Self Care Challege – Day 11
The vague but urgent “I want to feel-and look- better” might be a thought you find yourself frequently thinking.
And while your usual self-care routine-including nutrition, exercise and (I would hope) massage therapy – can serve an important role in achieving this goal, examining your overall health may take you from “better” to, well, your best.
But finding the right diet for your goals and lifestyle? This is where it can get tricky. From Paleo and DASH to Volumetrics and MIND, the sheer number of diets presently trending can make one’s head spin. Enter the ketogenic diet- except with a twist.
Developed in the 1920s as a form of epilepsy treatment by a team of physicians at Johns Hopkins, the ketogenic diet inverts the triangle of the Standard American Diet.
Meaning, rather than relying primarily on the fuel produced by carbohydrates found in fruit, sugar and grains, it forces the body to turn to stored fat as its chief source of energy.
How does it do this? By replacing those carbs with high amounts of fat and low-to-moderate protein.
In turn, a keto dieter may experience everything from enhanced brain function, protection against age-related neurodegenerative disease, improved blood sugar regulation. Better cholesterol levels and once comfortably adjusted to the stat of ketosis the die prompts, greater overall vibrancy.
And what’s most attractive about this diet? Its ability to prompt weight loss without intense exercise or counting calories.
Besides the allure of slimming down, however, some may consider that the potential benefits of the keto diet feel a bit indefinable – or too far in the future.
Others still may be wary of a diet that conventionally depends on fats and proteins form animal sources.
But a modified keto diet can not only help you reap the benefits of the traditional keto plan, it can also help you achieve something instantly recognizable: clearer, more radiant skin. Enriched hormone balance and better mental clarity.
What is a Modified Keto Diet?
While the traditional ketogenic diet is the most popular approach, altered keto diets are emerging across the world and in the media, from the alkaline-keto diet to the Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet.
In an effort to reduce the potential consequences of eating too many animal products, it looks to plant-based fats and proteins.
Avocadoes, wild-caught fish, macadamia nuts, olive and coconut oil, leafy greens and such low-carb above-ground vegetables as spinach and kale dominate the menu.
Moreover, I stress the importance of ensuring that the diet is properly managed. To ease into the process of the body depending on ketones for fuel, I urge clients to focus not only on what they’re eating but also on suitable hydration, adequate rest, regular exercise and eating enough.
Food is Medicine we have heard this time and time again. There are many reasons why we should pay attention to what we eat. The processed, low-variety foods many of us consume regularly may be convenient and tasty, but they compromise our health.
Overall, seeing your food as medicine helps you make better decisions about what (and how) to eat in order to make the best decisions for your own wellbeing.
Here’s to healthy eating!
-Jessica C. Dagnello
