The Benefits of A Ketogenic Diet
I bet most of you have heard about a Ketogenic diet. If so, you know that it’s great for only one thing – to lose weight.
However, there are more scientifically proven benefits than losing weight when on a Keto diet.
Before explaining the benefits, here is the basic science of what a Ketogenic diet is.
The Keto diet is one that you replace carbohydrates with healthy fats as your main source of energy. Here are the simple 3 rules of the diet:
- Eat copious amounts of “good” fat,
- Consume a moderate amount of “clean” proteins
- Indulge in a sparse amounts of carbohydrates.
To understand why, we must look at the Liver for answers. The Liver turns the fat we consume into fatty acids and ketones.
As an analogy, ketones and fatty acids are similar to fuel for the body. Carbohydrates are fuel, but not as stable as fat. Eating carbs for gas is like paying for regular gas. On the other hand, consuming healthy fats instead is like paying for premium fuel at the gas station.
Once the body is in a “premium” state, the body goes into something called “ketosis”.
In ketosis, one does not store excess fat as weight. Again the reason is because the body is using fat as its main energy source. Because of that, this leads us to the benefits of a Ketogenic diet.
Benefits include:
-Reduces appetite and increases satiety after meals
-Stabilizes blood sugars
-Lowers cholesterol and blood sugar levels
-Raises HDL levels (H for Healthy and fat)
-Lowers blood pressure
-Weight loss
Beyond losing weight, there is a myriad of reasons behind the Ketogenic diet. Similar to starting anything else, there may be some limits and dangers. Because of that, if you are interested in starting a Keto diet, please speak to a qualified health care practitioner.
At SOPHIA Natural Health Center, we successfully help patients who want to lower cholesterol, raise HDL and lose weight. To schedule a complimentary consultation, call our office at 203-740-9300.
Chris Maslowski, L.Ac.
SOPHIA Natural Health Center