The ketogenic diet is rapidly becoming one of the hottest topics in health for good reason. It’s a quick way to drop extra weight and get lean, and has numerous positive effects on overall well-being. The recent resurgence of the diet is exciting since it’s so effective for weight-loss and healing blood sugar issues.

I have been following the Max Living Advanced Plan for many years; but, more recently have been intermittently following a ketogenic diet, and have achieved the best health and fitness of my life. I now believe it’s one of the best tools available to improve health and get into your best shape yet.

The ketogenic diet is a high fat (up to 70-80%), moderate protein (15-30%), low carbohydrate (5-10%) diet. The very low carb intake forces the body to use fat for energy instead of glucose, which produces a high level of ketones in the blood, hence the name.

Ketones are acids made when the liver breaks down fat for energy. They are the preferred source of fuel for the body, particularly the brain, and the presence of ketones shifts the body’s metabolism away from glucose burning towards fat burning and moves you into the state of ketosis.

How is the Ketogenic Diet Different From Atkins and Paleo Diets?

The diet diverges from the popular Atkins and Paleo approaches, which typically recommend too much protein for optimal health. The body can only use so much protein, and when consumed in excess protein converts into glucose via the process of gluconeogenesis. The glucose then must either be used as energy or it will be stored as fat.

High protein diets can also lead to cellular damage and cellular aging to boot. Moderate, not high, protein intake is an important aspect of the ketogenic diet and the reason why it works for weight-loss and healing other conditions.

The key to ketogenic success is the high intake of good fats, such as grass-fed animal protein, full-fat dairy, and oils like coconut oil and MCT oil. The good fat fixes our cells by healing the cell membranes, which are composed of fat.

Without adequate dietary fat, especially cholesterol and saturated fat, our bodies become inflamed and disease develops. However, when we eat lots of healthy fat and few carbohydrates, our cells regenerate, inflammation drops, and excess weight sheds.

Benefits of the Ketogenic Diet

Some benefits of ketosis include:

• Mood stabilization
• Hormone regulation
• Increased HDL (“good”) cholesterol
• Slowed aging
• Blood sugar regulation
• Memory and Cognitive Improvement.

Research studies also show that certain health conditions may benefit from ketosis. These include:

• Obesity and Hyperlipidemia
• Epilepsy
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Cancer
• Acne
• PCOS
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Autism
• Metabolic Syndrome
• Fatty Liver Disease.

How to Establish Ketosis In Your Body

The process of pushing your body into ketosis, or becoming keto-adapted, takes varying amounts of time depending on many factors including gender, age, genetics, and past and current diet. On average, a healthy person can adapt in about two to three weeks, but adaptation can continue for 6 months to a year.

The adaptation phase can be challenging but don’t give up and you’ll be rewarded. Once the breakthrough occurs, it’s like a rocket ship breaking through the atmosphere.

On average, after week 5 most people can keep their carb intake at or below 50 grams and stay within ketosis. However, some people need to consume less carbs (20-30 grams) while others, especially athletes, can consume more (80-100 grams). Each person’s health condition and genetics are unique and so you must experiment to find the amount of carbs your body can tolerate.

To support and speed up adaptation, I suggest adding high-quality MCT oil to your diet. MCTs, or Medium-Chain Triglycerides, are a unique type of fatty acid found in coconut and palm oils and full-fat dairy that are quickly assimilated and converted into energy.

The body metabolizes MCTs more like carbohydrates than fat. MCTs are more ketogenic than Long Chain Triglycerides (LTCs), which are found in toxic vegetable oils like canola and soybean. Athletes often use MCTs to improve performance and endurance and to help them stay in ketosis. Pure MCT oil does not have any flavor or color, so it’s an easy addition to your diet that can be drizzled on food, used in dressings and sauces, stirred into your coffee, or added to a low carb smoothie.

Join Us For The New Beginnings Workshop & Commit to a Healthy 2020

This is just one of the many health strategies we will be teaching at the upcoming New Beginnings Health Makeover. If you want to take your health to a higher level join us and bring a friend!

www.NewLifeChiropracticEvents.com