Weight Loss

Guide to a Keto Diet: Benefits, Risks, and How It Works

Guide to a Keto Diet: Benefits, Risks, and How It Works
The essential feature of the ketogenic diet is that its food contains minimal carbohydrates. Shutterstock
Jingduan Yang
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As the new year begins, getting fit and healthy is one of the top resolutions around the world. Keto has become one of the trending weight loss approaches in recent years. But with so many diet plans available, is it the best one for you? What are the pros and cons of the keto diet?

How Does a Ketogenic Diet Work?

There are three primary energy sources for the human body: carbohydrates, fat, and protein. As such, our regular diet typically includes these three elements.

After we consume food—especially certain foods—our blood sugar level elevates quickly. As soon as carbohydrates are absorbed, they immediately become sugar. An elevated blood sugar level stimulates islet cells to secrete insulin into the blood.

Jingduan Yang
Jingduan Yang
M.D.
Dr. Jingduan Yang is a board-certified psychiatrist and fifth-generation classical Chinese medicine physician whose work bridges Western psychiatry, functional medicine, and ancient healing traditions. He is the creator of the ACES Model of Health and Medicine—a four-dimensional framework spanning anatomy, chemistry, energy, and spirit—and the author of “Facing East” and “Clinical Acupuncture and Ancient Chinese Medicine.” As a principal founder of the Northern School of Medicine and Health Sciences, he advances whole-person care grounded in science, ethics, and humanity.
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