Keto Clarity: Your Definitive Guide to the Benefits of a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet (33 page)

When you think about it, the potential side effects from eating low-carb or ketogenic are really no big deal. If you want to see truly serious side effects from eating a diet, try eating the Standard American Diet (SAD). It’s like a lesion that makes the practice of medicine extremely profitable for physicians while keeping your life utterly miserable. The choice is yours—a very short period of annoying symptoms as you become keto-adapted versus a lifetime of poor health and less than optimal functioning. To me the best choice is pretty obvious.

– Dr. Bill Wilson

During the transition from burning sugar to burning fat, some people experience a temporary feeling of discomfort that’s referred to affectionately as the “keto flu.” This can manifest in any number of ways, including bad breath, frequent urination, feelings of fatigue, lightheadedness, blood sugar dips, constipation, carb cravings, muscle aches, headaches, diarrhea and gas, and disrupted sleep. The thing to remember is that you may or may not experience these side effects, but even if you do, they won’t last for more than a few weeks. If they do continue beyond a few weeks, it may signal a failure to become fully keto-adapted; you may be staying in “no man’s land” between being a sugar-burner and a fat-burner. Get into ketosis and stay there to make these conditions go away.

DOCTOR’S NOTE FROM DR. ERIC WESTMAN: “Fat-burning” involves the use of fatty acids and ketones for fuel while “sugar-burning” involves glucose. Technically, the body always has some fat-burning and sugar-burning going on at the same time. If you are burning sugar, though, it is difficult to burn much fat because sugar-burning turns off fat-burning. The body only stores a few days’ worth of energy as sugar (glycogen), so if the sugar storage capacity has been reached, additional sugar must be either burned or turned to fat. That means that burning excess sugar becomes the body’s priority, while fat stays in storage.

Why am I getting up to go the bathroom several times a night when I start eating a ketogenic diet?

Excellent question. Ketogenic diet coach Maria Emmerich explains that because a low-carb, moderate-protein, high-fat, ketogenic diet improves your insulin sensitivity, your insulin levels will drop rather quickly. In response to this, your kidneys begin to dump any excess fluid in the body. And the way it gets rid of it is by making you pee it out.

So don’t be alarmed if you have to get up a few times a night when you begin to pursue keto-adaptation. It’s only temporary. Just make sure you consume enough salt, water, and potassium during the transition to replace what your body is losing and ward off side effects such as headaches, low energy, dizziness, and cramping.

Why does my breath stink when I am in ketosis and how do I fix this?

You may notice a funny, metallic taste in your mouth or have a thick feeling on your tongue after eating low-carb, high-fat for a few days. It sometimes means your loved ones will notice your breath stinks. This is enough reason for some people to never want to be in a state of ketosis. But it’s foolish to rob yourself of the opportunity to experience what ketosis can do for your health. So what the heck is going on here?

In chapter 8 we mentioned that there are three types of ketones in the body. The one in the breath is called
acetone,
and that could be the source of foul breath. Additionally, eating too much protein can also give you bad breath because it produces ammonia (yet another reason to moderate your protein intake). Here’s the good news: the bad breath is temporary and will go away when you become adapted to using ketones as your primary source of fuel.

Drink plenty of water, chew on some mint leaves or cinnamon bark, or even pop a piece of sugar-free mint or gum to deal with this. The key point to remember is it won’t last forever and it’s a sign that you’ll soon be reaping the benefits of ketosis.

My ketones suddenly disappeared during my period. What happened?

Jacqueline Eberstein, a registered nurse who worked with Dr. Atkins, says that hormone changes that take place prior to menstruation could decrease ketones or make them disappear completely; during this time, the body primarily uses glucose created from dietary protein as fuel. However, she’s quick to say that this isn’t a reason to worry, since it is only temporary. Once your period ends, ketones will reappear.

What happens if I mess up and get out of ketosis?

Clients encounter a big motivator to stay on the ketogenic lifestyle when they cheat. They have the “carb flu” for the twenty-four to forty-eight hours afterwards and can’t believe how bad they feel. That is a fantastic reminder for them not only to continue eating a healthy keto diet, but that it is right for their body.

– Maria Emmerich

Hey, we are all prone to mess up from time to time. We can be our own worst critics, but it’s good to learn to be kind and forgiving to yourself. If you go off-plan and get out of ketosis, it’s definitely not the end of the world. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again. Be patient, and you’ll be right where you need to be in no time. Whenever my ketones have fallen out of the range of nutritional ketosis, I almost always get back into ketosis within two or three days.

You can’t receive the full benefits of a ketogenic diet unless you adhere to it strictly most of the time. Even one meal that goes beyond your carbohydrate tolerance or protein threshold can zap your ketones for several days. Fortunately, a ketogenic diet is so satisfying and delicious that you’re motivated to stay on it virtually all the time (unlike low-fat diets, which make you hungry, cause you to constantly crave the foods you love, and leave you depressed and discouraged).

Can I exercise while I’m on a ketogenic diet?

Keto-adapted athletes or people engaging in long-duration physical activity will experience a modest increase in their performance, such as faster swimming or running times, or an improvement in their endurance.

– Dr. William Davis

Absolutely! One thing you’ll experience when you become fully keto-adapted is a sudden desire to move your body. While television shows like
The Biggest Loser
and anti-obesity initiatives like First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign place a heavy emphasis on exercise as a means for losing weight and getting healthy, the reality is that fixing your nutrition first leads to a spontaneous increase in physical activity.

And there’s more good news: nutritional biochemist Dr. Bill Lagakos says that engaging in your favorite kind of exercise can actually “promote higher ketones [by] manipulating energy balance.” When you reduce the energy surplus in your body, that directly “enhances fat oxidation by suppressing insulin and activating the sympathetic nervous system.” And the net result of all that is an elevation in your ketone production. Awesome stuff!

The increase in physical activity leads to even more benefits for your health, including reduced stress, lower appetite levels (due to increased ketone production during exercise), muscle growth, and improved bone density. You’ll have so much energy while in ketosis that you won’t know what to do with it all. Play some basketball, go for a run, do some household chores, play with your kids—anything to put that energy to good use in a productive way. Your health will thank you for it!

Will consuming artificial sweeteners negatively impact my ketone levels?

This is an interesting question and one that can be easily answered—no, they do not have a negative impact on ketone production. That said, there are some things you need to be aware of regarding sweeteners such as Splenda (sucralose), Nutrasweet (aspartame), Truvia (stevia/erythritol blend), Sweet & Low (saccharin), and sugar alcohols (erythritol, sorbitol, maltitol, and more). Many of these come in powdered packets that use a bulking agent called
maltodextrin
that is basically sugar. Granted, it’s only about 1 gram per packet, but that can add up if you use several packets in your morning coffee. This is why the liquid forms of sweetener are always going to be your best option—we recommend liquid stevia, the most natural of all the sugar substitutes.

While artificial sweeteners are certainly a good alternative to sugary foods and beverages, keep in mind that they can stoke hunger and cravings for sweets in a lot of people. What you’ll find is that the longer you are in ketosis, the less you want to eat something sweet. You may wake up one day and suddenly realize that the sweet food you thought you could never live without no longer tempts you.

Can I drink alcohol on my ketogenic diet?

Alcohol consumption can turn off ketosis. While some people can tolerate a single serving of a low-carbohydrate beverage, such as one glass of red wine or a single shot of vodka, any more than a single serving, or indulging in higher-carbohydrate beverages, such as microbrew beers, will turn off ketosis.

– Dr. William Davis

It depends. It’s best to avoid drinking alcohol until you are fully keto-adapted. Once that happens, you can begin to consume moderate amounts of certain alcoholic beverages to see how you do.

Some kinds of alcohol may be counterproductive to your goal of producing more ketones. The best choices are hard liquors such as tequila, vodka, and whiskey because they contain very few carbohydrates. Obviously, make sure you do not consume these in excess, since your body still has to metabolize the alcohol.

There’s a popular mixed drink called the “NorCal Margarita” that was created by Robb Wolf, one of the leaders in the Paleo community. The ingredients for this drink are simple: two shots of tequila, some lime juice, and club soda. You can get even more adult beverage ideas from the book
Paleo Happy Hour
by Kelly Milton.

If you are sensitive to carbohydrates, be aware that drinking wine may not be a good idea. Otherwise, if you can tolerate the carbs, a glass of red or white wine may be an appropriate choice. You’ll need to determine what alcoholic beverage is right for you. Beer, of course, including the “low-carb” ones, should not be consumed on a ketogenic diet.