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Hey, guys, Dr. Axe here, doctor of natural medicine and founder of draxe.com. In this video, I'll be telling you what the ketogenic diet is and what it is not and how it is the diet that can work when nothing else will. And medical studies now are proving that the ketogenic diet can help you lose weight, boost your brain health, fight neurological disease, balance hormones, and do a whole lot more. I'll share with you in this video. And for starters, I want to talk about what it is and where this idea came from.
Well, the ketogenic diet is a very low carb diet. So when you're on this diet, you're consuming little to no carbs at all. Now, over time, you can move into something called keto cycling, which I'll talk about at the end. But for starters, you're doing very little carbohydrates in your diet. Now, this was created in the 1920s specifically to treat epilepsy and seizures, and they found great results with the ketogenic diet. The thought was this: your brain is made up of mostly cholesterol and fat, and so when your brain is made up of fat and cholesterol, it's really important that you're getting plenty of those things that really support the brain. On a ketogenic diet, what happens is your body stops burning sugar for energy, starts burning fat, your body creates ketones, and ketones are actually a fuel source for your brain.
Here's another thing to know about the ketogenic diet: 70 to 80% of your diet is fat when you're on the ketogenic diet. The typical ratio, when somebody first starts, usually in the first week or two, is about 80% fat. Then that ratio goes to about 70% fat, 25% protein, and 5% carbs, which is what I've done with most of my patients in the past. The results have been phenomenal in helping them get into ketosis and experience that health breakthrough. So again, a ketogenic diet puts your body into ketosis, which is where your body switches from being a sugar-burner into a fat-burner.
One of the things I've noticed since I started... when I first went into a ketogenic diet myself, before I started to recommend it to patients, I noticed I woke up in the morning and I looked leaner. I looked more fit in the morning. Here's the amazing thing that happens on the ketogenic diet: your body will keep burning fat while you sleep. Your body is actually burning that fat, which is pretty incredible. Again, your body burns fat rather than sugar for energy, and your body produces ketones as your fuel source, which your brain, your cells, and your body run off of instead of carbohydrates.
So here are the big benefits of the ketogenic diet. Number one is weight loss, which is what I just talked about. When your body starts burning fat for fuel, you start losing those love handles and that abdominal belly fat that sits right here. You lose weight really, really fast. In fact, this is my number one diet for people who want to lose weight quickly.
Number two is PCOS, which is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. In working with thousands of patients over the years, I can tell you that many women who struggle with PCOS, and sometimes issues like infertility or painful PMS during the monthly cycle, often have something related to a hormone called insulin. What we've found is that when both men, but especially women with PCOS, get on a ketogenic diet, insulin regulates. Insulin is a hormone, and when it regulates, all of these other hormones regulate as well: estrogen, progesterone, cortisol. They all start to balance out on a ketogenic diet. So if you've struggled with hormonal issues and you've tried other things, the ketogenic diet can be the diet that works for hormones when nothing else will.
Number three is mental clarity. People for thousands of years have fasted for mental clarity. When somebody starts doing a fast, let's say they do mostly a water fast, their body will start to go into ketosis as well. When somebody does a pure water fast, and their body starts using ketones for energy, their brain gets more mental clarity and less brain fog. A lot of times, people say they experience spiritual breakthroughs and emotional breakthroughs when they go on a ketogenic diet or a fast, because a lot of the carbs and foods we eat on a daily basis affect our hormones, cause inflammation, and affect the brain. Mental clarity and spiritual awareness can have greater benefits when you're following a healthy ketogenic diet.
Number four is lowering type 2 diabetes risk. Most people who are getting way too many carbohydrates in their diet are affecting their insulin. When you go on a ketogenic diet, you give those insulin receptor sites a chance to not burn out. Just so you know, for the most part, type 2 diabetes is like somebody yelling and screaming in your ear. Those insulin receptor sites burn out and kind of go deaf over time when you have too much sugar and carbs in your diet, consume too many things, or have too many emotions that affect insulin. The name of the game is balancing insulin. When you do that on a ketogenic diet, you can see great results in lowering your risk for type 2 diabetes.
Number five is having a healthier heart. When you're consuming lots and lots of healthy fats on the ketogenic diet, it can reduce inflammation, support your body hormonally, and improve your heart health.
Number six is a possible cancer fighter. I actually just talked to a friend who's a doctor in Texas yesterday, and he told me, "You know what, I beat cancer with the ketogenic diet." There are thousands of cases of people who have followed the ketogenic diet and beat cancer naturally. Now, listen, I'm not telling you that following a single diet can cure cancer. But I will tell you that following a ketogenic diet, consuming the right supplements, getting your body into the right place emotionally, and doing all of the things holistically to heal your body could help people experience a breakthrough in either preventing cancer or potentially fighting it. So the potential benefits here are immense, and this is me just scratching the surface of some of the most popular conditions the ketogenic diet can help.
Now, here are some precautions if you're going to follow a ketogenic diet. Number one, sometimes you get the "keto flu." Many of us, I saw a study that said sugar is more addictive than cocaine. It is that addictive to the body, and people crave it. We've got to break those cravings. It's similar to going off caffeine, nicotine, or tobacco, or getting off anything you might be addicted to. You can get flu-like symptoms, and it's no different with the ketogenic diet.
Number two is electrolytes. On the ketogenic diet, you want to make sure you're getting lots of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. You want to stay well hydrated, drinking a lot of water and eating a lot of vegetables that are high in electrolytes, like celery and cucumber.
Number three, don't over-exercise. When you first get on the ketogenic diet, give your body a few days to adapt and get used to the diet, because your blood sugar can drop while your body isn't yet fully in ketosis, burning fat for fuel.
Number four, avoid processed meats. Processed foods are going to put your body into a higher state of acidosis. On ketosis, when your body falls into a ketogenic state, it tends to be slightly more acidic, so you want to be really mindful of eating a lot of vegetables, a lot of leafy greens, and getting lots of chlorophyll and alkaline-rich foods into your diet. Most people also don't drink enough water, so make sure you're getting plenty of water when following a ketogenic diet.
Here are the best foods on a ketogenic diet: olive oil, and MCTs, which are found in coconut oil. So we've got long-chain fats here, medium-chain fats here, and short-chain fats that you'll find in ghee and butter. Some people are also thinking of chicken fat. If you've ever eaten a chicken and pulled the skin off, chicken skin is full of collagen and healthy fats if it's organic and natural. So chicken fat, avocados, flaxseeds, wild meat like bison and grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, bone broth, and non-starchy vegetables make a perfect mix of foods to consume on a ketogenic diet.
Here are the worst foods, the ones that will actually pull you out of ketosis: added sugars, all grains, most processed foods, and most alcohol. These are the foods you want to stay away from, since they can really affect insulin.
There's also something else to know. When you hear about the ketogenic diet, most people can follow it for about 30 days, maybe 90 days or more. But for most people, after following a ketogenic diet, it's good to start doing what's called a modified keto, carb cycling, or what I like to call "keto-cycling." This means you essentially consume a ketogenic diet a few days, going on and off, along with a generally lower carb diet, and you add a few healthier things to your diet, like a little more fruit and potentially a little rice or sweet potato on occasion. This is more flexible. You can aim for 30 to 50 net carbs a day. The big thing is to stay about 50 or under and then go in and out of ketosis. My own wife does this: she follows a ketogenic diet four days a week and adds in carbs on the other three days, and she's noticed huge changes in her body. I've done this with thousands of patients and seen phenomenal results in changing their bodies. So some days you eat ketogenic, other days you don't. That's probably the way our ancestors ate, so it's closer to the perfect original ancient diet as well.
So remember these benefits of following the ketogenic diet: major benefits for weight loss, balancing hormones and fighting conditions like PCOS, mental clarity, fighting diabetes, a healthier heart, and a possible cancer fighter. The benefits of the ketogenic diet are immense. And if you want to learn more about the ketogenic diet, subscribe to my YouTube channel. We've got a lot of ketogenic recipes coming out, along with other healthy ketogenic diet foods and tips. I've also written several in-depth articles and have a whole recipe section on my website, draxe.com, that covers ketogenic recipes. Simply search "Dr. Axe Ketogenic Diet" or "Dr. Axe Ketogenic Recipes" and you'll find much more information on my site. Thanks for watching.
Hi, Dr. Axe here. Thanks so much for checking out this YouTube video. Don't forget to subscribe if you want more great content on herbs, essential oils, natural remedies, and how to use food as medicine. Also check out more of our content on my YouTube channel. Thanks for watching.