Keto Diet Constipation

What Is A Keto Diet?

A Keto diet mainly focuses on controlling the distribution of macronutrients in meals. This is done to shift the body’s dependence from carbs to fats for the working fuel energy. When there is a lack of the intake of sugar or glucose for more than 10 to 12 hours then your body starts the process of making ketones. They help in the fat-burning process when the primary source of generating the energy in your body turns from glucose to fats.

Whenever there is a change in your lifestyle, the irregularity causes dysfunction between the body tissues. To function smoothly your body takes time. In the same way, a Ketogenic diet leads to a drastic change in your eating habits, which mostly affects your bowel movement. It is a normal thing that you may feel changes in the movements of your bowel’s irregularity. This is mainly due to every one of us having a different body type. Thus, the time to experience the result of any diet plan will also be different.

Major benefits of the keto diet:

It is hard to start with something new. This small step will become easy and comfortable once you get used to it. It seems hard to start a keto diet but it benefits your overall health. Some of them are:

• Fights some types of cancer
• Decreasing inflammation
• Cures acne and keeps your skin healthy
• Better mental focus
• Kills your appetite
• Reduction in intake
• Increases the level of good cholesterol in your body.
• Keeps diabetics at bay.
• Easy weight loss
• Increase energy.
• Prevention of heart disease
• Increase memory
• Get rid of excess fluid
• Glowing skin.

Major Mistakes That You Might Do While Being On A Keto Diet:

The below-mentioned things need to be kept in mind while following a keto diet.

• Not personalizing your diet
• Trying to be a perfectionist
• Giving up too early
• Forgetting electrolytes
• Snacking and mindless eating
• Obsessing on ketones
• Expecting weight loss to be linear
• Improper planning of diet
• Losing a track of an intake of carbs
• Inadequate protein in the body
• Not keeping a track of calories

What is constipation?

A common problem seen in keto dieters is keto constipation at the beginning of the keto diet. The only reason for keto constipation is the restrictive diet which is mostly associated with the restriction of carbs intake. Another reason for constipation is the inadequate proportion of fiber. You should boost your fiber intake while maintaining a low-carb keto diet.

A major misconception regarding bowel movement is that there must be a bowel movement every single day, or else it will lead to constipation. The frequency level of the bowel is 3 days or even two bowel movements a week. Constipation is basically when your stools are not passed normally or have infrequent bowel movements.

To know whether you are suffering from constipation or not. The following are some of the symptoms:

1. Discomfort or stomach aches
2. Bloating
3. Abdominal distention
4. Gastric difficulties
5. Hemorrhoids.

Causes of keto constipation:

It’s not just the keto diet that causes constipation, there is a high chance that any other diet can also cause constipation. It is caused mainly due to deficient or imbalanced nutrients. Well-planned keto diet will not lead you to keto constipation. You might face keto constipation due to the following mistakes:

• Inadequate fiber
• Low-calorie intake
• Keto flu
• Imbalanced gut flora

What can help you during keto constipation?

1. Balancing your fiber intake:

   Keeping a proper track of the proportion of fiber is most important, along with the fluid. This helps in maintaining the smooth functioning of your digestive system. A minimum of 25 to 30 grams of fiber should be included in your diet per day. The following list of foods will help you to maintain a balance in the required amount of fiber:

   Coconut flour
   Broccoli
   Peanuts
   Avocado
   Almonds
   Flaxseeds
   Peanut Butter

2. Staying hydrated:

   While following a keto diet, in the state of ketosis, there is a large number of body functions take place. This causes more use of water. Due to this, the consumption of water is high. This, in turn, leads to more frequent urination than usual. Thus, frequent urination results in dehydration. So it is necessary to drink an adequate amount of water.

3. Staying active:

   The common cause of keto constipation in adults is due to their inactive habits. Inactivity always slowdowns the digestion process, as it reduces the flow of blood to the GI tract.

4. Taking probiotics:

   Probiotic and fermented food is an excellent sources to improve the immune system. Foods like a pickle, yogurt, curd, etc are amazing sources of fiber. The other method by which you can boost green fiber in your body is with help of green vegetables tossed with olive oil.

5. Treating keto flu:

   Keto flu is short-term. Keto constipation can be short-lived but it’s very uncomfortable. So you treating keto flu is essential and the best way to treat it is by drinking enough fluids.