The ketogenic diet involves a dramatic reduction in carbohydrates while increasing your intake of healthy fats. A keto diet trains your body to burn fat instead of glucose or sugar for energy. To achieve this, your body must enter a state of ketosis by eating no more than 20 grams of net carbs per day. Your body needs to be burning fat in the form of ketones that are manufactured in the liver. When the body is using ketones as a fuel source, we say that person is in ketosis and that’s the ultimate goal of this diet and to become a fat burning machine.
9 Benefits of a Ketogenic Diet:
- Reduced inflammation
- Improved fat burning
- Mental clarity and sharpness
- Abundant energy
- Reduced cravings
- Anti-ageing effects
- Reduced risk of chronic disease
This still doesn’t mean it suits everyone. Somebody who is genetically predisposed to a higher carbohydrate diet will struggle on a ketogenic diet, as will individuals who have difficulty processing fats. Some individuals feel great and see tremendous results living the keto lifestyle, whilst many really struggle and never become keto adapted. Anyone experiencing adrenal issues or thyroid stress should take caution with the keto diet.
Potential negative and even harmful effects of going keto:
- You might get the keto flu as the dramatic shift away from carbs can shock your system
- It limits your fruit and vegetable intake, which may cause vitamin and mineral deficiencies
- You may not get enough fibre due to the reduction in fruits and vegetables, resulting in constipation and poor gut health
- A keto diet has been associated with an increase in kidney stones and other kidney problems
- It may affect your social life as being keto is really hard to maintain!
If you prefer a greater number of plants on your plate and feel it’ important to include more veggies in your diet, Dr Will Cole has published a book called, “Ketoterian”, which has all the fat-burning benefits but with a plant-based twist.
Either way, our biological differences mean we are all unique and as we know, one man’s food is another’s poison. A Healthy Weight DNA test eliminates the trial and error approach and will provide you the perfect diet for your genetic makeup.
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