Ten years ago, few people had heard of the ketogenic diet. Now, few people haven’t heard about it thanks to its positive results. Dr. Brown has seen success after success with his patients at Idaho BMI and Everest Surgical Institute. Why? The power in burning fat instead of sugar as your body’s primary fuel. Here’s the top five reasons you should give it a try.
Reduced Inflammation
Imagine you’re pulling up to a gas station, but instead of a car, you’re fueling your body. Fat and ketones are just a cleaner fuel compared to sugar. How? Within a cell, burning sugar causes more inflammation, and less efficiency. That ties into not just weight gain, but the immune system. Burn fat, reduce inflammation, reduce the risk of all sorts of chronic illnesses including heart disease and cancer.
Weight Loss
If a person is overweight, what’s in excess? Fat, the same thing burned in ketosis. How do you achieve ketosis? Consuming healthy fatty foods (which we’ll get to). It’s that simple.
Insulin Sensitivity
Over 100 million Americans are pre-diabetic or diabetic, and the underlying cause of diabetes is insulin resistance. When a person is burning sugar as their primary fuel, the pancreas is working overtime to release the insulin necessary to balance the sugar intake. Too much time with too much sugar means cells cannot respond to the released insulin any longer. In short, the goal is to be insulin sensitive. Removing sugar and carbs lowers insulin, and only with lower insulin can the body generate ketones and burn fat.
Mental Clarity
There is now strong evidence that a person regularly in ketosis enjoys stronger cognitive function. That means sharper focus, quicker processing, memory, alertness, you name it. The brain has 100 billion cells, and a common marker of early cognitive decline – think Alzheimer’s disease – is those cells failing. New studies have shown that people with ketones in their blood have more stabilized brain networks, meaning ketosis is beneficial in the short-term and long-term. Really cool stuff.
Heart Health
The #1 killer in western civilization is heart disease, and has been for almost 80 years. Coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis are huge reasons why. These are blockages in the pathways to the heart, and guess what causes them? Inflammation. There is also evidence that ketones help the heart in the event of heart failure.
So, what exactly do we need to do to get into ketosis?
Our bodies will continue to burn sugar and carbs if we keep consuming them. That means cutting out bread, cereals, pasta, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, starchy vegetables, and any processed foods because processing = added carbs. What can you enjoy? Meats, cheese, avocados, nuts, olives, eggs, green leafy vegetables; any whole natural foods packed with protein and healthy fats.
Fasting also burns fat. Not eating for an extended period forces the body to burn through sugar reserves called glycogen. After that comes the fat! An added bonus is that fasting allows the body and immune system to clean itself out. Just remember to hydrate when fasting.
So, someone is eating right, fasting intermittently and burning fat. Why would they still need bariatric weight loss surgery? Because the surgery itself prompts a reset in the signaling from all the organs in the abdomen to the brain. In other words, a person’s brain is super malleable in the six months following surgery. Those six months are crucial to reformat the brain so the healthy habits will stick for long-term success.
The last ketogenic diet tip? Be careful in the store. Many products have tried capitalizing on the diet by plastering “keto” on labels. Don’t be fooled. If it’s processed, it has sugar which makes you want more (and won’t put you in ketosis). Avoid “keto” labels in the grocery store and keep it simple – eat whole, natural food full of good fats and protein. The stuff your grandparents and their grandparents used to eat.
Dr. Brown has thrived on the ketogenic diet for many years because he doesn’t want cancer, Alzheimer’s disease or heart disease. What he does want is for him, his patients, and everyone to live longer and better. And for most people, the ketogenic diet is a great first step.
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