The Ketogenic Diet, or Keto Diet for short, has taken over the world by storm, with countless studies showing its benefits on our overall health. The Keto Diet is a very low carb, high fat diet that lowers blood sugar and insulin levels and forces the body to use fat and ketones as a source of energy. The body’s preferred source of energy is carbs because it is easier for our organism to use carbs for energy than fats. When you stop or significantly reduce your carbs intake, your body turns to fat to produce energy. This process leads the liver cells to produce substances called ketones. Note that ketones are produced when the body consumes certain fatty acids: medium chain triglycerides such as coconut oil, for instance.
The Keto Diet has been recommended to treat epilepsy, Parkinson, Alzheimer, Charcot diseases and autism. The Keto Diet increases production of glutathione, which is the main antioxidant secreted by the organism in the hippocampus. Ketones protect the central nervous system by reducing production of free radicals and stimulating production of antioxidants. Additionally, ketones block the part of the brain that leads to self-destruction of neurons.
Ketones can become toxic. When the body produces a lare quantity of ketones, they accumulate in the blood and become toxic for the organism. Simultaneously, the pH levels also decreases which leads to dehydration, Acidoketosis and a treatment has to be prescribed. Acidoketosis is a rare disease that affects people suffering from Type 1 Diabetes and that struggle with insulin regulation.
Light ketosis, when you wake up in the morning, for instance, is a normal metabolic state. Ketosis has been a crucial step in Man’s evolution, as it enabled him to survive when foods such as vegetables and fruits were lacking.
If you’re looking to increase your medium-chain triglyceride consumption (the type of fat that, when degraded produces ketones that will be used as energy when the body’s carb level is very low), coconut and palm kernel oils will be your best bet. (I personally love cooking with coconut oil!)
Would I get into the Keto Diet craze? Well, I generally don’t like extremes or labels. Rather, I make it a point to do extensive research on any new “health trend” and based on that, take the best of what something has to offer and implement it into my routine. With that being said, I do try to avoid carbs as much as I can, but fruits are some of my favorite snacks and the best way for me to satisfy my sugar cravings. Additionally, if I feel like having a piece of cake, a cookie or any sweet treat, I will indulge. I don’t believe in restricting yourself to the point where you drive yourself crazy, and your efforts to be physically healthy become mentally unhealthy or even dangerous for you. I believe in progressively building healthy habits, in being aware of what you feed your body with because as the saying goes, it is your temple. It carries you through life and you want to make sure it is healthy and energetic enough to carry you wherever you wish to go in life. If you want my opinion, follow the 80/20 rule, which is to eat healthy 80% of the time, and indulge 20% of the time.
