What is a Ketogenic Diet? | El Paso Chiropractor

A ketogenic diet, or keto diet, is a diet, which turns your system into a fat-burning machine. It has some initial side effects towards health and functionality, as well as many advantages for weight loss.

A ketogenic diet is comparable to other rigorous low-carb diets, like the Atkins diet plan or LCHF (low carb, higher fat). These diets wind up being ketogenic more or less by accident. The main difference between LCHF and keto is that protein is restricted in the latter.

A keto diet plan is made specifically to lead to ketosis. It’s possible to measure and adapt to achieve optimal ketone amounts for wellness or for bodily and psychological performance. Below, you can learn how to use keto to achieve your personal goals.

What is Ketosis?

The keto in a ketogenic diet stems in the fact that it leaves the body to create small fuel molecules known as ketones. This is an alternate fuel for your body, used when blood sugar (glucose) is in short supply.

Ketones are produced if you eat hardly any carbs (that are quickly broken down into blood sugar) and only moderate levels of protein (excess protein can also be converted to blood sugar). Ketones are produced in the liver, from fat. They are then used throughout the entire body as fuel. The brain is an organ which requires a lot of energy to function and fat can’t be used for energy by it. The brain can only run on glucose or ketones.

On a ketogenic diet your entire body switches its fuel source to operate almost entirely on fat. Insulin levels become very low and fat burning increases dramatically. It becomes easy to get into your fat stores to burn them off. If you are trying to drop weight, this is obviously excellent, but in addition, there are other benefits, such as less appetite and a continuous supply of energy.

Once the body produces ketones, it’s supposedly in ketosis. The quickest way to get there is by fasting, not eating anything, but obviously, it is not feasible to fast. A ketogenic diet, on the other hand, can be eaten forever and also results in ketosis. Without even having to fast, it has many of the benefits of fasting. including weight loss.

What to Eat on a Ketogenic Diet

Here are typical foods to enjoy on a ketogenic diet. The amounts are net carbs per 100 g. To remain in ketosis, lower is generally better:

The most essential thing to achieve ketosis is to stay away from eating most carbohydrates. You will need to keep intake ideally under 20 grams but under 50 grams per day of carbs is accepted. The fewer carbs the more successful.

Try to avoid

Here is what you shouldn’t eat on a keto diet, meals full of sugar and starch, including starchy foods such as bread, rice, pasta and potatoes. These foods are much higher in carbohydrates, as you can see.

The amounts are g of digestible carbs per 100 g (3.5 oz), unless otherwise noticed.

This usually means you will want to completely prevent sweet sugary foods, also starchy foods such as bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. Basically follow the guidelines to get a diet that is low-carb that is rigorous, and remember it is assumed to be full of fat, not high in protein.

A rough guideline is under 10 percent energy from carbs (the fewer carbs, the more successful), 15 to 25 percent protein (the lower end is more successful), and 70 percent or more from fat.

What to Drink on a Ketogenic Diet

So what do you drink on a keto diet? Water is ideal, and so is tea or coffee. Use no additives. A small amount of milk or cream is OK (but beware of caffe latte!) . The glass of wine is fine.

How Low is Keto?

The fewer carbohydrates you consume, the larger the effects on fat and blood sugar will be. A keto diet is a strict low-carb diet, and consequently highly effective.

We recommend following the dietary advice as strictly as you can. When you are contented with your weight and health, you might carefully try eating more liberally (if you would like to).

The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 . 

By Dr. Alex Jimenez

Additional Topics: Wellness

Overall health and wellness are essential towards maintaining the proper mental and physical balance in the body. From eating a balanced nutrition as well as exercising and participating in physical activities, to sleeping a healthy amount of time on a regular basis, following the best health and wellness tips can ultimately help maintain overall well-being. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables can go a long way towards helping people become healthy.

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