Thursday, December 18, 2008

Diet Tips - Atkins and Ketosis

By Jonas Milkei

The basic principle of the Atkins diet is that a state of ketosis will help you burn your fat stores as energy. Many people, even those who are on low carbohydrate diets, don't quite understand ketosis and why it works. Most diets are calorie-reduction diets. They help you lose weight, but some of the weight is from fat and some of it is from lean muscle tissue. While you may look smaller on the scale, your metabolism is actually slowing down. The more muscle you lose the slower your metabolism will be. This makes losing weight more difficult and gaining weight back even simpler.

The Atkins diet, on the other hand, is carbohydrate restrictive. It creates a state of ketosis in your body that burns only fat, and not muscle. The primary source of your energy for your body will be fat in the form of ketones. Your liver will convert fat into ketones and it cannot be converted back. It will be excreted naturally.

Ketones are actual a normally and efficient source of fuel for the human body. They are created in the liver from the fatty acids that result from the breakdown of body fat. These only appear when there is an absence of glucose and sugar. In the Atkins diet, you reduce the amount of glucose and sugar that is in the bloodstream. As a result, your body produces ketones for fuel. When your body is creating ketones it is called ketosis. There is a common misconception that following a ketogenic diet like Atkins is dangerous. The truth is that being in ketosis is a completely naturally state. The human body creates ketones to use as fuel in the absence of glucose.

In the Atkins diet book, Dr. Atkins suggests using ketone-testing strips to determine your state of ketosis during dieting. These small plastic strips are held in the urine stream and contain a special chemically treated absorptive pad. This pad will change color if ketones are present in the urine. With the presence of ketones, the strip will change varying shades of pink to purple. There is a color scale on the label of the bottle that will help you determine your ketone levels.

Ketones strips are available in any pharmacy and is among the diabetic supplies. In some stores, they are kept behind the counter so you may have to ask. You will not need a prescription to buy property. Once you open a packet of strips ketosis they have a life expectancy of 6 months. It may be useful to mark the opening date of the box.

Ketone strips will let you know if you are progressing correctly on the Atkins diet. If the plan is following induction to the letter and are not seeing purple, do not worry. Some people do not show traces of ketones can display or just above the minimum line. As long as they are losing weight and inches then you are successfully using ketones. Moreover, if you had been just a few hours before using bands, you may not see purple. Some diet May mistake to believe that a dark purple strips result of the tests means that they are losing weight faster. Indeed, the darkest purple is a sign of dehydration. This means that the urine is very concentrated, and you need to drink water.

Ketones are from fat in the bloodstream, whether you eat fat or fat burning. So if you eat a meal heavy on fat and then immediately use a test strip, and then you will see a result dark purple. Use the strips as a guide, but crashed in color. Reaching a state of ketosis is key to the success of the Atkins diet and it is as simple as eliminating carbohydrates in the diet. Be sure to follow the meal plan and the proper use of evidence ketone strips as needed.

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