Keto glossary
E
2 terms
- Electrolytes
- Minerals such as sodium, potassium and magnesium that regulate fluids, nerves and muscles. On keto more of them are lost in urine, so they need attention.
- Erythritol
- A sweetener (a polyol) with almost zero calories that raises neither glucose nor insulin. In large amounts it can upset the stomach.
G
1 term
- Glycaemic index
- How quickly a food raises blood glucose compared with pure glucose (100). On keto the total amount of carbohydrates is the more important figure.
I
2 terms
- Insulin
- A hormone from the pancreas that moves glucose from the blood into the cells and favours fat storage. With few carbohydrates its levels stay low.
- Intermittent fasting
- A way of eating with fixed periods without food, for example 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating. It is often combined with keto but does not suit everyone.
K
5 terms
- Keto flu
- Tiredness, headache, dizziness or cramps in the first days of keto, mainly from losing water and salts. It usually passes within a few days with fluids and electrolytes.
- Ketoacidosis
- A dangerous condition, mainly in type 1 diabetes, in which ketones rise very high and the blood becomes acidic. It is not the same as nutritional ketosis and needs immediate medical care.
- Ketogenic diet
- A way of eating with very few carbohydrates (usually under 20–50 grams of net carbs a day), enough protein and plenty of fat, so that the body enters ketosis.
- Ketones
- Molecules the liver makes from fat when carbohydrates are scarce (beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetate, acetone). The brain and the muscles use them as fuel.
- Ketosis
- A metabolic state in which, with very few carbohydrates, the body burns mainly fat and the liver makes ketones as an alternative fuel.
M
2 terms
- Macronutrients
- The three parts of food that provide energy: fat, protein and carbohydrates. On keto fat provides most of the calories and carbohydrates the fewest.
- Medium-chain triglycerides
- Medium-chain fats (MCT), mostly from coconut, that the liver quickly turns into ketones. They are sold as an oil; in large amounts they can upset the stomach.
N
1 term
- Net carbs
- The carbohydrates that count on keto. On European labels they are the carbohydrates minus polyols; on American labels, total carbohydrates minus fibre and polyols.
P
1 term
- Polyols
- Sweeteners such as erythritol, xylitol and maltitol. They count in the carbohydrates on the label, but most raise glucose very little; maltitol raises it quite a lot.