Why Ketosis Is The Key To Weight Loss On A Low Carb Diet
May 31st, 2011
Low carb diets have many advantages over other popular diets. They allow you to burn fat while eating luxurious, satisfying foods. They do not require you to count calories or follow a meal plan. Best of all, you can lose weight without ever feeling hungry. One aspect of low card dieting that is often misunderstood and misrepresented is ketosis, the metabolic by-product of accelerated fat-burning.
Our cells have evolved to make use of two sorts of fuel. They can run on glucose, derived from starches and sugars. Alternatively they can get their energy from fatty acids derived from dietary fat or stored body fat. Clearly, if we want to lose excess weight, we would prefer our metabolism to burn stored fat.
We can switch to a fat-burning metabolism by restricting carbohydrates. Without sufficient dietary sugars and starches, the body cannot meet its energy requirements with glucose. To maintain its energy balance, it produces the hormone glucagon. This triggers the process by which fat cells release their stored energy. Ketones are molecules produced when stored fat is broken down into free fatty acids.
Ketones are generated every time the body breaks down stored fat for use as energy. Even people who consume large amounts of carbohydrate produce ketones every night. During the eight hour fast while we are asleep, our blood sugar naturally drops. This prompts the release of glucagon which activates the fat-burning process.
Because stored fat is continually converted into energy in the absence of glucose from carbohydrates, a low carb diet naturally leads to the production of more ketones. When levels of ketones rise to the point where they can be measured in the blood, we are said to be in ketosis.
Some types of ketones are immediately used for energy. In the absence of carbohydrates, the brain and central nervous system will run largely on ketone bodies converted from dietary fat. The heart and kidneys actually prefer ketones to glucose.
There is one sort of ketone molecule that the body cannot use for energy. When it is excreted through the lungs, it can be the cause of the ‘acetone breath’ sometimes associated with low carb eating. Most low carb diet plans advise drinking plenty of liquids so that the majority of excess acetone will be flushed out of the body in the urine.
Several studies have shown that people on ketogenic diets experience reduced appetite. Because fatty acids are continually being released into circulation, the body’s energy needs are met and hunger signals are inhibited. Falling blood sugar is the physical source of food cravings. When the metabolism has switched from glucose burning to fat burning mode, blood sugar levels stay constant.
On a typical weight loss diet, when calories are reduced to the point that the body burns its own fat, it burns its own muscle tissue as well. Ketogenic low carb diets promote the release of fatty acids and ketones for use as fuel and encourage the intake of plenty of dietary protein. This combination protects the body’s lean muscle tissue.
There is nothing unnatural or dangerous about being in ketosis as a result of limiting carbohydrates. It is a simply a result of switching from a fat-storing metabolism to a fat-burning metabolism. A low carb ketogenic diet program is a healthy way to lose excess pounds and inches.
Get the information and details you need to achieve your weight loss objectives by including Ketose in your plan today! You can find the complete and comprehensive Low Carb Diet Plan fast and easy!
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