Video Credit: Dr. Josh Axe via Youtube
Image Credit: medicalnewstoday
The ketogenic diet is a tried and tested diet used by millions of people. It is an extreme diet that can help you lose weight quickly and not only that, it also offers many health benefits.
In my previous blog, I gave a brief explanation about keto diet. Here is a quick quote from my previous blog.
The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet, this diet is all about minimizing the number of carbs eaten and increasing the number of fats eaten to make your body use your fats as a source of energy, allowing it to become a fat burning machine. It is a diet plan that is similar to Atkins diet and other low-carb diets out there.
Source: Eeza_1986
And now, without further ado, here is a more detailed overview about the 9 benefits of the ketogenic diet.
1. Lose Weight
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On a keto diet, your body turns into a fat-burning machine. This causes you to lose weight quickly especially for those that started the diet as obese or overweight people. Studies into the keto diet published by the British Journal of Nutrition in the year 2013, has proven that those following the keto diet achieved a far better result than other low-carb diets.
A review published by the International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health states that:
One of the most studied strategies in the recent years for weight loss is the ketogenic diet. Many studies have shown that this kind of nutritional approach has a solid physiological and biochemical basis and is able to induce effective weight loss along with improvement in several cardiovascular risk parameters.
Source: ncbi
Not only does the keto diet helps you lose weight it can also help you control your appetite. Due to the high-fat low-carb diet implemented, your body has constant access to weeks of stored energy, this can help diminish hunger pangs.
By minimizing your appetite, it becomes easier to control your appetite and speeding up weight loss. Not only will you lose weight, you'll also save up money by removing your snack breaks.
2. Treatment for Cancer
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Several medical studies were done by different institutions have shown that the keto diet can help in the treatment of cancer.
Various research done has shown that cancer cells feed on glucose to propagate, by switching to a high-fat low-carb diet we minimize the carbohydrates we intake, this, in turn, eliminates the dietary sources of glucose, by doing this we essentially starve the cancer cells which helps reduce the risk of cancer and even fight against it.
3. Fights Brain Disease
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Studies done has shown that following the ketogenic diet can help protect the brain from traumatic injuries, relief for migraines, prevent stroke, and help fight a broad range of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
People with neurological disorders, such as dementia, have a hard time processing glucose. This can lead to a lack of energy for the brain, which in turn leads to sluggish brain activities, brain shrinkage, and even the death of brain cells.
Unlike our muscles, the brain cannot make use of fat as a source of fuel only glucose can be used as it's main fuel. So, how does the ketogenic diet help improve the brain if it can't use fat?
The answer is quite simple, the brain makes use of ketones. When carbohydrates and glucose levels are minimal, the brain makes use of ketones which can provide up to 70% of the needed energy fuel.
Here is a quote from my previous blog to give a quick overview on how ketones are produced.
Fat cells will soon produce fatty acids, which will travel into the liver, which will break it down in a process known as beta-oxidation, soon ketones will be produced by the liver which will be used as a fuel throughout the body and the brain. This process is known as ketosis.
Source: Eeza_1986
Research and tests done by various institutes have shown that 9 out of 10 people with a mild level of neurodegenerative diseases made significant improvements in their cognitive abilities. Studies have shown that as long as the neurodegenerative disorders are not yet in the advanced stages, the brain has no problem in making use of ketones as fuel instead of glucose.
4. Control Blood Sugar Level and Reduce Risk for Type 2 Diabetes
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Studies done on the effect of the ketogenic diet show that people who followed the keto diet saw greater improvement in their glycemic level than those who followed a low-fat diabetes diet. Since carbohydrates can lead to higher blood glucose levels, this, in turn, elevates our body's insulin level, which plays a significant role in the development of diabetes.
Since the keto diet eliminates or minimizes the number of carbohydrates taken, insulin level is lowered, this can help reverse insulin resistance, which is the biggest contributor to diabetes.
5. Improved Heart Health Condition
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The keto diet, even though it is high in fat, have been shown to help improve heart health markers such as high cholesterols, triglycerides, and blood pressure. It can help lower the risk of various heart diseases, especially in obese people.
6. Increased Productivity and Mental Performance
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When the body has adapted to using ketones instead of sugar, our physical and mental productivity increases. Using ketones reduces the body's need to burn our muscle for fuel every day, which helps prevent muscle loss, not only that, this also causes our body to need less food.
Also, ketones can fuel up to 70% of the brain's needed energy requirement. By using ketones instead of glucose, brain functions improve, it can also help us focus better, and helps improve our memories
7. Reverse PCOS
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Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common hormonal disorder that can lead to infertility. It is a disorder that affects up to 10% of women of reproductive age, most common to those who are overweight, type 2 diabetic, and those suffering from insulin resistance.
With a lifestyle change, by following a low-carb diet such as the keto diet, since this type of diet can lower insulin levels and help shed excess weight, those suffering from PCOS can be treated.
8. Longevity
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Keto diet is a diet that focuses on low-carb, low sugar intake with full of healthy fats, nutrients, and antioxidants. Keto is a diet that helps us protect ourselves from conditions that result from improper diets, such as diabetes, heart diseases, and obesity. As we grow older, preventing these conditions from occurring, removes the risk of dying from them, which can help us live longer.
9. Medical Therapy for Epilepsy
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Since the 1920s, instead of a weight-loss diet, the keto diet is a proven medical therapy for epilepsy. Research has shown that the keto diet can cause massive reductions in seizures for epileptic people most notably children.
Studies have proven that the keto diet can help decrease seizures in patients as well as decreasing the need, even removing the need, for anti-epileptic drugs taken, while still controlling epilepsy.
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Written by Eeza_1986 for Bitlanders.
