Unlock Your Metabolic Potential: A Deep Dive into Ketosis and the Ketogenic Diet
- Elizabeth Priest
- Feb 16
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 17
Are you curious about the ketogenic diet's potential to revolutionize your health? This isn't just a trendy diet; it's a powerful metabolic strategy with a history dating back to the 1920s as a medical therapy for epilepsy. There's a ton of scientific evidence supporting its many health benefits. In this article, we'll explore the science behind ketosis, the ketogenic diet, its potential health implications, and how to navigate the transition smoothly.
What is Ketosis?
Under typical conditions, the body mostly burns glucose as its primary fuel source. Ketosis is a natural metabolic state where your body efficiently burns fat for fuel instead of relying primarily on glucose (sugar) and transitions to fat and ketone metabolism as its primary energy source. This happens when there is a significant reduction in carbohydrate intake, forcing the body to tap into its fat reserves. This metabolic state is called Ketosis.
When the body is in ketosis, triglycerides are broken down into fatty acids. The liver then turns these fatty acids into acidic compounds called ketone bodies, or ketones for short. Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) is the principal ketone and is more efficient at producing ATP energy than glucose.
The process of how the body creates energy in ketosis is complicated, but creating energy from glucose is even more complex. What this means is that ketone bodies are more efficient than glucose in creating energy.
Ketones travel to many body tissues and function as alternative energy for the heart, brain, muscles, and other organs and tissues. Ketones are a direct fuel source for the brain, crossing the blood-brain barrier to provide energy. However, some parts of the body cannot metabolize ketones, including red blood cells and the liver. That's because they lack an enzyme that is necessary to create energy from ketones, respectively. Instead, these tissues use glucose derived from the small amounts of carbohydrates consumed on the keto diet and gluconeogenesis.
The Ketogenic Diet: More Than Just a "Diet"
First of all, I am not fond of "diets ."However, the ketogenic diet is a way of eating designed to shift the body's metabolism physiologically. That consists of a high-fat, very low-carbohydrate eating plan, which is one way to induce ketosis.
An example of a 1500-calorie Keto diet might include only 20-25 grams of carbohydrates (CHO), ≈ 50 grams of protein, and ≈ 135 grams of fat.
The duration of the ketogenic diet can vary based on individual circumstances. While a Keto diet can be effective, a strict, long-term ketogenic diet isn't always necessary or recommended for everyone and isn't always appropriate; sometimes, we need to take a cyclical approach (i.e., 3 weeks on, 1 week off) allowing for experimentation with this metabolic state as a tool for health improvement.
Being in a state of ketosis puts an extra demand on the body's electrolytes. Success hinges on adequate hydration, electrolyte balance (sodium, potassium, magnesium), and sufficient protein intake to prevent protein breakdown into glucose.
Metabolic Flexibility: The Key to Optimal Health
Metabolism encompasses all the body's metabolic processes to convert fuel sources into energy. Metabolic flexibility is the body's ability to efficiently and effectively switch between using glucose and fat for energy, depending on its current needs.
When we consume carbohydrates and sugar in excess and get stuck in a carbohydrate/glucose-buring state, we can become metabolically inflexible. Overconsumption and metabolic inflexibility result in what researchers call "mitochondrial gridlock." Mitochondria are the powerhouse of cells. If you're metabolically flexible, the mitochondria choose which fuel they need and help the body balance energy supply and demand. However, overconsumption causes congestion and confusion for mitochondria over which fuel they need. This can impair metabolism, insulin resistance, and mitochondrial dysfunction, increase oxidation, speed up the aging processes, and degrade metabolic health. Over time, being in this chronic state can lead to metabolic diseases such as diabetes and even cancer.
Improving metabolic flexibility is essential and involves strategies such as reducing consumption of refined carbohydrates, following a Keto-style diet, intermittent fasting, regular exercise, and monitoring glucose and ketone levels to allow the body to better manage and utilize energy.
Ranges of Ketosis:
When I work with clients to get into ketosis, whether it is for nutritional purposes or therapeutic purposes, I recommend checking glucose and ketone levels throughout the day with a Keto Mojo.
There are different ranges to aim for based on your health goals:
Nutritional Ketosis: Blood BHB levels at or above 1.0 mmol/L.
Therapeutic Ketosis: Blood BHB levels above 3.0 mmol/L. Therapeutic ketosis should be viewed as a therapeutic tool supervised by a physician and nutritionist.
It could take some time for the body to adapt and get into a state of ketosis because, essentially, the body is being retrained on fueling and burning energy, and it takes time for the body to adapt and adjust. Many factors can contribute to this adaptation, including gender, metabolic health, activity level, and diet.
The Profound Effects of Ketosis on Your Body
A well-formulated ketogenic diet can be therapeutic for specific health conditions, such as neurological disease, insulin resistance, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain forms of cancer
Being in a state of ketosis offers remarkable health benefits:
Metabolic Health Improvement: Lower glucose and insulin levels, enhanced insulin sensitivity.
Anti-inflammatory and Anti-cancer Properties: Ketones demonstrate anti-inflammatory and potential anti-cancer effects through various mechanisms, including reduced liver fat and improved mitochondrial function. This also includes neuroprotection and supporting vascular health.
Therapeutic potential: in conjunction with other treatments, a ketogenic diet shows promise in managing conditions such as Epilepsy, Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, PCOS, fatty liver diseases, and Neurodegenerative disorders (Alzheimer's, Parkinsons, even for alcoholics in remission to help improve brain function from brain damage).
Reduced Inflammation/ Includes reduced neuroinflammation; Ketones increase BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which is vital for creating new neurons and improving the brain's ability to regenerate (neuroplasticity).
Neuroprotection and Neuroplasticity: They boost brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is crucial for brain health and neuronal growth.
Cellular Health and Longevity: Ketosis improves autophagy (cellular cleanup) and cellular cycling, both essential for cellular health and longevity.
Reduces mTOR signaling: The diet contributes to a decrease in mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin), which is linked to accelerated aging. This helps extend healthspan and longevity.
Heart health: Because a dialed-in Ketogenic diet often includes high levels of heart-healthy omega-3s, a keto diet can be protective for heart health by improving the function of the layer of cells that line blood vessels, called the vascular endothelium, which performs many important jobs, including blood flow regulation.
Decreases liver fat in conditions such as MASLD (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease)
Increases the volume and efficiency of mitochondria in skeletal muscle, improving metabolic health, muscle fat oxidation, and overall energy production
Reduce oxidative stress
lowering angiogenesis
destabilizing tumor tissue DNA
and can help to "starve" cancer cells from glucose
Ketosis puts cancer cells under very high stress and works to restore normal apoptosis (programmed cell death- which cancer cells don't do efficiently)
reducing insulin and IGF-1, improve insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance
Balances nutrient sensing pathways mTOR, IGF-,1 and PKA, which signal the body to regulate energy use
Metabolism, cell repair, and growth.
promoting mitochondrial biogenesis
Navigating the Keto Flu
In the first few days to weeks of beginning the keto diet, adapting to ketosis can be challenging during the transition phase when glucose is less available, but fat and ketone metabolism still need to take over effectively. During this adaption phase, it is common to feel "cruddy," often referred to as the "keto flu." The "Keto-flu" can include symptoms like brain fog, body aches, constipation, diarrhea, dizziness, headaches, fatigue, muscle cramps, nausea, insomnia, upset stomach, constipation, and irritability.
The good news is that the symptoms are short-lived and can be mitigated as the body transitions into ketosis if you know what to do.
Stay adequately hydrated (with clean filtered or distilled water)
Incorporate fresh juices such as cucumber, celery, parsley, lemon & ginger are excellent to incorporate into the diet.
Replenish electrolytes: An electrolyte deficit is the most common cause of keto flu. Increase salt and mineral intake to replace electrolytes lost. You can put a teaspoon of unrefined sea salt right on your tongue or sip sea salt/ lemon water or bone broth. You can also take Epsom salt baths. Recommend 5g per day or 2 tsp of sea salt in water or on top of an avocado! Capers, pickles, fermented veggies, green tea, organic herbal teas, and bone broth can help nourish, hydrate, and help with hunger. Plus, they become excellent salt carriers.
Eat more fat: Yes, you read that right! Another common cause of keto flu is not eating enough fat macros to maintain good energy levels. If your energy levels are low, eat a healthy, fat-centric snack, like celery with salted nut butter or some fresh, salted avocado.
Monitor other macros: Reduce carbohydrate consumption slowly but consistently, and monitor protein intake to ensure the body isn't converting protein into glucose via gluconeogenesis (generation of glucose).
Get plenty of rest and quality sleep.
Exercise a little less. Light activities such as walking, yoga, and non-strenuous biking can help ward off flu symptoms, but as your body adapts, you should avoid strenuous workouts with intense running or lifting weights.
Intermittent Fasting:
The keto diet, however, isn't the only safe way to enter ketosis. Keto and intermittent fasting go hand-in-hand. Intermittent fasting can trigger ketosis, too, sometimes even faster. There are different methods/ schedules to incorporate intermittent fasting into your eating routine, and it is a way of making fasting an ongoing part of a health-minded lifestyle. There are many health benefits of intermittent fasting, similar to those of a Keto diet; they include;
Mental clarity
Increased energy
Weight loss
Improved blood sugar regulation and insulin utilization
Reduced inflammation
Decreased digestive distress
Increased ketosis level
The Ketogenic diet can be a powerful tool to improve metabolic health and address various health concerns. However, a personalized approach is crucial, considering individual needs and health conditions and working with a functional nutritionist as part of your health team to determine if the ketogenic diet is proper for you and to guide you through the process safely and effectively. Book a call with me, Eli, to start your journey toward deeper, long-lasting wellness. Let’s work together to make health and energy your new normal.
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