Restore Your Health with a Ketogenic Diet

Ketogenic diets allow consumption of natural fats and protein (meat, fish, poultry) and limit carbohydrates (sugars and starches). 

On a “normal” American diet, carbohydrate intake is high (about 40-60% of calories) while fat intake is limited.  Diets high in carb have the effect of elevating blood sugar and insulin and over time, these increased levels become chronic, and have the effect of driving hunger and a host of disease processes. 

In contrast, carbohydrate intake on a keto diet is only about 2-4% of calories. When carb intake is low, meals are delicious and satiating.  Hunger goes away, and more importantly, this dietary change has some powerful and beneficial metabolic effects on the human body, in part because it lowers blood sugar and insulin levels. On this website, I’ll talk about how the diet works, and share details on the correct implementation of the diet.  The bottom line here is that you can increase your energy and improve your health simply by changing the way you eat.

How Do Ketogenic Diets Work?

As mentioned, the diet limits carbohydrates (sugar and starch).  When these foods are digested, they are broken down into blood sugar (glucose) in the body. More carbohydrate intake results in higher blood sugar.  If we reduce carb intake and instead eat more fat and protein, it results in a switch in metabolic pathways from using sugar as a primary fuel to burning fat instead.

As more fat is burned, some of it is converted in ketone bodies.  As blood glucose and insulin levels drop and ketone levels rise, the heart, muscle and brain switch to using more fat and ketones to fuel themselves.  This state of "nutritional ketosis"  has some powerful benefits. There is strong research evidence that low carb, high fat keto diets are effective for the following medical conditions:

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Cancer:  the current research on metabolic cancer treatments using a keto diet are extremely promising. The keto diet for cancer therapy is somewhat different than the treatment for other illnesses, and is discussed in detail in my e-Book "Fight Cancer with a Ketogenic Diet," which is based on the work of both Dr. Thomas Seyfried and Dr. Dominic D'Agostino.  The main idea behind the use of a ketogenic diet to treat cancer is to starve the cancer cells of the glucose and other fuels they need to survive, and provide support for the normal mitochondrial respiration processes in healthy tissues. The huge advantage of this treatment protocol is that it is non-toxic to the rest of the body, and in "wait and see" cases, can provide an huge health support advantage to the patient.

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Diabetes:  Recommendations for higher carb intake in diabetes treatment is detrimental to diabetic health because it results in blood sugar spikes and crashes, which in turn causes a greater need for medication and insulin.  A ketogenic diet reduces and in many cases, eliminates the need for diabetic medications and lowers the number of insulin units needed.  For people with Type 2 diabetes, ketogenic diets reverse the underlying insulin resistance which causes the disease. In many cases, just changing dietary choices can result is lower medication costs. Learn more in our "Conquer Type 2 Diabetes e-Book  or click on the book cover at left.

Type 1 Diabetes: A lower carb, higher protein and fat diet is also beneficial for people with Type 1 diabetes and can help lower the number and severity of hypoglycemic episodes, reduce HbA1c scores and minimize future complications. Learn more in "The Ketogenic Diet for Type 1 Diabetes e-Book" or click on the book cover at right.  This includes children with Type 1 and their parents should know that they have options.

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Weight Loss: Low carb, high fat keto diets have been proven in study after study as the best diet for weight loss because the diet works with your biochemistry instead of against it.  To help readers implement the diet correctly, check out our web app My Keto Plan, a tool designed by Ellen Davis and Austin Voss to help people achieve fast, healthy weight loss with a ketogenic diet.  It's also a great learning tool for understanding how to create meals which are consistently within ketogenic ratios.

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Alzheimer's disease:  Ketones help replenish brain energy pathways  and support brain health, and this results in better memory and thought function.  My colleague Amy Berger has pulled together the latest research and written a unique ebook detailing how a low carb, high fat diet is the best way to protect and restore brain health.  The Alzheimer's Antidote book is a one-of-a-kind resource.  If you want to know to avoid or treat dementia or cognitive issues with a dietary solution, I highly recommend this book.

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In addition, there is also research showing the following conditions can be reversed or greatly improved on a keto diet:

• Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome and Pre Diabetes: these conditions are directly related to the effects of chronically high blood sugar and insulin resulting in insulin resistance (IR).  In addition, related conditions such as Fatty liver disease and PCOS are also caused by IR.  Low carb, high fat diets have been used in studies to treat and reverse all of these IR conditions.
• Heart disease:  Cardiac risk factors improve when blood sugar and insulin levels are lowered via dietary changes.  HDL cholesterol goes up on a low carb, high fat diet and triglycerides fall dramatically. I also discuss what causes heart disease, and it isn't cholesterol or saturated fat consumption.
• Autism:  New research is showing that keto diets are helpful in the treatment of autism.
• Neurological disorders such as ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinsons Disease: research is showing that ketone bodies exert a protective affect on the nervous system and slow the progression of nerve related diseases.
• Mitochondrial support: Keto diets provide mitochondrial support and can improve metabolic energy disorders such as pyruvate dehydrogenase complex deficiency (PDHC), glucose transporter type 1 (GLUT1) deficiency, McArdle disease, and a range of mitochondrial myopathies.
• Aging is slowed: The ketogenic diet reduces inflammation and slows the human aging process.
• Acid Reflux/GERD (heartburn): people who suffer from acid reflux or chronic heartburn will find great relief after adopting a keto diet, especially if all grain and fermentable carb sources (FODMAPS) are eliminated from the diet.
  

The bottom line here is that the ketogenic diet is a powerful metabolic tool for treating a wide range of illnesses. It is not a fad diet, and if it is implemented correctly, it corrects metabolic function at the cellular level.  The result is improved health and wellbeing. 

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Diet Plans, Benefits and More Information

A typical ketogenic meal includes a 3-5 ounces of protein, usually cooked in natural fats (for example, butter, lard, duck fat, cream, olive oil, beef tallow, or coconut oil) with the addition of non-starchy or green leafy vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, summer squash, or kale.

If you are ready to get started, check out the keto diet plan page, or the low carb food list.  You can read about the benefits of the diet, or see some recipes and meal plans.  Or just peruse the navigation bar on the left and click on what interests you.

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In addition, Well Being Journal (WBJ) published an article I wrote about the health effects of keto diets in their July/August 2012 issue. It includes a detailed overview of the benefits of ketogenic diets.

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You can also read my hypoglycemia and low carb diet myths articles which were published in the 2012 Nov/Dec issue of Well Being Journal.

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