Do you know what the benefits of a keto diet are? When you hear about the ketogenic diet, the first thing you perhaps think of is what could possibly make it as good as people say. The answer is, there are enough benefits to change your life.
There are so many different types of diets out there – all claiming they have the key to making us healthier in some way or another. One type gaining popularity in recent years is the keto diet – which has been shown to not only lead to significant weight loss but also improve mental focus and energy levels among other things.
It’s no secret that the keto diet is all the rage these days. It’s a high-fat, low-carb regimen with tons of benefits for weight loss and overall wellbeing, but it can be hard to know where to start. If you’re curious about what keto is or how it could help your health goals, this blog post has everything you need!
What Exactly is a Ketogenic Diet?
The keto program recommends a diet that is low on carbs, moderate on protein and high in fat. The idea is to fine-tune nutritional intake in order to send the body into the metabolic state known as ketosis.
The body enters a state of ketosis when it no longer has stores of glycogen sugar to fuel its energy needs. With sugar out of the way, the body has no choice but to tap its stores of fat to get by. The liver converts fat reserves into ketones to present to the body as an energy source. This is why the keto program is a good way to lose fat.
7 Benefits of the Keto Diet
Unlike other diets that offer practitioners a weight loss benefit and little else, the keto diet comes with several benefits.
1. Weight loss
Without a doubt, weight loss is the primary goal of the keto diet. It works because it makes the body look to its fat reserves to power its metabolism. It can be interesting to go deeper into the process, however.
When the body is deprived of carbs, it enters a state of ketosis. Blood sugar and insulin levels fall when that happens. As the body taps the energy in fat cells, they release considerable quantities of water, making for some great weight loss. The fat cells are then able to enter the bloodstream and make their way to the liver, where they are turned into ketones for energy processing.
As long as your diet allows you to stay in a caloric deficit, you get to enjoy the weight loss benefits of the keto diet.
2. It takes the edge off your appetite
When your diet isn’t heavy on carbs, you’ll find that you don’t crave as much food as before. Many people who get on the keto diet are able to fast most of the day, and only eat at mealtimes. They are simply not as hungry as before.
3. Improved ability to focus
When you choose a regular diet that puts carbs into the body, your brain has to deal with the rise and fall in sugar levels that happens as a result. Inconsistent energy levels can make it hard for the brain to focus. With the keto diet, however, the energy source is constant and consistent. The brain is better able to stay focused.
4. You feel more energetic
When you are on a regular diet, your body is always on the verge of running out of energy. You need to constantly eat and refuel. With a keto diet, however, the body taps its fat reserves, a nearly unending energy source. The body, then, is able to maintain constant energy levels throughout the day. The result is, you end up feeling a lot more energetic.
5. It helps you fight diabetes
When you suffer from Type II diabetes, your body experiences high levels of insulin. Since the keto diet takes excess sugar from your diet, it helps stabilize HbA1c counts, and reverse Type II diabetes.
6. You get improved levels of good cholesterol
HDL cholesterol helps get rid of the body’s bad cholesterol reserves. When you’re on keto, your body’s triglyceride levels fall and your HDL cholesterol levels rise.
7. You get better blood pressure
When you’re on the keto diet, it drops your blood pressure. Many people on the keto diet find that they are able to stop taking blood pressure medicine altogether.
The keto diet can change a person’s life. It isn’t a difficult diet to get on, either. There are plenty of great recipes for the keto diet. All it takes is the willingness to give it a shot.
Take the Keto Quiz
The keto diet is easy enough for anyone to follow and is a sustainable way to lose weight without depriving yourself of your favorite foods or feeling hungry all the time. You just need to eat healthy fats- think avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and seeds- instead of carbs for fuel. If you’re ready to give it a try, take the keto quiz so that you can find out if it’s right for you!
Learn more about keto by taking a simple quiz, click here.
7 Health Benefits of A Keto Diet Video
From the Video: It’s weight loss that draws many people to low carb and ketogenic diets initially, but the benefits go way beyond a leaner waistline. From diabetes to dementia, from cardiovascular disease to cancer. I’m going to share with you 7 different benefits of low carb and ketogenic diets.
Let’s get started, Hey Carb Dodgers, my name is Dr. Dan Maggs. Normally, this channel is all about how to achieve a lasting weight loss through low carb diets and weight loss is the reason that I started out on a ketogenic diet, but, three years later, when I’ve lost all the weight I need to.
I’M still on a low-carb diet, and these are just some of the reasons why …
So # 1 let’s start with Weight Loss. Low carb diets have been conclusively shown to be more effective than low-fat diets for weight loss. Low carb diets reduce insulin levels allowing us to access our stored body fat more easily.
They reduced hunger allowing us to eat less, they may even create a metabolic advantage, meaning we simply burn more calories when we’re low carb and they may even help us with food addiction problems.
The 2nd reason is Improved Blood Glucose Control. The supply of energy from our food to our tissues is at the core of our metabolism, and the regulation of our blood glucose is an important part of this. You will simply have fewer spikes in energy on a low-carb diet, the insulin or sugar crash that many people experience during the day is a result of consuming high GI or highly processed carbohydrates.
That result in rapid rises in blood sugar levels and the insulin response that follows, reduces our blood sugar levels quickly and that often leaves us with low energy levels and when we consume fewer carbohydrates, we can better regular our blood glucose levels, avoiding these energy spikes.
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References:
- medium.com/@gschmaus/the-ketogenic-diet-and-chronic-disease-3695b2275edd
- healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-low-carb-ketogenic-diets
- drjockers.com/benefits-ketogenic-diet/
- medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319196.php
