What is 'ketosis'?

What is 'ketosis'?

Andrea Giancoli (Registered Dietician ) gives expert video advice on: What do I eat or drink on the Master Cleanse?; What side effects will I experience on the Master Cleanse?; What is 'ketosis'? and more...

Carbohydrate is what our brains need to operate. It is the preferred source of energy for the body. In the absence of carbohydrate, we have got to use something else. First, the body goes to our lean tissue, our protein tissue, and can convert a certain amount of that to glucose carbohydrate for our brain. However, if our body continued to do that, we would die within ten days. As a defense mechanism, ketosis sets in and we start using these fat fragments, these ketone bodies for energy for our brain. It is not an efficient process, and in the meantime, we are still breaking down muscle tissue and our metabolism is slowing down.