First of all...
What is the ketogenic diet?
The ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet designed to get your body into a state of nutritional ketosis. This is a metabolic state in which your body has transitioned from burning carbohydrates to burning fat as its primary source of energy.
When your body is in a carbohydrate restricted state, it will begin tapping into your fat stores to keep itself running. Through the process of breaking down fat, your liver will start producing ketones which are then used throughout your body as the primary fuel source in place of glucose (broken down from carbohydrates).
With the standard American diet, the majority of calories are coming from carbohydrates. In the ketogenic diet though, the macronutrient breakdown looks very different, with less than 10% coming from carbs.
Standard high-carb diet
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Low-carb, moderate-protein, high fat diet
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So why cut down on carbs?
Well let me ask you this, do you know what actually happens to your body when you eat a carb-heavy meal?
Spike in blood sugar
The carbohydrates in the food you eat are broken down in your digestive track and converted into simple sugar molecules called GLUCOSE, which your body uses as fuel. This glucose is then absorbed into your blood stream so it can be shuttled around the body to where energy is needed, creating a rise in your blood glucose levels. Elevated blood glucose stimulates your pancreas to release a hormone called INSULIN, which works to pull the glucose molecules out of your blood and into cells that are needing them for energy. After all the energy requirements have been met, the insulin removes any glucose leftover in the blood stream and stores it for future use.
Sounds simple enough... so what's the problem?
Sounds simple enough... so what's the problem?
Insulin: The Fat-Storage Hormone
Your body can only deal with about 4 grams of sugar in the bloodstream at any given point, that's about 1 teaspoon. So anything more than that has to be stored for later. First the insulin will convert the excess glucose into glycogen and store it in your liver and skeletal muscle tissue. Your muscles and liver can only hold so much though, so once those glycogen stores are filled to capacity, the insulin has to store all the remaining glucose as fat. Ergo insulin's very fitting nickname, the fat-storage hormone.
What's worse, when insulin is present it actually tells the body's fat cells to keep holding onto the fat. That means when your insulin levels are elevated, your body has actually turned off your ability to burn fat. So insulin is not only adding to the fat stores, it's also keeping them from being used for energy.
An Alternative Fuel Source
When you limit the amount of carbohydrates in your diet, you'll avoid these constant spikes in your blood sugar, and the subsequent release of insulin from pancreas.
Carb Restricted StateWithout a constant supply of sugar, your body still needs to supply itself with energy so it will revert to its evolutionary method of providing energy.
In a carb restricted state (and without insulin throwing a wrench in the engine) the body begins to tap into all that stored energy it saved away in the form of fat. Your body is literally burning fat for energy. Your fat cells are broken down into fatty acids which are then converted by your liver into a new energy compound called ketone bodies. |
KetonesThis process of producing ketones is called ketogenesis, and it's the metabolic state achieved through following ketogenic diet.
Ketones are a more efficient way to fuel your body. They meet all the energy requirements that glucose does. In fact, on a cellular level, they are actually the preferred energy source because the process of converting them into ATP is easier for the mitochondria (basically the engine in each cell of your body). |
The Benefits of KetoThere are so many benefits that come from adopting a ketogenic diet.
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Perhaps the most beneficial improvement that I've seen in my own life is in my level of confidence. Looking and feeling healthy gives you a level of confidence like nothing else can!
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Stay tuned!There are new studies coming out nearly everyday supporting the amazing benefits of the ketogenic diet! Check back here soon for more science behind the keto magic!
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