What You Should Know About Keto Dieting

With a keto diet, your body relies on fat and fewer carbohydrates for energy. Your metabolism turns carbs into glucose, a form of sugar that the cells use as fuel. When you eat a ketogenic diet, your body switches to burning the fat for energy, and this process creates fatty acids called ketones. These fatty acids can cross the blood-brain barrier, providing a source of energy to the brain and other vital organs.

The keto diet requires you to get 75 percent of your calories from fat, compared to about 20-35 percent normally. That’s a big shift. For some people, the switch can be difficult.

Eating a high-fat diet can also cause digestive issues. The high amount of fat can slow the movement of food through the digestive tract and lead to bloating, gas, constipation, or diarrhea. For this reason, it’s important to make these dietary changes slowly. If you want to try the keto diet, it’s best to work with a registered dietitian who is familiar with this eating style.

A dietitian can help you learn how to incorporate the ketogenic diet into your daily life, including measuring your food and drinks. This helps you avoid overeating and ensures you’re getting the right amounts of macronutrients, including protein, fat, and carbs. It’s also a good idea to monitor your urine or blood for ketones, which is an easy way to tell if you’re following the diet correctly. You can find quick and easy methods for testing your ketones, like using ketone urine strips.