Why Babies Thrive on Ketosis
Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast
Dr. Eric Berg
4.7 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 29 April 2020
⏱️ 4 minutes
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Summary
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In this podcast, we're going to talk about why babies thrive on keto.
When a woman is pregnant, especially during the last trimester, 30% of all of the energy fed to that baby is from ketones. Once the baby is born, for the first two hours, they're running off of lactate. But, after that, they convert to ketones again.
Ketones are not meant to be an alternative fuel. In fact, breast milk is loaded with MCT fats, which then turn into ketones.
A baby's brain makes up between 11-12% of their entire body weight, as compared to an adult brain, which only makes up 2% of the weight. With a newborn, 75% of all of the energy used is for the brain. An adult uses 20-25% of energy for the brain.
Ketones not only provide a good amount of fuel for an infant's brain, but they also provide the building blocks for the lipids of the infant's brain. Ketones also supply the brain with 90% of the carbon to make the white matter.
Babies are born with extra fat because that fat can help supply more ketones. But, formulas are like giving a baby a high carb diet. The glucose and carbohydrates will prevent the ketones from being used as fuel. Consider trying to breastfeed as long as possible. In the process, make sure you're eating foods with all of the ket nutrients. That way, the child has the best chance of optimizing their IQ, bone formation, the reduction of risk of different diseases, and their longevity.
If we started out on ketones, why would we want to go to a high carb diet?
Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:
Dr. Berg, 51 years of age is a chiropractor who specializes in weight loss through nutritional & natural methods. His private practice is located in Alexandria, Virginia. His clients include senior officials in the U.S. government & the Justice Department, ambassadors, medical doctors, high-level executives of prominent corporations, scientists, engineers, professors, and other clients from all walks of life. He is the author of The 7 Principles of Fat Burning.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | So if you guys have any questions whatsoever about keto or intermittent fasting, whether you're starting |
| 0:05.3 | keto as a new person or just need to debug your program or you have a question about a product, |
| 0:10.6 | call one of our keto consultants. They'll be able to help you. Call 540-299-1557. That's 540-299-1557. |
| 0:21.6 | Welcome to the Dr. Berg's Healthy Keto and Interminute Fasting Podcast, where Dr. Berg takes you on the journey for the truth about getting healthy and losing healthy weight. Let's talk about why babies thrive on keto. Now, when a woman is pregnant, |
| 0:50.0 | especially during the last trimester, 30% of all the energy fed to that baby is from ketones. |
| 0:56.4 | And then once they're born, the first two hours, they're going to be running off of lactate, |
| 1:01.7 | that's milk sugar, but then they're going to convert right to ketones. So ketones are very normal |
| 1:07.6 | for a newborn. Ketones are not supposed to be an alternative fuel. In fact, breast milk is |
| 1:14.0 | loaded with MCT fats, medium chain triglycerides, which are then turned into ketones. A baby's brain |
| 1:22.5 | makes up between 11 and 12% of their entire body weight as compared to an adult brain, which only makes up |
| 1:30.9 | 2% of the weight. Yet in a newborn, 75% of all the energy that they use is for the brain. If we compare |
| 1:40.5 | this to an adult, we use 20 to 25% of our energy for our brain. |
| 1:45.3 | So as you can see, this brain is very, very important for survival. |
| 1:49.7 | It's very important to allocate the majority of fuel because it is going to be the organ |
| 1:54.8 | that runs the entire body. |
| 1:56.8 | But here's the fascinating thing. |
| 1:59.1 | Ketones not only provide a good amount of fuel for the infant's brain, |
| 2:04.5 | they also provide the building blocks for lipids of an infant's brain. I'm talking about the cholesterol |
| 2:11.8 | and the myelin sheath that surround the nerves and the brain. Ketones supply the brain with 90% of the |
| 2:20.2 | carbon to make the white matter. So it's not just about the fuel. It's about the building blocks as well. |
| 2:27.5 | And this is also another reason why babies are born with extra fat, because that fat actually can |
| 2:33.5 | help supply more ketones unless someone screws it up by |
... |
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