TO KETO OR NOT TO KETO

One among many series to come...

Hey there! Welcome to my blog. As the heading suggests I am starting a series on un-conditioning the mind and destroying the boxes that we are living in every day and for generations. There will be various topics that will be covered under this banner. My intention is not to put anything or anyone down but to ask questions about what we have been taught and what we are following, albeit blindly. It is fear of the unknown most of the time that keeps us rooted where we are, but if we think about it, we came into a completely unknown world and from thereon every step we took, our first word, first school, etc. were all unknown. For that matter, even the next moment is unknown. My intention is step on the uncomfortable, not to change you, but just get you to take a step back and open a tiny window in your mind to consider different possibilities, widen your thought process and question the conditioning.

This first part begins with nutrition.

UNDERSTANDING KETO

“Cheelu, are you still on keto?”, asked a friend of mine on a Facebook chat. Let’s call her Katy. “Yes!”, I responded enthusiastically, “I have been on keto for a year and change and I feel better every day. She had been on keto for a year too but gave it up along the way. “I read so many articles in newspapers that spoke about the side effects of going on a keto diet and now that I am off it, I don’t feel good at all and all my previous health issues and discomfort have returned”, she said.

And it isn’t just her. Another person I know, fears being on a keto diet even she felt good having tried it for a few weeks and feels bad not bring on it. The reason for her fear is a video she saw from a doctor with meager knowledge about it, presumably having done little or no research on the subject. In fact, when I announced on social media a year and more ago about being excited to start my keto journey, the first response was from her sending me the link to the video. I saw it, saw through it and trashed it, but it still plays havoc with her mind.

WHAT IS KETO

Most of you will already know this, keto diet is short for Ketogenic diet which by definition from Wikipedia is...

“A high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that in medicine is used primarily to treat difficult-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates”.

Although this type of diet was used to treat epilepsy, various studies have shown that following a low carbohydrate diet proved beneficial for people with insulin resistance, diabetes, certain skin infections, Poly-cystic Ovarian Disease among other things. It has been researched that a ketogenic diet is good for Alzheimer’s and nerve disorders.

The human brain is said to thrive better on ketones rather than glucose for efficient functioning. A ketone body is a chemical that is released when fat is broken down in the absence of glucose and is used by the body as a source of fuel or energy. When this happens over a period of time the body goes into hat is called ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic state in which the body’s supply of energy comes from ketone bodies or fat instead of glucose and glycogen. Being in a state of ketosis is not harmful for the body. It simply means that the body is using another source to derive its energy from. The primary source of fuel that the body had been relying on is glucose that is derived from carbohydrates when they are broken down into sugars. When carbohydrate intake becomes restricted, fat becomes the primary source of energy.

DE-DEMONIZING KETO

A ketogenic diet is not the demon that it is made out to be, neither is fat. Although for every theory or study that proclaims that one food group/diet/lifestyle is the answer to all ills and is best for the body, there will always be a counter argument which sounds equally logical and convincing. It is also true that one coat doesn’t fit all. Every individual is unique and needs an adjustment in his/her dietary intake. And I am not here to praise one way of eating and regard everything else as garbage.

That being said, one universal truth that I would like to bring home is that we, with our modern and sedentary lifestyles are eating far too much carbohydrate than is required by our bodies. While I am not decrying other nutritional choices, I am here to definitively and categorically state that a ketogenic diet is not an evil monster out to get you. And that fat is not the hell that you’re going to burn in for eating it.

I will be going into more details about carbohydrates, fats and proteins (again, not another evil kidney and liver slammer) in subsequent blogs. I will also share my personal keto journey and how it has and is helping me tremendously. The intention of this blog was to open a tiny window into your mind to take a step back and think. It simply isn’t right to categorically dismiss or judge something by going blindly by what is popular or what feels comfortable. We are all products of intense conditioning and tend to stick with what fits into what we already know.

Before I go...  Ketogenic diet does not mean eating high quantities of non-vegetarian food. In fact, protein has to be consumed in moderation  Ketogenic diet does not mean eating copious amounts of fat either  There are different types of fats and that needs to be understood  Ketogenic diet includes almost all vegetables and highly encourages the intake of all types of greens  Ketogenic diet encourages exercise  Ketogenic diet is not harmful for the heart, liver or kidneys

More next time my darlings. Love and Light, Cheelu

The Ketophile