Keto Clarity: Your Definitive Guide to the Benefits of a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet by Jimmy Moore Read Free Book Online
Authors: Jimmy Moore
understandings of keto-adaptation, and today, the process of transitioning from burning sugar to burning fat is known as the “Schwatka Imperative.”
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Ketone bodies provide an alternative fuel for the brain, heart, and most other organs when serum glucose and insulin levels are low—i.e., on a very low-carbohydrate diet. Ketone bodies are preferred over glucose by the heart and can be used as efficiently as glucose by most portions of the brain. There is a growing body of research supporting their beneficial effects on aging, inflammation, metabolism, cognition, and athletic performance.
– Franziska Spritzler
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What Schwatka discovered, before the technology even existed to measure it, was that his body was increasing its production of ketone bodies, which appear in the blood primarily as beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). (We’ll talk more about the various technologies for measuring the presence of ketones in chapter 8 .) BHB is synthesized in the liver and can be used as an energy source by just about every cell in the body, including brain cells. So think of ketones the same way we currently look at glucose, as an energy source. In fact, look at how amazingly similar the molecular formulas for ketone bodies and glucose are. (This is a bit geeky, but it is important for you to see with your own eyes why ketones are used by the body as another fuel source when glucose is not present.)
The point of sharing these formulas with you is to demonstrate the great similarity in the makeup of these molecules—they are all composed of the same elements (carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen), and they are all about the same size. This allows the body to use all of them as sources of energy. We shouldn’t fear one over the other. When you are a sugar-burner, your body uses glucose as the fuel molecule of choice to give you energy to function. But when you shift your body over to being a fat-burner instead, the fuel molecule of choice becomes ketones. Regardless of whether you are using glucose or ketones as the primary fuel, your body still burns other fuels, like fatty acids and alcohol.
So why do you want to reduce the amount of sugar that you burn and transition to a state of ketosis? What benefits do you get from using ketone bodies as your primary source of energy instead of glucose? That really is the million-dollar question. Once you understand why reducing sugar-burning and increasing ketosis can help with certain aspects of your health, you will want to pursue it wholeheartedly.
DOCTOR’S NOTE FROM DR. ERIC WESTMAN: It is not surprising that so much research has centered on glucose metabolism as opposed to ketone and fat metabolism. During the last hundred years or so, since the standards of modern research were developed, most people’s diets in the West have included carbohydrate, so it made practical sense to study the effects of carbohydrate and glucose.
Ben Greenfield, an elite triathlete who uses ketosis as a means for optimizing his athletic performance, says there are three primary reasons for entering a state of ketosis: 1) the metabolic superiority of fats as a fuel; 2) the mental enhancement that takes place with adequate ketone levels; and 3) the greater health and longevity that come from controlling blood sugar levels naturally in the presence of higher ketones.
Ketones are actually the preferred fuel source for the muscles, heart, liver, and brain. These vital organs do not handle carbohydrates very well; in fact, they become damaged when we consume too many carbs.
----
Ketones themselves are a great, and in many tissues—such as the brain—far better, fuel source than the alternative of glucose. I have always found beneficial answers to questions pertaining to health by studying the biology of aging. That is really how I became involved in treating diabetes with a high-fat diet. I became interested in type 2 diabetes as a model for accelerated aging. For over twenty years I have
----
Ketone bodies provide an alternative fuel for the brain, heart, and most other organs when serum glucose and insulin levels are low—i.e., on a very low-carbohydrate diet. Ketone bodies are preferred over glucose by the heart and can be used as efficiently as glucose by most portions of the brain. There is a growing body of research supporting their beneficial effects on aging, inflammation, metabolism, cognition, and athletic performance.
– Franziska Spritzler
----
What Schwatka discovered, before the technology even existed to measure it, was that his body was increasing its production of ketone bodies, which appear in the blood primarily as beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). (We’ll talk more about the various technologies for measuring the presence of ketones in chapter 8 .) BHB is synthesized in the liver and can be used as an energy source by just about every cell in the body, including brain cells. So think of ketones the same way we currently look at glucose, as an energy source. In fact, look at how amazingly similar the molecular formulas for ketone bodies and glucose are. (This is a bit geeky, but it is important for you to see with your own eyes why ketones are used by the body as another fuel source when glucose is not present.)
The point of sharing these formulas with you is to demonstrate the great similarity in the makeup of these molecules—they are all composed of the same elements (carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen), and they are all about the same size. This allows the body to use all of them as sources of energy. We shouldn’t fear one over the other. When you are a sugar-burner, your body uses glucose as the fuel molecule of choice to give you energy to function. But when you shift your body over to being a fat-burner instead, the fuel molecule of choice becomes ketones. Regardless of whether you are using glucose or ketones as the primary fuel, your body still burns other fuels, like fatty acids and alcohol.
So why do you want to reduce the amount of sugar that you burn and transition to a state of ketosis? What benefits do you get from using ketone bodies as your primary source of energy instead of glucose? That really is the million-dollar question. Once you understand why reducing sugar-burning and increasing ketosis can help with certain aspects of your health, you will want to pursue it wholeheartedly.
DOCTOR’S NOTE FROM DR. ERIC WESTMAN: It is not surprising that so much research has centered on glucose metabolism as opposed to ketone and fat metabolism. During the last hundred years or so, since the standards of modern research were developed, most people’s diets in the West have included carbohydrate, so it made practical sense to study the effects of carbohydrate and glucose.
Ben Greenfield, an elite triathlete who uses ketosis as a means for optimizing his athletic performance, says there are three primary reasons for entering a state of ketosis: 1) the metabolic superiority of fats as a fuel; 2) the mental enhancement that takes place with adequate ketone levels; and 3) the greater health and longevity that come from controlling blood sugar levels naturally in the presence of higher ketones.
Ketones are actually the preferred fuel source for the muscles, heart, liver, and brain. These vital organs do not handle carbohydrates very well; in fact, they become damaged when we consume too many carbs.
----
Ketones themselves are a great, and in many tissues—such as the brain—far better, fuel source than the alternative of glucose. I have always found beneficial answers to questions pertaining to health by studying the biology of aging. That is really how I became involved in treating diabetes with a high-fat diet. I became interested in type 2 diabetes as a model for accelerated aging. For over twenty years I have
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