What Is It?
“Ketogenic” is a
term for a low-carb diet (like the Atkins diet). The idea is for you to
get more calories from protein and fat and less from carbohydrates. You
cut back most on the carbs that are easy to digest, like sugar, soda,
pastries, and white bread.
How It Works
When you eat less
than 50 grams of carbs a day, your body eventually runs out of fuel
(blood sugar) it can use quickly. This typically takes 3 to 4 days. Then
you’ll start to break down protein and fat for energy, which can make
you lose weight. This is called ketosis.
Who Uses It?
People use a
ketogenic diet most often to lose weight, but it can help manage certain
medical conditions, like epilepsy, too. It also may help people with
heart disease, certain brain diseases, and even acne, but there needs to
be more research in those areas. Talk with your doctor first to find
out if it’s safe for you to try a ketogenic diet, especially if you have
type 1 diabetes.
Weight Loss
A ketogenic diet
may help you lose more weight in the first 3 to 6 months than some other
diets. This may be because it takes more calories to change fat into
energy than it does to change carbs into energy. It’s also possible that
a high-fat, high-protein diet satisfies you more, so you eat less, but
that hasn’t been proved yet.
Cancer
Insulin is a
hormone that lets your body use or store sugar as fuel. Ketogenic diets
make you burn through this fuel quickly, so you don’t need to store it.
This means your body needs -- and makes -- less insulin. Those lower
levels may help protect you against some kinds of cancer or even slow
the growth of cancer cells. More research is needed on this, though.
Heart Disease
It seems strange
that a diet that calls for more fat can raise “good” cholesterol and
lower “bad” cholesterol, but ketogenic diets are linked to just that. It
may be because the lower levels of insulin that result from these diets
can stop your body from making more cholesterol. That means you’re less
likely to have high blood pressure, hardened arteries, heart failure,
and other heart conditions.
Acne
Carbohydrates have
been linked to this skin condition, so cutting down on them may help.
And the drop in insulin a ketogenic diet can trigger may also help stop
acne breakouts (insulin can cause your body to make other hormones that
bring on outbreaks).
Diabetes
Low-carb diets seem
to help keep your blood sugar lower and more predictable than other
diets. But when your body burns fat for energy, it makes compounds
called ketones. If you have diabetes, particularly type 1, too many
ketones in your blood can make you sick. So it’s very important to work
with your doctor on any changes in your diet.
Epilepsy
Ketogenic diets
have helped control seizures caused by this condition since the 1920s.
But again, it’s important to work with your doctor to figure out what’s
right for you or your child.
Other Nervous System Disorders
These affect your
brain and spine, as well as the nerves that link them together. Epilepsy
is one, but others may be helped by a ketogenic diet as well, including
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and sleep disorders.
Scientists aren’t sure why, but it may be that the ketones your body
makes when it breaks down fat for energy help protect your brain cells
from damage.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
This is when a
woman’s ovaries get larger than they should be and small fluid-filled
sacs form around the eggs. High levels of insulin can cause it.
Ketogenic diets, which lower both the amount of insulin you make and the
amount you need, may help treat it, along with other lifestyle changes,
like exercise and weight loss.
Exercise
A ketogenic diet
may help endurance athletes -- runners and cyclists, for example -- when
they train. Over time, it helps your muscle-to-fat ratio and raises the
amount of oxygen your body is able to use when it’s working hard. But
while it might help in training, it may not work as well as other diets
for peak performance.
Side Effects
The more common
ones aren’t usually serious: You might have constipation, mild low blood
sugar, or indigestion. Much less often, low-carb diets can lead to
kidney stones or high levels of acid in your body (acidosis).
Diet With Care
When your body
burns its stores of fat, it can be hard on your kidneys. And starting a
ketogenic diet -- or going back to a normal diet afterward -- can be
tricky if you’re obese because of other health issues you’re likely to
have, like diabetes, a heart condition, or high blood pressure. If you
have any of these conditions, make diet changes slowly and only with the
guidance of your doctor.
No comments:
Post a Comment