What is the Fat Burning Index?
The Fat Burning Index ™ is what we’ve done with all-science
‘ketogenic ratio’ of foods and meals. We used a scientific
formula recognized by clinicians and fitness professionals - but
we adapted it to the needs of a normal, regular person, without
serious diseases (always - always! - consult with your physician
before you start any diet!) and not aiming for a bodybuilding
competition.
We also recognize this person’s natural tendencies — to get
bored on a strict diet, to cheat time and time again, to come
close to giving up. Our Fat Burning Index ™ approach allows you
to have any food.
“ANY food? So can I eat all I want?”
We promise that as long as you eat the foods we suggest, you
will never count calories. You might want to ask: “So what’s
new? This is exactly what all low carb diets promise, don’t
they?”
Right. But we go much further. We promise that you will not
count carbohydrates, fats, or protein. If you find a single
diet, online or offline, that frees its dieters from that much
counting, let us know and we’ll cheerfully refund your money and
send you a $20 Amazon.com gift certificate. Does this sound too
good to be true?
You might be doubtful and chances are that mainstream diets are
the reason. Of course you couldn’t avoid opinions like the below
Q&A posted by Health Care Reality Check:
Q: Can a person eat unlimited calories, and still lose weight,
as long as they severely restrict carbohydrates?
A: No, she can not. The basis of ketogenic diets, such as the
Atkins Diet, is a severe restriction of carbohydrate calories,
which simply causes a net reduction in total calories. Since
carbohydrate calories are limited, intake of fat usually
increases. This high fat diet causes ketosis (increased blood
ketones from fat breakdown), which suppresses hunger, and thus
contributes to caloric restriction. — Ellen Coleman, RD, MA, MPH
Is this a correct answer?
Let’s first discuss whether it’s a correct question. Or, rather,
is this the real question so frequently asked by dieters. In my
experience, this in fact sounds a little bit different but this
makes ALL the difference. This is what real dieters ask:
Q: Can low carb dieters eat all they want, and still lose weight
as long as they only eat allowed foods?
A: Yes, they can. The basis of ketogenic diets, such as the
Atkins Diet, is a restriction of carbohydrate-containing foods
in favor of fat and protein containing foods, which causes the
state of ketosis resulting in significant decrease in appetite.
Since appetite decreases, most of low carb dieters consume
significantly less calories WITHOUT INTENTIONAL CALORIE
RESTRICTION.
Let’s see why and how it happens
Ketosis is a biochemical condition that occurs when the body
produces ketones at a higher rate than glucose’s release into
the blood.
Ketone bodies provide energy for the body’s needs when there is
a total food restriction, carbohydrate restriction, and/or long
enough physical effort.
In the beginning of ketosis, ketones provide up to 75% of total
energy requirement, including energy required by the brain. Most
dieticians say that carbohydrate is the only fuel for the nerve
cells but it is not true. It’s a preferred fuel, yes, but not
the only one. If there are little or no carbohydrates, all
tissues of the body including brain tissue can adapt to using
alternative fuel.
As the body undergoes the process of adaptation to ketosis, the
amount of carbohydrates required reduces. This explains why
brain fog and muscle weakness can occur in the beginning of
ketosis but becomes very rare after a week or two. In fact, it’s
true that a diet is considered low carb if it contains less than
100 carb grams a day, but it’s only true until the adaptation to
ketosis develops. After it is completed, the carb requirement is
around 40 grams. None of non-clinical low carb diets takes this
fact into account.
After 1-2 weeks, as the process of adaptation to ketosis
develops and the tissues no longer rely on carbohydrates for
fuel, they send less signals requesting the beta-cells in the
pancreas to release insulin — resulting in decrease of insulin
concentration in the blood.
Low insulin level frees its antagonistic fat burning hormones
from suppression resulting in increased levels of glucagon,
growth hormone, catecholamines, and glucocorticoid.
Glucagon is the most important insulin antagonist; it’s up to
glucagon to control fatty acids’ release from fat stores to be
burnt for fuel. So, as glucagon release increases, insulin goes
down. It is thought that to initiate ketosis, carbohydrate
intake should be reduced to less than 30g/day.
However, there’s a most important condition grossly overlooked
by the authors of low carb diets. Any food is either ketogenic
or glucogenic depending on it influence on the competition
between glucagon and insulin. To make ketosis possible, a meal
should contain at least 1.5 g of fat per every 1 g of protein
plus carbohydrate combined.
Only that or higher of a ratio makes food ketogenic enough to
allow eating without portion and calorie control. Foods with
ketogenic indexes below 1 promote insulin release and are
essentially anti-ketogenic. Foods with indexes between 1 and
1.5, though not anti-ketogenic, require calorie control since
their ketogenic properties are not strong enough to
significantly suppress the carbohydrate metabolic pathway and
mobilize body fat for fuel thus causing healthy hunger decrease.
About the author:
Dr. Tanya Zilberter is a researcher, health educator, exercise
physiologist, and scientific journalist. In health sciences
since 1972, Dr. Zilberter authored several hundred scientific
and popular publications, including four print books and more
than a dozen of eBooks. She writes for bantadiet.com and
dietandbody.com