Your car uses either petrol or diesel to burn as fuel and cannot switch between the two without disastrous consequences. The human body, on the other hand, uses glucose as fuel, but is adaptable enough to be able to switch to fat as fuel when necessary.
How does it work? – Under normal circumstances the body converts the carbohydrates in food into glucose (blood sugar) to use as source of energy. Amongst other energy functions in the body, glucose is an important fuel for proper functioning of the human brain. When there is very little carbohydrates in the diet, the liver converts fat (either from the diet of from fat stored in the body) into fatty acids and ketone bodies. The ketone bodies then largely replace glucose as the chief source of energy for the brain. The rise in blood levels of ketone bodies is called ketosis.
What are the applications? – Ketosis can be introduced to the body for a number of reasons. Ketosis was used to reduce the incidence of seizures in children with epilepsy in the 1920’s and 1930’s, until the development of effective anticonvulsant drugs. Ketosis has also been utilized in various weight loss programs, such as the popular low carbohydrate Atkin’s diet and the Banting diet, which is characterized by a very low intake of carbohydrates and very high intake of fat. In a true Ketogenic diet, a low intake of carbohydrates is combined with adequate protein and high fat dietary intake in order to induce ketosis in the body.
What are the implications? – There is evidence that a ketogenic diet leads to faster initial weight loss, more than other traditional weight loss diets or even the Mediterranean diet, but the difference in weight loss tends to reduce over time. It is however, more difficult to follow and sustain a ketogenic diet over the longer term, and it also generally involves a high intake of otherwise unhealthy food, such as processed meat, high in unhealthy fats and salt.
What is the solution? – “A balanced, unprocessed diet, rich in very colorful vegetables and fruits, lean meats, fish, whole grains, nuts, seeds, olive oil and lots of water seems to have the best evidence for a long, healthier, vibrant life” is the conclusion that the Harvard Medical School came to in a review of the ketogenic diet.
Sources:
Ketogenic diet: Is the ultimate low-carb diet good for you? Published online 27 July 2017. Harvard Medical School. (www.health.harvard.edu)
Ketogenic diet. & Low-carbohydrate diet. & No-carbohydrate diet. All three pages last reviewed during July 2017. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (www.wikipedia.com)
The real meal revolution. Book by Prof Tim Noakes, Sally-Ann Creed, Jonno Proudfoot and David Grier, published in 2013 by Quivertree Publications.
HEALTH INSIGHT
MARCH 2017