How Does the Ketogenic Diet Work?
The ketogenic diet is a special high-fat, low-carb diet that in medical practice is used primarily to treat patients who have difficult-to-treat epilepsy in children.
The diet forces your body to use up fats instead of glucose to provide your brain with energy. If you are looking for a diet plan to help you lose weight and keep it off, this may be the diet for you. However, you must know that the ketogenic diet does not work in a vacuum. You must still maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly.
This diet does have many benefits, including the reduction of both cholesterol and blood sugar levels. However, there are some serious side effects if too much intake of this protein is achieved.
One of the most common, and alarming side effects of long-term flu treatment is the development of ketoacidosis. A dangerous condition characterized by hyperglycemia, an increased risk of stroke, and ketoacidosis.
Ketogenic dieters frequently report experiencing short-term memory loss, constipation, nausea, dehydration, lethargy, and weight loss.
Epilepsy
In adults suffering from epilepsy, keto diets can cause serious and even life-threatening seizures. Ketone bodies are pumped into the human brain as a direct result of the high fat and low carbohydrate diet, the patient ingests. Ketones are then metabolized and carried out of the body via urine.
Excessive intake of ketone bodies has been found to lead to seizures in epileptic patients. In fact, seizures have even been reported in children following keto diets.
People with epilepsy who are administered high amounts of glucose have shown to experience seizures more often than those who were on a standard diabetic diet.
This effect was found when the patient was maintained on a ketogenic diet for six months. However, this study did not directly link the amount of glucose in the diet to the seizure risk. It is important that further studies are performed to confirm this finding.
This is important because current methods of treating epilepsy are focused on reducing the seizure symptoms rather than eliminating them completely.
Treating epilepsy
A very effective method of treating epilepsy is to use a ketogenic diet because it forces the body to produce ketones from fatty acids and amino acids in the muscle cells.
This is achieved by eating a diet rich in raw vegetables and fruits while removing dairy products and simple carbohydrates from the diet. The diet requires the elimination of over two hundred and fifty foods.
Many of these foods have been considered to be very high in sugar. It may increase the risk of a seizure or develop into a severe case of ketoacidosis.
Keto diet has also been found to reduce the risks of diabetes, heart disease, and certain forms of cancer. It is due to this evidence that the ketogenic diet has been widely adopted by the medical community.
It should be noted that it has been found that people following this diet experience less nausea and vomiting, less fatigue, and weight loss. The Ketogenic Diet is also believed to speed up the process of learning and memory.
Ketosis is thought to contribute to the building of muscle, and therefore boost your health and physical performance.
This fast-food style of eating has been associated with conditions such as kidney stones, gallstones, and ketoacidosis.
Gallbladder issues can avoid by reducing the amount of processed carbohydrate intake. This diet may result in short-term increases in blood glucose levels but can prevent long-term metabolic damage.
It is also beneficial in decreasing the chances of developing conditions such as osteoporosis. Long-term consumption can lead to liver damage and an increased risk of cancer.
American Diet
The American diet contains too many bad carbs such as refined sugar, processed flour, and white bread. A healthy diet should include a balance of healthy carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
The goal of the Ketogenic diet is to create an acidic environment in which the body can burn fat rather than using it as a source of energy. An acidic environment allows the body to break down carbs and fats much faster than in a carbohydrate-rich diet, causing quicker weight loss.
It is because of this reason, and because the body burns fat rather than using it as a source of energy. The ketogenic diet should be practiced even by dieters who are eager to lose weight.
