A ketogenic diet—also called a keto diet—is a very low carbohydrate diet designed to force your body to burn fat instead of glucose for energy. Proponents of the diet claim that it is the most effective way to burn fat and achieve or maintain a lean body. The diet is also used in medical settings. While the diet’s effect on LDL (“bad” cholesterol) appears to be mixed, the National Lipid Association’s review found that a very low-carbohydrate diet does seem to improve HDL (commonly known as the good cholesterol). Beyond a year, it seems these benefits don’t last, much like in weight loss. Only lowered triglyceride levels seem to have any staying power. Other findings: The evidence on blood pressure is inconsistent, and the reports of improved mental clarity are not supported by controlled studies. The ketogenic diet varies substantially from nutritional guidelines provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). According to the 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, adult men and women are advised to consume only 20% to 35% of calories from fat with an emphasis on healthy fat. They advise that adults consume 45% to 65% of calories from carbohydrate and 10% to 35% of calories from protein. Additionally, the USDA provides a recommendation for dietary fiber (approximately 22–34 grams per day). Those on a ketogenic diet would have a difficult time reaching this goal since fiber is a carbohydrate. This happens because your body is making ketones which it can’t use yet – it hasn’t become keto-adapted. And it expels some of these excess ketones via your breath, in particular, a type of ketone called acetone. A new randomized clinical trial enrolled 263 adults with Type 2 diabetes into group medical visits, with half receiving medication adjustment for better blood sugar control, and the others undergoing weight management counseling using a low-carb diet. (All participants of the study had a BMI that fell within the range of overweight or obese.) Both groups experienced lowered average blood sugar levels at the end of 48 weeks, according to findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine. However, the weight management group on the low-carb diet slimmed down more, required less medication and had fewer problematic low blood sugar episodes. There is some variation in the structure of the diet. Some sources say to consume no more than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day, while others cite up to 50 grams, and many recommend no more than 5% of calories from carbs. Here are 11 signs of ketosis. You can use these keto symptoms as a gauge to see if you’re in ketosis. Some of these can be thought of as ketosis side effects. Thankfully, the less pleasant ones are temporary. The key takeaway I want to you to remember is this: while it’s good to know whether you’re in ketosis or not, you don’t need to get too fixated on your ketone levels it and stress yourself out about it. The disadvantage is that these meters and their test strips are a lot more expensive than the urine strips or breath analyzers. However, if accuracy is important to you, then a blood-ketone meter is the best choice. “Carbohydrates have a lot of nutrients that can help us maintain our body function,” said Dr. Prado. On the diet, some people experience “keto breath,” a halitosis likely caused by the production of acetone, which is one of the ketone bodies. https://ift.tt/yv5nawciC by Ron Smith