Can you be in ketosis beyond 20 grams of carbs per day?

To enter ketosis, the popular belief is to consume less than 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. However, this is not accurate, as the threshold of net carbohydrates per day is individual.

Ketosis

Ketosis is a natural metabolic state characterized by high blood levels of ketones, a type of chemical that the liver produces when it breaks down fat. The body uses them for energy, typically during fasting, long periods of exercise, or when not consuming as many carbohydrates (such as in a ketogenic diet).

Ketosis is when fat is going to be the essential source of energy and access to glucose is limited. Fat can be dietary (from the foods we eat) or can come from our body (body fat reserves).

Limit carbohydrates

When you limit the amount of carbohydrates available to the body (ketogenic diet), insulin will drop. Subsequently, fatty acids stored in body fat reserves will be released in large quantities and a good portion will be transported to the liver where they will be oxidized and transformed into ketones, or ketone bodies.

Once this process is complete, ketones can provide energy to the body. Unlike fatty acids, ketones can cross the blood-brain barrier and provide energy to the brain in the absence of glucose . That is, the brain can run on ketones and the areas that actually need glucose will be supplied through the process of gluconeogenesis, where the body will create sugar from protein on demand.

How long ?

The time it takes to put the body into a state of ketosis varies from person to person.

The times are roughly: following a fast of about 72 hours or after several weeks of eating less than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day.

How many carbohydrates?

Typically, when you research the ketogenic diet, you'll find that the amount of carbohydrates you should consume per day should not exceed 20 grams if you want to be in ketosis.

However, the carbohydrate threshold is different for each person . Research, especially from Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek, shows that below 50 grams of net carbs per day, a person can achieve nutritional ketosis and its benefits.

So how do you know how many carbs you can eat and still stay in ketosis?

Since researchers consider 50 grams to be the threshold (which can also be higher depending on age, exercise, gender, metabolism, and how long you've been on a ketogenic diet), it's best to start with around 20 grams of net carbs per day.

Once you are in ketosis (measured with urine strips, but ideally with a ketone meter), we add net carbohydrates (about 5 grams per week) until we detect a very low level or no ketones. This will therefore be the daily net carbohydrate threshold to be in ketosis.

The type of carbohydrate

Not all carbs are created equal. It’s best to limit sugary or starchy foods. One way to know which carbs are supposed to not spike blood glucose (and therefore, stop ketosis) is their glycemic load ; this measures the amount of insulin released by the body based on the food measured in standard portions. Note that we’re not talking about the glycemic index (GI), which doesn’t take into account portion size. So some foods with a high GI may have a modest GL.

Conclusion :

The state of ketosis is an efficient source of energy that can fuel the body and brain. To achieve this, 50 grams of net carbohydrates per day can be considered a base. However, the carbohydrate threshold is individual and depends on several factors (age, sports activity, gender, metabolism and the time you have been on a ketogenic diet).

The best way to know your threshold is to experiment by gradually increasing your carbs until you have no (or very few) ketones.