The complete guide to the Keto or carb flu: what it is, how long it lasts, symptoms, causes, and six effective remedies to cure and get rid of it.
A common side effect of the keto diet is keto flu. This is not flu that you might typically get, but rather a set of symptoms that can be nearly as bad as it. Let's take a look at what keto flu is, how to avoid it, and ways to cure it if it does strike.
The keto flu is a term for the stomach pain, nausea, and general flu-like symptoms that people experience when they first switch to a ketogenic diet. This happens because the body uses glucose as its primary fuel source instead of the fat stores built up during weeks or months of intense carb restriction. The keto flu experience is often characterized by exhaustion, dizziness, headaches, and cravings for high-calorie foods.
Looking for a keto flu cure? There are many things that you can do to avoid keto flu and what is more, there are also some things that you can do to treat the symptoms. The following article will discuss these things and more, so continue reading if you want to know how to avoid keto flu or if you already have it and are looking for a keto flu remedy.
The Keto diet as I have explained in more detail here, is not a high-carb diet nor a moderate low-carb diet. It is by design a very low-carb diet and lifestyle where dieters reduce carbohydrate intake to between 5 and 10% (which is a maximum of 50 grams of carbs per day) and replace carbs with fat. This metabolic flexibility starts a process called ketosis which is where, starved of glucose that is provided by carbohydrates, you use fat for fuel.
A diet that burns fat can massively increase weight loss and increase overall health levels.
Keto can lead to several short-term side effects if not followed properly.
Confusion, anxiety, and/or irritability
Constipation
Extreme and excessive thirst
Fatigue
Frequent urination (a side effect of extreme thirst)
High heart rate (Tachycardia)
Hunger
Light-headedness and shakiness
Sweating and chills
The most common side effect is the Keto flu.
In the early stages of a keto diet and as a temporary side effect of the body using ketones for energy instead of stored glucose, many people report flu-like symptoms. These effects are nothing to worry about, are typically short lived, and go away once your body adjusts to the new diet. It is worth noting that Keto flu is not actually like influenza and it is not at all contagious, it gets its name due to sharing some of the same symptoms.
Even though symptoms are short lived they are not fun to experience. The good news is that there are things that you can do to feel better and overcome symptoms.
Yes!
Any diet that is low-carb can elicit Keto flu symptoms.
Despite the name it is not actually unique to the ketogenic diet and can occur in other low-carb diets like Atkins.
These flu-like symptoms are caused because your body has previously exclusively used carbohydrate as fuel. When you stop eating carbohydrates, your body goes into shock because it does not know how to use fat as fuel.
The symptoms will go away once your body adjusts to using fat instead of carbs for energy.
