The Ketogenic Diet Will Get You Off The Blood Sugar Roller Coaster, According To Science

You've heard about it online or from your friends, but what the heck is the ketogenic diet? Well, I'm glad you asked. Put simply, the ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) nutritional strategy. But what the heck does that even mean? Well, let's start with the basics. By using a specific ratio of high fats, moderate proteins, and low carbohydrates, the goal of the ketogenic diet is to shift your body from a sugar-burning state into a fat-burning state. Using fat for fuel is also known as nutritional ketosis and it has a ton of health benefits.

So what does all this sugar do to your body? Well, breaking down carbs into glucose is the simplest energy source, and insulin is there to help carry the glucose around in your bloodstream. The problem is that high blood sugar is toxic and can lead to serious health issues, and the blood sugar your body doesn't burn is stored as fat around your liver, stomach, and in circulating fat (known as triglycerides). Burning sugar as your primary source of energy is akin to using dirty fuel: You have to refuel often (or you will get hangry on that blood sugar roller coaster), and it leaves behind pollution in the form of inflammation.

But is eating that much fat really healthy? Your brain is comprised of 60 percent fat, and we need to consume fat to fuel it. At birth, many of us relied on fat in the form of breast milk for brain development and energy. And for those who drank formula, MCT oil (derived from coconut and palm oil) is added to most formulas as a source of healthy fats. In order for your brain to work optimally, it needs a lot of energy. From an evolutionary and biological standpoint, the most sustainable form of energy for your body is healthy fats.

The problem with many mainstream versions of the ketogenic diet (you know, the meals you usually see on Instagram) is that they feature a lot of non-organic and processed meats2 and dairy, which have been linked to many health problems3. Many people in the keto world are wrongly avoiding plant foods for fear of going over their carb limit. This unhealthy fear of plant foods creates an unintentional loss of a vital range of essential plant phytonutrients and prebiotic food for the gut microbiome. So is it possible to go keto and remain plant-based? Yes! In my new book, Ketotarian, I describe my plant-based ketogenic approach. Ketotarian is an amalgamation of the best of the keto and plant-centric diets with vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian ways to go to keto.