What is a ketogenic Ratio?

For Ketogenic diet therapies range from 75-90% dietary fat.  When the body burns fat in the absence of carbohydrates, fat is not completely burned and a byproduct of metabolism, called ketone bodies, build up in the blood.  The excess of ketones are cleaned out by the kidneys and excreted in the urine.  Your ketones are usually higher in the afternoon and evening, and lower in the morning.  If you fall out of  ketosis, intermittent fasting can be beneficial to return to a state of ketosis. It is important to understand the ketogenic diet ratio to maintain a state of ketosis.  First, you need  to calculate net carbohydrates. It is found in the nutritional label of a product by subtracting the grams of dietary fiber from total grams of carbohydrates.   For example, Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Bar's nutritional label illustrates 13g Total Carbohydrates and 9g Dietary Fiber therefore the Net Carbohydrate equals 4g.  To calculate ketogenic ratio, divide the total grams of fat by total  grams of net carbohydrates plus protein. For example, Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Bar's have 14g Total Fat/4g Net Carb + 8 g Protein = 1.17:1 ketogenic ratio. The higher the ketogenic ratio of a food item or recipes, the greater production of ketone bodies, hence fat burning state.  The ketogenic ratio is individually calculated for each person based on their required state of ketosis.  A higher level of ketosis in necessary for some disease states. If you are in a state of ketosis for weight management,  it is ideal to maintain at least a 1:1 ratio for every meal and snack. If you are having rapid weight gain while on the ketogenic diet, you may be consuming too many calories which is allowing the dietary fat consumption to be store in the body hence leaving less fat available for keto production. Ask your dietitian for the optimal ketogenic ratio for your condition.                              

    ©MYKETWEIGH2018

---