Introduction: The Ultimate "Life Hack" - a Small Change in Nutrition
We can all agree that nutrition is a large part of life we hold high in importance, but often, we end up neglecting it because of our lack of time, money, or effort, or because we are aiming our time, money and effort in other directions. Its a little like trying to cut down a tree with a dull axe. You can get so focused on cutting the tree down as fast as possible that you don't realize that if you took a break from hacking at the tree too sharpen the axe, you would be far more efficient. In other words, neglecting our health and nutrition for whatever reason, is generally not going to help eliminate those reasons in the long run. The nutrition we put in our bodies is what fuels us, it's what allows us to move, it's what allows us to breathe, and it's what allows us to think. The standard "western diet" that most of us consume is a little like fueling a high performance rocket fuel engine with low grade gasoline. The high carb, high sugar diet we are so used to hinders our metabolism and effect our body composition, brain function, ability to prevent disease, and athletic performance. It's not just the negative effects of sugar and carbs that make eliminating them ideal, but the amazing benefits of burning fat and the process of fat metabolism called ketosis.
-The Ketogenic Diet-
Reducing the dietary intake of carbohydrates prompts our amazing dynamic human bodies into a state of ketosis in which we are able to metabolize fat rather than glucose, resulting in ketones which are more easily able to provide energy throughout the body.
What this instructable is and how to use it:
The goal of this instructable is to organize and provide the information I have researched and compiled on ketogenic diets and the amazing benefits, in the form of illustrated informational videos as well as the summaries in written form. The reason I made these videos is because I think the ability to illustrate the information and the connections within makes it far easier to understand and more enjoyable to watch. On the other hand if some information stands out and and you want to reread, or prefer to learn from reading rather than watching, the info is here in written form as well. So watch in order, or skip through to topics that interest you most, this intractable is here for anyone even slightly interested in improving their health through a low carb amendment to nutrition.
Hope you enjoy and feel free to leave comments or suggestions. If you want to skip straight to the "Consider This" youtube channel you can do so by clicking HERE
Step 1: History of the Human Diet
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society".
-Jiddu Krishnamurti-
It's evident that, we as humans, have a habit of comparing our health to those directly around us. At the grocery store we eye others baskets to assess the dietary standard we have set for ourselves, at the gym we survey the floor and rank our body composition to those around us, this seems to be inevitable because health, as a quantifiable statistic, like most other phenomena, is relative. But, comparing your own diet to your neighbors diet, no matter how healthy he or she may be, is a little like running a race without being timed. You might be able to compare your speed directly to anyone running along side you, but lose the ability to differentiate your overall performance from similar feats throughout history.
The dietary norms we uphold today, are a result of running an untimed race. Perhaps more effective than comparing our diet to a "profoundly sick society", we should compare our diet to that of our species as a whole throughout human evolution. If we did we would see how far we have strayed from the diet that spurred the evolution of the human brain, and separated the homo genus species from others. We would see the shocking amount of time our species spent consuming high fat, low carb, nutrient rich diets, contrary to the minuscule, ten thousand year moment, since the advent of agriculture that we have spent chowing down carbs. We would see that despite our best (or maybe worst) effort, we haven't been able to elude this evolutionary tactic of fat metabolism that we trademarked as a species, and that perhaps reverting our metabolism to its original form can improve our individual health and well being.
The short term effects of ketone production, through ketogenic diet or supplementation of exogenous ketones and medium chain triglycerides, have been shown to almost immediately enhance memory, clarity, attention, alertness and cognition. Countless tests have been done correlating heightened brain function to the use of fatty acids as the primary substrate for metabolism. These results prove ketones to be one of the most effective and side effect free "brain hacks" today.
Here's why:
Through the breakdown of fatty acids in the liver, ketones are produced to be used as fuel throughout the body and have been found to act as a form of "rocket fuel" for the brain. In comparison to glucose, the most common substrate for brain metabolism in a standard western diet, ketones are a far more efficient fuel source, leaving fewer detrimental byproducts and using less oxygen in the energy production process. A large reason we see such drastic improvements in brain function under the influence of ketones is that cellular respiration is improved, and mitochondrial biogenesis is up-regulated in the brain. Which means, this alternative fuel source is not only fueling a more efficient generator but stimulating the growth of more generators to produce more energy, resulting in improvements in cognition, memory and clarity. As Dr. David Perlmutter states in his NY Times Best Selling Book "Grain Brain", "it stimulates the growth of mitochondria and thus increases metabolic efficiency."
Another big issue with glucose as a primary fuel source for the brain is the byproducts produced during glycolysis, or the breakdown of glucose for energy. It has been shown that glucose fuel production results in high amounts of glutamate buildup, which is the major excitatory neurotransmitter found in the central nervous system. Build up of glutamate results in over excitement of neurons in the brain, and manifests as brain fog and inability to focus. Ketone research has shown that the process of using ketones as fuel in the brain promotes pathways in which glutamate is converted to glutamine, which is a substrate for the production of GABA, the most prominent inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system. In short, the use of ketones in the brain, takes the detrimental byproducts of glucose that hinder cognition, and turns it into a neurotransmitter that promotes focus and heightened cognition.
Perhaps it is easiest to see the brain effects of ketones by looking at extreme cases. We have seen that ketones are able to reach areas of the brain that otherwise can't be by glucose due to insulin resistance in Alzheimers patients. Even in relatively "healthy" brains small amounts of insulin resistance could result in lack of available energy causing impaired brain function. The metabolic pathway opened by ketones can bypass insulin dependency and wake dormant areas of the brain, improving memory, mental clarity and cognition.
When we talk about the efficiency of any sort of aerobic metabolism, we must consider the amount of oxygen consumed in the energy production process. Another incredible "brain hack" effect of ketones and ketogenic diets is the improvement in the ratio of oxygen input to energy output. Meaning the process of creating energy from ketones takes less oxygen per resulting unit of energy, or ATP, than glucose. Dr. Dominic D'Agostino has done more work than anyone in the area of oxygen consumption in the brain and ketone effects on regulation. He has found that, "Ketones preserve brain metabolism in the face of an oxidative challenge", and in relation to the oxygen efficiency that ketones provide, he has found that breath hold duration improves drastically by default under ketogenic metabolism in the brain. In the case of under water divers, the time spent holding a single breath under water has nearly doubled, which is a great representation of the oxygen efficiency of ketones.
These are a few main contributors to the noticeable mental and cognitive improvements prompted by a ketogenic diet or ketogenic supplementation. There are a wide range of benefits from ketones covered in other videos in this series, as well as benefits from avoiding excess carbohydrates, which come hand in hand with a diet that relies heavily on fat metabolism.
Step 2: Negative Effects of Sugar
Statistics have proven that some of the biggest health challenges we face today are problems brought on by metabolic risk factors such high blood pressure, cholesterol imbalances, high fasting blood sugar, and obesity. At the same time history has proven that these issues have only became a significant problem in the past 25 years. What is it that is prompting deadly diseases such as diabetes, alzheimer's, heart disease, and overall cognitive decline over this period? Lets take a look at some statistics pointed out by Dr. Robert Lustig:
In the past 25 years the average American's weight has increased a pound per year resulting in a 25lb total. This coincides with adding 200-300 kcal/day to the average nutritional intake. The fact that this huge increase in nutritional intake does not correlate with a large energy demand increase or an equal increase in energy output, means that the system that regulates this ratio is not functioning properly.
On average, a diet that increased around 250kcal in the past 25 years would be made up of an increase of 210kcal from carbohydrates, and only 40kcal from fat, which is equal to 4 grams of fat and a whopping 52 grams of carbohydrates. From this we can see that the huge increase in weight gain and metabolic disease correlates directly to a large increase in the consumption of carbohydrates, many of which have been from various forms of sugar.
Sugars come in many forms, whether monosaccharides like glucose and fructose, or disaccharides like sucrose, all forms of sugar are in the category of carbohydrates and are broken down to produce energy for systems in the body. They are consumed in massive amounts all over the globe, without any consideration or knowledge of harmful effects. Lets dive into what it is about excess amounts, and the metabolism of these different types of sugar, that is slowly disrupting our metabolism and becoming a detriment to our health.
One of the biggest issues with excess consumption of sugars, is that there is a large increase in sugar molecules binding to proteins, fats and amino acids, in a process called glycation. Our DNA provides information that strings together amino acids into unique three dimensional proteins, that carry out specific tasks, such as regulating body processes, guarding against infection, and making up the form and shape of almost all structures throughout the body. These functions are determined by the shape of the protein, which is achieved through the folding of its structure. Glycation, or the process of renegade sugars binding to proteins, results in the deformation of proteins, and become what is known as AGE's or advanced glycation end products. When these proteins become misshapen through glycation they not only become much less functional, but attach to other proteins near by, and become a source of increased free radicals, leading to destruction of tissue and damage to DNA. Small amounts of glycation are inevitable and increase slightly with age, but research has shown that glycation is hugely amplified with excess amounts of sugar intake and can be associated with kidney and vascular disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline. Shockingly, this glycation process can be visibly noticeable and can manifest as signs of early aging. When the proteins that make up the structure of skin become glycated and misshapen by sugars, skin sagging, wrinkles and loss of radiance occurs.
We've talked about sugars as a whole but lets break down a specific monosaccharide that provides the sweet taste of fruit, which most people consider to be a healthy choice, fructose.
Fructose can be defined as "A substrate that upon ingestion is exclusively metabolized in the liver, and presents chemical problems", a description that also defines the word "poison". There a variety of ways fructose negatively effects metabolism, and unlike other carbohydrates, all of these effects originate the in liver where fructose is broken down. As a result of this liver or "hepatic" metabolism, fructose does not trigger the normal response that other carbohydrates do. There is no immediate rise in blood sugar, therefor an insulin response is not triggered, and as a result the hormone leptin, which communicates to the brain that nutrients have been ingested, is not produced. Regardless of the calories ingested from fructose, feelings of hunger are not satisfied and satiety can not be reached. This is why when soda is ingested, which is one of the biggest providers of fructose in a western diet, the calories are an addition to daily caloric intake, not in substitution for other calories. This along with the fact that all sugars activate sweet receptors that trigger dopamine production in the brain makes it hard for anyone to avoid fructose sweetened beverages.
The hepatic metabolism of fructose also differs from glucose metabolism in its byproducts. Through the process of hepatic de-novo lipogenesis, over 30% of fructose consumed is converted and stored as fat in the liver. In addition, during the conversion process, detrimental byproducts are produced such as uric acid, which is known as the key factor in developing the life threatening disease gout. This production of uric acid also lowers the production of endothelial nitric oxide synthase which aides in the production of nitric oxide, a key factor in keeping blood pressure regulated. Not to mention fructose is 7x more likely to form AGE's that we previously discussed.
The consumption of sugar can definitely be a tough habit to break, but is a crucial turn to take on the road to improved health.
Step 3: Ketogenic Effects on the Brain
The short term effects of ketone production, through ketogenic diet or supplementation of exogenous ketones and medium chain triglycerides, have been shown to almost immediately enhance memory, clarity, attention, alertness and cognition. Countless tests have been done correlating heightened brain function to the use of fatty acids as the primary substrate for metabolism. These results prove ketones to be one of the most effective and side effect free "brain hacks" today.
Here's why:
Through the breakdown of fatty acids in the liver, ketones are produced to be used as fuel throughout the body and have been found to act as a form of "rocket fuel" for the brain. In comparison to glucose, the most common substrate for brain metabolism in a standard western diet, ketones are a far more efficient fuel source, leaving fewer detrimental byproducts and using less oxygen in the energy production process. A large reason we see such drastic improvements in brain function under the influence of ketones is that cellular respiration is improved, and mitochondrial biogenesis is up-regulated in the brain. Which means, this alternative fuel source is not only fueling a more efficient generator but stimulating the growth of more generators to produce more energy, resulting in improvements in cognition, memory and clarity. As Dr. David Perlmutter states in his NY Times Best Selling Book "Grain Brain", "it stimulates the growth of mitochondria and thus increases metabolic efficiency."
Another big issue with glucose as a primary fuel source for the brain is the byproducts produced during glycolysis, or the breakdown of glucose for energy. It has been shown that glucose fuel production results in high amounts of glutamate buildup, which is the major excitatory neurotransmitter found in the central nervous system. Build up of glutamate results in over excitement of neurons in the brain, and manifests as brain fog and inability to focus. Ketone research has shown that the process of using ketones as fuel in the brain promotes pathways in which glutamate is converted to glutamine, which is a substrate for the production of GABA, the most prominent inhibitory neurotransmitter of the central nervous system. In short, the use of ketones in the brain, takes the detrimental byproducts of glucose that hinder cognition, and turns it into a neurotransmitter that promotes focus and heightened cognition.
Perhaps it is easiest to see the brain effects of ketones by looking at extreme cases. We have seen that ketones are able to reach areas of the brain that otherwise can't be by glucose due to insulin resistance in Alzheimers patients. Even in relatively "healthy" brains small amounts of insulin resistance could result in lack of available energy causing impaired brain function. The metabolic pathway opened by ketones can bypass insulin dependency and wake dormant areas of the brain, improving memory, mental clarity and cognition.
When we talk about the efficiency of any sort of aerobic metabolism, we must consider the amount of oxygen consumed in the energy production process. Another incredible "brain hack" effect of ketones and ketogenic diets is the improvement in the ratio of oxygen input to energy output. Meaning the process of creating energy from ketones takes less oxygen per resulting unit of energy, or ATP, than glucose. Dr. Dominic D'Agostino has done more work than anyone in the area of oxygen consumption in the brain and ketone effects on regulation. He has found that, "Ketones preserve brain metabolism in the face of an oxidative challenge", and in relation to the oxygen efficiency that ketones provide, he has found that breath hold duration improves drastically by default under ketogenic metabolism in the brain. In the case of under water divers, the time spent holding a single breath under water has nearly doubled, which is a great representation of the oxygen efficiency of ketones.
Step 4: Ketogenic Effects on Weight Loss
For decades health care professionals have prescribed low fat diets to lose weight and maintain a healthy life style, but more recently we are understanding that, not only can lowering fat intake be harmful, but raising fat and lowering carb intake can be a more efficient method of weight loss. The combination of providing the body with healthy fats that are essential to longevity, and promoting the breakdown of fatty acids to provide energy for the entire body, makes low carb "ketogenic diets" perhaps the quickest, healthiest, and most sustainable method for weight loss and improved body composition. There are a variety of processes that account for the remarkable results in weight loss, but we will start with the basic principles of ketosis and how our metabolism can transform from depending on carbohydrates to efficiently burning fats.
The basis of a "ketogenic diet" is that we can reduce dietary carbohydrate intake to a point where the our metabolism is prompted into a state of ketosis, in which fatty acids are broken down in the liver to provide the body with substrates for energy production, called ketone bodies. The main benefit of this conversion of metabolism is that we begin to draw energy from body fat reserves such as adipose tissue, resulting in substantial weight loss. When high or even moderate amounts of carbohydrates are present in our diet, they are pushed to the front of the line to be metabolized, which leaves nutritional fat to be stored rather than burned. Amazingly on a "ketogenic diet" we can lower overall body fat through passive calories burned, therefor autonomic processes like brain function, breathing, and sleeping result in weight loss.
Another reason individuals find it so much easier to lose weight on a ketogenic diet than other diet regimens, is that the production of ketones regulates hormones that play a large role in suppressing appetite back to its optimal levels. Research is now identifying fat is one of the largest & most active endocrine organs in our bodies, meaning fat has the ability to secrete hormones directly into our blood stream. In over weight individuals these hormones called “adipokines” are completely out of balance. Leptin is key hormone that fat cells produce, which sends signals to the brain during nutritional intake that enough fat is stored and nutritional consumption can stop. With the hormone imbalance caused by being over weight, the brain, more specifically the hypothalamus develops a resistance to leptin, which results in no recognition of being full. Therefor, in a diet reliant on carbohydrates for fuel, the problem of over eating and food cravings makes it extremely difficult to lose weight, and in a ketogenic diet this problem is eliminated.
It seems a bit counter intuitive that eating fat would promote losing fat, but health experts are now understanding just that to be the case. Another large reason weight loss is amplified in a ketogenic diet verses a normal western diet, is the inhibitory weight loss effects of the production of insulin prompted by nutritional intake of carbohydrates. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, most predominantly as a result of carbohydrate intake, to aide in the transport of glucose into cells throughout the body. When insulin is produced it prohibits the metabolism from burning fat, Jeff Volek says it perfect in his book "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance" where he says, "Insulin is the primary gate keeper of body fat. If your insulin levels are consistently high, fat usage is effectively blocked." In addition, glucose and insulin being present in the blood at moderate levels hinders the production of testosterone, therefor when carbohydrates are being consumed, levels of this anabolic hormone that is a key factor in positive body composition changes, is significantly lowered.
To tie it all together, a low carb ketogenic diet:
Promotes burning body fat for fuel, resulting in considerable healthy weight loss
Regulates hunger cravings, and nutritional intake demands back to optimal levels
And aids in balancing hormone levels to more efficiently improve body composition.
In Dr. David Perlmutter's book, "Grain Brain" he concludes that "A low-carb, high-fat diet will out perform a low-fat, high-carb diet any day, and by virtually every measure in the body, from it's internal chemistry to it's external waistline."
Step 5: Ketogenic Effects on Disease Prevention
In 2004 a neonatologist named Mary Newport, received heart breaking news that her husband had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. As his disease progressed she couldn't help but dedicate herself to studying the latest research and reviewing all the latest clinical trials on Alzheimers patients. She came across a patent application for a medical food referred to as AC1202, which she found was a fancy name for Medium Chain Triglyceride Oil. Mary's husband was scheduled for a screening for a new Alzheimer's clinical trial the next morning, and was not accepted due to scoring a 14 out of 30 on a memory test, which indicated his Alzheimer's had progressed too far to be a test subject. Part of the test was to draw a clock, his clock indicated that he was on the verge of severe Alzheimer's. After these disappointing results Mary decided to give MCT oil a shot and new that Coconut Oil contain around 60% Medium Chain Triglycerides. The next day her husband had another screening, so she administered 7 tsp of coconut oil to him that morning, surprisingly he scored 4 points higher, an 18 on the same test as the day before. After these promising but not conclusive results they decided to keep the doses of coconut oil going, and as they did his symptoms diminished rather than progressed. After 14 days he was asked to draw a clock again and his clock went from being a few random shape and numbers to a drawing that anyone could identify as a clock. During the first months of adding coconut oil to his diet they witnessed his personality and sense of humor return, tremors and visual disturbances were resolved and he was able to resume normal activities that they thought he would never do again.
The reason coconut oil or MCT oil has this astonishing regenerative effect on the brain is due to the production of ketones through the breakdown of MCT's. So really its not MCT oil that is acting as a miracle drug, its just a method of letting your body use fatty acids as fuel, resulting in the production of ketone bodies, which can also be achieved through a low carb "ketogenic diet".
To describe how ketones have this incredible impact of the brain for Alzheimer's patents, we first have to understand the way Alzheimer's effects the brain negatively. With a standard western diet glucose is the primary fuel source for the brain. The brain and other organs in the body use glucose from nutritional intake of carbohydrates to produce ATP or adenosine triphosphate, which is the energy source for all processes in the body. In Alzheimer's patents mitochondrial function is abnormal, you can think of the mitochondria as working like a gasoline generator, but instead of using gas to generate electricity, the mitochondria uses glucose to produce ATP. In cases of Alzheimer's it has been observed that due to insulin resistance, glucose has trouble penetrating the cell wall and entering the mitochondria.
FGD-PET scans have shown the vast difference in a normal brain vs a brain with Alzheimer's, the uptake of glucose is severely decreased, resulting in a lack of available energy in the brain.
A problem that is also seen in other areas of the body in individuals with diabetes. Which is why Alzheimer's is now being referred to as type 3 diabetes, or diabetes of the brain.
The amazing thing about ketones as an alternative fuel source, is that they do not need insulin to allow them to enter cells and mitochondria. Therefor they are able to bypass insulin deficiency and insulin resistance in the brain.
There has been plenty of tests done on the effects of ketones on the brains of Alzheimer's patents now, and the results are irrefutable. In a survey of 184 individuals with dementia who were given a regimen of medium chain triglycerides, an incredible 167 of the 184 showed quantitative and qualitative improvements. That makes MCT's 91% effective on a variety of different forms of dementia. More specifically 59% had improved memory and cognition, 42% saw improvements to social behavior and mood, 35% regained speech and verbal skills, and 24% were able to return to regular daily activities.
Through this same method of ketones providing a new energy pathway, a ton of other diseases can be effectively treated, diseases like Parkinson's, Multiple Sclerosis, ALS, Type 1 and 2 diabetes, and even has shown improvements in some forms of autism.
This isn't the only method in which ketones can treat and prevent disease. It has been observed that the energy production system of cancer cells are not quite as dynamic as the basic human metabolism. Cancer cells are huge consumers of glucose to meet their high energy demand to grow and spread through the body. Depriving them of there only source of fuel can reverse growth and eliminate cancer cells all together. Ketones also provide astonishing antioxidant effects, and are able to enter cells much more efficiently that other antioxidants due to there smaller molecular size. The effects of ketones as antioxidants reduce free radicles and oxidative stress, and Dr. Richard Veech, a leading ketone researcher for the the past 40 years has discovered they could even provide protection from radiation to human tissue.
Step 6: Ketogenic Effects on Athletic Performance
The "super human" benefits of a ketogenic diet have manifested in a variety of areas, from using the endurance benefits of fat metabolism to set records in a 100 mile race, to elite athletes like Lebron James using the protein preserving, fat burning effects to slim down and become even more athletic in the off season, we have seen that there is a significant boost in performance, endurance and recovery as a result of ketosis. One of the most common misconceptions of a ketogenic diet is that, it is an appropriate diet for losing weight, but not for maintaining strength, building muscle, and boosting athletic performance. Jeff Volek and Stephen Phinney, are leading researchers in the field of keto adapted athletic performance, they have debunked this myth completely, and documented some of their findings very well in their co authored book "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance".
The most talked about "draw back" of a ketogenic diet for athletes is that lean muscle mass production slows, and muscle protein synthesis is negatively effected. This in fact, couldn't be farther from the truth. We have all heard of the positive body composition changes from the burning of fat for fuel in a ketogenic diet, but it turns out that the reduction in body fat percentage is amplified due to the ability to maintain and increase lean muscle mass. Volek and Phinney state in their book that, "Evidence clearly indicates that a well formulated ketogenic diet spares the body's proteins from oxidation". This is possible due to the fact that the structure of ketones resemble that of the amino acids that are metabolized in a standard western diet, therefor are burned as a substitute. This allows blood levels of Branched Chain Amino Acids to stay elevated in ketogenic metabolism. The misconception of a detriment to muscle protein synthesis, or MPS, is rooted in the fact that insulin is regarded as a key factor in promoting MPS, and as we know, without the influx of glucose in the blood stream, an insulin response is not triggered. It turns out the Branched Chain Amino Acid, Lucine, easily fills the role of the missing insulin and is able to promote MPS in its own right. This, combined with the protein sparing effects of ketosis that up regulates lucine levels, muscle protein synthesis is promoted at levels just as high, if not higher than diets that include high amounts of carbohydrates to stimulate insulin production. In addition this lack of insulin response allows anabolic hormones such as testosterone and human growth hormone, which play a large role in exercise recovery and muscle regeneration, to be at an all time high.
Perhaps the most significant improvement, when converting metabolism to a fatty acid fuel source, is the practically endless supply of fuel, in comparison to the finite amount of carbohydrates we are able to store as muscle and liver glycogen. When glucose is not directly metabolized to create ATP, it is converted and stored as glycogen in the liver and skeletal muscle throughout the body. On average these glycogen stores can hold around 400-500 grams of glycogen, to later be burned as glucose, accounting for 1600-2000kcal of energy. This is when we begin to see that this fuel reservoir doesn't begin to compare to the energy stored in fat, even in extremely lean individuals. Each gram of fat contains 9kcal of energy which is more than double that of the energy of carbohydrates, to go further, the storage capacity of fat is endless, even in a lean 10% body fat athlete, the energy available in the fat fuel tank is about 20x that of the energy in the carb fuel tank, somewhere around 40,000kcal. This expanded fuel tank rids athletes of the need to carb load and continuously provide nutritional energy throughout high endurance exercise, such as marathon running and competing in triathlons. Which is why in the past decade athletes on ketogenic diets have emerged as some of the best performers in these ultra endurance competitions.
These next two ketogenic improvements to overall athletic performance go hand in hand. They are the improvements in ventilatory drive and the production and regulation of lactate during exercise. One of the largest drivers of respiratory rate during exercise is the acidity, or pH of the blood. The two pathways that increase acidity, and decrease pH, are high amounts of carbon dioxide and high amounts of lactate in the blood stream. During exercise, as exertion increases these chemicals are produced at a higher rate than they can be dealt with, causing levels in the blood to raise, and resulting in increased respiratory rate or hyperventilation. In the metabolization of fat, less C02 is produce per calorie burned, resulting in less build up in the blood. In addition with much less reliance on the burning of glucose through glycolysis in a ketogenic diet, significantly less lactate is present in the blood stream, making it easier to regulate respiration, in other words, its easier to breath.
I know I referred to these results brought on by the beneficial effects of ketogenic dieting as being "super human", but in reality, this more potent, more efficient, and more available form of metabolism is a trademark of our human species. Perhaps these feats should simple be considered "human", and anything less than remarkable should be considered "subhuman".
