Eating fat isn’t so bad after all! In fact, health practitioners are more often trying preventive methods to treat an illness before it gets out of hand. One such preventive method is the keto diet, short for ketogenic. A keto diet is based on the ancient knowledge that our ancestors ate more fats and proteins than carbohydrates. So our bodies are naturally better at processing fats and proteins. We only started eating loads of refined carbohydrates when we turned from hunter-gatherers into farmers. And access to carbohydrates increased once modern agriculture was introduced. As modern agricultural industrial processes were introduced, the nature of our food changed even more.
The ketogenic diet means that ketones are created in the body. Ketones are what our bodies process when our bodies are digesting fats. This is a byproduct of our bodies using fats as energy as opposed to sugars. This is important when trying to stabilize blood sugar, as fats take longer to be digested.
Ketogenic Diets Can Treat Type 2 Diabetes
Many practitioners and myself included, have used ketogenic diets to treat many diseases and disorders, especially Type 2 Diabetes, otherwise known as adult-onset. It is called adult-onset because this type of diabetes occurs as a result of poor lifestyle contributing to the body either not producing enough insulin, or an increased insulin resistance to sugar overall. This means that the cells are not getting the energy they need. Risk for Type 2 diabetes often increases through a combination of a high carb, sugary diet, a lack of exercise, and a sedentary lifestyle.
The opinions on healthy eating and good fats are changing, too. Sugar, once approved to be a part of a healthy diet is now being scrutinized by health professionals. Low-fat diets, once seen as the healthiest way to live, is now being replaced with the low carb, higher fat diets. Since obesity rates and diabetes have been linked, cutting excessive sugar intake is the first step in preventively treating Type 2 Diabetes. Including plenty of good fats is another key factor. Fats play an important part in the regulation of the hormonal system. With-out healthy fat stores in the body, the hormonal system is out of balance.
Lastly, talking to a qualified health professional is important, since much of the knowledge regarding ketogenic diets varies and may be unclear. Consider the media attention being paid to the activities of the sugar industry in the 70’s. During this time, the sugar industry paid for public relations and political pressure to say that fat should be cut out of diets, not focusing on the dangerous impact that sugar has on the body. The messages are somewhat confusing.
In my latest book, Fight Fat with Fat, I encourage using unprocessed oils, full-fat organic dairy products, organic meats and poultry and good amounts of non-starchy vegetables. For great tasting recipes, check out the recipe index on our blog or in either one of my books, Silver Cloud Diet or Fight Fat with Fat.
