Ketosis is a special metabolic state that is achieved by eating a ketogenic diet. If you want to know more about this diet, we advise you to read this article first before continuing your reading here. You will learn the basics of the “keto diet”, how it works, its benefits for many diseases in particular but also the risks it can involve.
THE STATE OF KETOSIS
How ketosis works
Normally, a metabolism that is not in ketosis will draw its energy from glucose. Being in a state of ketosis is a metabolic state during which the body will draw its energy from fat, thanks to the ketone bodies. The production of these ketones won’t happen on their own because, as experts like to say, “ fat burns in the fire of carbohydrates ”. This phenomenon can therefore only appear after a drastic reduction in the consumption of carbohydrates.
Deprived of a major part of its carbohydrate intake, the body must use new resources. It will first use the carbohydrate reserves stored in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen. It is only after having exhausted these resources that the body will use fat as a source of energy.
After this phase of emptying carbohydrate stores, the body can enter the state of ketosis. In this state, the body will produce what is called ketone bodies. It does this by drawing on fat stores in order to use them as sources of energy. This is because ketone bodies appear during the breakdown of fat in the body. These come from our own fat mass and the rich foods we consume. In other words, the state of ketosis involves forcing your body to tap into fat stores for energy, depriving it of its usual source of carbohydrates.
