Busting a few myths about Keto
Myths about keto that might be holding you back.
There are way too many myths about keto than you can shake a stick at. When I decided to start a keto lifestyle, friends and relatives wouldn’t have any of it. It pestered me no end that most objections came from people uneducated on the matter and with absolutely no research or experience.
The better educated ones said “Good for you!” while most others said “Don’t jump into it just because it’s a rage these days” or “Keto is not sustainable” or “It’s not good for diabetic people” (My husband is diabetic). But since we have been on the wagon, he not only manages his blood sugar well, he has almost stopped the need to take insulin injections as frequently as he had needed to.
So, I decided to share my views, mostly well researched and discussed with experts.
Keto Diet is inflammatory. This is far from truth because what exactly is inflammatory is standard American diet [SAD]. Unfortunately a lot of people have not been realizing that it’s the artificial food, processed cheese and highly processed deli and baked goods and sugar that is causing all the inflammation that leads to cancer eventually. SAD contains way too much carbs, chemical preservatives and colours, additives and texture enhancers
Not only do you bloat up because of all that extra water, your nerves, cardiovascular system, kidneys, even your skin all bear the brunt of all that extra water. Your blood pressure remains elevated, your skin starts to wrinkle up, you end up suffering from brain fog, I can go on and on. To say the least, inflammation is bad news.
When you start incorporating the keto diet, you cut down dramatically on carbs. This means there’s less water absorbing hyper spongy carb molecules in your system. Not only will your body start expelling your ‘water weight’ (which is great news for people like me trying to lose weight), you will also get better skin. All that inflammation weighing down on your skin and prematurely aging and wrinkling it, disappears.
Similarly, your nerves get a much needed break and neurotransmitters in your brain and central nervous system do a much better job sending nerve signals. This translates to less ‘brain fog’ and increased mental alertness. Finally, getting rid of much of that water in your system means your blood vessels get to relax and your blood pressure starts to normalize.
One of the most common misconceptions about the keto diet is that ketosis is the same as keto-acidosis. Ketosis, of course, is the metabolic process your body goes through when it burns fat for energy. On a standard diet, your body burns sugar for energy. This means when you eat carbohydrates, your body processes those calories into energy.
This is the body’s default setting, but the body does have an alternative. It can use fat for energy; this process is called ketosis. Your body releases the fat stored in fat cells all over your body. This fat is then turned by your metabolic system into chemical compounds called ketones. Your body’s cells then absorb ketones and burn these molecules into the energy your body needs to continue living.
Ketosis is the foundation for the keto diet. Unfortunately, a lot of people confuse ketosis with keto-acidosis. The former is safe. The latter is deadly. Obviously, they are not one and the same.
Keto-acidosis is a condition where your body builds up too many ketone acids, which is the by-product of breaking down fat. When your body builds up too much ketones, you can die. The good news is, for most people, ketoacidosis is not a risk. This condition only becomes a risk if your body does not produce any insulin whatsoever.
Put simply, it mostly affects people who have type I diabetes. If you’re like most people who are thinking of trying the keto diet, and you can produce insulin normally, you have nothing to fear. You have to understand that even within the keto framework, you’re still taking in a little bit of carbohydrates. This is usually enough to flip on insulin for a small period of time in your system to prevent ketoacidosis.
One of the most discouraging misconceptions regarding the keto diet is that the food is simply hard to enjoy. Many people think that the quintessential keto meal plan is chockfull of butter sticks, coconut oil, tons of eggs, and liquid fat.
In other words, for many people, the keto diet is loaded with waxy tasting one dimensional food items you’d rather forget.
This can’t be further from the truth. If you think about it, a lot of the foods that you eat are things that you would consider “guilty pleasures.” I’m talking about fatty and salty food. You are halfway keto and you don’t even know it.
Keto is not sustainable, you need to change your schedule to accommodate the lifestyle. Here is the great thing about the keto diet; you don’t have to change your schedule. You just have to be clear about your taste profile; what kind of flavors do you personally prefer. Once you have a game plan going, then the meal plan pretty much assembles itself. Nine times out of ten, a lot of the dishes that you already enjoy can be converted to a keto version with minimal effort and substitution.
Since keto meal plans are so loaded with fat and are so filling, you can feel full with a fraction of the serving you normally expect of your old standard American diet. The bottom line is you find keto ingredients that meet your flavour profile. It really is that simple. With a few adjustments, you can switch over to a keto diet and eventually turn it into a lifestyle. That’s how you keep the pounds off pretty much permanently.
There are other myths that I will talk about in another post, like Keto damages liver or kidney, keto clogs your arteries, keto is bad for diabetics. And much more… What other excuse are you pleading to not start keto?
Previous Post
Next Post
