimizes your carb intake while increasing your fat intake. It forces your body to use body fat, to supply energy. The liver converts body fat into ketones which is then used as fuel for energy. This is ketosis and it what gives the diet its name.
IT TAKES THE BODY 2 TO 5 DAYS TO ENTER KETOSIS
Two to five days after starting the keto diet, your body goes into what is called ketosis. This is the state your body enters when there are not enough carbs to supply your cells with energy. As a result ketones, or organic compounds form in your liver. These metabolize your stored fat to use as energy. They are ketone bodies and this is ketosis which gives the diet its name.
Each person has to experiment, to determine the level of carb intake required to stay in ‘ketosis”. Everyone is different depending on their basal metabolic rate. Keto sticks help to identify whether the body is in ketosis. They are inexpensive and you urinate on a stick, which changes color once your body is producing ketones. When you lower your carb intake, glucose levels, along with blood sugar levels, drop which in turn lowers insulin levels. This enables the fat cells to release the water they are storing. This explains why water weight loss often happens first. Fat cells then enter the bloodstream and are then metabolized by the liver to make ketones.
By starving your body of carbohydrates your body stops producing insulin and consequently uses up the stores of fat on your body.
WHAT IS A KETO DIET AND WHY ARE CARBOHYDRATES BAD FOR US?
Not all carbohydrates are bad for us. After all, vegetables contain carbohydrates. The carbs in vegetables, especially green vegetables are low. With vegetables, the fiber content balances the carb content. As a result, it reduces the carb impact on the body.
When you check the carbohydrate content of a particular product you will often see a carb count for net carbs or just carbs. Net carbs mean the number of carbs your body will absorb once along with the fiber. It is usually less than the gross carb count.
Refined carbs are the ones that we need to avoid on a keto diet. These are also known as processed carbs, or ‘simple’ carbs. On the whole, they form two main groups, sugars and refined grains. The sugars group contains:
- Processed and refined sugars; such as sucrose (table sugar), high fructose corn syrup, and agave syrup. Agave syrup, ironically, is often pedaled as a healthy alternative to sugar. Not true. Agave contains as many carbohydrates as sugar!
- Refined grains: These are grains that have had the fibrous and nutritious parts removed. The best-known source is white flour made from refined wheat. But on a keto diet whole grains are no better. Generally speaking all there are no grains on a keto diet. That said, especially anything made from wheat. Refined grains have had most of their nutrients stripped during the processing, this includes fiber, vitamins, and minerals, so they are essentially empty calories.
WHAT IS A KETO DIET: HOW DOES IT WORK? CARBOHYDRATES SPIKE INSULIN LEVELS
Refined carbohydrates have a high glycemic index and are quickly digested. Consequently, they lead to rapid spikes in blood sugar and insulin levels after consuming meals with a high carb content. Eating a lot of high glycemic index foods, regularly, can lead to disease. One of the most common types is diabetes, but strokes and heart disease are also high on the list!
Generally speaking, diets that are high in refined carbs, also tend to be lower in fiber content. Processing removes the fiber and lower fiber diets have increased risks of diseases. These include; obesity, heart disease, colon cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
When carbohydrates break down in the digestive system, they become sugar or glucose. The body converts this to energy or fuel. Insulin, the hormone produced by the pancreas, delivers the sugar from the blood to the various body cells, to use for energy.
When you have diabetes, it is because your pancreas isn’t making enough insulin. Either that or the fact that is is not making it properly. Over time this pressure on the pancreas can cause it to wear out. As a result, it makes it difficult to keep up with the glucose load, causing high blood sugars. Eventually, this leads to insulin resistance, diabetes, and other diseases.
PRODUCING TOO MUCH INSULIN, CAUSES THE BODY TO STORE CALORIES AS FAT;
During digestion, insulin stimulates muscle, fat, and liver cells to absorb glucose from the blood. The cells use this glucose for energy or conversely they convert it into fat for long-term storage. This study shows how insulin stimulates fat cells to take in glucose.
Eating more calories than the body requires, will lead to excess glucose levels. If the cells do not use the glucose as fuel, the body will store it in the tissues as fat for use at a future date.
Eating keto helps sugar control. As a result, people can reduce the amount of insulin they have to take as medication if they are insulin resistant. This is especially true for people who have higher blood sugar, to begin with. Keto is a wonderful therapeutic tool for people with insulin resistance high blood sugar issues.
As well as working for people with type 2 diabetes, it also works for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), another disease that’s marked by insulin resistance and has shown miraculous qualities for autoimmune and neurological diseases.
To reduce your body fat and to have the body that you desire, you should aim to reduce or eliminate your daily insulin spikes. This happens when avoiding high energy (high carb) foods and replacing them with low energy high nutrient foods. On the keto diet, by eating foods that limit the production of insulin, the body uses stored fat.
NEXT: KETO DIET FOR BEGINNERS – ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!
Now that you have some answers to; what is a keto diet? – Find out how to embark on a ketogenic lifestyle. Advice on how to transition into this new way of eating seamlessly! Personal insights and tips.