Sunday, December 28, 2008

Diet Resources - 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 a normal real and efficient source of fuel for the human body. They are produced in the liver from fatty acids resulting from the breakdown of body fat. They appear only when there is an absence of glucose and sugar. On the Atkins diet, it reduces the amount of glucose and sugar that is found in the bloodstream. As a result, your body produces ketones fuel. When his body is a creation of ketones is called ketosis. There is a common misconception that after a Ketogenic diet like Atkins is dangerous. The truth is that being in ketosis is a completely natural state. The human body creates ketones to use as fuel in the absence of glucose.

The Atkins diet book, Dr. Atkins suggests the use of ketone test strips to determine their state of ketosis during a diet. These small plastic strips will be held at the flow of urine and contain a pad chemically treated absorption. This pad will change color if they are present ketones in the urine. With the presence of ketones, the band is going to change various shades of pink to purple. There are a range of colour on the label of the bottle to help determine their levels of ketones.

Ketone strips are available at any pharmacy and is among the diabetic supplies. In some stores, they are kept behind the counter so you may have to ask for them. You will not need a prescription to buy them though. Once you open a packet of strips of ketosis which have a shelf life of 6 months. It may be useful to mark the opening of the box.

Ketones strips will let you know if you are progressing well on the Atkins diet. If you follow the plan of induction to the letter and do not see purple, do not worry. Some people do not show traces of ketones, or they may show just above the basic minimum. As long as you are losing weight and inches then you are successfully using ketones. Also, if you have just exercised a few hours before using the strips, you can not see purple. May diet Some mistakenly believe that a result dark purple on the test strips means they are losing weight faster. In fact, the darker purple color is a sign of dehydration. This means that your urine is too 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. - 16004

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