Low Carb Diet

What you need to know about the Low Carb Diet

Low Carb (aka: Ketogenic diet) is responsible for causing the live to produce ketone bodies; body metabolism shifts from dependence on glucose to fat.

For one to achieve a ketone diet, he/she needs to restrict intake of carbohydrates to 100 grams a day to induce some adaptation of alternative source of energy usage to occur in the body.

The intake of protein and fats will be varied depending on nutritional needs of the person taking the diet. The presence or absence of carbohydrates determines if a certain diet is Ketogenic or not.

How Low-Carb diet is associated with metabolism of fuelThe body normally needs carbohydrates, proteins and fats to fulfill its daily activities. When carbohydrate intake is limited, the body is forced to look over to another alternative source of energy.

The free fatty acid (FFA) becomes the alternative energy source. The FFA can only be used for energy in most tissues except in organs including the brain and the nervous system. Ketone then comes in as the substitute energy source for the brain and nervous system.

What are Ketones?

A ketone is a byproduct from the incomplete breakdown of FFA in the liver. Brain tissues depend on FFA as energy source which is derived from fat and not carbohydrate in nature. Ketosis is a metabolic state resulting from accelerated production of ketones to the blood stream. On the other hand, protein production and usage in the blood stream decreases. Breakdown of protein for energy use also decreases, this is referred to as “protein sparring”.

Why the use of Ketogenic diet

The main reason for use of Ketogenic diet is for losing body weight and preventing loss of lean body mass. For this to happen, it depends on two hormones in the body namely glucagon and insulin. Limited carbohydrate intake in the body results to a decrease in levels insulin but increase in levels of glucagon in the body.

Insulin is important in transporting nutrients including glucose to muscle tissue while also transporting FFA to storage tissue where they are stored as triglycerides. Glucagon stimulates breakage of glycogen to glucose in the liver.

Less carbohydrates intake thus results to increased FFA metabolism in the liver for production of ketones causing a state of ketosis metabolism.

There are many other hormones affected by limited levels of carbohydrates in the body. The overall effect is changing dependence of energy source from carbohydrates to ketones.

Exercise can go hand in hand with usage of Ketogenic diet for weight loss but high intensity exercise needs intake of carbohydrates without affecting the ketosis effect