Benefits of the Keto Diet Outside of Weight Loss

The ketogenic diet, with almost 100 years of rock solid science backing it, is much more than "just another low-carb fad". The keto diet is different from the Atkins or similar low-carb diets in that it is higher in fat and extremely low in carbohydrates, eliminating the common kidney problems accompanying high protein diets. That being said, as with every eating plan or guideline, the diet isn’t a hard and fast rule. Each individual still has specific nutritional needs, with some requiring more protein or more levels of a certain nutrient and others much less. Cut out the headache of guessing and calculate your nutritional needs for a keto diet with a calculator. 

Ketogenic Diet: The Basics

How Does It Work?

The ketogenic diet allows no more than 20 digestible grams of carbohydrates per day. The diet is designed to deprive and deplete your glycogen stores, forcing your body to use ketones (fat converted into ketones through your liver) as fuel. This process is known as ketosis; the body's utilization of extra, stored body fat. Ketosis is not to be confused with ketoacidosis, a life threatening condition produced by dangerously high blood sugars, often seen in Type 1 Diabetics.

A Sample Diet

A sample keto diet would include a breakfast of organic bacon, eggs in butter, and lots of sautéed spinach, lunch of meatballs in a homemade garlic or tomato sauce with zucchini noodles, dinner would be similar to lunch with a delicious keto dessert made with peanut butter and cacao powder. There is a whole world of delicious vegetables and bacon waiting for you, so don’t let the lack of pasta or grains lead you to think this is another diet that will leave you craving rocky road and pop tarts all the time.

Why Do the Ketogenic Diet?

Weight loss is only one of many benefits of the keto diet.

5 Amazing Benefits of the Ketogenic Diet 

1. Mental Clarity and Reduced Brain Fog

If your performance at college or at your job is suffering, your diet is one of the keys to reversing your problems and engineering your success. Research indicates that ketones are a more efficient energy source than glucose, for both your body and your brain.

2. Sustained Energy 

It’s no secret that sugar is highly addictive, especially for those with high-stress lives, tendencies towards emotional eating, and blood sugar swings. Sugar, especially in all the packaged poison found on supermarket shelves and in sugary drinks, is a recipe for a rollercoaster of energy highs followed by rock bottom lows. Eliminating sugar altogether and severely restricting carb intake eliminates these constant ups and downs, leading to sustained energy levels throughout the day.

3. Type II Diabetes Reversal 

With the advent of processed foods and chemical sugar addictions, type II diabetes has skyrocketed world-wide, and with that the scary cost of medicine. One of the benefits of the keto diet includes reducing or even eliminating the need for insulin in type II diabetics. A quick word of warning: if you struggle with diabetes or know someone who does and decide to go keto, make sure to work with a good functional medicine doctor or nutritionist.

4. Alzheimer’s, Other Neuro-degenerative Diseases, Brain Injuries

The keto diet mimics fasting in that it boosts levels of brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF)… BDNF helps with synaptic plasticity and memory storage.  While more research is needed, many studies so far show that the keto diet may help to slow or reverse the effects of alzheimers.

Interestingly enough, the keto diet was originally formulated as a treatment for epilepsy, and research shows that it’s still wildly successful. One study of epilepsy patients on the keto diet showed that “15.8 percent of patients became free of seizures, 32 percent experienced greater than 90 percent reduction in seizure frequency, and nearly 56 percent of the patients had greater than 50 percent reduction of seizures.”   Those are some pretty significant figures!

Because of ketosis’ ability to heal reverse or reduce seizures, researchers are now finding that it may play a role in recovery from traumatic brain injuries.

5. Cancer 

Cancer cells (the body’s reaction to oxidative stress) need sugar to survive. Eliminating that sugar may be the powerful cure or reversal needed for all kinds of different cancers.  The ketogenic diet has been shown to slow tumor growth and several types of cancer. 

The above benefits are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to the healing powers of this diet. Know someone who has been helped by cutting carbohydrates and eating a high-fat, high-vegetable, nutrient-dense diet? Share below.