What is Ketosis?
Most everyone on a diet has heard the term ketosis but many do not know what it means or they think that it just pertains to a low carbohydrate diet. It also is very familiar to those who have diabetes. The term ketosis actually pertains to parts of fat that your body stores away for energy. These blocks of fat are called ketones.
If you are on a low carbohydrate diet, you start out by depriving your body of carbs which makes your metabolism adjust to get used to this. Your body goes into what is called lipolysis. This is where your body starts to burn fat for energy. The next phase of the fat burning is called ketosis. Once your body uses up the carbohydrates as energy, it turns to burning fat for energy. You will notice that your body is burning fat faster than ever during the ketosis phase.
There are test strips that can be bought to see if the ketones are present in your urine and for low carb diets, these strips will show you when you are losing fat. Ketosis can be a very bad thing if not monitored properly. If your body is putting out too much ketones that means it can be losing muscle. You want to be sure that you stay in a safe zone when going with a low carb diet so you do not over do it and do harm to your muscle mass.
Some people will react badly when they are in ketosis and feel sluggish or get sweet smelling breath (which people say is bad, but it actually smells sweet!) but most people will feel energized and refreshed. For those that are diabetic, being is a ketosis phase can be very harmful as it can lead to a condition that is called ketoacidosis. For diabetics, it can cause their blood to become more acidic. A person that suffers with diabetes and is having trouble with ketosis they may become confused, start vomiting and can even fall into a coma. In the most severe cases it can cause death.
No matter whether you are trying to lose weight or you are diabetic, the test strips can help you to stay in a safe zone where ketones are concerned. These sticks will turn different shade of purple depending on the amount of ketones that are present in the urine. This will help you to see what changes you need to make in your diet to be where you want to be.
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