What Diet Is Right For You? Part 4. Ketogenic Diet

Is Ketogenic Diet Right For You?

If you have put on the weight over the past few years and tried all types other diets to no avail, then the ketogenic diet may just be what you are looking for. It directly targets your fat stores. The fat is burnt off through a process called ketosis. All you have to do is stick to the plan to get the results. Many systems in the body will benefit from losing your surplus fat:

Cardiovascular system
Nervous system
Digestive system
Endocrine system (hormones)
Lymphatic system
immune system
Muscular system
Reproductive system
Respiratory system
Skeletal system

So What Is A Ketogenic Diet?

It is a way of eating that turns on ketosis, your body’s fat burning mode. The diet restricts the carbs to 20 – 50 grams per day, intakes 3-4 days for most people to use up their stored carbs. On day 3-4 ketones are produced, which can be measured in the urine to confirm the body is in fat burning, that’s when you start losing fat. It is important to note that your body has two options for producing energy:

Glucose from carbs, primary source
Fat from fat, secondary source

Ketogenic Diet Rules

Reduce carb intake to 20 – 50 grams per day
Increase protein intake to 180 – 240 grams per day
Increase fat intake to 40 – 60 grams per day

These measurements may vary depending on your weight, height and size.

History

Ketosis has evolved with us over the last 2,500 years to help us survive when food was scarce. Initially used by the Greek physician Hippocrates in 400 BC a therapy to treat seizures. Dr Wilder in the 1920s popularised the use of Ketogenic Diet for treatment of epilepsy where ketosis reduced the seizures. In the 1970s a cardiologist, Dr Robert Atkins, developed a modified version of the ketogenic diet that was published in 1972, “Dr Atkins’ Diet Revolution.” Dr Atkins was the first Doctor to use the Ketogenic diet to promote weight loss.

Don’t Do the Ketogenic Diet If…

You have a chronic disease (unless you are under supervision by a health professional)
Type 1 diabetes. (If you are a diabetic type 1 or 2, please seek medical advice before starting a weight loss program)
Liver disease or damage
Kidney disease or damage

Diet Guidelines

Always check with your health care professional before starting a new diet. Food and herb-drug interactions do happen. With that in mind, this diet is recommended for the prevention of:

Cardiovascular disease
High cholesterol
Obesity
Metabolic syndrome
Insulin resistance
Anxiety
Epilepsy

The key point of the ketogenic diet, directly targets your fat stores once you are in ketosis. To get into ketosis you must restrict your carbs down to 20-50 grams per day. Side effects like constipation can occur if dietary fibre, vegetable intake is not adequate.

If there are any aspects of your diet, you would like to discuss or clarify, please feel free to contact me through this web site or if it is of a more private nature contact me through my direct email. My goal is to provide you with the knowledge to make an informed decision on what diet best supports your health needs.