Can a Ketogenic Diet combined with BHB salts lead to faster weight loss? Yes they can. In fact, contrary to what many in the keto community will tell you, BHB salts can even help you lose weight without resorting to a Ketogenic Diet!
There are numerous diets out there that claim they can help you lose weight fast. Some of these are diets that work while others are just misleading. Among the diets that work is the ketogenic diet, also known as “keto”. What is it? How does it work? And how does one induce ketosis? These are the major questions asked whenever one hears of the diet.
The ketogenic diet is an extremely low carbohydrate diet that emphasizes on eating more healthy fats, approximately 75-90%, rather than carbohydrates. There are numerous ketogenic diets out there and although they tend to vary there are major standards that they all have in common. The diets are comprised of 75% fats, 20% proteins, and 5% carbs.
How the Ketogenic Diet Works
Before using the diet for weight loss, it is always good to familiarize yourself with how the diet normally works. Keto mainly focuses on bringing the body into a ketosis state. Ketosis is a state where the body metabolizes fats for its energy requirement rather than carbs. When one drastically cuts down on carbs then it means there won’t be enough carbs for the body to burn to produce energy. As a result, the body will switch to ketosis. Once one is at the ketosis state, the liver will use the fat deposits to make ketones which will be burned to produce energy. Those in this diets consume very little carbs in order to reach, and remain in this state.
Also, the Ketogenic Diet suppresses appetite as it alters the concentration of nutrients and hormones responsible for hunger. These diets get rid of cravings for unhealthy foods, which leads to drastic weight loss. Many believe this diet gives the body what it truly needs instead of filling it with processed foods.
Keto diets also help regulate blood sugar level as they place an emphasis on eating healthy proteins and fats and a lot of vegetables. This diet is much better compared to traditional diets that usually contain high amounts of refined sugars and carbs which leave you hungry after some time.
How To Get Into Ketosis Faster with BHB Salts
Getting into ketosis starts with evaluating and changing your carb intake. The goal here is to cut down your carbohydrate intake to about 20-50 grams per day. This might vary from individual to individual but the ultimate goal is focus on consuming as many of your calories from high fat, low carbohydrate foods as possible.
Another possible fast way to get into ketosis is by taking BHB supplements. Betahydroxybutryate, or BHB, is basically a ketone body. It is one of the main molecules that helps your body produce energy without glucose. These supplements induce nutritional ketosis. This will eventually turn you from being a sugar burner to a fat burner.
For those who are looking to lose weight and haven’t succeeded so far, this could be what you need!
How a Keto Diet and BHB Salts CAN Lead to Weight Loss
BHB Salts have a reputation in the Keto community to only be effective for training and fitness purposes. Specifically, they are known to help the body use fatty acids as fuel rather than glucose. This can help you train longer and harder, thus leading to more fat burned per workout. But for strictly dieting purposes they are seen as ineffective.
The truth is they CAN be very effective for weight loss, with and without eating a completely ketogenic diet. But in order for BHB salts to help you lose weight, they need to be used properly. Here are the ways BHB salts can enhance weight loss:
Increase in Fat Burning
When eating low-carb (even if you are not quite in ketosis) you put your body in a fasting state. At this point your body is relying on your body fat for fuel. BHB salts can help to jumpstart this process and help your body make the switch to fat as a fuel instead of glucose.
Hormone Regulation
Ketosis by itself will turn on the hormones that are responsible for weight loss. When you eat a keto diet, the hormone cholecystokinin (CCK) is released. CCK stimulates fat and protein digestion and reduces apetite, which reduces appetite. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study1 showing people injected with CCK stopped eating sooner than the placebo group. BHB salts can help you achieve these appetite suppression effects more quickly. This can aid you in avoiding carbohydrates and allow you to reach ketosis sooner.
Blood Sugar Regulation
Keto diets are those full of healthy fats and proteins along with good old vegetables. This helps you achieve a stabilized blood sugar. BHB salts added to a lower carbohydrate diet can assist in avoiding spikes in blood sugar that can lead to further cravings for carbs. In turn this leads to an easier transition into a state of ketosis.
In short, BHB salts will not send you rapidly into ketosis on their own. What they can do ease an incredibly difficult transition from a medium to high carbohydrate diet into a sustainable ketogenic diet.
Reference
1. Chearskul S, Delbridge E, Shulkes A, Proietto J, Kriketos A. Effect of weight loss and ketosis on postprandial cholecystokinin and free fatty acid concentrations. Am J Clin Nutr 2008; 87: 1238–1246.
