Keto Lifestyle: The Misconceptions
There is a lot of information out there right now about Ketosis and the Keto lifestyle. Living a CLEAN and Keto lifestyle takes Keto a little farther, in that we advocate a significant reduction of toxins in your lifestyle, your diet and your environment.
Having said that, let's address some of the most common misconceptions about the "Keto Lifestyle" and try to straighten out some of the misinformation that is out there
The Keto Lifestyle prevents you from getting all your necessary nutrients. FALSE!
A person on living a keto lifestyle actually gets more nutrients than an average person on a "regular" diet. If you are following the keto lifestyle appropriately, eating certain meats and vegetables and taking the correct supplements, you will have all the nutrition a body needs to have. As an example of this, if you, living a keto lifestyle, eat wild caught salmon, you will have all the omega 3 fatty acids and quality amino acids your body needs. Eating certain vegetables, like green leafy spinach and kale allows for Vitamin A, calcium and magnesium. Avocados give you most all of the calcium in your diet!
If you follow the Keto lifestyle the correct way, you will be getting a great source of all kinds of healthy fats, all the healthy amino acids and plenty of vitamins and minerals. Above all else, the Keto lifestyle will get you in the right state for nutrient absorption!
Like anything else, if you go at the effort half way, or without proper understanding, of if you try to maintain your current diet along with the keto lifestyle, things will most likely not go as planned. You have some responsibility to learn from a reputable source and follow the keto lifestyle as presented. If you do that, there is no danger in the diet.
A high-fat Keto Lifestyle will encourage heart problems. FALSE!
According to medical research, it is quite the opposite! When following a Keto Lifestyle the correct way, again, you get more nutrients than you ever thought you could. Not only that, but the nutrients you get support a healthy heart! When you're consuming food that is high in Omega 3 fats, such as avocado, macadamia nuts, spinach, kale and more, your heart is a happy heart! A diet that is high in essential fatty acids can actually promote a healthier heart!
A low-carb diet is dangerous because carbs are an essential nutrient for health. FALSE
This is a common misconception that is often spouted out by various diet plans on today's market...many of which promote their own packaged or dried foods, which, interestingly enough, are extremely high in carbohydrates!
There is absolutely no such thing as an essential carb! There are essential proteins, known as essential amino acids. There are essential fatty acids as well. But there is no such thing as an essential carb! It is essential that you get certain fats, proteins, vitamins and nutrients. It is not, however, essential for you to get the majority of carbohydrates on a regular basis.
A Keto lifestyle is dangerous because it causes your body to go into "ketosis." FALSE
The confusion here is in the word choice. You have "Ketosis" and you have "Ketoacidosis." Both of these words share the root word "Keto" which is where the confusion must come in. Let's clear this up right now, because this is most important to understand.
Yes, Ketoacidosis can be dangerous!
But that is NOT the same as Ketosis!
Ketoacidosis is a medical condition typically associated with diabetes. Diabetic ketoacidosis, also known as DKA, only describes the state in which the level of ketones is either high or very high. Infection, injury, a serious illness, missing doses of insulin shots, or surgery can lead to DKA in people with type 1 diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes can also develop DKA, but it is less common. It is usually triggered by uncontrolled blood sugar, missing doses of medicines, or a severe illness
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening condition that develops when cells in the body are unable to get the sugar (glucose) they need for energy because there is not enough insulin.
Type 1 diabetes is a disease in which the pancreas has lost its ability to make insulin. A deficit in insulin leads to increases in blood glucose levels, these elevated blood glucose levels can lead to complications which may affect the eyes, kidneys, nerves and the heart and blood vessels.
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes mellitus. Signs and symptoms may include vomiting, abdominal pain, deep gasping breathing, increased urination, weakness, confusion, and occasionally loss of consciousness.
Ketosis, on the other hand, is quite a different thing.
Ketosis is the state whereby the body is producing ketones.
In ketosis, the level of ketones in the blood can be anything between normal to very high. Ketosis can actually help support healing and regeneration of certain tissues, like your brain. Ketosis is not dangerous.
Your body can burn sugar for fuel or it can burn fat for fuel. When your body burns fat for fuel, your body produces "ketones" and your brain actually LOVES feeding from these ketones! When your body burns fat for energy, it helps naturally balance your hormones and stimulate hormones. For men, healthy human growth hormones allow them to look younger . For women, it will help balance other hormones in the body, even estrogen, progesterone and thyroid hormone.
You may have heard from people who fast for very long periods of time. They often say that they have more spiritual awareness and less brain fog. They have clearer thinking because the brain loves to burn fat for fuel and fat for energy. It leads to more awareness, less brain fog and a greater level of alertness and concentration. It is as nature intended.
As Laura Korman, DC, DACBN, explains, "When you think of the early cavemen, you realize that they were hunters and gathers. They hunted, and found meat, cooked and ate all the meat, so as not to waste, and then they fasted until they could hunt and bring back more meat. They essentially fasted between feedings, sometimes for long periods of time! They were living in a state of ketosis! They were living off the fat stores in their bodies. They weren't jumping up off the rock every hour or two to grab a handful of chips or crackers! They had access to very few carbohydrates, yet they lasted for generations!"
Safe to say that these cavemen probably didn't have diabetes, hyperglycemia, or issues of obesity!
A Keto Lifestyle causes muscle wasting. FALSE
Actually, just the opposite is true! Your hormones, in a way, are fat producing...similar to cholesterol. Your brain and spinal chord need fat. Fat actually supports hormone production. For your muscles to grow you need more human growth hormone; healthier levels of testosterone, progesterone and thyroid hormones. When those hormones are balanced in insulin as well as cortozol, it allows you to be leaner and more muscular. You can see the tone and definition in women and more musculature in men.
A Keto lifestyle is better at preserving and increasing lean muscle than are other popular diets out there, because it is all tapping into your hormonal health. If you have had a formidable health issue and imbalance due to imbalanced insulin, the keto lifestyle can be an absolute game changer for the health of your hormones, person and physique! When you can't loose stubborn body fat, it's not because your'e not doing enough crunches or exercises. It's because your hormones are working against you. When that is happening you cannot win the battle of fat burning. When your hormones start working for you, you really can't miss. It is amazing what can happen in the body and how your body fat levels can get to that exact right place.
Ketosis doesn't work because as soon as you stop the lifestyle you gain all the weight back. FALSE....unless...
If you go from a keto lifestyle to a keto cycling (some days strict keto lifestyle and some days add some carbs back in) you'll be fine. Change of any kind only works over the long term if it truly becomes a lifestyle change...a permanent change. Name any life change that works when you both quit and ignore all the good habits you had put into place!
If you adapt a disciplined keto lifestyle for a good 30 days, getting into ketosis for a certain period of time, you can then add some carbs back in by keto cycling. This way, it can become a long term lifestyle where you are enjoying the benefits and continuing to get results.
If you go back to a high carb, high sugar, AND high fat diet, then, yes, you will most likely gain the weight back again. It is not a magic wand. It's a lifestyle!
You'll burn more fat on a Keto Lifestyle . TRUE, however....
While this is true, we need to point out that you are eating significantly more fat and restricting significantly more carbs, so that you are actually burning the fat. The thing is you are burning dietary fat. Now, if you are in a calorie deficit and following a keto lifestyle, then you'll absolutely be burning body fat. This does not hold true, however, if you match or exceed you
calorie needs. If you do that, fat loss will not happen, and this is so important to note and not overlook.
A Keto lifestyle can help with appetite suppression, and it does allow some people to feel full longer, but, again, if you exceed your caloric needs while living a Keto lifestyle, you can absolutely gain body fat.
You'll have to experience the "Keto Flu." FALSE
Generally speaking, some may experience a little bit of this, but a large amount of the "keto flu" can be avoided by setting up the diet properly. Start your keto lifestyle correctly with regards to calories and macronutrients, and you'll be off to a good start. Then, you can avoid the keto flu by being especially mindful of your electrolyte balance as the lack of carbs can cause large water shifts in the body.
A Keto lifestyle is NOT a low carb diet. It is a lifestyle that actually puts your body in ketosis which will help your body burn fat for energy and naturally balance your hormones and stimulate hormones. Followed the correct way, you will be getting a great source of all kinds of healthy
fats, all the healthy amino acids and plenty of vitamins and minerals. Above all else, the keto lifestyle will get you in the right state for nutrient absorption!
For more information about all things keto…
If you would like to participate in Dr. Korman's GEARED2bewell Lifestyle, Dr. Korman can help you learn the in's and out's of living a clean and keto lifestyle in a guided, online, format. Access Dr. Korman's 28+ years of nutrition experience in a simple-to-follow, and easy-to-understand instructional.