It’s weight loss that draws many people to low-carb ketogenic diets initially, but the benefits go way beyond a linear waistline. From diabetes to dementia, from cardiovascular disease to cancer, in this article we are going to share with you seven different benefits of low-carb ketogenic diets.
Weight Loss
Let’s start with weight loss, so low carb diets have been conclusively shown to be more effective than low fat diets for weight loss. Low carb diets reduce insulin levels allowing us to access our stored body fat more easily. They’ve reduced hunger, allowing us to eat less. They may even create a metabolic advantage, meaning we simply burn more calories when we’re low carb, and they may even help us with food addiction problems.
Improved Blood Glucose Control
The supply of energy from our food to our tissues is at the core of our metabolism, and the regulation of our blood glucose is an important part of this. You will simply have fewer spikes in energy on a low carb diet. The insulin or sugar crash that many people experience during the day is a result of consuming high GI or highly processed carbohydrates that result in rapid rises in blood sugar levels. The insulin response that follows reduces our blood sugar levels quickly and that often leaves us with low energy levels. And when we consume fewer carbohydrates, we can better regulate our blood glucose levels, avoiding these energy spikes.
Let’s talk about type 2 diabetes. Control of blood glucose is critical for people with type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is defined by having blood glucose levels that are raised beyond normal and people who are affected by this disease, they’re effectively intolerant to carbohydrates. And it seems crazy that the first line dietary advice is still to consume carbohydrates, although, thankfully, the tide is turning with more and more doctors seeing the power of using ketogenic diets in the management of type 2 diabetes.
Ketogenic diet leads to improved HBA 1C, which is a test we use to see how blood glucose levels have been over the past few months and low carb diets can reduce dependence on medication. if diabetic patients don’t address their carbohydrate consumption, they can usually expect to be taking ever increasing doses of medications, as their disease progresses through the years. Low carb diets can even put diabetes into remission.
Just a few years ago, it was commonly accepted that type 2 diabetes was a progressive worsening disease, which couldn’t be reversed, but only could be managed. Now thankfully, we know that is just not the case. We’ve seen more and more people reversing their type 2 diabetes. So just as the ketogenic diet can help type 2 diabetics manage their condition more easily, the ketogenic diet may lessen the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the first place, while avoiding all those nasty refined carbohydrates. So what about type one diabetes? People with type one diabetes can expect to see better control of their blood sugars and use less medication.
Improved Cardiovascular Risk Markers
Low carb diets improve cardiovascular risk markers. We’re talking heart attacks and strokes here, and it’s a common concern that people have about low carb ketogenic diets is the increased fat consumption that goes hand-in-hand with them. However, the science shows that this isn’t true. In fact, it shows that low carb diets improve many of the markers that are commonly associated with heart disease.
Firstly, it improves HDL. We’ve all heard about the great cholesterol battle HDL versus LDL, whilst much of the focus seems to be on lowering LDL. Very little attention has been paid to raising the good cholesterol levels-the HDL. And this is probably because drug companies have failed to provide medication to do this.
The good news is that ketogenic diets are particularly effective at increasing HDL levels. It also improves LDL particle size. Many scientists now believe that we’ve been focusing on the wrong thing when it comes to bad cholesterol, and it’s the size of the particle that matters, rather than the total number. So whilst low carb ketogenic diets often result in raised LDL levels, the particles are larger and fluffier, which are thought to be less damaging to the water or arteries.
Thirdly, low carb diets reduce triglycerides. These are the fats that are made in the liver when too much carbohydrate is consumed. We see significant improvement in triglyceride levels on low carb diets so much, that some doctors use them to see whether patients are actually sticking to their low carb diets.
Another risk factor for heart disease is high blood pressure. Hypertension is well known to be the single biggest risk factor for heart attacks and strokes, but raised insulin levels cause the kidneys to retain fluid, which leads to higher blood pressures. It will therefore come as no surprise that cutting the carbs has also been found to cut blood pressure.
Abdominal obesity is also improved. We’ve mentioned weight loss earlier, but low carb diets are especially useful at getting rid of that fat that is carried around our waist, because this fat is actually inside our abdominal cavities, around our internal organs, and it’s that that makes it so bad for our health.
It reduces the chance of fatty liver disease. When it’s not caused by alcohol, fatty liver disease is caused by the excessive consumption of refined carbohydrates. Small, but promising studies have shown rapid reversal of fatty liver disease with low carb ketogenic diets.
Reduces Inflammation in the Body
Excessive consumption of highly processed carbohydrates elicits an immune response in the body in the form of inflammation. If your diet regularly consists of highly processed carbohydrates, your body will remain in a state of inflammation, which overtime can have a detrimental effect on your immune system.
We’ve already discussed heart disease and diabetes, but beyond that chronic inflammation can also damage DNA, leading to conditions such as cancer. Smoking is still the biggest cause of cancer in many countries, but surprisingly obesity is in second place, so it’s not hard to see how weight loss might reduce your risk of cancer.
Beyond that, ketogenic diets are currently being investigated for how they may help prevent or treat certain cancers. One theory is related to lowering blood glucose and therefore insulin levels. Another study found that the ketogenic diet may be a suitable complementary treatment for people who are already taking chemotherapy and radiation for certain cancers.
One of the best ways to improve arthritis in weight bearing joints is through weight loss, but reduced inflammation may result in less joint pain particularly for those who suffer conditions such as arthritis and autoimmune disease. The reduction in inflammation that goes along with the ketogenic diet is currently being widely researched in a range of autoimmune conditions and the role that the ketogenic diet plays in reducing chronic inflammation is a very exciting area of research.
Brain Function
Improved concentration, we already talked about stabilizing blood glucose levels and overcoming those mid afternoon energy stems. This in itself is going to help your concentration, but beyond this, being in a state of ketosis, means that your brain will also be using ketones as an energy source and many people report a sense of clarity, an improved concentration relating to this.
You may also experience improved sleep. To be fair, when people start off initially on a ketogenic diet, they often report worse sleep, whilst they’re becoming adapted. But beyond the first few weeks, there is anecdotal evidence that some people experience a higher quality of sleep, which of course helps with daytime energy levels and concentration.
For many years, ketogenic diets have been used to manage certain types of epilepsy, particularly in children, where medication has been unable to control their symptoms. It’s currently being researched to treat or prevent conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, ADHD and even some sleep disorders.
Improved Skin Health
Another really exciting area is how a low carb diet can affect our gut microbiome. Diets that consist of high carbohydrate content, particularly processed carbohydrates, have the ability to alter gut bacteria that can result in acne. A high number of foods associated with skin health, particularly those that contain vitamin A, also fit really well with the ketogenic diet.
Improves Health in Women with PCOS
Polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS is an endocrine disorder that causes enlarged ovaries with cysts, irregular periods, and fertility issues. If you have a look around the Internet, you’ll find loads of anecdotal evidence suggesting that this condition can be helped by following a ketogenic diet and whilst research is limited into this area, there is some evidence to support these claims.
