Dr. Berg’s Keto Resources

FAQ

What is a ketone?

A ketone is the by-product of fat being burned. It is basically an alternative source of energy (fuel) for your body. A more common source of body-fuel is the burning of glucose (sugar), but ketones are a preferred way of fueling the body. They are more efficient for the brain and the heart, and are better for your metabolism than running on glucose
How can I get my body to run on ketones instead of on sugar?

Ketones are triggered by an absence of carbohydrates and sugar. There are specific steps to take to get your body into ketosis, but essentially, when carbohydrates are eliminated, the body will transfer over to using ketones. But I don’t recommend removing carbohydrates completely because I want you to be consuming lots of vegetables. One reason it is so crucial to take in lots of vegetables, and especially lots of vegetables high in potassium, such as kale, beet greens and collard greens, is because it will help you keep all this fat you’re dumping off the body off your liver. You can get a fatty liver when you start dropping lots of weight, as you will once you begin running on ketones instead of glucose. So think VEGETABLE CARBOHYDRATE ONLY.
Will too much protein throw me out of ketosis?

Yes, too much lean protein—think turkey and chicken—even lean fish—if you’re consuming that and vegetable only, without fat there, you are at risk of throwing yourself out of ketosis. Even eating egg whites without yolks greatly spikes insulin. So look to fatty proteins. Fatty cuts of beef, chicken WITH skin, fattier cuts of beef, lamb, and game. Chuck as opposed to 10% lean sirloin.
I heard that on a ketosis diet you eat more fat--isn't that unhealthy?

A lot of conflicting information has been circulated about the consumption of fat. People are sometimes concerned that adding fat to their diet will cause them to gain weight. This is not necessarily the case. Fat a neutral food. It is also satisfying. If you eat a low-fat meal, whether you have carbs or not, you will stay hungry. Fat allows you to feel full for longer. Furthermore, fat does not spike insulin and adding some healthy fat at meals will help you go longer between meals and really dip down into your fat stores to burn that fat off the body. Burning all that fat off the body is much healthier than holding onto it—which will lead to insulin resistance, diabetes, and all the dominoes that fall after that—cardiovascular disease, cancer, the list goes on and on.
Are condiments bad for ketosis?

Actually, YES—ketchup, BBQ sauce, Asian sauces like duck sauce and sweet and sour sauce are LOADED with sugar and eating sugar with protein greatly spikes INSULIN—exactly what you don’t want to do. Mustard doesn’t. So choose fattier salad dressings like ranch. I like Paul Newman’s line of salad dressings as they contain almost no sugar. Start looking at sugar grams on EVERYTHING. Try to stick around one or less. Two max and only once a day.
I started the keto diet about a week ago. Now I’m tired constantly. What do I do?

What’s going on is your body is trying to adjust to fat burning. So, this is a good thing. What you need to do is concentrate on getting more vitamins in the diet. Now, the one nutrient you need a lot of to keep the fatigue away and to help you in the metabolism is B5. B5 also helps the adrenals and metabolism along, and keeps that fatigue away. Promise!
What does insulin have to do with weight loss?

Hormones are the controlling factor in whether or not a body burns fat. The hormone that prevents you from losing weight is insulin. As Guyton’s Physiology tells us, fat burning is greatly enhanced in the absence of insulin. When you’re running on glucose only, you’ll never lose fat.
What triggers the production of insulin?

Insulin triggers include carbohydrates, sugars, excessive protein. Also, every time you eat, you trigger insulin – unless you eat fat only. Combining certain foods, in fact, really spikes insulin, such as combining protein with sugars—so meat with bread, meats with sugary condiments like ketchup, barbeque sauce, sweet chili sauce and chicken fingers—these are deadly for the blood sugar and really spike insulin like birthday cake. Also, certain compounds in fast food really spike insulin, especially MSG, which is added to all kinds of fast foods, not just Asian food.
Does ketosis worsen adrenal health?

No. Ketosis allows your adrenals to function more stably. It works like this: The adrenal glands make cortisol, which is triggered by stress. Cortisol increases insulin, which will kick you out of ketosis. When you decrease insulin (as with ketosis), you lower stress and lower cortisol. Therefore, the adrenal glands don't have to work so hard, and will function more healthily.
Does ketosis cause hypothyroidism?

The short answer is: no. A low carbohydrate diet is not the thing that causes a slow thyroid. A low calorie diet, however, can cause hypothyroidism. Sometimes, people on a ketosis diet will find that they're just not that hungry. So if you're doing to do a ketosis diet, you need to make sure you provide your body with enough nutrients.
Will vegetables slow ketosis?

I get asked this question a lot. Generally speaking, the answer is no. As long as you avoid vegetables like corn, beets, and carrots, which are high in starch and sugar, especially carrot JUICE, which is packed with sugar, for example, you don't have to worry about the vegetable family. In fact, you want to eat lots of green leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, Brussel sprouts—make big kale salads with bacon bits and a full fat dressing. Or make a big beet green sauté in coconut oil with some bacon, garlic, and onion stirred in. These will be dishes PACKED with potassium which will quiet food cravings much like fat does. Often, food cravings are nothing more than your body crying out for NUTRIENTS and MINERALS you’re not giving it. Your body doesn’t really want chips and sugar—it wants more potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, K2, and B vitamins.
What about keto bombs?

Keto bombs are snacks that ketogenic dieters love because they’re healthy, delicious cheat foods that are high in fat, but virtually devoid of carbs and protein. I have a lot of videos on how to make keto bombs, but you don't have to have them with each meal. The goals would be to have one a day. Dumping a lot of butter or coconut oil into your coffee may not work for you. Some people can digest it, and some people can't.
What about fruit on a ketogenic diet? Can I do it?

In short, no. Apples even have too many carbs. Pineapples hugely spike insulin. Never consume fruit juices. The fiber is bound to the phytonutrients and the juice is cooked, removing many nutrients. You’re basically just drinking concentrated fructose + corn syrup. As an adult, I wouldn’t consume much fruit, period—except maybe ½ cup berries a day. Fructose consumption can lead to a fatty liver, insulin resistance and can spike insulin MORE THAN GLUCOSE!
What is ketosis, exactly?

Ketosis is a state of physical being and energy utilization when the body is running on ketones instead of glucose. Ketones are a clean fuel the body and brain absolutely loves. Ketones are an alternative fuel for the body that is not sugar or glucose. Running on ketones is like running a car on electricity rather than diesel fuel. Ketones are a cleaner fuel source - an alternative fuel source that gives a person way more energy than glucose. Even professional athletes can outrun and outperform any other athlete on ketosis than carb loading. By lowering your insulin, your sugars and refined carbohydrates, way down there close to zero to 5% of your daily calories or lower, you will burn fat as opposed to glucose for diet purposes or because you want to run on this clean fuel that many people find can help them perform better in all areas of life, mentally and physically. When you’re running on glucose and insulin is spiked, you’re not dipping down into your fat stores for energy. You’re burning up your muscles, not fat. When you’re in ketosis, you’re no longer spiking your blood sugar and you begin running on your own fat for fuel, which is idea for losing weight—the right kind of weight—fat.
Is gluten free healthy on a keto diet?

It’s true, gluten is harmful to the gut. But just because it doesn’t have gluten, doesn’t mean it won’t spike insulin. Quinoa, buckwheat, sorghum, millet – all these have nearly the same GI as SUGAR. So no.
How much fat should I eat at each meal?

Each meal you have to judge how much fat you need. If you’re really battling a high appetite/high craving day or week, you might want to add more fat, especially at breakfast to trim your appetite throughout the day and enable you to go longer without cravings and hunger. Ketosis in general suppresses your appetite, so your hunger will be greatly reduced. You're going to be able to go many hours without eating. So let the hunger dictate how much fat you eat. If you're not hungry, cut down on the fat and go a little bit lighter. You might need a little bit more fat sometimes, but don't go crazy, because that's going to slow you down.
What are “net carbs”?

Carbs – we recommend 20 to 50 net carbs a day. So you take total carbs minus the fiber—it’s that simple. Fiber has no effect on insulin, so you can subtract the fiber grams from the carbs grams.
Can I have a cheat day?

No. If you want to get and stay in ketosis, you need to stick to the plan. It can take over a week to get back into ketosis after a sugar slip.
How can I avoid (or get over) the keto flu?

The symptoms of keto flu are headaches, body aches, cravings, brain fog and fatigue. Well, just think about what you’re trying to do. You’re converting your ENTIRE cellular machinery to fat burning. What you need to do to avoid and heal the keto flu is get more electrolytes and more B vitamins. These are the cofactors that help in developing the machinery to burn fat effectively without draining your body. For the B vitamins, try nutritional yeast. However, nutritional yeast does not have B5—so you may have to take a B5 supplement. I recommend my electrolyte powder. It has 1,000 mgs of potassium and will help you get to that 4,700 mgs you need to create this machinery to burn fat faster and get into ketosis!

There are plenty of diets that claim they can help you lose weight but most of them cause you to feel weak and low on energy.

We offer healthy keto diet meal plans that promote healthy weight loss. With our low carb keto diet plans you can lose weight without excluding major food groups that are necessary for your well-being.

Dr. Berg’s free online diet plans consist of low-carb, mostly plant-based foods and Ketogenic diet supplements.

Ketogenic Diet Plan Overview

*Any comments on our blog or websites relating to weight loss results may or may not be typical and your results will vary depending on your diet and exercise habits.

***Always consult a professional before making any significant changes to your health.