Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body uses fat for energy. When in ketosis, your body burns free fatty acids and ketone bodies (beta hydroxybutyrate) instead of glucose. Ketones are produced in the liver after your body gets depleted of glycogen (form of glucose stored in the muscles and the liver).
Our ancestors didn’t have access to food 24/7 so ketosis is an evolutionary adaptation to get us through periods of food scarcity. The body swiftly switches from burning glucose to burning fat while sparing muscles.
Ketosis isn’t the same as ketoacidosis. Ketoacidosis is a dangerous condition associated with type I Diabetes, in which your body doesn’t have enough insulin to pull excess glucose (250mg/dL and more) from blood and produces excessive amounts of ketones (as much as 20mmol/L).
Nutritional ketosis is a safe way to support health and longevity. Nutritional ketosis starts at 0.5 mmol/L and it will take you a lot of work to get higher than 8. The only time I get to ketosis to be at 8 or higher is when I do extended water fast.
The faster you are able to switch from glucose metabolism to ketone metabolism, the more fit metabolically you are. Our ancestors had no problems moving in and out of ketosis. Modern humans often struggle (keto flu) when entering into ketosis for the first time.
Ketogenic diets have become a lot more popular in recent years for weight loss, however being in the state of ketosis has a lot more health benefits than just helping you to lose weight.
KETONES PLAY A ROLE IN REDUCING INFLAMATION
Ketones play an important role in reducing of inflammation. When in ketosis, your body reduces pro-inflammatory cytokines and up-regulates anti-inflammatory cytokines. This is probably one of the most important aspects of ketosis from the perspective of the Paleo-ketogenic diet. When dealing with autoimmunity, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, inflammation of the joints is one of the biggest pain points so to speak.
KETOSIS IMPROVES MOOD AND COGNITION
This is largely anecdotal, including me, being in ketosis will give you a sense of well-being and extra focus. I feel it in my mood any time I reach ketosis above 1. I get a sense of happiness just to be alive and all mental tasks, including writing and speaking in front of the camera become a lot easier.
KETONES REDUCE APPETITE AND CRAVINGS
When you are in ketosis, your glucose spikes will go away, and with time, depending on your personal circumstances, your cravings for carbs will go down, and hunger will be a lot less. Most people that have successfully transitioned to ketosis report that they can easily just eat once or twice a day and feel totally satiated.
KETOSIS REDUCES OXIDATIVE STRESS
When your cells burn ketones instead of glucose, there is a lot less Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). Overproduction of the Reactive Oxygen species may result in damage to cell structures. You might have heard of it as an oxidative stress, and we are told to battle it with the antioxidants. The good news is, ketones burn a lot cleaner with fewer bi products, so no need to worry about antioxidants!
KETONES ARE PROTEIN SPARING
Ketones are similar in structure to branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), however your body prefers ketones over BCAAs to burn for energy. This makes ketones protein sparing, allowing you to consume more fat while reserving proteins for structural activity such as building muscles.
These are just a very few benefits of ketosis; I listed the ones that were most relevant from the perspective of the Paleo-ketogenic diet as a treatment for autoimmunity.
As ketogenic diets become more popular not only for weight loss, but for many different diseases, ketones continue to be studied, and it seems that we only scratched surface of what ketones can do for our bodies.
