You’ve told your friend that you want to lose a little bit of weight. Immediately they suggest a ketogenic diet. You’ve heard a lot about it but you’re not sure if it’s right for you.
The idea of consuming so few carbs has you a little scared. As long as you’re not diabetic or have your diabetes under control, however, you should be fine. You just have to know how to go through the diet safely.
To help you on your dieting journey, here is a quick guide on everything that you need to know about real ketones and how they work to make you healthier.
What is Ketosis?
When your body doesn’t have enough carbs it turns to burning fat and making a substance called ketones that it can use as fuel instead. Ketosis is a word that you’ll probably see thrown around a lot when you look up anything to do with weight loss or diabetes.
The Ketogenic Diet
Instead of taking in carbs, the ketogenic diet has you using protein to get the nutrients you need. On top of burning fat, you’ll feel less hungry and gain more muscle mass.
If your child has some form of epilepsy, their doctor may put them on this diet because it has the potential to prevent seizures. This process tends to work for adults with epilepsy as well.
If you have a history of heart disease in your family, the Ketogenic diet may be able to stop you from being affected.
Is it Safe for You?
When you make the switch as long as you mix the keto diet and exercise and are careful, you should be fine. There are a few side effects that you may experience when you’re first starting out such as:
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Irritability
- Trouble sleeping
- Constipation
- Brain fog
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Cramps
- Cravings for sugar
- Bad breath
- Sore muscles
For the most part, these are withdrawal symptoms from the lack of carbs and sugar. They should go away after a while. If they don’t, then go see your doctor.
Ketosis and Diabetes
You can go on this diet if you are diabetic but you’ll need to be careful. It’s possible that your body can build up too many ketones. This build-up can lead to something called diabetic ketoacidosis.
ketoacidosis can cause dehydration which will lead to a chemical imbalance in your blood. This imbalance can become acidic which can easily cause coma or death.
You’ll have to stay on top of things by being diligent. Check your blood every single day!
Real Ketones, Ketosis: How They Come Together to Make You Healthy
Don’t knock a ketogenic diet until you try it. While you may suffer through a few withdrawal symptoms from lack of carbs and sugar, it’s completely safe if you use this informational guide on real ketones to do it right.
If this diet didn’t work out for you no worries. There are still plenty more that you can try out. Visit the health section of our blog for all the latest diet information.
