Keto Clarity: Your Definitive Guide to the Benefits of a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet (30 page)

Perhaps what you’ve read so far has spurred some questions in your mind about ketones that have not yet been addressed. Coming up in the next chapter, you’ll get answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about keto.

Key Keto Clarity Concepts

• Periods of fasting can help increase the production of ketones.
  
• The idea of going without food over a period of hours seems crazy, but it’s not.
  
• Intermittent fasting (IF) is a popular strategy for weight loss and health.
  
• Fasting is a natural, spontaneous response to higher levels of ketones.
  
• There’s no such thing as needing to eat three square meals a day.
  
• Your meals should be substantial enough that you only eat once or twice daily.
  
• Periods of fasting will help you determine your keto fitness level.
  
• If you are hungry, eat something.
  
• Eat when hungry, drink when thirsty.
  
• Hunger is a subjective feeling and you need to determine what it is for you.
  
• Not getting adequate salt on your ketogenic diet can make you feel hungry.
  
• Glorifying hunger is insane.
  
• When you are craving processed carbohydrates, eat fat and protein instead.
  
• How much and when you eat is a personal decision.
  
• Pay attention to the non-hunger cues that you associate with eating.
  
• Comfort food doesn’t have to be full of carbs; bacon can be your new comfort food.
  
• Gurgling or growling noises in your stomach are not signs of true hunger.
  
• Closely observe how you feel while fasting and adjust mealtimes accordingly.
  
• Prolonged periods of fasting raise blood ketones and lower blood sugar levels.
  
• You don’t need to completely fast for days to get the benefits of fasting.
  

There is a lot of misinformation and disinformation—if not outright, unwarranted hysteria—concerning the potential risks of a low-carbohydrate, fat-based, ketogenic diet. Some of this popularized hysteria borders on the absurd.

– Nora Gedgaudas

We’re at right about the halfway point, and I’m sure you have a lot of questions swirling around the back of your mind about ketosis and ketogenic diets. Before we continue sharing about the tremendous health benefits of going keto, let’s take a moment to answer a few of the most common questions.

Is ketosis a natural state for humans to be in?

The human body will naturally and wonderfully create ketones when carbohydrates are restricted, as long as there isn’t an overabundance of dietary protein.

– Dr. David Perlmutter

Absolutely. Ketosis is simply the state of burning fat for fuel. Ketones are produced in the body as an alternative fuel source when there is a lack of glucose. Once you’re on a ketogenic diet—one with substantially lower carbohydrates, a moderate amount of protein, and high fat—ketone production can begin in just a few days, but it may take a few weeks or more in some people. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors survived and thrived on ketones between their big animal kills. It was most certainly a natural state for them. Modern-day humans have basically the same genetic makeup as our Paleolithic forefathers, so we can do perfectly fine in a state of ketosis.

What role does fiber play in ketosis?

I encourage the consumption of vegetable carbohydrates from mostly dark, leafy greens for their high fiber and nutrient content.

– Stephanie Person

When people think of fiber, the first thing that usually comes to mind is whole grains. After all, we’ve been told they are healthy by all the dietitians and health experts who are supposed to be in the know about this stuff. But grains, processed or whole, are not a part of a healthy ketogenic diet and will kill your ketone production very quickly. So is consuming fiber impossible in ketosis? Not at all.

Non-starchy and green, leafy vegetables, like broccoli and spinach, are a rich source of fiber that should not decrease your ketone production. The best thing you can do is try them and see how your body responds. Keep in mind that we’ve suggested counting all carbohydrates, including fiber, when you are determining your carbohydrate tolerance. This is the only way to be honest with yourself about how your body responds to certain foods and whether or not higher quantities of fiber are good for you.

I’m constipated on my ketogenic diet. What can I do about that?

Getting adequate sodium, potassium, magnesium, and water will help you avoid many of the short-term side effects of being in ketosis, including lightheadedness, headaches, muscle cramps, and constipation.

– Dr. Keith Runyan

This one is related to the last question in the minds of most people because they think they need fiber in order to prevent constipation. If you are constipated on your ketogenic diet, try adding more of the green, leafy vegetables we described above. It will also help to eat more saturated and monounsaturated fats; drink more water; get adequate levels of sodium, potassium, and magnesium; and even consume a piece or two of sugar-free chocolate, candy, or gum with sugar alcohols like erythritol, sorbitol, or xylitol (which can induce a bowel movement). Staying well-hydrated and eating plenty of fat tends to take care of this problem as well.

Is there any health advantage to cycling in and out of ketosis periodically?

I believe a well-designed ketogenic diet can overcome a lot of the negative effects people experience while eating a low-carb, high-fat diet. One such strategy some people may want to use is cycling in and out the various macronutrients, just as would have happened naturally in an ancestral diet.

– Bryan Barksdale

Physicist and researcher John Kiefer, author of
The Carb Nite Solution,
suggests eating one “cheat” meal every seven to fourteen days (less often for people who are especially metabolically damaged). Kiefer has found that people can shed more fat, get leaner, create more muscle mass, and enjoy some of their favorite foods time and again using this approach—which is sometimes called “carb cycling” —to go in and out of ketosis. However, although this idea has become more and more popular in recent years, it may not be an appropriate strategy for people who are looking for the therapeutic effects that ketosis has to offer.