Ketosis is fast becoming a buzzword for health, and with good reason. When we explore the facts it can be seen why ketosis must be at the heart of a successful strategy for optimal health and the avoidance of chronic disease. If you are interested in the best health insurance policy money can’t buy, here are a few benefits of Nutritional Ketosis that show why it helps ensure not only a lengthy life span but also a long health span.

What is Nutritional Ketosis?

Ketosis is a metabolic state in which some of the body’s energy supply is derived from Ketone bodies (Ketones) in the blood, in contrast to a state of Glycolysis in which blood glucose (sugar) provides most of the energy. It is a state in which the body is effectively burning fat for fuel with typical ketone levels are in the order of O.5 to 3.0 mM/l accompanied by low blood sugar levels. The body naturally switches into nutritional ketosis if you eat a reduced amount of net carbs (that is carbs less the fibre) while increasing fat intake and limiting protein to a moderate level. It is important to note that any dietary protein over and above the bodies needs is broken down into sugar.

There are 3 different types of Ketones: Acetoacetate, which is excreted in the urine, Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and Acetone. Acetoacetate is the precursor to the other two and Beta-hydroxybutyrate is the main ketone used by the body as fuel.

Nutritional Ketosis kicks in when blood sugar levels drop and the body has insufficient glycogen stored in the liver and muscles. Fat is then broken down into ketones that are used by the mitochondria in the body cells as fuel. Mitochondria are the tiny little organelles that generate energy in almost every cell of the your body. Some cells have many more than others. The health of these mitochondria is absolutely fundamental to the health of the body. To follow any kind of strategy for optimal health and the avoidance of disease, the well being of our mitochondria must be the focus of our efforts. These mitochondria burn ketones derived from dietary fats far more efficiently than sugar. In a nutshell, your body runs better on fat than it does on sugar.

Adapting into Ketosis

The typical western diet is high in sugar as well refined carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, potatoes, rice and pastries, which also break down into sugar. Our bodies have the capacity to burn fat as well as sugar but because it burns sugar preferentially if it is available, most people are metabolically locked into burning sugar due to their dietary habits.

It can take anything between 3 days to 2 months to become fully adapted to burning fat in nutritional ketosis. For most people it will be a few weeks. During the transition there can be some discomfort with various symptoms that have been described as ‘keto-flu’ including; headaches, cold symptoms, nausea, cough, low energy, irritability, upset stomach, diarrhea, muscle cramps, dizziness, and mental fog. Some of these may be resulting from sugar withdrawal as well as the adaptation process to metabolizing a different fuel.

Temporarily lower blood plasma levels cause symptoms such as headaches, fatigue and faster heart rate. Others are due to the fact that we excrete more salt in ketosis because low insulin levels change the way the kidneys process sodium. The problem is easily solved by increasing dietary intake of (Himalayan crystal) salt, as well as magnesium and potassium in the form of avocados.

The Many Benefits of Nutritional Ketosis

1. Disease Avoidance

Being in nutritional ketosis means that your blood sugar level is necessarily lowered. This is good news for health for many reasons. Routinely high blood sugar levels and associated high insulin levels lead to insulin resistance that predisposes us to many diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and dementia. Cancer cells prefer sugar as a fuel.