Full guide to Ketogenic diet

Ketogenic diet what is it about?

A ketogenic diet is an elimination diet that is based on getting rid of carbs and sugars as our primary source of energy and depending on fat, between 70-75% of your daily calorie intake should be from fat, 20-25% from protein and only 5% from carbohydrates.

The keto diet from A to Z

Our body considers glucose as the 1st energy source that it gets from digested food after we eat sugar, it transforms inside the body to glucose, and a hormone produced by the pancreas called insulin is responsible for transmitting this glucose from the blood to cells.


If the glucose level was higher than the normal range [The normal blood glucose level (tested while fasting) for non-diabetics, should be between 3.9 and 7.1 mmol/L (70 to 130 mg/dL)], it transforms into triglyceride which is fat molecules in the blood those are also reserved in the cells fat storage and promote weight gain.


And if we consist of consuming too much sugar, the insulin will be unable like it was before to open the cells, and more and more insulin is secreted by the pancreas to reduce the blood sugar, this is what is called insulin resistance when insulin is no more able to open cells, and that what leads with time to obesity, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, and metabolic disorders.

Do we really need glucose?

Take into consideration, that you should not eat sugar and carbs,  Otherwise, ketoacidosis will occur, especially in diabetics, because sugar is high and ketogenic bodies are high, that causes toxicity in the blood.

The keto flu

What happens to your body during this shift from eating sugar to ketogenic phase?

Headache, fatigue, lack of energy, and nausea. These symptoms can occur in the first days when switching from eating normally to the keto diet, and this is called the keto flu.

Benefits of fats and the ketogenic diet

Fat is the only food category that does not elevate insulin, protein slightly elevates the insulin, but not as sugar and carbs do, and when sugar enters the blood, it raises insulin level by a high rate and then returns to its normal level, the higher it is, the more time it takes to return to the normal level, the insulin level in the blood remains constant when depending mostly on fats and a moderate quantity of protein.

Fats are good or bad for us?

You should know that when the sugar increases, the body converts it into fat through de novo lipogenesis because our body fats are the best quality as an energy source, and fats from the conversion of glucose are harmful and cause inflammation.


One molecule of glucose gives 4 calories vs one molecule of fat gives 9 calories so it's more than double of energy, the body does not rely on glucose as a fuel of the body because fats are a better fuel source.



IT WAS A MISCONCEPTION AS WE USED TO KNOW IN THE PAST THAT FATS AND THE SATURATED ONES ARE HARMFUL AND THAT CAUSES MANY HEALTH  PROBLEMS, AND THIS IS WHAT WILL BECOME CLEAR BY IDENTIFYING  THE TYPES OF FATS AND THEIR HEALTH BENEFITS.


The fat-burning hormone leptin is responsible for sending fulness signals to the brain, so what if you are eating sugar,  the high insulin levels stop the action of leptin and prevents the signals from reaching the brain.
When the body's fuel turns into fat-burning, the body gets used to burning fat as an energy source, so the fat storage in the body will be used to produce energy very easily.

ketosis process

The Keto flu

In the first week, during this period when the body turns from burning glucose to relying on fats instead as a source of energy called keto flu that we talked about before.

The Ketosis

The ketosis is when you have ketones bodies in your blood and your body uses it as fuel.

The Keto adaptation

After 2 to 3 months, your body will be more and more adapted to the ketones and the fat burning and the body becomes more reliable to fats as its primary source of energy.

What to eat on keto?

your diet should consist of  75% from your calories of a good source of fat like butter, ghee, animal fat, coconut oil, egg yolk, olive oil, nuts, and seeds.20% from protein such as red meat, Chicken, Fish, Eggs white, and 5% from carbs from a vegetable source like celery, Spinach, Broccoli, Cabbage, Parsley, Rocca, etc.../ or from fruits like low carb berries (1/4 cup only) 2-3 times per week Strawberries, Blueberries, and Raspberries.

Who benefits from the keto diet, and how?

Diabetics, whether it was type 1 or type 2, either there is no insulin to reduce glucose levels in the blood or there is insulin resistance, in both cases, not eating sugar is beneficial for treating diabetes.


Hypertension patients, when you don't eat sugar, water and minerals will drop down, and this lowers the blood pressure.


Patients with high triglycerides levels, triglycerides come from eating fruits, so if you stop eating sugar, triglycerides level is reduced and this improves the heart and arteries.


Cancer patients, glucose is the best food for cancer cells, so when you stop eating sugar, cancer cells will be on starvation mode.


Chronic inflammations in the body are caused by high insulin and glucose and when inflammations become chronic and they are responsible for immune diseases, mineral deficiencies, cancers, and skin diseases, and that's why the keto is called non-inflammatory diet.

Who is not a good candidate for a keto diet?

For patients with kidney failure or liver dysfunction, the body will be unable to do the detoxification process as it should be, Hypothyroidism patients, because their metabolism is lower so it will be more difficult to produce energy. Pregnant and breastfeeding women.Children under 18 years because they still need a good source of carbohydrates for their growth.People who want to bulk and to achieve a big muscle mass.

Top mistakes when doing keto

You are not counting well your calories, and you might not reaching 75% calories of fat, and you are eating more protein than fat. or you are eating carbs more than 5% or you are eating fruits other than berries.


A weak microbiome, the microbiome is the bacteria that live inside our gut and helps in digestion and immunity, when you eat fats and you stop eating sugar, there are some bacteria that digests fat and other types of bacteria that digest sugar and when there is no sugar anymore these bacteria will die, so it's important to take probiotics to maintain the balance of bacteria inside your gut, because if the bacteria that digest fats increase, It releases a type of toxins called endotoxin.


Not drinking enough water, because when you eat sugar, every glucose molecule holds 4 molecules of water, but during the keto, the body gets rid of all the water and minerals.


Drinking milk and eating dairy products, increases allergies and inflammations.


Eating processed meat or food hydrogenated vegetable oils like sunflower, canola, soy...



Finally, commitment and consistency are the keys to success in everything you do in life, and when starting any diet you should be convinced in It as a new lifestyle before starting.