Key Facts About Low Carb Diets And Ketosis

By Sam Mason


Low carb diets have numerous advantages when compared with most other types weight loss programs. You don't have to attend meetings, buy special diet foods or count calories. You don't have to give up rich, creamy sauces or juicy steaks and pork chops in order to burn excess body fat. You never even have to have to fight hunger with will power. One frequently misunderstood aspect of low carbing is ketosis, the metabolic by-product of accelerated fat-burning.

Our cells have evolved to make use of two sorts of fuel. They can run on glucose, derived from starches and sugars. Alternatively they can get their energy from fatty acids derived from dietary fat or stored body fat. Clearly, if we want to lose excess weight, we would prefer our metabolism to burn stored fat.

When we restrict carbohydrates, there is insufficient glucose in circulation to fuel the cells. The body maintains its energy balance by producing the hormone glucagon. This hormone triggers fat deposits to release their stored energy in the form of free fatty acids. In the process of converting stored fat to usable fuel, molecules called ketones are produced.

Ketones are a natural product of our metabolism which are generated whenever fat is used for energy, whether or not we are trying to lose weight. At night, while we are asleep, our bodies burn up all the glucose we consumed at our last meal or bedtime snack. In order to maintain basic functions, they rely on stored fatty acids. When these fats are released into the bloodstream, they are accompanied by ketones.

Because their bodies are continually converting stored fat into fuel, low carb dieters naturally produce more ketones than those consuming typical quantities of carbohydrate. A person is said to be in ketosis when ketones in their blood have accumulated to a measurable level.

Many cells in the body can run at least party on ketones. The central nervous system and brain use ketones for some of their energy requirements. The kidneys and heart muscle actually prefer ketones to glucose.

There is one sort of ketone molecule that the body cannot use for energy. When it is excreted through the lungs, it can be the cause of the 'acetone breath' sometimes associated with low carb eating. Most low carb diet plans advise drinking plenty of liquids so that the majority of excess acetone will be flushed out of the body in the urine.

People following ketogenic diet plans experience fewer food cravings than those on conventional weight loss programs. Fatty acids circulating in the bloodstream provide a readily available source of energy, so hunger signals are inhibited. Blood sugar levels stay constant, eliminating the need for snacks between meals.

On a typical weight loss diet, when calories are reduced to the point that the body burns its own fat, it burns its own muscle tissue as well. Ketogenic low carb diets promote the release of fatty acids and ketones for use as fuel and encourage the intake of plenty of dietary protein. This combination protects the body's lean muscle tissue.

There is nothing dangerous or unnatural about being in ketosis. It is a sign that the body has switched from a fat-storing metabolism to a fat-burning metabolism. A low carb ketogenic diet plan is a healthy and painless way to lose stubborn excess fat.




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