Do you suffer from bouts of gas, bloating, and discomfort after a meal? Have you ever stopped to consider why that happens to you? Many people have no idea of the impact of their diet on their state of well-being. Your diet has a direct connection to negative health symptoms such as those we’ve just mentioned.
Today’s modern western diet contains processed foods and refined carbohydrate products that create significant levels of inflammation in the GI tract, affecting the state of your health. In fact, most of the diseases, such as heart disease, blamed on a high-fat diet in the past, actually turned out to be due to consumption of refined carbs, not fat.
Kicking the carbs out of your diet will improve your health and well-being. The best approach to a zero-carb lifestyle is the ketogenic diet.
Ketosis Explained
Ketosis is a metabolic state where dietary fat sources and body fat stores convert in the liver to ketones used for metabolic fuel. Achieving a ketogenic state occurs by depleting the body of its glycogen stores, the primary source of its biological fuel. Carbohydrates convert to glycogen in the body and the absence of any carbs, the body will begin to deplete its glycogen reserves.
At around day three to five of abstaining from carbs, the brain will switch to survival mode and signal the liver to begin the ketogenic process. During the depletion period you can expect to feel increasingly lethargic and energy less. This effect is entirely normal and is known as the ‘keto flu.’
When the ketogenic state begins, you will feel an immediate return to full energy levels, and your body will feel great.
What is Water Weight?
One of the most interesting things about living a carb-free lifestyle is the reduction in water weight experienced in the first week of practicing the diet. If you have ever wondered how to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, then the ketogenic diet is your answer. Water weight can account for up to ten to fifteen pounds of body weight. Every gram of glycogen binds to four grams of water, and the water excreted as the glycogen depletes.
The Health Advantages of the Ketogenic Diet
#1 Lose the Inflammation with a Keto Diet
With refined carbs out of the picture, your diet will reduce the levels of inflammation in your GI tract, increasing your metabolic rate and improving your immune function. Inflammation spreads to every system in the body, reducing it will create a dramatic increase in well-being.
#2 Improve Insulin Sensitivity
No more carbohydrates mean no more spiking of the hormone insulin. With insulin suppressed, you will have the ability to lower your fasted blood sugar levels and improve insulin response. In some studies, subjects with type 2 diabetes showed a reduction in symptoms and improved ability to manage their blood sugar levels.
#3 Balance Your Cholesterol
High-fat diets will help to rebalance your cholesterol to healthy levels. A ketogenic diet will drop the total amount of cholesterol flowing through your arteries and improve the balance of good and bad cholesterol.
#4 Increased Fat Loss
Supercharge a fat loss diet with a ketogenic diet strategy. In a ketogenic state, the body will mobilize body fat stores to use as fuel in the case of a caloric deficit. This state leads to improved fat loss results and the ability to stay lean after the calorie deficit has ended.
#5 Improve Memory and Cognitive Function
Reduced levels of inflammation will help your body increase blood flow to the brain and improve focus, attention, memory, and other cognitive functions.
#6 Restore Hormone Production
Insulin and cortisol are the primary hormones that are affected by a sedentary lifestyle and a poor diet. The stress hormone, cortisol, can lead to increased feelings of anxiety and tension that result in issues with high blood pressure. Implementing a ketogenic diet will help your body manage its hormone production and reduce the levels of cortisol and insulin in your blood.
In Closing
Give the ketogenic diet a try for six weeks and log your progress with the diet in a journal. At the end of the diet, review your log and determine if the experience was worth it for the results you received.