Living a keto lifestyle has become a popular way to shed unwanted fat fast but that’s not the only benefit this way of eating provides. Believe it or not, adopting a keto diet can have some life-altering, health benefits for those who choose to give it a try.
To the average American, the keto lifestyle is a new method but it’s actually been around for years. Doctors have prescribed a high fat, low carb diet for patients to do everything from preventing seizures in children, to help lowering the risk of heart disease for adults.
Most people would assume that a keto diet would do the exact opposite of reducing heart disease rates since your required fat intake is so high. But let’s take a look at how keto works and why it can be extremely heart-healthy.
First for those of you who don’t know, a ketogenic diet or ketosis is a low-carb weight loss program that helps you burn fat faster and assists in curbing your appetite, to name a few benefits. The way it works is, by reducing your carb count to under 40 grams per day and increasing your fat intake, your body goes into a state of ketosis meaning, it doesn’t have enough carbs to burn for energy so it switches to using fat as a fuel source instead. This is where the magic happens. Not only are you able to take in more fat, but your body begins to use your stored body fat for energy as well! What in the world could be better than that?
While fat burning and weight loss is an amazing result of the keto diet, getting to that point can have its challenges. During the process of switching over to a different fuel source, you may experience what keto dieters have come to know as the “keto flu,” which some people attribute to sugar and carb withdrawal. Signs of the keto flu are nausea, headache, bad breath, also known as keto breath, fatigue, brain fog, and constipation. There are more symptoms but these are some of the most common…and irritating.
If you can make it past this part of the keto diet, there are some amazing health benefits that await you on the other side, one of them being more energy. In recent years, even athletes have switched to a keto style diet because they’ve found fat to be a more sustaining fuel source. You’d be surprised at how cutting out processed, sugar-laden foods can increase your energy.
Following a keto style diet definitely has its perks but it’s not for everyone. The best way to know is to pay attention to how your body reacts to certain foods. Some thrive on a high-fat diet and some people thrive on a high carb diet. Only you know how your body responds to what you give it, so pay attention, do your research and decide what works best for you.