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The word ketosis often inspires confusion or even alarm in those trying to figure out what causes it and whether or not it’s a good thing. Here is a simplified description of ketosis.
Definition of ketosis
Let’s move from an oversimplified definition of ketosis to a moderately simple one. Ketosis means that the body has switched from using carbohydrates for fuel to fat, almost exclusively.
But it’s a little more complicated than that. Ketosis begins when there are not enough carbohydrates in the bloodstream to replenish the glycogen stores in the liver. What is glycogen? The liver produces glycogen from carbohydrates as a sort of quick food source for the body.
The lack of carbohydrates means that the body needs an alternative source of food. So the body uses fat, specifically fatty acids, instead. The liver breaks down fats into ketone bodies, commonly known as ketones. When the liver releases these ketone bodies into the bloodstream for the body to use for energy, this is ketosis.
How does ketosis happen?
When you eat carbohydrates, the body uses them for fuel and turns the rest into fat using insulin. This means that carbohydrates are not actually stored in the body, except for those that are stored in the liver as glycogen.
If you use up all the carbohydrates in your bloodstream and don’t replace them, your body will eventually have to use the fat you’re eating with your meal and stored body fat for fuel. It usually takes around 48 hours to induce ketosis.
Diets and Ketosis
A growing number of diets recommend reducing carbohydrate intake, as the modern diet has far more than is needed to fuel the body. Things like bread, pasta, sugar, soda, candy, and other cereals or sugar-based foods are high in carbohydrates and are now consumed more frequently and in larger quantities than ever before.
Both the Atkins diet and the South Beach diet are based on bringing the person’s body into a state of ketosis to begin the process of rapid fat loss, since the body must use fat for energy during ketosis.
People on other low-carb diets, such as the Paleo diet (also called the primal or man cave diet), can also slip in and out of ketosis based on their daily dietary choices, although inducing ketosis is not the primary goal. of these diets.
Is ketosis dangerous?
This topic is hotly debated, but the truly dangerous condition related to ketosis is actually ketoacidosis. The body does not naturally go into ketoacidosis, insulin prevents this. But in people with type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin, so a lack of glucose in the blood can lead to ketoacidosis.