Ketogenic diet is a dietary approach with the goal of converting the body's cells to burn fat as the primary energy source instead of carbohydrates. To achieve this, one needs to eat a lot of fat, few carbohydrates, and moderate amounts of protein. It works excellently to follow such a diet as both a vegan and vegetarian, which we think is good. Many who have tried this report weight loss, better mental clarity, freedom from sugar cravings, calmer digestion, softer skin, stabilized blood pressure, and better endurance during exercise.If you have high blood pressure, you should consult with your doctor first.
Article from Dr. Perlmutter about the keto diet:*
Being on a ketogenic diet or "keto" is quite popular today and for good reason. Choosing dietary fat to fuel the body's cells, as opposed to using sugar or carbohydrates, appears to have powerful health benefits.
We know that when fat is used as fuel, as opposed to sugar or carbohydrates, there seems to be much less production of harmful free radicals. Additionally, it appears that a more ketogenic diet is actually associated with less inflammation, the cornerstone of some of our most troublesome conditions.
When the body is adapted to a fat-burning program, in other words, "keto-adapted", it means that the body can mobilize fat and create molecules to fuel the body's cells, and these are called ketone bodies, the most important of which is beta-hydroxybutyrate.
New research recognizes the importance of beta-hydroxybutyrate as much more than just an effective cellular fuel. It turns out that beta-hydroxybutyrate is actually a powerful modulator of gene expression. Beta-hydroxybutyrate alters the expression of our DNA, which further reduces inflammation and improves the way of eliminating dangerous free radical chemicals by increasing our production of antioxidants.
Eating 100% keto can be challenging for many. But at least moving in this direction and making decisions to reduce your consumption of sugar and carbohydrates provides very good health results as well.
*One thing to remember, however, is that while it really is a good idea to reduce carbohydrates, you need an adequate amount of prebiotic fiber in your diet, even though prebiotic fiber is considered a carbohydrate. By definition, your body will not use prebiotic fiber as a fuel source, but you will absolutely take care of your gut bacteria.*When you are careful to add sufficient amounts of prebiotic fiber, it is much less challenging to stay on a keto diet.
Article from Dr. Perlmutter about ketosis & caffeine:*
When you wake up in the morning after 12 hours of fasting, your body is in a state of what we call mild ketosis. This means that your body has shifted away from burning glucose as the only fuel source and is now tapping into your body fat reserves. When a person is in ketosis, it is actually a very healthy state when it comes to brain function.
For the moment, I want to focus on a common question about the effects of coffee consumption, or more specifically, caffeine consumption, for either improved ketosis or not.
In a new study titled "Caffeine increases plasma ketones: an acute metabolic study in humans", Canadian researchers evaluated the effects of caffeine consumption in a group of 10 healthy volunteers. After fasting for 12 hours and then breakfast, these individuals were given either 1. no caffeine 2. approximately one cup of coffee or 3. 3 cups of coffee.Blood samples were then taken to evaluate not only caffeine levels during a four-hour period, but also the levels of ketones produced in the liver from the release of body fat.
What the researchers found was truly very interesting. Higher doses of caffeine in the 10 adults dramatically increased beta-hydroxybutyrate, one of the most studied ketones when it comes to fueling the brain. The researchers found that the increase in blood ketones caused by caffeine consumption was twice as high as what was observed after an overnight fast. It is important to know that this study is based on caffeine consumption in its purest form.
