What is Keto or the Keto Diet and what are the benefits?
The Keto Diet is actually short for the “Ketogenic Diet.” Ketogenic is a metabolic state, not actually a way of eating. The Keto Diet is considered to be what you eat to get your body into the ketogenic metabolic state. The diet works by depleting the body of its sugar reserves by drastically limiting carbohydrate intake. As a result, it will start to break down fat for energy. This results in the production of molecules called ketones that the body uses for fuel. When the body burns fats, it can also lead to weight loss.
Benefits of Ketogenic Metabolic State (Being in Ketosis)
Keto Diet Can Reverse Metabolic Disease
There are numerous benefits to being in ketosis and eating a ketogenic diet. The main benefit is that it prevents and can even reverse most metabolic diseases, namely Type 2 Diabetes. A new study found that strictly adhering to a low carb diet for six months was associated with higher rates of remission among people with type 2 diabetes. Virta Health is on a mission to put 1 million people with Type 2 diabetes into remission. Check out this amazing keto based medical organization here. Below is a snapshot of the amazing health marker improvements from their patients eating a ketogenic diet and simultaneously getting off their prescription drugs to treat their type 2 diabetes.
People with type 2 diabetes struggle to properly use carbohydrates. They have developed an intolerance to carbohydrates that causes their blood sugar levels to run too high for too long whenever they ingest carbohydrates. This is why the ketogenic diet can drastically improve blood sugar levels. When very few carbohydrates are ingested, very little insulin is needed, and blood sugar levels typically do not rise. In one study, compared to other types of diets, low carb diets were associated with a 32 percent increase in diabetes remission.
Here is clinical evidence for Type 2 Diabetes Remission with Keto Diet:
- The Virta Health study. Researchers put 218 type 2 diabetics on a Ketogenic diet for a full year. By the end of the study, 60% had reversed their diabetes (measured by HbA1c reductions), and they’d lost 30.4 pounds on average. Incredibly, 94% reduced or eliminated insulin therapy.[*]
- The Nutrition & Metabolism study. Eighty-four type 2 diabetics were randomized to eat either a low-carb Keto diet or a calorie-restricted, higher-carb diet. After 24 weeks, the Keto dieters had significant improvements in blood sugar, insulin, and body weight compared to the higher-carb group.[*]
- The consensus report. A recent consensus report published in the journal Diabetes Care cited low-carb diets as the nutritional intervention with the “most evidence” for improving blood sugar levels in diabetic populations.[*]
There are other examples, but the conclusion is fairly clear: When it comes to reversing diabetes, the Keto diet is extremely promising.
Keto Diet For Weight Loss
Weight loss is possible with many different types of diets, so why choose the keto diet over other popular diets? Well, one of the biggest advantages of the keto diet is the lack of cravings that accompany this way of eating. When our bodies go into a ketogenic state, our hunger hormones ghrelin and neuropeptide Y are reduced. [Trusted Source]
The result is less hunger, less overeating, and MORE weight loss. Ketogenic diets consist of foods that fill a person up and may reduce hunger-stimulating hormones. [Trusted Source] For these reasons, following a keto diet may reduce appetite and promote weight loss.
Keto Diet Improves PCOS Symptoms
Polycystic Ovarian syndrome is on the rise. PCOS is a hormonal disorder in women that is typically classified as generating excess male hormones causing irregular periods, facial hair, cysts on ovaries, and infertility. It can also cause skin problems like cystic acne and weight gain.
Although there is not enough research for conclusive findings that a ketogenic diet helps PCOS, the few research studies done look promising. One pilot study showed several markers of PCOS after 24 weeks on the keto diet, including:
- Weight loss
- Hormone balance
- Ratios of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone
- Levels of fasting insulin
Another study found beneficial health effects for hormonal disorders including PCOS.
Keto Diet Anecdotal Findings
On a personal note, I have experienced the following benefits from living a strictly sugar sober life and ketogenic way of eating:
- 90 pound weight loss
- Complete control of sugar addiction for several years
- Improved A1C (Average Blood Glucose Reading over 90 days)
- Improved Menopausal Symptoms
- Improved Sleep
- Improved Mental Clarity
- Improved Energy levels
- Reduced Joint Pain
- Reduced Swelling
- Reduced need for midday naps
- Reduced afternoon energy slump
Below is a before and after photo. I was near 300 pounds on left and just entered Onederland (Weighting 199 or less) on the right. 🙂
I can say with 100% certainty that the ketogenic diet saved my life. You can read my story for even more details about this life-changing experience. I encourage you to give this way of life the attention it deserves. If I can do it, ANYONE can do it! The key is to acknowledge that you may have a true addiction and that moderation is not the answer, abstinence is.
*Disclosure and Disclaimer: I Heart Keto Mart is not a health care provider. We are an online keto educational site that shares keto approved products and low carb products and defines and rates their ingredients. I Heart Keto Mart’s hope is that our viewers will educate themselves on “all things ingredients” so they can easily identify keto approved ingredients and eliminate or greatly restrict unacceptable keto ingredients. I Heart Keto Mart is the best online keto store and online low carb store with 1000s of products. We are keto affiliates and each of the keto approved products we rate is linked to the vendor’s site where the product may be purchased. I Heart Keto Mart may earn a small commission from these sales. Amazon is one of these affiliates.