Ketogenic Diet and Intermittent Fasting

Why is it that the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting always seem to fall within the same topic of conversation? This is simply because intermittent fasting may be utilized as an instrument to achieve ketosis, the metabolic state associated with the keto diet. During intermittent fasting, the human body is depleted of glycogen stores. Once these glycogen stores are eliminated, fat stores are then released into the bloodstream in order to be converted into energy molecules, known as ketones, from the liver.

What is Ketosis?

Ketosis is a metabolic state which uses ketone bodies, or ketones, as fuel for energy. On a normal carbohydrate-based diet, the human body burns glucose as its main fuel source, where excess glucose is subsequently stored as glycogen. If the human body cannot utilize sugar as fuel for energy, it will utilize glycogen as fuel for energy. Once glycogen is depleted, you begin to burn fat. The ketogenic diet generates a metabolic state which enables you to break down fat into ketones, or ketone bodies, in the liver for energy.

There are 3 major types ketone bodies found in the blood, urine, and breath, including:

• Acetoacetate: The type of ketone which is created first. It may be converted to beta-hydroxybutyrate or flipped into acetone.
• Acetone: Made spontaneously in the breakdown of acetoacetate. It is a very volatile ketone and it is frequently detectable on the breath once an individual first enters ketosis.
• Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB): The type of ketone which is utilized for energy and is most abundant on the bloodstream as soon as you're completely into ketosis. It is the kind that is located in exogenous ketones and what blood tests quantify.

Intermittent Fasting in the Keto Diet

Intermittent fasting is composed of eating within a specific feeding window rather than eating throughout the day. Each individual, whether they are conscious of it or not, fasts intermittently from dinner to breakfast. There are lots of methods to intermittent fasting. A few individuals fast for 16-20 hours intervals on alternate days while others follow a 24-hour day fast. The most common intermittent fasting variety is the 16/8 method, in which you eat in an 8-hour window followed by a 16-hour fasting window.

Other fasting programs incorporate the 20/4 or even 14/10 methods. Other people follow 24-hour fasts one or two times each week. Intermittent fasting can get you in ketosis quicker because your cells will immediately absorb your glycogen stores and begin burning fat. However, what about once you get into ketosis? Is intermittent fasting worth following consistently? Following the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting can be a great addition towards an individual's overall health and wellness, providing various health benefits.

The keto diet and intermittent fasting can provide the following health benefits, including:

• Healthy weight-loss
• Fat reduction, not muscle reduction
• Balancing cholesterol levels
• Enhancing insulin sensitivity
• Maintaining blood glucose levels steady

Health Benefits of the Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet dramatically reduces your caloric intake, forcing your body to burn fat instead of sugar, which makes it a powerful tool for weight reduction. While individual results vary, the keto diet has always resulted in a decrease in body fat in a selection of situations. Within a 2017 study, subjects who followed a very low carbohydrate keto meal program significantly decreased body fat percentage and body fat mass, losing an average of 7.6 lbs and 2.6 percent body fat while preserving lean muscle mass.

Likewise, a 2004 research detecting the long-term consequences of a ketogenic diet in overweight patients discovered that the weight and body mass of those patients diminished dramatically over the span of two decades. Individuals who radically reduced their carb intake saw a substantial decline in LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and enhanced insulin sensitivity. In 2012, researchers compared a ketogenic diet to eating fewer calories for overweight kids and adults. The results showed kids after the keto diet lost significantly more body fat. They also revealed a dramatic decline in insulin levels, a biomarker of Type 2 diabetes.

Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Studies have shown that intermittent fasting may be an effective weight loss tool, more powerful than just cutting calories. In one analysis, intermittent fasting has been proven to be as successful as constant calorie restriction in combating obesity. In studies done by the NIH, there was reported weight reduction with over 84 percent of participants, regardless of which fasting program they picked.

Much like ketosis, intermittent fasting increases fat loss while preserving lean muscle mass. In one study, researchers reasoned that fasting led to greater weight loss compared to a low-carb diet, though the overall caloric consumption was exactly the same. If you are attempting to lose weight, then a keto diet or intermittent fasting can be a massive help. But that is not where the rewards stop.

Intermittent Fasting and the Keto Diet for Mental Health

Both intermittent fasting and the ketogenic diet can provide various mental health advantages. Both have been clinically shown to boost memory, improve mental clarity and focus, as well as prevent the development of neurological disorders like Alzheimer's and epilepsy. On a carb-based diet, changes in glucose can cause changes in energy levels. During ketosis, your brain employs a more consistent supply of fuel: ketones from the fat stores, leading to better productivity and psychological performance.

Whenever you've got a consistent and clean energy source from ketones, the brain works better. In addition to this, ketones are better at protecting your brain. Studies reveal that ketone bodies might have antioxidant properties which protect your brain cells from free radicals and oxidative stress. In one study conducted on adults with diminished memory, the growth of BHB ketones in their own blood helped enhance cognition. Also, when you've got difficulty staying focused, your hormones can be to blame.

Your brain has two chief neurotransmitters: glutamate and GABA. Glutamate will help you form new memories, and get your brain cells to communicate with one another. GABA is what helps restrain glutamate. If there is too much glutamate, it can cause brain cells to quit working and finally perish. GABA is there to control and slow down glutamate. If GABA levels are reduced, glutamate reigns free and you experience mental fog. Ketones stop damage to cells by processing surplus glutamate into GABA. Considering that ketones raise GABA and lessen glutamate, they assist in preventing cell damage, preventing cell death and enhancing mental focus.

Researchers believe that intermittent fasting enhances memory, decreases oxidative stress, and conserves learning abilities. Since your cells are under moderate strain whilst fasting, the top cells adapt to the stress by improving their particular ability to deal with these circumstances while the weakest tissues die. This is much like the strain that your body gets when you reach the gym.

Exercise is a kind of stress that your body adjusts to improve and get more powerful. This also applies for intermittent fasting: so long as you are still alternate between routine eating habits and fasting, it is going to continue to benefit you. Implying equally that ketosis and intermittent fasting will help improve your cognitive functioning because of the synergistic and protective effects of ketones.

The ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting are two different nutritional strategies which provide many common health benefits. According to various research studies, both the keto diet and intermittent fasting can help boost ketones, helping the body burn fat more efficiently than any other nutritional strategy. And when these are utilized together, they definitely form a powerful dietary program. The article above discusses the differences between the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting as well as demonstrates the health benefits of both of these dietary programs and how they can help improve overall health and wellness.

Dr. Alex Jimenez D.C., C.C.S.T. Insight

The Perks of Intermittent Fasting and the Keto Diet

The ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting possess similar health benefits because both approaches involve ketosis. Ketosis has lots of physical and mental advantages, from weight loss to enhanced brain function. People following a ketogenic diet may use intermittent fasting as a tool to achieve ketosis and enhance their general well-being. The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal health issues.

Curated by Dr. Alex Jimenez