Male ketosis is not set in stone and may very well have the same effect as it does in females. However, recently a few men have claimed that the keto diet has done wonders in helping them shed unwanted body fat. There must be some science behind this? Apparently, researchers are already onto it and have been putting these claims to the test. Male ketosis might be just as, if not more impactful on the human body.
The ketogenic diet is very popular around the globe, especially for losing weight. I want to know whether this dietary pattern works as well in females as it does in males. Why does the ketogenic diet exist? Most people use it to more either speed up weight loss or help control their type 2 diabetes. Having said that, it’s not a diet we can encourage fully because there still isn’t enough evidence to guarantee that it’s healthy for everyone. There’s a reason for all this speculation about male ketosis and the impact of female hormones.
However, according to the Sun, male ketosis was the only thing that got an ex-footballer to lose weight effectively. He claims in the report that eating a ‘healthy diet’ alone didn’t work. But as soon as he went keto, his body plunged into a fat-burning state. Let’s talk about the science before we get into whether ketosis is more effective in males than in females.
Male Ketosis, And The A Man’s Response To The Keto Diet
The ketogenic diet was originally developed to help people reduce their symptoms of epilepsy. The diet allows you to eat a large number of healthy fats, adequate amounts of protein and restricts carbohydrates, starch, sugar, and fiber. Over the years, we’ve come to know carbohydrates as our main source of fuel and energy. However, the theory behind male ketosis or the diet as a whole is that once carbohydrates are eliminated, your body then switches to burning its own fat stores for energy instead of using carbohydrates.
Then, as part of this process, the liver turns fatty acids into molecules called ketone bodies. This man who raves about the effectiveness of male ketosis says that eating whole foods and drinking lots of water still didn’t work for him because he was eating too much for his body to burn off. However, when he went keto and started to eat more protein to supplement his muscle mass and healthy fats, he started to develop smarter methods of eating. Basically, he slowly reduced his caloric consumption from 3000 to 1400 per day without feeling starved.
Whilst this is a commendable achievement and shows the effectiveness of a ketogenic diet. Simply put, the man just lowered his calories. It made it easier to do so because he was following a set plan to cut out carbohydrates. You’ll find that it’s not the carbohydrates that make you retain weight, it’s the fact that you’re eating too much.
Will Male Ketosis Be More Effective Than In Females?
We’ve seen the benefits of ketosis in both men and women. However, recently people are debating the long-term effects and this diet on the different sexes. A new study questions whether the benefits are the same for males and females. A new study using mouse models focused on sex differences in relation to the keto diet. Researchers at the ENDO 2019 conference in New Orleans, L.A., found that a significant difference might be due to the primary female sex hormone, estrogen.
Apparently, most studies done on male ketosis or the ketogenic diet have only used small numbers of patients or in male mice only. As a result, we have some questions. Doctors tested ketosis by feeding male and female mice either a ketogenic diet or a standard diet. The keto diet comprised 75 percent fat, 3 percent carbohydrates, and 8 percent protein by mass. While the controlled diet consists of 7 percent fat, 47 percent carbohydrates, and 19 percent protein.
They found that the male mice on the keto diet maintained blood glucose control and lost body weight. Weirdly, the female mice gained weight. Medical News Today states that these female mice also had poorer blood sugar control compared with the female mice that ate a standard diet. According to the authors, these female mice developed impaired glucose tolerance.
So what does this mean? Is the ketogenic diet better left for male ketosis only? Well, researchers have taken the tests further. To do this, scientists removed the ovaries of some of the female mice. They then ran a similar experiment, which changed the results substantially.
Does Male Ketosis Have A More Favorable Effect Than In Females?
This is the question we’re dying to get an answer for. According to these results, female mice without ovaries dropped body fat and maintained blood glucose control. What does this mean? Well, without estrogen, the keto diet worked. Doctors explained that this suggests that postmenopausal women could potentially experience better weight loss outcomes with a ketogenic diet compared to younger women.
This might also be why men take well into the ketogenic diet and even intermittent fasting. I still don’t like encouraging others to jump into a diet because it is very generalized, and it’s better to consult with a doctor to establish what works best for you. Although this study was conducted on mice, more solid investigations are required to pass judgment. It still helps us better understand the difference between male ketosis and female.
Health Implications Of The Ketogenic Diet
The thing that still confuses me is how the man who lost a lot of weight on the keto diet was also eating very few calories. If he had done that in the first place, he would have lost weight whether it was ketogenic. However, the style of eating worked well for him, and he enjoyed the process. I feel that that is what it boils down to with any kind of lifestyle eating plan.
We’ve also got to consider the effects this diet may have on you. Scientists found that male mice on the keto diet had more pronounced signs of fibrosis and fatty storage than female mice also on the diet. In addition, they also found that those males had higher levels of the hormone FG21, which previous studies have shown is expressed and released in response to liver damage. This is especially common in cases of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
In fact, this isn’t the first time liver problems have been reported on the keto diet either. Researchers have previously warned that the keto diet could cause liver problems because the diet involves so much metallization of fat. As interesting as that is, male ketosis and the effects of the keto diet are still quite uncertain. There’s a reason to be mindful though. Another study showed that six months of the keto diet has also helped improve fatty liver disease in a group of five patients.
Who Do We Trust?
It’s up to you. However, scientists are still not going to promote the keto diet to anybody based on their findings. This includes both men and women. Maybe when we understand the effects of male ketosis and female ketosis better.
All in all, we cannot rely on so little information to state that there is a guaranteed one-size-fits-all diet. To be honest, I doubt there will ever be because we’re all so unique. Male ketosis will be different from female ketosis because we are designed differently. Therefore, there are factors to consider before taking the plunge. Doctors believe that weight loss in male mice is due to compensatory mechanisms that develop in the liver as a consequence of its increased fattiness. The estrogen in females might have protected them from this liver damage. Therefore, this might be what’s preventing them from losing weight.
If you look at all the findings together, you start to see that weight loss might not be a natural kind. In fact, it’s merely a hormonal response of the liver to fat accumulation. In essence, we need to do a lot more homework on this diet and male ketosis before it can be recommended in humans for weight-loss purposes.
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There are so many harmless, yet unnecessary products available in the wellness world it gets tricky knowing how to sort them out. Will hydrogen-infused brands be able to sort out all of your problems?
I definitely noticed some good weight loss on the keto diet.