What you Need to Know about the Keto Diet as a Woman in Midlife
The Keto Diet has been the source of much mainstream debate in the last couple of years. Ironically those of us in holistic medicine have known about the benefits of carbohydrate restricted lifestyles for much longer. I’ve been employing some aspects of the Keto diet going back more than 10 years. In fact, the benefits of the Keto diet were known as early as the 1920’s when some researchers introduced it as a treatment for Epilepsy when it was discovered that seizure activity was significantly reduced in children when they ate a high fat/low carb diet.
Today it’s often used as a one size fits all approach to rapid weight loss. If you’re reading this and you’re a women in midlife whose pre, post or peri-menopausal and you’re looking to lose weight, there are some important things you should know about Keto diets and the science of metabolism. Understanding these things that I’m about to share with you can literally extend your life! Longevity and healthy metabolism go hand in hand.
The first thing you need to know: What are Ketones and how do they help me lose weight?
Ketone Bodies aka Ketones are made in the liver from the breakdown of fats when glucose (aka sugar) is in short supply.
We used to think that Ketones were a far superior type of fuel that magically made our bodies burn fat more efficiently. This explains the high fat portion of the Keto diet- it was thought that to get more Ketones to burn more fat, you must eat a diet high in fat so that the liver can convert those fats into ketones, thereby burning more fat in the carbohydrate restricted state.
We now know this is INCORRECT! According to Dr. Steven Gundry, M.D., top cardio-thoracic surgeon and pioneer in nutrition, we now know that Ketones are in fact a horribly inefficient type of fuel! They are important however and here’s why- they are signaling molecules for our Mitochondria, which are the “energy factories” or “powerhouses” of our cells. As it turns out, making energy for our cells day in and day out is taxing business and that Ketones give the signals to the Mitochondria to repair and replicate which in simplified terms ends in the cell “wasting” energy and subsequently burning fat.
The second thing you need to know: What are the downsides and safety concerns of maintaining a high fat/low carb diet?
So we’ve established how you lose weight with a Keto diet. But is it safe? Is it realistic? Is it the best way for you? To answers those questions let me preface with this-there is so much evidence to support that the body will ALWAYS prioritize protection and survival over anything else. Since getting into a state of Ketosis (the state of making ketones) involves being in a fasted or low glucose state, the body will adapt as if its survival is being threatened. This leads to the 3 of the main safety concerns and downsides of the Keto Diet:
Most women experience who attempt “to go Keto” experience an initial loss of weight but many will plateau or even GAIN weight if a strict keto lifestyle is attempted for too long as the body’s override mechanisms will attempt to hold on to fat stores
As anyone whose tried this diet for a period of time can attest, it’s hard to do! The food selection is narrow and it can be upsetting to your GI tract to eat so much fat.
A sustained low carbohydrate does not allow for the fluctuations of female hormones throughout a typical cycle. Whereas estrogen levels thrive in low sugar/higher fats and/or fasted states, progesterone thrives with healthy carbohydrates added in like squashes, potatoes and even some fruits. If you do not vary your diet throughout your cycle to account for these hormonal fluctuations you are setting yourself up for hormonal imbalances that can complicate and even worsen Menopausal symptoms!
The third thing you need to know is: Why you should consider a diet rich in foods that support our Mitochondria combined with intermittent fasting instead of a traditional Keto diet as the solution to lose weight and get more metabolically fit!
Since we now know that the key to the weight loss that we often see with the Keto lifestyle is to support the mitochondria to repair and replicate, the good news is there’s a more relaxed way of eating for weight loss and health by supporting your body’s “engines,” making you more metabolically fit. In other words, you shouldn’t have to eat all of that fat and you can have some healthy carbohydrates that support proper hormonal levels. In my opinion this is much more sustainable over the long term and gives you more flexibility to enjoy some of your favorite foods.
According to Dr. Gundry, the top foods to support your Mitochondria are:
Polyphenols: Polyphenols are a class of compounds that are naturally found in plants foods that protect the body from stresses and like inflammation and diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Some foods high in polyphenols are spices like tumeric, coffee/tea, olives, nuts and seeds and some berries, especially chokeberries and elderberries.
MCT containing foods: Medium Chain Triglycerides or MCT’s, are short chain fatty acid that easily break down into ketones. Some examples of MCT containing foods are Coconut, goat and sheep’s milk cheeses. MCT’s can be purchased in the forms of powder and/or oil.
Dr. Gundry goes into much more detail on a lifestyle plan in his book “Unlocking the Keto Code” which both Dr. Brooke and I both recommend for you if you are looking for a starting place to lose weight and get healthier as you age.
Information is power. In any lifestyle shift, the more you understand the more you can make it work for you. Breaking down these metabolic processes to understand how they work a little better will hopefully arm you with the information you need to make better decisions for you and your family in the days and weeks to come.
xo,
Dr. Lynne