Over the past couple of years, the keto diet has skyrocketed in popularity with sports stars from Tim Tebow and LeBron James to celebrities like Megan fox and Gwyneth Paltrow saying that they love it.
Besides them, thousands of others who have tried the keto diet report many benefits from adopting it and some have even said that the keto diet literally changed their lives.
This is social proof that the diet works. Now let’s see some of the health benefits of the keto diet that everyone and their neighbour is raving about.
1. Reduced appetite and food cravings
This is one of the most obvious benefits of the keto diet, especially when it’s combined with intermittent fasting.
Since your body is operating on an alternative fuel (ketones), it doesn’t get food cravings or hunger which arise from the ups and downs of blood sugar and insulin levels.
People who burn glucose for fuel tend to get hungry and crave carbs when their fuel is running out. They eat more carbs, which spikes their insulin levels and, with sufficient calories, results in fat storage.
The keto diet burns fat instead of storing it.
2. Reduced inflammation
Most of the processed foods we eat are inflammatory because of the additives, chemicals and sugar that are present.
Inflammation leads to a myriad of health problems such as joint pain, weight gain, muscle loss, risk of cardiovascular disease and so on.
When you’re on the keto diet, you’ll be severely restricting your intake of processed foods and carbs. This will reduce the inflammation in your body.
3. Cleanses the blood
Most people don’t even know that the keto diet actually cleans their blood.
What does that mean?
It means that it lowers the triglycerides in your blood. Your bad cholesterol levels will plummet, and your good cholesterol levels will rise.
4. Healthy skin
You’ll notice that your skin clears up and starts to look more radiant when you’re on a keto diet.
5. Abundant energy
As mentioned earlier, when available carbohydrates are limited the body is able to burn ketones for fuel rather than glucose. So, when you’re on a keto diet and in ketosis, the body is running on ketones.
Because most of us are essentially running on glucose most of the time, when you’re first embarking on the keto diet, you’ll feel sluggish and lethargic as your body adapts.
But don't judge the keto diet based on how you feel during the transition.
Once your body is keto-adapted (after about 4 to 7 days), you’ll immediately feel an abundance of energy. Your workouts will be better, and you’ll be able to go harder and longer during training.
This is one reason why more and more pro athletes are switching to a keto diet. If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it.
You may also notice that you have increased mental clarity. All these are the benefits of using ketones as fuel.
6. Fat loss
This is probably the most common reason why people get started on a keto diet. It has been proven to be very effective for fat loss.
Even fat in stubborn areas like your belly get burned off easily when you’re in ketosis.
Since you’re burning fat for fuel and have copious amounts of fat in your diet, the body burns off the excess fat it’s retaining.
It knows it has access to fat constantly and there’s no need to store any, but it should be remembered that if calorie intake is excessive then that has to go somewhere.
It doesn't just magically disappear.
In terms of weight loss, a ketogenic diet might make the body more efficient at burning fat for fuel, but the biggest driver of fat loss is still a calorie deficit.
7. Anti-aging properties
The keto diet also has anti-aging properties. The fact that it reduces inflammation alone is half the battle won.
This is why your skin glows and you have more energy.
These 7 benefits are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more benefits that can be accrued by going keto.
Read my review of the Custom Keto Diet here
