Low-carb Diets And Ketosis

Low-carb diets are gaining in popularity, although they have been used for decades for treating different conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy and obesity. According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, this type of diet was first reported in the literature in 1863 in a booklet entitled "Letter on Corpulence Addressed to the Public," written by William Banting. Since then, many diet books using the same principles have been published, and many dieters have followed low-carb diets to manage their weight.

Low-carb Diet Basics

Most of the calories consumed when following a low-carb diet come from fat and protein. Carbohydrate-rich foods, such as grains -- including bread, pasta, rice, cereals and granola bars -- sweets and desserts, starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn, fruits, fruit juices and sugary beverages are avoided or eaten in small amounts to keep the daily carbohydrate intake below 60 g. Low-carb diets mainly are composed of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts and nut butter as the protein sources; fat sources include olive oil, avocado, coconut oil and butter, for example.

What is Ketosis?

If your carbohydrate intake is very low, your body will start using fat as its main source of fuel, which produces ketone bodies. This is considered a normal and safe process. Ketone bodies can be used by the brain and many cells of the body as energy. A lot of the arguments against low-carb diets warn about ketosis. However, ketosis should not be confused with ketoacidosis, which is a dangerous condition that usually occurs in people with type 1 diabetes lacking insulin. Ketoacidosis is life-threatening, whereas ketosis is just a mode in which your body burns fat for energy.

Ketosis and Weight Loss

Diets containing fewer carbohydrates have been shown to be more effective than low-fat diets at inducing fat loss. For example, the A to Z Weight Loss Study published in 2007 in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" showed that a low-carb Atkins-style diet resulted in about double the weight loss -- 10.3 lbs. of weight loss at 12 months -- when compared to a low-fat, Ornish-style diet -- 4.9 lbs. of weight loss at 12 months. These findings are probably due to ketosis, which promotes fat burning. In addition, other studies show that the success of low-carb diets could be attributed to the reduced hunger and appetite seen with ketogenic and decreased voluntary food intake, according to "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."

Ketosis and Epilepsy

Ketogenic, low-carbohydrate diets are also used for the treatment of epilepsy. People suffering from severe epilepsy are often recommended a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet to induce ketosis, which appears to reduce the severity and frequency of seizures. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, a third of the children going on this low-carb diet become seizure free, another third improve significantly, while the last third do not seem to respond to this diet.