Benefits of the Ketogenic Diet (in Addition to Weight Loss)
Hey there! If you’ve been following me at all, you know that I usually don’t prescribe to any one type of meal or eating plan. I mean…bodies are different and have different requirements. However, I can’t ignore the research as well as the benefits that both myself and my clients are able to achieve following a ketogenic eating plan. For those unfamiliar, ketogenic dieting is any diet plan “low-carb” enough to switch your body from a “sugar” burning state into a “fat” burning state. This is evidenced when the body begins to produce and burn a significant amount of ketones.
This type of eating has become so popular because it can lead to rapid and sustainable weight loss. Besides this wonderful benefit, ketones are also used by the brain and muscles for energy. I always say, if you have fat cells on your body, you have a source of energy!! You just have to activate your body’s ability to mobilize and utilize it!
I also think that it’s important to also be alkaline while you are achieving ketosis. Back in the day when I did Atkins, I felt HORRIBLE!! I was eating all of this fat and greasy stuff and my breath smelled as well as everything else. I was tired, lethargic and just felt wonky! What I was missing was the green stuff, all of the non-starchy, non-carby veggies that would help remove all of the toxic acidity. I aim to help people achieve their health goals while feeling their best and keto is one way to do this.
So what other benefits does the ketogenic diet have besides the obvious weight (and fat) loss? Here’s a list for you to consider:
Brain Health!! This is one of the reasons this type of eating plan has become popular in medical communities lately. Ketogenic diets were first used back in the 1920’s to treat children with epilepsy (seizure disorder) at the Mayo Clinic. It seems ketones help to power the mitochondria and increase the stability of the neurons. In addition, patients with dementia and parkinson’s disease have shown improvement with keto.
Cancer protection and treatment. Since many cancers use sugar for energy in order to reproduce and proliferate, it makes sense that cutting out sugar and carbs would stunt cancer growth. Cancer cells are unable to use ketones effectively for energy and in addition, ketones may inhibit cell growth
Lowers triglyceride levels (and improves cholesterol profile). Triglycerides have a direct correlation with the amount of carbohydrates you eat. Ingesting lots of sugar puts the body into an inflammatory state as well, which then creates a vicious cycle within your vessels to increase “bad” cholesterol as a result. It’s only doing this to tamper the inflammation and prevent further damage but overall, it just contributes to vascular damage. So basically, ketogenic diets help to raise the HDL (good cholesterol) and lower the LDL (bad cholesterol).
Improves skin and acne. Ketogenic diets help to improve inflammation over and one of the first places this is evidenced is in the skin. Patients with psoriasis, acne and eczema usually see a drastic improvement in their skin with keto. One caveat would be for those with a dairy sensitivity. Since the keto diet relies heavily on dairy, if you find your results have stalled or you feel worse on keto despite getting in enough veggies, then you may want to consider food sensitivity testing. You can order your own home kit HERE.
Improved Arthritis. Again, ketogenic diets help to decrease inflammation and that’s exactly what arthritis is. Inflammation that is stored in the joints. Since many of the foods that cause inflammation are off limits on this type of diet, you aren’t adding to the inflammation so pain will initially stabilize and then over time, begin to resolve
Increased energy. This is a biggie when you do the diet correctly. First off, once your insulin levels stabilize from cutting out all of the carbs, you will stop experiencing the ups and downs associated with eating carbs. Secondly, your body will have a ready supply of “fuel” to keep your energy high throughout the day.
Healing Female Hormones. Yep! Eating a ketogenic diet helps to provide the healthy fats needed for your body to synthesize your hormones. Hormones are created from cholesterol so many women who are following low fat suffer from low hormones. In addition, stabilizing your blood sugar will help heal PCOS as well as many other hormonal related diseases.
Healing Diabetes and Pre-diabetes. Point blank…you can heal diabetes naturally…through your mouth!! If you have any type of diabetes or insulin resistance issues, the ketogenic diet works miracles for this. Not only do blood sugar and insulin levels stabilize, but most people see rapid improvements in their eyesight and nerve sensitivity as well.
Okay, I hope that gave you something to consider. I’d love to hear your comments and questions. If you’d like massive support with Ketogenic Eating, then please come over and join the fun at my Keto Desserts and More Facebook Group. Click HERE to join.