Keto Answers

What if you could flip a biological switch and change what your body burns for energy? In Keto Answers, Anthony Gustin and Chris Irvin argue that embracing a ketogenic state isn’t about cutting carbs—it’s about reclaiming metabolic flexibility. They describe keto not as a trend diet but a physiologic reset that allows your body to use fat and ketones as its primary energy source, addressing the twin epidemics of insulin resistance and chronic inflammation that underlie most modern diseases.

From Burning Sugar to Burning Fat

Normally, most people run on glucose derived from carbohydrate-heavy diets. But when you consume very few carbohydrates (typically under 30 grams per day), your insulin levels drop and your body begins breaking down stored triglycerides into fatty acids. The liver converts those fatty acids into ketone bodies—beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), acetoacetate (AcAc), and acetone—which circulate and supply clean, steady fuel for your brain and muscles. This state is called nutritional ketosis, first studied a century ago for epilepsy and now revisited for its broad metabolic benefits.

Why Keto Matters Today

Modern diets and lifestyles keep insulin perpetually elevated. This constant flood of glucose and insulin prompts fat storage, inflammation, oxidative stress, and hormonal disruption—a recipe for obesity, heart disease, and Type 2 diabetes. Keto reverses that logic. By lowering insulin and glucose, it activates fat metabolism and reduces inflammatory signaling pathways such as the NLRP3 inflammasome. Studies show it can stabilize energy, boost mitochondrial efficiency, and even promote gene expression patterns linked to longevity and disease resistance (Dr. Dominic D’Agostino’s and Jeff Volek’s work illustrates these mechanisms).

Keto versus Fad Diets

Gustin and Irvin carefully distinguish authentic ketogenic nutrition from look-alikes. Atkins emphasizes high protein rather than high fat, which can lead to poor energy and stalled ketogenesis. Paleo prizes food quality yet often includes fruit and tubers that stop ketosis. The authors introduce their fusion model—Keto+—which combines nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods from paleo eating with strict carbohydrate restriction. That balance aims to keep you in ketosis while ensuring long-term nutrient sufficiency and gut health.

The Science Behind the Benefits

In ketosis, your cells can generate energy with less oxidative stress. Ketones act not just as fuel but as signaling molecules that influence cellular repair, inflammation, and even gene transcription. Through these biochemical effects, keto impacts a wide range of conditions: metabolic syndrome, neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, migraines, autoimmune conditions, and possibly certain cancers (as explored by Dr. Thomas Seyfried’s metabolic therapy research).

A Practical Metabolic Framework

The rest of Keto Answers gives you the tools to implement this shift safely. The authors explain how to transition into ketosis, what foods to choose, how to manage electrolytes and keto flu, and how to tailor the diet to your goals—be it fat loss, performance, or hormone balancing. They also explore fasting, strategic supplementation, and tracking, helping you build a feedback-based plan rather than guessing. Their message is simple: by restoring your innate ability to burn fat, you can stabilize mood, cognition, energy, and metabolic health in ways that transcend short-term dieting.

Core Thesis

Keto isn’t about deprivation or exclusion—it’s about metabolic liberation. By understanding how ketosis works, you can shift from storing fat to using it, lower disease risk, and regain control over your biology.

According to Gustin and Irvin, the epidemic of metabolic disease stems primarily from insulin resistance and chronic inflammation. Keto works because it corrects both. When you remove carbohydrate excess, your insulin signaling system resets, fat stores open up, and inflammatory pathways quiet down.

Insulin: The Master Switch

Insulin aids glucose uptake, but when constantly elevated it locks fat inside cells and promotes weight gain. Western diets—rich in sugary drinks, grains, and seed oils—create insulin resistance, requiring ever higher doses of the hormone for the same job. Keto lowers this burden. Ketones and fatty acids can power your tissues through insulin-independent pathways, allowing recovery of metabolic sensitivity and fat loss even when insulin function is impaired.

Inflammation: The Hidden Engine of Disease

Beyond glucose, insulin resistance connects to inflammation through oxidative stress, endothelial damage, and harm to the protective vascular glycocalyx. The book references Ivor Cummins’s work showing that post-meal glucose spikes damage this inner barrier, enabling oxidized LDL to embed in arteries—one reason carbohydrates, not cholesterol alone, may contribute most to atherosclerosis. Ketogenic living, by stabilizing glucose and providing anti-inflammatory ketones, interrupts this cascade.

Ketones as Signaling Agents

Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) acts more like a hormone than a mere energy substrate. It inhibits inflammatory genes, boosts antioxidant defenses, and promotes mitochondrial biogenesis. These actions explain why ketosis often improves markers of inflammation and mitochondrial health. The effect spans from metabolic enhancement to neurological support, hinting why keto benefits epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and depression.

This dual correction—of insulin signaling and inflammation—forms the foundation of keto’s therapeutic reach. Address those, and you clear the roots of most chronic illness, creating a biologically calmer, more efficient system.

Not all ketogenic diets are healthy. Gustin and Irvin stress that achieving ketosis on processed oils and artificial sweeteners is not success—it’s metabolic mimicry. Their Keto+ framework adds an essential layer: focus on real, nutrient-rich foods while maintaining carb restriction. That marriage of quality and chemistry delivers sustainable health.

Build Your Keto Plate

Your everyday meals rely on meats, seafood, eggs, leafy greens, and healthy fats. Avocado oil, olive oil, coconut, MCTs, nuts, and low-glycemic berries add variety. Organ meats, fermented vegetables, and full-fat dairy (if tolerated) supply micronutrients missing from modern diets. This food-first approach provides vitamins A, D, K2, and minerals for bone and mitochondrial health.

Avoid Inflammatory Traps

Industrial seed oils (canola, soybean, corn, safflower) and packaged “keto” snacks undermine progress. They oxidize easily and drive inflammation despite low carbohydrates. The authors recommend stable cooking fats like coconut and avocado oils, and remind you to store olive oil in dark bottles to prevent rancidity.

Sourcing and Sustainability

Grass-fed and finished meats contain healthier fatty acid profiles than grain-fed. Buying directly from farmers, split-a-cow programs, and CSAs improves quality while lowering cost (the book points readers to EatWild.com and LocalHarvest). Choose wild seafood like salmon and sardines for omega-3s and avoid high-mercury species. These choices align ethical sourcing with health optimization.

Key Concept

Ketosis achieved with fast food, soybean oil, and artificial sweeteners is “dirty keto.” Keto+ ensures that your biochemical success aligns with nutritional integrity, making the diet therapeutic rather than temporary.

Switching from sugar-burning to fat-burning isn’t instant. The process includes three overlapping stages: ketogenesis (ketone production begins), ketosis (measurable circulating ketones), and keto‑adaptation (cells fully utilize fat for fuel). During adaptation, you may experience the infamous “keto flu,” but it’s manageable with foresight and electrolytes.

Plan and Prepare

Purging your pantry of high-carb foods and stocking approved items prevents relapse. The authors give a simple template: fill half your plate with non‑starchy vegetables, a fist-sized protein portion, and enough fat to feel satiated—more with lean protein, less with fatty cuts. This balance keeps energy even as your metabolism recalibrates.

Managing the Keto Flu

As insulin falls, kidneys excrete sodium and water, depleting electrolytes. To prevent headaches, fatigue, or cramps, increase sodium, potassium, and magnesium early on. Foods like avocado, spinach, and nuts help; electrolyte powders (LMNT, Redmond Real Salt) fill gaps. Hydration and mineral replenishment are the fastest cures.

Speeding Adaptation and Avoiding Mistakes

Intermittent fasting, MCT oil, or exogenous ketones can amplify the metabolic switch, but overuse may backfire. The authors caution that too little protein, hidden carbs, and obsession with “fat bombs” are common pitfalls. Focus instead on nutrient density, hydration, and patience—most people adapt within two to six weeks.

Keto‑adaptation rewards you with consistent energy and mental clarity. Using the transition phase to optimize minerals and food quality sets you up for sustainable health, not frustration.

While keto started as therapy for epilepsy, its modern revival owes much to performance and aesthetic goals. Gustin and Irvin reveal that keto enhances body composition by unlocking fat stores and steadying energy production without sacrificing lean mass. The metabolic shift favors endurance and recovery once adaptation completes.

Metabolic Fat Loss

Lower insulin means you can finally access your stored fat. Studies show ketogenic plans produce more fat loss than calorie‑matched low‑fat diets. Jeff Volek’s work demonstrates keto‑adapted athletes burn up to 2.3x more fat during prolonged exercise while sparing glycogen—a serious advantage for endurance events.

Muscle Preservation

Protein intake determines success. Too little and you lose muscle; too much protein without fat may reduce ketone levels. The authors suggest approximately 0.8–1.2 g of protein per lb of lean mass. Once adapted, ketones spare leucine breakdown, making muscle maintenance easier even in a calorie deficit.

Training and Adaptation Windows

During early adaptation (first 2–4 weeks), anaerobic performance may dip. Once fat‑adapted, strength and endurance generally rebound, with more stable energy and shorter recovery times. Power athletes can use targeted carbs (20–50 g near workouts) or cyclic refeeds for glycogen-dependent events—strategies drawn from the “targeted keto” and “cyclic keto” protocols.

The conclusion: you can build strength and stay lean if you manage protein and electrolytes carefully. Keto isn’t a starvation plan—it’s a metabolic efficiency program that teaches your body to fuel itself intelligently.

Once you grasp food and adaptation, you can enhance results through supportive tools. Gustin and Irvin emphasize three: targeted supplements, fasting strategies, and self‑tracking. These act as “multipliers” rather than substitutes for foundational habits.

Targeted Supplementation

Electrolytes remain non‑negotiable on keto. MCT oils (especially C8) supply rapid ketones and smooth energy but must be introduced slowly to avoid digestion issues. Exogenous ketones—BHB salts or esters—can raise circulating ketone levels, helping concentration and adaptation, but they’re best used short‑term and in context. The authors also highlight omega‑3s (favoring krill oil), vitamin D3 with K2, magnesium, and organ‑based supplements to cover nutrient gaps. They caution against relying on brands alone or over‑using any single agent.

Fasting and Autophagy

Fasting complements keto by deepening ketone production and promoting cellular cleanup (autophagy). Intermittent fasting (16:8) pairs easily with keto, while extended fasts (24–72 hours) can boost immune renewal and fat oxidation under supervision. The Glucose‑Ketone Index (GKI), described by Dr. Thomas Seyfried, helps measure therapeutic ketosis; lower GKI values indicate deeper metabolic effects. Water and electrolytes remain crucial during fasts.

Tracking for Personalization

Smart measurement turns keto into a personalized system. Use blood meters for BHB, glucometers for glucose, and log macros with accurate apps like Cronometer. Weekly morning readings offer more consistency than daily fluctuations. Trend your GKI over time and correlate it with energy, sleep, and cognitive changes. The authors remind you to track for insight, not obsession—data is a map, not a cage.

By layering these tools—supplements, fasting, and mindful tracking—you move from generic dieting to skilled metabolic self‑regulation. You’ll know what moves your biology best instead of guessing.

Keto is a universal physiology but not a one‑size‑fits‑all prescription. Gustin and Irvin devote special attention to women, emphasizing that hormonal balance, reproductive health, and energy needs fluctuate across life stages. Done right, keto supports these variables; done wrong, it can stress them.

Keto for Hormonal Harmony

Because insulin affects sex hormone balance, lowering insulin often restores ovulatory rhythms, reduces PMS, and calms perimenopausal symptoms. PCOS, a syndrome marked by insulin resistance and elevated androgens, responds particularly well to keto. In one cited 24‑week trial, women with PCOS saw 12% weight reduction, 54% lower fasting insulin, and improved fertility—two conceived during the study. Such results show how metabolic correction improves hormonal domains indirectly.

Nutritional Safety During Life Stages

Pregnancy and breastfeeding naturally elevate ketone use, but initiating strict keto anew during pregnancy isn’t recommended. If you were keto before conception, maintain moderate carb control, hydration, and caloric intake. Avoid fasting while pregnant. During breastfeeding, adequate calories and hydration maintain milk supply, and low‑carb whole‑food eating can enhance milk fat content.

Adapting Keto to the Individual

Some women do better with periodic carb cycling, especially around intense training or luteal‑phase shifts. Others thrive on consistent ketosis. The core principle is sufficiency: enough calories, protein, micronutrients, rest, and reduced stress. Many so‑called “keto side effects” stem from under‑eating, not ketosis itself.

By respecting individual differences—sex, age, activity, and goals—you transform keto from a rigid template into a flexible metabolic tool aligned with your physiology.