Do you have the desire for: effortless weight loss and maintenance, natural hunger and apetite control, mental clarity, sounder, more restful sleep, normalized metabolic function, stabilized blood sugar, lower inflammation levels, feelings of happiness and well-being, lowered blood pressure, increased HDL,lowered LDL, reduced triglycerides, use of stored body fat as a fuel source, endless energy, eliminated heartburn, better fertility, increased sex drive, improved immune system, slowed aging, improvement in blood chemistry, optimized cognitive function and improved memory, reduced acne breakouts and other skin conditions, faster and better exercise recovery, decreased anxiety and mood swings and the list goes on.......ketosis could be the answer!
When I ask people if they're heard of a ketogenic diet, most respond no. The vast majority of doctors have little training in nutrition and their only exposure to ketosis is in dealing with diabetic patients and ketoacidosis which is NOT the same thing as nutritional ketosis. As a result, many physicians have an inherent bias against ketosis which means you will need to self-educate.
Ketosis is a metabolic state that happens when you consume a very low-carb, moderate-protein, high-fat diet that causes your body to switch from using glucose as its primary source of fuel to running on ketones. Ketones themselves are produced when the body burns fat, and they're primarily used as an alternative fuel source when glucose isn't available.
Ketosis changes your body from a sugar-burner to a fat-burner. Depending on your current diet and lifestyle choices, becoming keto-adapted can take as little as a few days or as much as several weeks or even months. So “being in ketosis” just means that you are burning fat......and yes, this is a completely NORMAL metabolic state!
Our ancestors spent most of their time in a state of ketosis, we literally would not have survived as a species without using ketones as energy. Paleolithic man used glucose as their body’s preferred fuel when non-animal food was available, but during periods of food shortage or when animal based foods were their primary source of calories they were in a state of ketosis burning fat for fuel!
I’m extremely interested in working with athletes on their nutrition and how it equates to optimal performance. I’ve started a Meetup, Cycling to Sanity, with an amateur road racer and we are addressing this topic as we work with cyclists. Dr. Ben Greenfield, an elite triathlete who uses ketosis as a means for optimizing his athletic performance, sys there are 3 primary reasons for entering a state of ketosis: the metabolic superiority of fats as a fuel; the mental enhancement that takes place with adequate ketone levels; and the greater health and longevity that come from controlling blood sugar levels naturally in the presence of higher ketones. Ketones are the preferred fuel source for heart, muscles, liver and brain.
I recently had a standard lipid panel done. Americans are led to believe our "total cholesterol" number is a marker of heart health. The better number to examine is Triglycerides as this reflects inflammation in the blood stream which is the actual cause of heart disease, not "high cholesterol". Doctors recommend our numbers be under 150. My research tells me under 100 is respectable and under 70 is ideal. My number of 36 reflects very low inflammation which is what I want to see.
My diet is not exactly ketogenic at this point, but it's high in dietary fat including the much demonized saturated fat from animals. On a daily basis I consume a combination of saturated fats: Kerrygold butter, coconut oil, organic chicken with the bone in and skin on, wild caught fish, grass fed beef, bone broth and organ meats. My numbers do not reflect "clogging of the arteries."
