Interested in the keto diet? Here’s everything you need to know
What is a ketogenic diet?
According to an article in Harvard Health Publishing, the consumer health education division of Harvard Medical School, the keto diet “aims to force your body into using a different type of fuel. Instead of relying on sugar (glucose) that comes from carbohydrates (such as grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits), the keto diet relies on ketone bodies, a type of fuel that the liver produces from stored fat.”
Like many low-carb diets (including the Mediterranean diet), keto restricts foods like bread, pasta and sugar, but unlike other popular low-carb diets, keto replaces them with foods that are high in fat — both unsaturated (avocados, fatty fishes like tuna and salmon) and saturated (think bacon, eggs and butter).
You should, of course, consult a doctor before beginning any diet or exercise regimen, and this is especially true of keto, which is not recommended for people with a history of heart problems.
Benefits of keto diet
The keto diet was developed in the 1920s to control seizures in children and adults suffering from epilepsy; now it is mainly promoted to people looking to lose weight.
The keto diet is absolutely not for everyone — generally speaking, diets that are highly restrictive, which keto is, have a high failure rate because they are not realistic in the long term — but it does work for some people, and those people are passionate about keto. So we asked keto devotees to tell us about what they eat on a typical day, what kitchen tools they rely on to make their meals and what snacks they swear by when they’re on the go.
Keto diet meal plan
Brooke “The Keto Queen” Brown describes her daily meals as being very simple, almost formulaic: “On an average day I start my morning with a bulletproof coffee,” she says, “which is a high-calorie drink made with added fats.”
Does Keto Diet Balance Hormones?
Everything we eat and drink affects our hormones. Your hormones took notice of the Snickers bar you ate just a few minutes ago and adjusted itself appropriately. The same is true of the ketogenic diet. In fact, the news is even better than that. The keto diet may offer real benefits for women, especially those who suffer from PCOS, endometriosis, and uterine fibroids. It starts with the diet’s positive effect on cortisol.
Cortisol is the stress hormone that you have heard so much about. For sure, it is a bad thing when out of control, but did you know that it starts out as innocently as a baby. When you are under stress, cortisol uses the protein stored in your body, producing glucose.
The energy from the glucose helps you fight or flee. That’s a good thing, right? But if your cortisol levels are elevated all day and all night, your body and brain begin to grow tired. Also, the extra glucose can mean elevated blood sugar, which leads to many problems.
Keto diet helps to bring your body’s cortisol levels back into the proper alignment they were in when you were a child. When they are balanced, your body begins to relax into the pattern that makes for efficient use of the body’s resources. You are already healthier
than you were before you started, and you may not have lost a pound. You can’t put your finger on it, but you feel better.
So in conclusion, the keto diet can help with hormones imbalances by simply improving insulin performance. Insulin resistance is common among people, and we can be completely unaware of it until we develop a serious health condition. On the other side, the keto diet has a great impact on the cortisol hormone. Having cortisol hormone under control is crucial for our overall mental and physical health especially today when we are living in a fast-paced and stressful environment.
What Does the Keto Diet Do to the Female Body? And, Can Keto Diet Affect the Menstrual Cycle?
The keto diet offers some hope for relief from chronic monthly woes. Have your periods always been problematic? Do you have unexplained chronic pain anywhere in your body, but particularly headaches or backaches? You may have hormonal imbalances that need the care of a doctor. But, what if your doctor has checked you over without finding any underlying conditions? Keto could help:
· You may experience regular and predictable periods again, or maybe for the first time in your life.
· You may experience flow lasting for 6–8 days. This is normal. When your body adjusts, the flow will return to a regular volume.
· Hormones, even at healthy levels, will affect your body’s insulin sensitivity. Glucose dropping or surging a bit is normal. It will return to normal post-period.
What are Other Benefits of Keto Diet?
There’s more to the keto diet than simply losing weight. For example, the keto diet can help you deal with acne. It’s no surprise that acne has several causes and one of them is directly related to what we eat.
Eating a diet that’s high in processed foods and refined carbs can alter a balance of gut bacteria, lead to high blood sugar, and as a result affect your skin health. According to a study from 2012, by decreasing carb intake you can reduce acne symptoms.
Researchers found that the keto diet can prevent certain cancers and even aid in the treatment of cancer. Still, studies in this area are limited and there is more research that needs to be done to prove that keto can truly have an impact on the prevention and treatment of cancer.
Some other benefits of the keto diet include improving heart health, brain functions, prevent Alzheimer’s disease, and reduces seizures.
In short, the Keto diet may or may not provide the body goals you seek. No two people are alike. But for sure, Keto isn’t doing any harm, especially to the hormone system. Try it for a better quality of life, and see what it does for you.
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