Ketosis is a normal and natural metabolic process that occurs in your body. It is a 'state' that occurs when you don't have enough glycogen for energy from the liver and muscle tissue so your body switches to burning stored fat instead. Part of the process is the production of 'keytones'. Normally your body doesn't make or use ketones because our diet is full of glycogen creating sources (sugar). When you eat less carbs and increase healthy fat intake, your body will switch to ketosis for energy. Simply put, you burn more stored fat naturally.

Low-Carb and Ketogenic Diets

Low-carb eating plans include some aspects of the the Atkins diet and the Paleo diet. They stress proteins for fuelling your body. In addition to helping you burn fat, ketosis can make you feel less hungry. The success of both Atkins and Paleo eating lifestyles prove that they are effective. Keto diets take it a step further and in doing so, improve your results in less time. While protein plays an important role, healthy fats are where the majority of your calories come from, not carbohydrates. For people in good health who don't have diabetes and aren't pregnant, ketosis usually kicks in after 3 or 4 days of eating less than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. That's about 3 slices of bread, a cup of low-fat fruit yogurt, or two small bananas. Intermittent or complete fastingcan also trigger ketosis. Keto eating has been proven effective in children with epilepsy because of it's effect on the reduction of seizures. Prior to the proliferation of medication, keto eating was the best treatment for epilepsy. Research suggests that ketogenic eating may help lower your risk of heart disease, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, acne, cancer, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), nervous system diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Lou Gehrig's disease. Click here for a collection of research documents.

Test Your Ketones

Home test strips that you pee on can measure your ketones levels in urine. You don't need to go to the doctor.

The Danger: Ketoacidosis

Ketoacidosis is the state you can put your body in when ketosis goes too far. Your ketones build up in your blood so much that you throw off your pH balance, and your blood becomes acidic. Ketoacidosis in severe cases can cause comas and even death. These are rare and extreme and any keto eating plan should never take you even close to this point. It's important to keep up high water intake when you are using a keto plan.

Ketosis Based Plans: Good Or Bad?

A properly planned and implemented keto based eating plan is very effective and safe. Plans like the Flexible Keto System have been designed to induce ketosis without the fear or worry of entering a ketoacidosis state. They are definitely a good thing, but as with any deviation of your normal eating, you need to pay attention to what you body is telling you. Make sure you sign up for my newsletter to stay on top of everything health and fitness related to help improve your life! Sign up by clicking here.