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Our body’s metabolism has evolved much less quickly than modern technology. In the past, we had to hunt for our meals and we would often go without food for days or weeks at a time. As a result, our bodies stored as much of its energy reserves as possible for when it was needed. The body became extremely efficient at taking any excess energy (from food) and storing it for later (as fat). When food became scarce, the body would switch from using food as its main source of energy to the fat reserves.
However, in modern life, food is far more plentiful but excess energy is still be stored as fat. Modern life has exacerbated this by producing foods rich in carbohydrates (which are utilized more quickly by the body), and lowering the need for physical activity, hence excess energy (more calories are consumed than expended) is more abundant and consequently more energy is stored (usually as fat).
The concept of the ketogenic diet is that it takes advantage of your body’s natural system that uses fat for fuel. By switching to a low carbohydrate diet, your body adapts – unable to utilize the readily available source of carbohydrate that was once available to it. Instead it begins to use both existing and new stores of fat as its energy source. This is known as a state of ketosis.
When we are on a diet containing sufficient amounts of carbohydrate, they are broken down into glucose which is used for energy. However, when carbs are restricted, our liver starts to produce ketones (also known as ketone bodies). These are transported from the liver to other tissues where they can be reconverted by enzymes in the body to produce energy.
Your aim is to reach a state of Ketosis. This is the stage where you are fueled by fat. There is a large difference between normal ketone levels and being in ketosis, thus it will be a big change for your body.
