I hear this all the time. What is a ketone?

I usually reply to what is a ketone by asking if they have heard the word ‘ketosis?’ This weird word has been creeping into the airwaves. As an internal medicine doctor, I last listened to this odd term back in medical school. While covering the ICU, a patient with Type 1 diabetes injected the wrong amount of insulin over and over until he slipped into in a coma.

Yep, that’s the last time I heard the word ketosis.

The first time the word pinged my long-term memory; naturally, my first thoughts around ketosis linked back to that very sick patient. So why do I hear this word again?

Has there been some earth-shattering breakthrough?
Embarrassingly, this excitement about ketosis isn’t due to any new scientific discovery. This ‘newfound’ enthusiasm for what ketosis and anything ketosis-related involves renewed media interest. Sadly, this otherwise old information remains obscure and seems ‘exotic’ to nearly every doctor I know.

Brace yourself for a massive sea change in how your doctor and the whole medical community will be talking to patients about cancer, weight, health, heart disease and aging brains. This tidal wave of information will crash upon the army of frustrated patients that are fed up with overpriced doctor visit where patients leave the offices with too many pills and not enough education.

My husband is not a doctor. Twenty years of marriage to a physician specializing in internal medicine granted him a front row seat to all sorts of healthcare-related stories. He has seen the most significant benefits in the healthcare industry, as well as its ugliest traits.

He has seen the flawed thinking behind doctors over using the latest and greatest procedures to cut out a problem instead of teaching patients the roots of their issues. For years, he told friends if you have an enemy that you want dead, find out what day he is seeing his doctor.

Accuse the doctor of being lazy right before your rival’s appointment. Most doctors will overreach with more tests and procedures compensating for that insult. Those extra tests and procedures would be the beginning of the end for your enemy. How come? The resulting barrage of tests and procedures, paired with insufficient wisdom and patient insight, can quickly become a one-way street to worse health.

Future Approach of Doctors
The future approach I see doctors taking in helping patients mirrors the holistic approach represented in this recent revival of ketosis literature. Personally and professionally most medical practitioners haven’t thought, taught people what a ketone is or recommended ketosis.

A significant percentage of medical professionals are now just waking up from the long deep hypnotic sleep Big Pharma has put us under. We’re now only collectively waking up to the amazing range of health benefits low carb high-fat diets bring to the table.

What is a Ketone? Important Terminology

Ketosis: good.

Ketoacidosis: VERY dangerous.

Ketoacidosis is a life-threatening problem where the body’s ketone levels skyrocket leading to a coma. Thanks to the quick thinking and clever technical work of our medical team we were able to avert that disaster.

Prior to seeing that patient, the only other time I had heard the term ketosis was its use as a treatment of last resort for juvenile seizure patients. Seizures take a heavy toll on children’s brains.

Seizures Scare Everyone
Doctors and scientists cringe every time a youngster suffers a seizure. Each seizure kills a tremendous amount of brain cells. Some kids go through hundreds of seizures in a day. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that these patients’ brains are broken.

Doctors’ first line of treatment involves prescribing a range of anti-seizure medications. If the seizures don’t stop, we add even more meds. We know their rapidly growing brain depends upon how quickly we can stop all seizures.

We try several medications in combination. When all that fails, we give up and put them on a diet that produces compounds called ketones. The goal is to get these patients to enter a state of ‘nutritional ketosis.’ In this state, the human body lives on fat.

In all my long years of training, my only exposure to the ketosis diet involved its use as a seizure treatment of last resort. So what made me go back and study what a ketone is again? What made me curious enough to recommend it to my mother-a 71-year-old cancer patient at the time?

The seemingly overactive hype regarding ketosis turns out to have a lot going for it. In fact, there is a tremendous amount of medical literature and long-standing scientific research for why we all should be eating 70-80% fat. If you’re looking for one of the most effective and efficient weight loss solutions I’ve seen in my 20-year medical career, ketosis is for you.

My Favorite Ketosis Benefits
If you’re looking for a way to supercharge your mental stamina, ketosis is for you. If you’re looking for the best anti-inflammatory on the planet-100 times more potent than ibuprofen and ten times more potent than any steroid I prescribe, ketosis is for you.

If you want to learn about ketosis in plain English, keep reading these posts. I don’t want to confuse you by overloading you with data.

And there’s plenty of it out there. Instead, I have read and re-read those sourcebooks for you and present their findings in plain language.

I owe a great deal to those authors and scientists who educated me through their research, lectures, and writings. It offers a practical guide to adopting a ketogenic lifestyle.

Keep reading these blog posts if:

• When looking down at your midsection and can pinch fat
• You would like to know how this treatment can improve your brain, body and energy levels
• If you wish to learn how to cut down on doctor’s office visits.

Ketosis is for you.

Learn more about what foods to eat through our FOOD GUIDE teaching you the good – better – and best options for ketosis eating.