Finding a diet that works for you isn’t easy. Many weight-loss diets are unconcerned about your long-term health.
Keto diet ticks all boxes. It is great for weight loss and beneficial for your overall health – plus it makes you feel great physically and mentally.
The benefits of Keto go far beyond weight loss. It can truly revolutionize your wellbeing and long-term health.
What is a Keto diet?
Keto (short for ketogenic) diet is based on high fat, low carbohydrate, no sugar and sufficient protein intake. It includes plenty of low-carb vegetables and healthy fats. You limit your carb intake to around 20g net carbs a day, inducing a metabolic state of ketosis.
Ketosis is your body’s natural fat burning mode, so weight loss on Keto is easy and effortless. This is one of the many reasons this diet is so popular.
But other benefits of Keto are often overlooked. Ketosis is super-beneficial to your health. It can even help to treat several serious health conditions and diseases.
Keto diet benefits for general health
Most processed foods in today’s world are packed with sugar and added chemicals. These nasties affect our health. The worst part is, we often aren’t even aware of it. Keto focuses on natural, highly nutritious foods that will make you feel and look a lot healthier.
Specific known benefits of Keto are the reduction of inflammation in the body, reduced food cravings and appetite control, increased energy and mental focus, and lower cholesterol levels.
Reduction of inflammation
Inflammation is at the root of many diseases, so the reduction of inflammation is a major health benefit. Inflammation causes a lot of pain in the body, so reducing inflammation can make you feel better physically.
Reduced food cravings and better appetite control
Keto keeps you full for longer, due to its high fat and protein content. Low sugar levels help to reduce food cravings. Keto has been shown to help with satiety hormones leptin and ghrelin.
Increased energy and mental focus
Keto can also benefit your mental health. The increased energy and clarity is due to your body using ketones for energy. A steady supply of ketones is available throughout the day. Even if you haven’t eaten for hours, your body creates ketones from body fat. This reduces brain fog and helps you focus.
Lower cholesterol
Keto reduces the levels of bad cholesterol in the body but also increases the good cholesterol. It lowers low-density lipid proteins (LDL) which can, in turn, lower your risk of cardiovascular issues.
Note: In the first few weeks of Keto your cholesterol levels may go up. Once your body becomes adapted to making ketones, your cholesterol levels will go back to normal and improve.
Keto diet benefits for specific health conditions
Keto can also help to treat and prevent diseases.
It is most popularly known for treating epilepsy. It’s been used for this purpose for over a century because it helps to reduce epileptic seizures.
Here is a list of other diseases that can be managed with Keto.
Cancer
Cancer is the most common cause of death around the world. Its rates are growing, possibly due to the increased consumption of unhealthy foods. However, there are promising studies that show possible benefits of Keto for cancer therapy.
Keto helps the body to fight cancer cells. It eliminates what the cancer cells feed on… glucose. The lack of sugar in the body slows the cancer cells from multiplying. Keto also reduces free radical production and inflammation.
Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s is the leading and the most costly disease in the aging population. It is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to cognitive inabilities through the death of neurons. This disease is becoming more prevalent in the world in recent years. It does not yet have a cure.
However, some studies show that Keto may help to reduce the progression of Alzheimer’s. It improves mitochondrial pathways which can give the brain an alternative source of energy and help to delay Alzheimer’s.
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease that attacks the central nervous system. Studies have shown that this inflammatory disease can be correlated with neurodegeneration.
It is believed that MS may be managed with a ketogenic diet on the basis of the animal trials that showed a reduction in the neurodegenerative aspect of MS. While animals don’t always fully represent MS in humans, the diet shows positive results when it comes to neurodegeneration and is a safe option to try to reduce risk of progression with the disease.
Type-2 diabetes
Type-2 diabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are too high, requiring the constant production of insulin to keep up. Eventually, body fails to produce enough insulin.
Studies have shown that type 2 diabetes can be reversed with Keto. Reducing your sugar intake leads to less glucose in your body, thus reducing the need for insulin production. This helps to regulate insulin sensitivity, eventually returning to normal levels.
PCOS
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine system disorder that affects women’s reproductive hormone levels. This syndrome is correlated with high insulin levels. It can affect the way your body turns food into energy, making it hard to lose and easy to gain weight.
However, studies have shown that Keto may be able to reverse symptoms attributed to PCOS and have a positive effect on emotional well-being.
Conclusion
The benefits of Keto diet go far beyond weight loss.
Healthy people can use it to improve their overall well-being with greater energy, sharper focus and more mental clarity. Those of us who suffer from conditions mentioned above might be able to improve their health and comfort levels.
If you know someone who might benefit from Keto, spread the word!
Author’s Bio
Janine Einhellig is the owner and author at KetoDomain.com, a website focused on helping people achieve success on the ketogenic diet through information, meal plans and coaching. Janine enjoys writing and operating Keto Domain because of the great impact the ketogenic diet can have on quality of life.
