Best way to approach keto diet
Ketosis is a state of high concentration of ketone levels in the blood, due to the conversion of fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies in the liver, in order to use energy. Ketosis is caused by increased fatty acids used for energy, for example, in the absence of glucose during the period of fasting. In this article, you will find out how to increase ketones as quickly as possible.
Ketone bodies are by-products formed during the beta-oxidation of fatty acids formed from acetyl-CoA (Acetyl Coenzymes A) that enter the Krebs cycle.
Ketosis occurs when the body receives very small amounts of carbohydrates over a certain period of time. The ketogenic diet is a special way of eating in which body instead of sugar, as the primary source of energy, uses fat.
At the beginning of the keto diet, there are several changes in your body. After about 48 hours, the organism begins to use ketones in order to use the energy stored in the fat cells more effectively.
In other words, the primary source of energy for the organism is no longer carbohydrates (glucose), but fatty acids. At the time of the ketogenic diet, foods rich in fatty acids and low in carbohydrates are prevalent in order to maintain the state of the ketosis when needed.
In this way, the body rapidly loses weight (mainly fat weight). In addition to fat, loss of muscle mass is minimal, as a large amount of food we eat during ketosis, contains relatively large amounts of protein. And although ketosis is the basis of the keto diet in its strictest form, it is not necessary to last for a long time. Ketosis can be maintained as long as your body responds well and until you lose the desired amount of excess weight.
Foods with a slightly higher proportion of carbohydrates (rice, beans, smaller quantities of bread and pasta, etc.) are gradually introduced after you finish a diet. During this period, it is very useful to keep a diet diary in order to record the amount of carbohydrate intake to maintain a healthy weight. In this way, the keto diet can serve as a process of changing old eating habits. Let’s continue with five tips on how to increase ketones in your body.
Related: Raise your ketone levels
How to increase ketones and get into ketosis as fast as possible
- 1. Reduce your carbohydrate intake
Reducing carbohydrates to 20-50 g / day reduces blood sugar levels and, consequently, insulin, leading to the release of stored fatty acids. The liver then converts some of these fatty acids into ketone bodies, such as acetone, acetoacetate, and beta-hydroxybutyrate, which can be used as a fuel for certain brain cells.
- 2. It is important to exercise regularly and to live a healthy lifestyle
For the well-being and weight loss, you will have to get rid of bad habits, such as drinking alcohol and eating sweets and replace them with good ones. Your body will be grateful.
- 3. Increase the amount of healthy fats in your diet
By consuming 60% of your daily calorie needs from healthy fats, you will take care of a higher level of ketones in your body. In doing so, be careful that you enjoy mainly omega 3 and 9 fatty acids present in avocado, whole eggs, oily fish (salmon, mackerel), coconut oil, butter and of course some nuts and seeds, especially almonds, walnuts, flax and chia seeds, because the rest contain a lot of omega 6 fatty acids that are not so beneficial to the body.
- 4. It is ok to skip meals
Since the body gets energy from fat, and because we have enough fat in the body, there are no hunger strikes. This is the advantage of this diet – you won’t be hungry. And because the body has energy all the time, you don’t need regular meals. Skipping meals will relieve the digestive tract and consume your own fat. Mostly three meals per day are enough. Even if you do not eat anything for a long time during the day, your appetite will not get too high, as the body, when it does not get energy from food, switches to the consumption of body fat.
- 5. Include coconut oil in your diet
The use of coconut oil helps to increase ketones and enter the ketosis state. In fact, this is one of the best ways to achieve ketosis in the case of Alzheimer’s and other disorders of the nervous system.
Advice before use: slowly add coconut oil to your diet in order to avoid diarrhea and stomach cramps. Eat 2 to 3 spoons a day, and after a week, you can adjust this limit.
Are Ketone Supplements Effective?
They say that keto supplements can help improve the consumption of body fat and health in general. Is that true? Are all these claims that you find on the Internet real? Many times these facts that are found in the media and on the Internet are not backed by science.
- Loss of fat
Some evidence suggests that D-β-hydroxybutyrate supplements are effective in activating brown fat cells (i.e., fat cells that are responsible for thermogenic adaptation) via a sympathetic nervous system.
- Controlling blood sugar
Research has shown that supplements with 1,3-butanediol acetoacetate diester ketones or sodium/potassium β-hydroxybutyrate reduce blood glucose levels without changing cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood.
- Traumatic brain damage
In one study, the addition of D-β-hydroxybutyrate to adult rats after traumatic brain injury showed an increased level of ATP. In the second study, the addition of D-β-hydroxybutyrate did not improve the blood-brain barrier, even in healthy rats.
- Cancer
The latest study has shown that supplements with ketones prolong the survival of mice with metastatic cancer. Most cancers have high aerobic glycolysis, which is why this is not a universal solution. If this proves to be effective, it does not mean that this is crucial for the treatment of cancer, as cancer is very persistent.
So far, there has been almost no clinical study with ketone supplements using human volunteers. For this reason, we can’t be certain that ketone supplements are a miraculous cure because most of the studies were done in mice and rats.
Final thoughts: How to Increase ketones
Now that you know how to increase ketones, you have to take into account the latter also. This diet is mainly limited to protein and fat. The remaining 90% of foods will not be considered for you, which again suggests that this type of eating is very radically directed. In the long run, this type of diet is too low in nutrients your body needs.
In a ketone diet, very few fruits and vegetables are consumed, while cereals and pulses are practically forbidden. However, in all of these foods, there are a lot of vitamins and minerals that our body urgently needs for normal functioning. It is therefore hard to persist in this type of diet for a long time, as it comes to a lack of important nutrients sooner or later.
In particular, many women may have problems and negative effects due to a very low intake of carbohydrates. Such problems are reflected in the irritability and absence of the menstrual cycle. Many studies comparing men and women have shown that diets with low OH intake are more effective in men than in women.
A ketone diet may pose a risk factor for diabetics because it can cause diabetic ketoacidosis (insulin deficiency hormone), a serious health condition that can even cause death. If you have diabetes, consult your doctor before starting a ketone diet.