Social media is abuzz on the current diet trend called ketogenic diet and we shall find out why?

Ketogenic diet is currently being used by known celebrities here and abroad. Filipinos are quick to relate to it due to the fact that, with keto, they can eat “Lechon” and “Chicharon” as snack and still lose weight. Now, this is the kind of diet most of us want.

In our country where rice and pandesal is a staple, people find it hard to achieve their ideal weight due to their carbohydrate consumption. Funny that I sometimes hear people saying that they refrained from eating rice, yet, you see them munching on bread which is actually another form of carbohydrate.

With Keto, your body’s reaction to eating fat sans carbohydrate is astonishing. During the normal process, our body burns carbohydrate into glucose that fuels our energy. While in ketogenic diet, the fat that we consume forces our bloodstream into ketosis whereas the absence of carbohydrate forces our system to burn fat instead.

Ketosis, is the body’s metabolic state when a person experience raised levels of ketone in their blood stream. This condition is usual for those who are diabetic or those who consume a diet with very low or zero carbohydrates.

Ketogenic diet was introduce in the late 1920s primarily for children with epilepsy where ketosis reduces epileptic seizure. Prior to keto, fasting was the main practice but this was objected by a lot of people saying that this treatment is inhumane.

As mentioned, during ketosis, your body produces ketones which uses your stored fats as energy. This metabolic state is also common in those who are into fasting in long periods, although, in a ketogenic diet, one does not go through the H-angry mode. (H-angry mode is described as beast mode-like action in reaction to being hungry for a long period of time).

Here are some reasons to help you decide to choose this kind of diet:

• Ketosis help induce and sustain weight loss by regulating hormones that affect our weight. It is also noted that cravings for unhealthy foods is reduced in a ketogenic diet which in effect reduces the chance of gaining back the weight.
• Since fat and protein consumption makes you feel full longer, it suppress your appetite, thus, lessens your hunger signal.
• This diet is also great for diabetics since it regulate your blood sugar by controlling your carbohydrate intake.
• Those into cross-fit training and marathon can also benefit from this diet as this prevent crashes during long period exercises. It also improve the use of oxygen during strength training.
• Obese people will highly benefit from starting with ketogenic diet since also burn your own body fat as its primary source of fuel.
• Ketogenic diet is not for those who tends to eat lots of fruits since most fruit have sugar in them as well as hidden carbohydrate.

Some people are concerned by mental function during any kind of diet. Good news is, healthy fats are essential to brain function, since each cell in our body including our brain needs fat to function. Our brain is the fattiest organ, comprised of over 60% fat and prefers fat for fuel, especially our brain cells.

Another brain booster supplement that is almost always connected to ketogenic diet is the Bullet-Proof coffee. This was made popular by Dave Asprey, he is commonly referred to as a bio-hacker with this formulation.

How to make your Bullet-Proof Coffee

Ingredients per serving:

2 Shots of Espresso*

2 Tbsp. Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCT) Oil**

2 Tbsp. Grass-fed, Unsalted Butter ***

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process for 30seconds to emulsify. To know that it’s ready, the top should form a foam.

*To make espresso, it is important to choose high-grade coffee beans (less acidity). You may use ordinary coffee maker or you can use a manual coffee press (preferred as this produce a better coffee concentration).

**MCT oil is different from Virgin Coconut Oil. MCT oil or Liquid coconut oil is refined by fractionation from coconut oil. This process separates the MCT from VCO.

***Regular Salted butter cannot be alternated.

Bullet-proof coffee heightens your ketosis and intensify your weight loss. Studies shows that the MCT in the coffee helps you feel fuller longer. The mixture also acts as a brain booster that gives you more and mental alertness. Another plus is that it boosts your metabolism which results to more fat loss and greater weight.

Those who do not drink coffee need not fret as I have learned that you can also try Bullet-proof Tea by using Tea instead of coffee and the effect are almost the same.

Given all these ideas about ketogenic diet, you now have a better leverage whether this diet is worth a try or not.

By Inspire PH Team