The ketogenic diet. What is the ketogenic diet? What are the results of the ketogenic diet and what are the reviews. How does it work? Are there any difficulties? What menu on a ketogenic diet and is it harmful.
- The ketogenic diet
- The ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet intended to activate ketone bodies in the body.
Why is the ketogenic diet effective, what are the contraindications and reviews, what is the principle of action? What should be included in the ketogenic diet menu and what about the reviews of those who have lost weight? We will talk about this today.
How does the ketogenic diet work?
When fats, proteins and carbohydrates are present in our diet, our body obtains energy from glucose. We get glucose only from carbohydrates. Now that grocery stores have direct accessibility, this is the most common type of food. But what happened in those days when there weren't enough carbohydrate products like cereals or bread due to poor harvests, habitat halo or seasonality?
The carcass was forced to take energy from fatty acids and proteins. You may remember my video on running to lose weight, here it is, in it I watched the process of obtaining energy through the oxidation of fatty acids. Now let me briefly remind you: all of our organs, which have mitochondria in tissue cells, work very well with fatty acids. This is the heart muscle of the myocardium, and skeletal muscles (the one we pump in the gym) and smooth muscles.
However, our brain, which is 60% fat, does not lose weight, even a prolonged hunger strike does not significantly damage mental capacities. Why? Reason - BBB The blood-brain barrier is a barrier that ensures the permanence of the brain environment. It is he who does not allow fatty acids to pass, not to the outside (that's why the brain does not lose weight), but also to the inside. And the brain cannot consume fatty acids for energy.
However, the brain cannot run out of fuel, and nature has predicted that as a result of nutrition that cannot provide enough glucose, the brain switches to an alternative source of fuel: so-called ketone bodies.
- Ketone bodies
Three substances are called ketone bodies
- acetoacetic acid (acetoacetate)
- beta-aminobutyric acid (hydroxybutyrate)
- acetone
These substances are formed in the liver from fatty acids in a process called ketogenesis. Not much acetone is formed, our main fuel is beta-aminobutyric acid. In it, for the most part, the central nervous system works during the periodof lack of carbohydrates in the diet.
Is the ketogenic diet bad or not?
Ketogenesis is a completely normal metabolic process and should not be feared. All fears stem from the fact that the state of ketosis, when the body works with ketone bodies, is often mistaken for pathological and requires urgent intervention. acidokedosis. But these things are different and now we will discuss a little what the essence is.
Ketoacidosis
What is ketoacidosis? This is almost the same as ketosis, but when it is caused not by a lack of glucose as a result of a lack of carbohydrates, but by a lack of insulin. I remind you that our most important hormone, insulin, is a transport agent. This is our loader that knows how to transport glucose across the cell membrane.
When there is a lot of glucose, but there is no insulin or it does not perform its functions, the cell begins to starve for energy in the same way as in the case of a carbohydrate-free diet. As a result, the body produces a lot of hormones that can break down fat (lipolytic, in this case they are called counterinsular) and the liver begins to produce ketone bodies from fatty acids. What's going on?
There is a lot of undigested glucose, there are also a lot of ketone bodies, and the kidneys are trying to get rid of excess ketones and glucose, causing dehydration, the so-called osmotic diuresis. As a result of the diuresis, the electrolytes are removed, and remember this is very, very bad in this video, even two: the electrolyte balance shifts towards acidification and as a result this same ketoacidosis develops. all this requires urgent hospitalization, since the patient can easily move the horses.
It is clear that this situation is only possible in two cases
- Type 1 diabetes when the pancreas does not produce insulin
- Dehydration: diarrhea, vomiting, taking diuretics.
That is, if you are healthy, you do not have type 1 diabetes, you should not be afraid of ketoacidosis. In your case, the nervous system will work perfectly with ketone bodies.
So how to use the ketogenic diet
Firstand the most important is entering ketosis. And this is one of the most difficult tasks. Because in most cases, remember that I told you that takeo homeostasis, people for decades ingesting carbohydrate-containing foods for the first time, will be stress on the body. The carcass is not used to this and in a day or two will not go into ketosis. It takes time. First, the body will consume the remaining glucose and glycogen. Then it will try to obtain glucose through gluconeogenesis. amino acids, glycerin, lactic acid. And only when you are completely out of mogota will the ketogenesis process begin and, with a crunch, begin to drag the central nervous system's energy supply system onto new rails. Remember: the carcass really does not like violation of homeostasis and resists the best it can.
This is the most difficult first time: you are stupid, you are angry, you have no strength, your brain refuses to work, your head is spinning and many other delicacies. And this state lasts, for everyone in different ways, but maybe up to two or three weeks.
Second. To get into ketosis, you need to cut carbohydrates or keep them to a minimum, and this is another difficulty. There are organs that cannot use fatty acids or ketone bodies for energy. They need glucose and only glucose - this is the intestinal epithelium, the vascular endothelium, the lens of the eye, the adrenal cortex, something else - I don't remember. So you can't leave them without glucose. The carcass will get glucose for them by gluconeogenesis, either from their muscles or from minimal carbohydrates. coming with food. But that's the point - remember homeostasis, the desire to maintain balance at any cost, entering ketosis is hard, but getting out of it is easy. And then hello the fat stores on the sides of the back.
Third- to get into ketosis, you need to eat a lot of fat and never go overboard on protein! And this is also very difficult to control. Because with an excess of protein in the diet, with the help of the same gluconeogenesis, a corpse of it urgently rushes the glucose, and it will fall back from a state of hard-earned ketosis. If there is too little protein, the muscles will gradually be lost. And achieving this balance is very, very difficult for a beginner. Everything is exactly the same with fats. alone - 80% of the diet should be fat.
Fourth: the difficulty in evaluating whether or not we have entered ketosis.
- Testing for acetone in urine with strips is meaningless. We may be in ketosis, but there will be no acetone in our urine.
- It is possible to perform a blood test with a glucometer using special ketone strips, but these strips are not cheap.
- Finally, there are special instruments for the determination of acetone in breath. They were invented for epileptics because the ketogenic diet is good for treating epileptic seizures, but they also cost around $ 100.
And finally, if you decide to try the ketogenic diet, how do you compose your diet?
- protein: 1. 5-2 grams per body weight. This is conditional.
- The rest is fat.
What foods are suitable for the ketogenic diet?
- eggs with yolk
- all cheeses
- fatty cottage cheese
- sour cream
- lard
- pig
- nuts
- salmon
- trout
- salmon
- lamb