By DELPHINE ZULU –
THE most common treatment form of chronic illnesses is the use of medication.
Medicine represents the largest component of health expenditure, including surgery, physical therapy, radio and psychology.
The prevention and treatment of chronic illnesses, especially when involving multiple medications, can become burdensome.
Today, join the first ever certified specialist Mousa Khalife, the man behind a magical ‘Ketogenic Diet Therapy’ in Zambia who can treat your ailments using a recommended diet only depending on one’s illness.
One might ask, what is a ketogenic diet?
Well, this is simply a diet which causes the body to run on what are called ketones instead of sugar from carbohydrates like pasta, grains or sugary foods.
Mr Khalife said ketones are a type of acid formed when the body begins burning stored or dietary fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.
They are actually a very efficient fuel for the body.
He said the most abundant and beneficial ketone is called beta-hydroxybutyrate or BHB.
“There are lots of guides about the keto diet for beginners, but here’s what makes this one different: unlike traditional forms of the keto diet, healthy ketosis uses high-quality ingredients full of nutrients to support your health,” he said.
He said in a typical diet, you discover that your body is constantly converting sugar from carbohydrates into energy.
However, when you change to a high-fat diet and limit your net carbohydrates, your body starts producing ketones for energy and as a result, on a low carbohydrate diet, your body automatically begins burning fat.
The keto specialist said some types of the diet improves memory, relieves cognitive disorders such as childhood epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other neurological issues.
Others include stabilising the blood sugar levels by relieving cravings and hunger that can overwhelm dieters.
It can reduce high insulin levels that can result in serious physical conditions, including diabetes, strokes, cardiovascular issues, and Alzheimer’s, to name just a few.
He said a ketogenic diet enables an individual to take control of his or her insulin level which could save his or her life.
“In a keto diet, the goal is to switch your body from burning sugar fuel to fat fuel and get your body into ketosis and keep it there. When you’re in ketosis, your body creates better fuel for itself and for your brain,” Mr Khalife said.
He said the carbohydrates a person needs are vegetables, but only for the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and the fibre they supply.
Mr Khalife said ketosis is the state the body is in when it is converting fat into energy.
When a diet is referred to as “ketogenic,” it only uses a particular combination of foods that puts the body into ketosis, using a process called ketogenesis.
Getting the body into ketosis is like flipping a switch from using energy from carbohydrates to using energy from fat.
The result is that a person starts burning fat automatically as he or she goes through the day.
He said any type of ketogenic diet, by limiting net carbohydrates, also reduces the body’s insulin.
“But why limit yourself when there is an impressive variety of long-term health benefits which await you?” he asked.
Mr Khalife said the body needs very little sugar to function.
In fact, it requires just one teaspoon of sugar per day, which could easily be converted from the protein or fat that is eaten.
He said people do not need any dietary sugar.
Mr Khalife said an average person consumes 31 teaspoons of sugar every single day—over 30 times the amount of sugar required by the body!
He said sugar is highly toxic to the body as it causes damage to the nerves, affects vision, increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, and contributes to Alzheimer’s and other diseases.
“When sugar is detected in your body, insulin will use it as the primary fuel source. Not because it is a high-quality fuel, but because it is so damaging,” he said.
He explained that the body tries to get rid of the sugar as quickly as possible.
He said people mistakenly take this body response to mean that sugar is the prim ary preferred fuel of the body, but it is not.
According to Mr Khalife, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of success stories of ketogenic diet followers whose lives were changed by recovering their health, losing weight, rejuvenating their bodies, and regaining their zest for life.
The restrictions on the keto diet are to prevent the consumption of unhealthy food just as a doctor would advise a patient to quit smoking to prolong the patient’s life,
“I advise keto followers to restrict the intake of foods, which cause diabetes, organ damage, heart disease, fatigue, and many other unwanted physical conditions. And like the patient who quits smoking, keto followers live happier, healthier lives,” he said.