Ketosis – Restoring Health Around the Globe…

Ketosis is a metabolic state in which the body produces ketones to be used as fuel by some organs so that glycogen can be reserved for organs that depend on it. It is important when looking for information on ketosis that it is not confused for ketoacidosis – a very unhealthy state of being. It is unfortunately all too common for information sources to conflate these two and thus pronounce ketosis as bad.

Because glucose is commonly accepted as the body’s primary fuel source, putting the body into a state where burning something other than glucose for fuel is subsequently regarded as a form of starvation. Yet, the human body has a well-defined mechanism for literally burning fat for fuel (I think it’s important to realize that even in the presence of glucose, some tissues in the human body still prefer to use fat for fuel. Ironically, the heart is one of those, despite the fact that the intended purpose of low-fat diets is to save your heart). When the body uses fat as energy, it’s in a state of ketosis.

When you stop eating glucose (ie: carbohydrates), your body begins the process of ketosis. In ketosis, the liver starts unpacking fat cells so that your body can use the fatty acids for fuel. It also produces ketone bodies, which the body also uses for fuel – especially the brain. The benefits of ketosis are numerous – lowered blood pressure, lower cholesterol, low triglycerides, improved insulin sensitivity, and weight loss without regard to calorie count. Other…