Ketosis Explained: When the Body Burns Stored Fat For Energy

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Ketosis refers to a metabolic process that involves the burning of stored fats for energy when the body does not have sufficient glucose.

Some individuals encourage the state by adhering to a keto, or ketogenic, diet.

Ketosis

Cells in the body typically make use of glucose as their main energy source. This glucose can be taken from dietary carbohydrates, such as starchy foods and sugars.

The body then breaks these down into simple sugars. The body then uses the glucose as an energy source or keeps it as glycogen within the liver and muscles.

If glucose is not sufficient to provide sufficient energy, the body will adopt a different strategy to address the requirements. It may specifically start breaking down stored fat and using glucose from the body's triglycerides.

This results in ketones, which build up in the blood and leave urine as a byproduct.

In minimal amounts, ketones show that the body breaks down fat. However, high ketone levels could be poisonous to the body, resulting in a condition known as ketoacidosis.

This is what ketosis is all about.

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Diabetes and Ketosis

For individuals with diabetes, ketosis could happen due to the insufficiency of insulin for glucose processing within the body. Individuals who have type 2 diabetes may benefit from adhering to a keto diet.

Their diet could focus on reducing dietary carbohydrate intake. These individuals could target taking fewer carbohydrates, as this could consequently elevate blood glucose levels. However, each individual has varying dietary needs.

Individuals with type 2 diabetes and who adhere to a ketogenic diet need to carefully check their ketone levels. Ketoacidosis, which is a dangerous and serious condition, may occur if such levels end up soaring.

Keto Diets Encourage Ketosis For Weight Loss

There are some keto diets that aim to lead to weight loss by achieving ketosis.

In most cases, keto diets have a high-fat content. For instance, 10% of calorie intake could be from carbohydrates, 20% could be from protein, and 70% could be from fat.

Overall, keto diets may involve a reduction in carbohydrate intake and mainly replace it with fat. This reduced carbohydrate intake could enable the body to enter the state of ketosis.

The keto diet also has other variations that would depend on the exact diet version that a person opts to adhere to.

According to a 2021 review, keto diets could reduce one's risk of various health conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome. Such health benefits may happen due to excess weight loss and the integration of more nutritious food into one's diet.

However, it is important to keep in mind that there could be side effects from this diet. According to a 2018 study, there are various short-term adverse effects of adhering to a keto diet. These include bad breath, muscle cramps, energy loss, bowel habit changes, and keto flu, which cover various symptoms that people may experience when they start the diet.

Another 2022 review also noted that the long-term health benefits and safety of the keto diet are yet to be proven.