Switching your body from using sugar as fuel to burning fat instead, known as entering ketosis, brings several benefits.
Ketosis, a metabolic state in which the body burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates, has gained popularity for its potential health benefits. Here's a closer look at what ketosis is, how it can be achieved, and the advantages it may offer.
Ketosis provides metabolic flexibility, allowing the body to seamlessly switch between fuel sources based on availability. This state can be tested using various methods, such as blood ketone meters, breath acetone monitors, and urine strips.
To achieve ketosis, one must reduce carbohydrate intake to typically 20-50 grams daily and emphasise healthy fats, moderate protein, non-starchy vegetables, and limited berries and low-sugar fruits. The ketogenic diet, which follows this approach, was originally developed in the 1920s to treat epilepsy.
Maintaining ketosis long-term offers several potential health benefits. Ketones provide a cleaner and more efficient energy source than glucose, supporting neuroplasticity, memory, and mitochondrial function in brain cells, while reducing oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Ketosis promotes fat oxidation and reduction in visceral fat mass, which decreases chronic inflammation associated with excess adipose tissue.
Moreover, being in ketosis improves metabolic flexibility by enabling the body to switch efficiently between burning fats and carbohydrates, leading to better blood sugar regulation, insulin sensitivity, and sustained energy levels.
Sustained ketosis appears to lower systemic inflammation by reducing fat mass and pro-inflammatory signalling, enhance brain health through increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), mitochondrial biogenesis, and decreased oxidative stress, and improve metabolic flexibility and energy utilisation by promoting fat oxidation and stable glycemic control.
However, it's important to note that ketogenic diets may not be suitable or sustainable long-term for everyone, potentially leading to nutrient deficiencies or other risks if not well-managed nutritionally. Individual health status, diet quality, and appropriate medical supervision are crucial factors to consider.
Ketosis isn't universally appropriate for everyone, and special considerations apply for pregnant/breastfeeding women, individuals with certain metabolic disorders, those with gallbladder disease, and people taking specific medications requiring consistent carbohydrate intake. Moderate protein intake is generally tolerated in ketogenic diets, with concerns about excessive protein potentially reducing ketosis through a process called gluconeogenesis.
Research now explores ketosis for other neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. A 2018 study published in Diabetes Therapy documented how 94% of participants following a ketogenic approach reduced or eliminated diabetes medications within a year.
In conclusion, while the evidence supports multiple long-term benefits of maintaining ketosis, these effects depend on individual health status, diet quality, and appropriate medical supervision. Ketosis offers a promising approach for improving metabolic health, reducing inflammation, and enhancing brain function, but it's essential to approach it with careful consideration and guidance from healthcare professionals.
- Ketones, as a cleaner and more efficient energy source, support brain health by promoting neuroplasticity, memory, and mitochondrial function, while reducing oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, benefits that could be beneficial in managing some medical-conditions like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
- By promoting fat oxidation and reduction in visceral fat mass, ketosis improves weight-management and decreases chronic inflammation associated with excess adipose tissue, which could be integral to chronic-diseases management and health-and-wellness.
- Maintaining ketosis requires a balanced approach emphasizing healthy fats, moderate protein, non-starchy vegetables, and limited berries and low-sugar fruits, with nutrition playing a crucial role in weight-management and overall health-and-wellness, and fitness-and-exercise also being an important aspect.
