See How to Know When You Are in Ketosis
What is Ketosis?
Ketosis is a metabolic condition whereby the body uses up fat for the production of energy rather than carbohydrates. This is a method devised to trick the body and ensure that the excess consumption of carbs is limited. A person following a ketogenic would get to a point known as ketosis. This is a point when the body must have gotten accustomed to producing energy with fat rather than with carbs.
A ketogenic diet is a low-carb diet but also a high-fat diet, and it is one of the best weight-loss diets you can ever imagine. It is a diet that supplies the body with numerous health benefits and essential nutrients, improves health, and reduces unnecessary weight gain.
Ketogenic diets are known to raise the ketones level in your blood due to their high fat and low carb nature. They serve as rich sources of energy to the cells; due to the essential nutrients, they are packed with.
According to research, when you adopt and follow a ketogenic diet strictly, your body begins to adapt to some biological changes, some of which include; higher fat breakdown and lowered insulin levels. Upon doing this, the liver begins to produce its own ketones in order to supply the brain with energy. When the liver overproduces ketones, then it can be said that you are in ketosis. However, experts believe that it is quite difficult to know when you are in ketosis.
The following are both positive and negative signs and symptoms that you are in ketosis;
Bad Breath
Most people who have experienced the full manifestation of ketosis always complain of constant and day-long bad breath. This is one of the most traditional and most obvious symptoms of being in ketosis.
When research was carried out to find the trigger of the small, the trigger of the odor was traced to a substance known as acetone; a kind of ketone that is found in the urine.
Although, having an all-day bad breath can be terrible, especially when you have to be in many social gatherings. However, bad breath is one of the symptoms that you have achieved the reason for following a ketogenic diet. In other words, you have successfully boosted the ketones levels in your blood.
Due to this bad breath symptom, most people following ketogenic diets prefer to brush their teeth as many times as they can daily, while some other ones prefer to chew sugar-free minted gums to tackle the problem. It is crucial to examine the labels of the gums you are chewing to know the amount of carb and sugar contents they have, as they can give you high blood sugar and reduce your ketone levels.
Weight Loss
Ketogenic diets are popularly known to be effective in the regulation and control of weight. Many studies have shown that while on a ketogenic diet, you may experience both long- and short-term weight loss.
Immediate weight loss can be noticed in the first week of adopting the diet. Most people believe that it is as a result of the body using up all its stored water and carbs content. In addition, when you stick to the diet, you will experience subsequent fat loss, as long as you continue to be a calorie deficit.
Higher Ketones Content in the Body
Asides from the encouragement of weight loss, two other things ketogenic diets are known for being the boosting of ketones levels in the body and the reduction of high blood sugar levels.
The more you stick to your ketogenic diets, the more your body burns fat, using the ketones your body has accumulated as fuel. One of the most reliable ways to regulate your blood ketones level is by using a specialized meter. However, because the specialized meter and kits are quite expensive, people rarely check their ketones levels.
Higher Ketones Contents in Your Urine and Breath
Although specialized ketone kits are the most effective kits to use for checking the level of ketones in the body. However, if you want to check for your ketones levels manually, you can check using a breath analyzer or urine indicator strips.
The breath analyzer monitors the acetone, which is a common ketone in the body that gets produced only when you are on ketosis. This method of measuring ketones gives you an idea of what your ketone level is, since according to research when you are on nutritional ketosis, the body tends to lose more acetone.
Although, a breath analyzer cannot be said to be 100% accurate. Nevertheless, it gives you an impression of how high or lows your ketone level is. The blood ketone monitor is still the most effective measurement tool or meter for measuring your blood ketone levels.
The urine measurement, on the other hand, is cheap and quicker than the other two methods of measurements. They can be used to check your ketone levels every day. However, most people do not consider this method reliable enough to go by. They prefer the blood measurement, and in cases when the cost of blood measurement is too high for them, they opt-in for an acetone breath analyzer.
Appetite Suppression
Many people have recorded or experienced reduced hunger following a ketogenic diet. Researchers are currently attempting to find out what the main cause of this is. However, they suspect that it could be as a result of an increase in vegetable and protein intake, as well as certain alterations were done to the body’s hunger hormones upon adopting a ketogenic diet.
In addition, they suspect that a ketogenic diet may trick the brain into reducing appetite.
Increased Energy
Most people on ketogenic diets have complained of feeling weak, tired, or sick. Especially when they start out the diet newly. This kind of feeling is called low-carb flu, while some people call it keto flu. However, when they continue the diet for a long time, they report higher energy levels as well as increased focus levels.
The ketogenic diet programs your body into burning fat for fuel rather than carbs. This way, a lot of energy is conserved.
When ketones levels are high, your brain becomes energized. In fact, higher ketones levels have been found to help heal the brain and help in the treatment of brain diseases like memory loss and concussion. This is why most long-term ketogenic dieters experience sharper memories, improved brain function, and increased clarity.
In addition, low-carb diets help in the regulation and control of your blood sugar levels and boost brain functions.
Short Term Fatigue
Switching to a ketogenic diet at first can be very stressful. One of the major side effects of new ketogenic dieters is fatigue and weakness. This feeling makes people lose interest quickly in the diet and discourage others from continuing the diet. It is vital to perceive that these side effects are natural. It does not mean you are sick or the ketogenic diet is not good for you, except the Doctor says so.
After a long-term adoption, your body gets used to it, and all the weakness and feelings of fatigue begin to wear off. The switch is not magic. It takes up to 15 to 30 days for your body to get used to your ketogenic diet.
In order to reduce the fatigue associated with early ketogenic diet adoption, you can take electrolyte supplements. This is because electrolytes exit the body due to quick reduction of the body water content, as well as through foods that contain added salts.
When adding electrolyte supplements, get one hundred mg of potassium and three hundred mg of magnesium every day. These would help your body get rid of fatigue quickly.
Digestive Issues
Adopting a ketogenic diet comes with suddenly changing the kind of foods you eat, as well as changes to the nutritional contents of your food. New adopters of ketogenic diets tend to experience digestive issues like diarrhea and constipation. They are major side effects of adopting ketogenic diets newly.
Some of the side effects of ketogenic diets at the early stage might wear off over time. Nonetheless, it is important to look out for those foods that cause those digestive issues.
According to researchers, avoid diets that lack diversity, as adopting foods that lack diversity can increase your risks of developing certain guts, stomach, or digestive issues.
In conclusion, adopting a ketogenic diet can impact your health positively. Some of the signs and symptoms you might experience when your ketone levels boost includes bad breath, increased energy, fatigue, mostly at the early stage of adoption. A ketogenic diet will help you cut down on excessive weight and help in the reduction of risks of certain health conditions.
