10 Impressive Ways A Ketones Diet Plan Aids Health

What Are Ketones And the Ketones Diet Plan?

Chemicals created in the liver are called ketones. A ketones diet plan burns ketones in place of glucose giving you a rapid weight loss.

The Benefits of Using Ketones Diet Plan for Energy

Keytones are a type of fuel that is created by your body and is associate with a number of health benefits. The ketones diet plan forces your body to burn ketones in place of glucose. Ketosis gives individuals the ability for weight loss, better blood sugar levels, and may help with some neurological conditions.

Ketones Diet Plan for Weight Loss

The general idea is to force the body to burn fat rather than sugar to gain energy. This can be an incredible boost to weight loss and in most cases, people lose up to 24 more pounds with a ketones diet plan than any other conventional diet plan.

Ketones Diet Plan to Improve Blood Sugar and Cholesterol Levels

Ketosis has been shown to help create better levels of Triglycerides, Blood Sugar Levels, and Cholesterol levels. In one study the obese participants all showed a decrease in HDL or bad cholesterol, a decrease in blood sugar levels, decreased Triglyceride levels while at the same time increasing LDL or the good cholesterol you want to have in your body.

Ketones Diet Plan to Help With Neurological Conditions

Ketosis was first used as a treatment for epilepsy and reduced the number of seizures in patients. Getting the brain to change from burning to Glucose to burning ketone bodies as an alternate fuel source. This has helped improve memory and aid in Alzheimer’s prevention in some tests. Some tests show an improved memory in only six weeks.

The Relationship Between Ketones and Glucose

Blood glucose (also called blood sugar) is your body’s preferred energy source. When you eat food, the pancreas releases insulin. Insulin enters the bloodstream, ensuring glucose gets transported to the cells for energy.

What does this have to do with ketones? When glucose is not readily available, your body will start burning ketones—rather than glucose—for energy.  This is the metabolic state known as ketosis.

The ketones diet plan is one of the world’s most popular health trends and, in this article, we explain why a ketones diet plan can deliver more than weight loss. Ketones diet plan practitioners use low carb, high-fat foods to manipulate their metabolic chemistry and force their bodies to enter a state of accelerated calorie burning.

They say the benefits for health go further than weight management and can involve everything from reduced blood sugar to healthier liver cells, improved cognitive functioning, and protection from strokes and diseases.

Is it all too good to be true or is the ketones diet plan the secret to living a longer, healthier life? This article takes a look at some proposed health benefits to find out if ditching the carbs can really transform your health.

A Quick Guide to the Ketones Diet Plan

It’s quite unusual for a diet to be linked with treatments for health conditions as diverse as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, cancer, autism, and more. Yet, the ketones diet plan diet isn’t your average clean eating plan.

It was first developed in 1921 by Dr. Russel Wilder as a remedy for seizures, so it has a long history as a clinical tool. Its contemporary popularity as a weight-loss aid has, in many ways, obscured its true physiological and neurological potential.

The ketogenic diet works by drastically reducing the body’s intake of carbohydrates. This disrupts its dependence on glucose and forces the cells into a state of manipulated starvation.

To continue functioning, the body burns through its fat stores at an accelerated rate which results in rapid weight loss. Ketones diet plan dieters maintain this state of hyper-efficient fat burning by adhering to a low carb, high-fat diet.

The story is, of course, much more complicated at a cellular level and doctors are only just starting to understand why ketones deliver more than weight loss.

Using Ketosis to Manage Chronic Health Conditions

The ketones diet plan has been used to treat cancer, fatty liver syndrome, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, type 1 diabetes, heart disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, chronic inflammation, Alzheimer’s disease, migraines, and many more conditions.

The key reason ketones deliver more than weight loss is due to the remarkable effects of ketosis. Ketosis is the state of manipulated starvation in which the body burns fat for fuel because glucose is in short supply.

Ketosis is the body’s emergency response to a sudden decrease in its primary fuel source. Instead of resorting to gluconeogenesis – the conversion of muscle tissues into sugars which occurs during actual starvation – it optimizes its resources by turning fatty acids into a special type of energy called ketones.

Ketones are fast-acting, significantly less oxygen reactive and capable of increasing mitochondrial efficiency, regulating the production of neurotransmitters, and supporting the growth of neurons and neuronal connections.

A ketones diet plan delivers more than weight loss because the energy they provide is very adept at crossing from the blood and into the brain where it has extraordinary effects on neurological health.

The exact mechanisms responsible for ketones’ impact on brain conditions like Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy remain unclear.

Doctors have begun to link these degenerative illnesses to a decline in the brain’s access to glucose. It is thought the ability to produce alternative fuel via ketosis might hold the secret to preventing such diseases.

Let’s take a closer look at some neurological conditions that have been treated with the ketones diet plan They provide compelling evidence for the belief a ketones diet plan delivers more than weight loss.

1. Epilepsy

According to clinical studies, adherence to the ketones diet plan leads to a reduction in the frequency and severity of epileptic seizures. The treatment has a surprisingly long history having first been used in the 1920s on epilepsy patients who did not respond to conventional medications.

There are reports of dramatic decreases in seizures, particularly in children, and even some accounts of complete remission due to managed ketosis.

2. Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s Disease has been linked to age-related decline in the brain’s ability to access glucose-derived energy stores. While it’s still unclear why the ketone derived fuel produced by ketosis leads to improvements in cognitive function – rather than just acting as a supplementary energy source – the diet is becoming a common form of treatment.

Doctors believe it can improve patients’ quality of life and could even hold the secret to completely reversing degenerative brain conditions. In some animal studies, ketones have led to the restoration of damaged neurons.

3. Parkinson’s Disease

Similarly, ketones deliver more than weight loss to patients with degenerative Parkinson’s Disease although it’s not yet clear why. Several animal experiments and clinical case studies have nevertheless linked keto diets to a decrease in symptoms (particularly after 28-30 days) and doctors are already using them as supplementary treatment.

4. Autism

More evidence is needed to understand whether ketosis has a significant impact on autism symptoms. Yet, it’s interesting to note that eleven years before we knew individuals on the autistic spectrum commonly have issues with mitochondrial efficiency, a clinical study used the ketones diet plan to improve the symptoms of 18 out of 23 children.

While ketosis failed to improve the most severely affected participants, those who did improve experienced positive changes for six months following the study.

5. Gliomas

Gliomas (brain cancers) are some of the most serious health conditions. They can be very resistant to treatment primarily because they progress so quickly. Of the 10,000 patients diagnosed with brain cancer every year, around half die within fifteen months of the first confirmation of disease.

The good news is low carb diets have been linked to a further deceleration in cancer cell growth when combined with conventional treatments such as radiotherapy.

6. Serious Brain Injuries

The prevalence of traumatic brain injury in the United States is increasing and, as a result, doctors are keen to investigate the potential of ketosis for recovery and the preservation of neurological functions. Ketones diet plan may aid recovery after trauma by supplying the brain with restorative energy (ketones) at a faster rate than carbohydrates and sugars.

The theory is that permanent damage can be reduced by supplying the brain with a great deal of energy very quickly, and this can only be supplied via ketosis.

7. Strokes

There is growing evidence to suggest ketones diet plans may be effective at treating strokes. In a landmark animal study, the conditions created by ketosis – a dramatic decrease in glucose production and an increase in ketones – resulted in huge reductions in brain inflammation.

Though the effects have yet to be reproduced in humans, clinical trials are ongoing and it is hoped ketosis can be used to preserve neurological functions after strokes and other brain traumas.

8. Multiple Sclerosis

If you want further evidence that ketones deliver more than weight loss, you need only investigate recent developments in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. According to experts, ketogenic diets may hold the key to improved mitochondrial functions, healthier neurons, the reduction of free radicals, and greater cell efficiency overall.

When combined, these changes could delay or even impede the neurodegeneration responsible for patients’ loss of mobility.

9. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is an extremely severe disease that causes devastating forms of neurodegenerative damage. There is currently no cure for the condition and it eventually leads to death as the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord shut down.

While medications can be used to slow the disease’s progression and help patients’ manage pain, there is no way to reverse the neurological damage. As yet, there have been no significant studies on the impact of ketosis, but many specialists are interested in the effects of high-fat diets on neurogenesis.

10. Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (or NAFLD) is the most common liver disease among westerners. It is associated with poor diet, obesity, and an increased risk of diabetes and other metabolic dysfunctions. Various small scale clinical studies link ketones diet plans to a significant reduction in weight, blood pressure, and potentially harmful liver enzymes.

In one such study, 93% of participants showed a significant decrease in liver fats and 21% completed the study with no further symptoms of NAFLD.

These are only a few examples of the illnesses and degenerative conditions that low carbohydrate, high-fat diets may be able to treat. More investigations are needed and many more studies must present compelling results before we can start using ketosis to support patients with serious health issues.

However, the early signs are very promising and it really does seem like ketones deliver more than weight loss.

Signs That Your Body Is In a State of Ketosis

This next section explores some of the indications that a body has entered ketosis and is generating ketones for fuel. It should be noted that there are positive and negative consequences of adhering to a ketones diet plan. For most people, the negative side effects dissipate after a few weeks but, in some rare cases, they may persist.

If side effects continue for longer than thirty days, consult a doctor to make sure the ketones diet plan is suitable for your body. You must not embark on a ketones diet plan without medical supervision if you are diabetic. Ketogenesis can trigger a life-threatening condition called ketoacidosis in diabetes sufferers.

Bad Breath

Ketones diet plans deliver more than weight loss, it’s true, but the side effects aren’t always desirable. Bodies in ketosis commonly suffer from bad breath as a result of increased acetone in the bloodstream. Ketones diet plan dieters describe their breath as smelling strangely fruity, and most make it a habit to brush their teeth 3-4 times per day.

According to doctors, bad breath is a clear sign that ketosis is active and the body is burning through its stored fat reserves. Unfortunately, there’s no reliable way to prevent it. The good news is it’s not an indication of ill health. The best advice is to brush regularly and chew sugar-free gum as sugar will reverse the state of ketosis.

Rapid Weight Loss

After discussing the reasons why ketones deliver more than weight loss, let’s briefly revisit weight management as a motivation. The majority of ketones diet plan dieters follow this particular method of eating because they want to lose weight quickly. It is one of the most effective ways to do this providing the individual really does adhere to a ketogenic eating plan.

In many of the cases where keto dieting hasn’t resulted in weight loss, it’s because these individuals haven’t reached a state of full ketosis (though they may think they have). It is common for people to experience rapid weight loss during the first week of their diet and mistake this for progress.

In reality, it’s a consequence of decreased water retention. For significant weight loss to occur, the ketones diet plan must be followed for at least thirty days.

Increased Fatigue

Increased fatigue is the most common reason people quit the ketones diet plan before reaching ketosis. The transition to a low carb, high fat diet is a major change for most people and it causes lots of upheaval within the body. The most pronounced side effect is tiredness which occurs because the body is forced to change its dependence on glucose derived fuel.

This is a significant transformation and, for up to thirty days, keto dieters can feel unusually exhausted and physically weak. It’s not a fun side effect but it is necessary if you want to experience true ketosis and all the benefits that come with it.

Fatigue is a sign your body is doing what you are asking it to do. Eventually, your energy levels will be restored or increased and you’ll start to feel much healthier.

In the meantime, you can use a combination of electrolyte, magnesium, and potassium supplements to combat the fatigue.

Digestive Issues

In order for ketones to deliver more than weight loss, they need to accumulate in the body and this can take some time. However, the switch to a ketogenic diet must be decisive and authentic. It’s very important that individuals follow their low carb, high-fat eating plan every single day to achieve results.

This sudden and dedicated switch to high-fat foods is a shock to a body dependent on carbohydrates. Digestive issues such as diarrhea and constipation are common in the thirty days (approximately) it takes to enter full ketosis.

These side effects should subside after a month of keto eating and, in the meantime, can be managed by consuming large amounts of low carb, high fiber vegetables.

Reduced Appetite

It’s normal to experience a reduction in appetite while following a ketogenic diet though the reasons for this aren’t fully clear. According to doctors, the assumption is that cutting carbohydrates will lead to hunger cravings but, in fact, the increased consumption of fresh vegetables and protein is probably enough to satisfy the stomach.

There is some evidence to suggest ketones might send appetite-suppressing signals to the brain, but this has not been sufficiently proved. Feeling satisfied with less food is also an indication that the body is entering a state of ketosis.

The Final Word on Why Ketones Deliver More Than Weight Loss

The full potential of ketogenic diets is yet to be understood. Yet, doctors are already certain that ketones deliver more than weight loss and could hold the secrets to treating scores of neurological diseases. What is utilized as a simple diet aid by most is leading us to some extraordinary discoveries about how the brain works and whether it can recover from serious traumas

Yes, ketones are great for weight loss. They can also give us so much more.

A Keto Diet Meal Plan and Menu That Can Transform Your Body by Healthline