The ketogenic diet, or keto for short, is an extremely low-carb high-(healthy!)-fat diet. There are vegetarian and vegan versions too. I chose keto because I learned that it would the fastest way to heal my liver. And I have to say it absolutely worked.
However, keto is a very strict diet and really only works well if you do it right. Why? Because when you are on keto, you force your body to change fromt he default glucose metabolism to the fat metabolism. There are side effects, and I put together a list with tips to minimise them here. But for now let me explain how and why it works.
Ketosis
What exactly people who are on keto mean by “extremely low-carb” varies. Some go as low as eating less than 20g of carbs every day. Sugar is a out of the questions, but you will find a lot of recipes using artificial sweeteners.
Our default metabolism to generate energy is the glucose metabolism. But we also have a fat metabolism that kicks in automatically when we do not eat enough carbohydrates. Our liver metabolises fat cells and stores the energy in energy molecules called ketones, hence the name keto.
What to eat
On Keto, you reduce your carb intake as much as possible, which means no processed foods. Salads with leafy greens are a daily staple. So are foods that contain healthy fats, like avocados, olive oil, coconut oil and so on.
Meat is fine but there are many people sharing vegetarian or vegan keto recipes, too. Standard flour is replaced with nutflours, like almond and coconut flour. Because the aim is to reduce carbs, some high-carb vegetables and fruits are also not allowed. No bananas, potatoes or even tomatoes if people are very strict.
Ketones in the brain and the liver
The brain works differently when it gets its energy supply in the form of ketones. One of the first changes I noticed on keto was that my head was much clearer and I could focus easily for hours.
I also had more energy. Before Keto, I couldn’t really work after 3pm anymore because I’d get so tired. After keto, working all day, with breaks of course, is now possible.
Because the fat metabolism happens exclusively in the liver, it’s one of the fastest ways to heal it. When I started out, my plan was to stay on keto for three months because it is a very restrictive diet with a steep learning curve.
It takes about 2 weeks for your body to switch metabolisms and 2 months for it to adapt completely to the keto diet. What I mean by this is that your body needs to produce different enzymes (molecules that break down specific types of food molecules) in higher numbers to digest fats and your microbiome needs to adjust.
5 months of keto
Keto was meant to be a detox diet for a limited period of time because it is very restrictive. It worked really well. My liver started burning all the fat around my mid-section first. My head cleared, I lost most of my belly fat and felt exhilarated!
So exhilarated that I didn’t even mind the side-effects I was experiencing. I had muscle cramps and rather uncomfortable keto rash. But I felt so good and my body was clearly adapting so I stuck with it. I also eventually figured out how to minimise the side effects.
Because I felt so good, I kept going at the end of my 3 months but I was already easing out of it. Also, a lot of keto baking recipes contain artificial sweeteners. I prefer natural fruits and vegetables so I went back to eating fruit. When I figured out how to use bananas to sweeten pretty much anything, there was no going back.
The liver-reset diet
Keto healed my liver. Five months of it completely reset it just through nutrition. Even though I am no longer on keto, I don’t regret those five months.
I used it as a diet, meaning with a time-limit and let my body decide what that time limit would be. This worked for me.
Is keto for you?
Keto, like sugar-free living, is a decision you need to make for yourself. There is a more gradual path to health if you prefer an easier approach. But if you do want to use keto, my advice would be to embrace it fully. And then listen to your body.
When I had side-effects, I dealt with them because no matter how important healing my liver was, I was not going to suffer for my health. My body told me that it wanted fruit and didn’t like artificial sweeteners so goodbye keto and hello low-carb. This changed over time too and now I am adding healthy carbs back to my plate.
Food is an important part in our lives. We all deserve to eat very well. Whatever you decide to do, know that it’s the best decision for you. And if your body tells you otherwise, change what you are doing until you find the perfect mix for yourself.
The Dodo Munches cannot and does not contain medical/health advice. The information is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Please read the full disclaimer here.