Ted Tieken, the founder of Keto and Co, delivers an overview of the ketogenic diet, its incredible benefits, and his personal story that pushed him toward a career in food and nutrition. After studying economic development at Harvard, Tieken ventured into management consulting but had to abruptly exit his career due to a chronic pain condition. On the advice of a friend, Tieken tried the keto diet to help manage his chronic pain, and to his great surprise, his pain decreased dramatically, his energy increased, and his thinking even became clearer across the board. The results were obvious and Tieken was a believer. Thus, Tieken’s fibromyalgia was the impetus for his enthusiasm about the ketogenic diet, and with results so dramatic, Tieken was moved to make this his work, to bring the many benefits of a keto diet to the public.

Through intensive study and research, Tieken came to the conclusion that keto could be part of the answer to the question, how do we get back to a completely healthy food supply. His goal was clear—to make the ketogenic diet low sacrifice, delightful, and well known. From shakes to sweeteners, breads to dry rice products, and even brownies, Keto and Co seeks to provide foods that people love but can also keep them in a ketogenic diet so each and every person can enjoy the many benefits that keto can deliver. And as Tieken states, he wants his company to simply be a provider of tools, not to tell someone how to live their life, and in line with that Keto and Co chooses to provide products that work with the diet as opposed to selling the diet and associated counseling.

Tieken discusses whole food keto versus net carb keto diets and how each can offer benefits. With whole food keto, dieters are allowed a specific amount of carbohydrates daily, which they can take from whatever source they choose. Tieken subscribes to the net carb camp. He states that whenever an individual eats below a certain amount of carbs for four days straight, their bodies will begin to manufacture ketone bodies, which are water-soluble molecules such as acetoacetate and beta-hydroxybutyrate.

Ketone bodies exist in small amounts in the blood of generally healthy people during a fasting period or during extended exercise and are vital in terms of sparing glucose utilization, as well as reducing proteolysis. The brain cannot use fatty acids for the production of energy when levels of blood glucose are compromised, thus ketone bodies can intervene and deliver a different and extremely viable source of energy to the brain during extended fasting.

As the ketogenic diet becomes more prevalent in the medical community for treating diabetes and obesity, Tieken seeks to take his company further, by providing useful nutrition and diet information, and an extensive line of products for optimum human health.

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