The ketogenic diet is a high fat, moderate protein, and a very low carbohydrate diet. Most studies prove that a keto diet is much more effective for losing excess body fat and for improving type-2 diabetes than any other diet.
Let’s explore more about the keto diet.
– What is keto diet?
– Foods to eat
– Foods to avoid
– Health benefits
– Practical tips
– Side effects
– Sample meal plan
What is keto diet?
The keto diet or ketogenic diet is similar to many other diets like Atkins and Low carb diets. A Keto diet is a high fat, moderate protein and a very low carb diet. The dietary macronutrients are divided into approx. 55%-60% fats, 30%-35%protein and 5%-10% carbohydrates. [1]
How keto diet works?
The main aim of keto diet is to shift the body`s metabolism away from carbs and towards fats and ketones. Our bodies burn carbs for energy when you restrict the amount of carbs; the body breaks down stored fat to use as fuel. Keto diet involves an excessive reduction of carbohydrate intake and substituting it with fats intake. This lesser amount of carbs intake puts your body in a metabolic state called ketosis. When ketosis happens, the body becomes efficient at burning fat for energy. It turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain. [2]
What all can you eat on a keto diet?
Most of the calories on a keto diet should come from fat. It should come from natural sources like meat, fish, eggs, and other sources like butter or coconut oil, olive oil in salads and vegetables
Here are foods that you can include in your diet:
• Fatty fish: Like salmon, mackerel, tuna.
• Meat: Like red meat, ham, sausage, turkey
• Eggs: Eat them any way you want, e.g. boiled, fried in butter, scrambled or as omelets
• Seeds and nuts: chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts.
• High-fat dairy: Butter and cream are good, also heavy cream is great for cooking.
• Cheese: Unprocessed cheese like cheddar, mozzarella etc.
• Healthy oils: Extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil.
• Low carb veggies: Most green vegetables like cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, avocado, tomatoes, onions, pepper, etc.
What not to eat on keto diet?
Any food containing a lot of carbs should be avoided like sugary and starchy foods like bread, rice, potatoes and pasta.
Here are foods that you should not include in your diet:
• Fruits: All fruits except any kind of berries.
• Grains: Pasta, wheat products, cereals, etc.
• Legumes: Peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpea.
• Sugary products: cakes, brownies, candy, ice cream, etc.
• Root vegetables and tubers: Potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes etc.
• Unhealthy fats: mayonnaise etc.
What to drink
• Water: sip it hot or with ice. It is the best drink.
• Coffee: without sugar, a small amount of milk is fine.
• Tea: green, black, herbal etc. any tea but without sugar is great.
What not to drink
• Fruit juices
• Soda
• Smoothies
• Alcohol
What are the benefits of keto diet?
This diet has many health-related benefits and seems to be a more powerful diet than the rest of the diets. Let us see some of the benefits of this diet.
1) Weight loss: When the levels of insulin which is fat-storing hormone decreases, fat-burning of your body increases. It is very beneficial when your body becomes fat burning machine during ketosis. This diet promotes weight loss in many ways, like boosting metabolism and reducing appetite. Appetite control is also done because this diet consists of foods that fill a person up and reduce hunger-stimulating hormones.
In a 2013 meta-analysis of 13 different randomized controlled trials, researchers found that people following ketogenic diets lost 2 pounds (lbs.) more than those following low-fat diets over one year.
2) Diabetes: it is the best diet for controlling and managing type 2 diabetes and also may lead to a reversal of disease as keto reduces blood sugar level and lowers the need of medication and decrease the negative effect of high insulin levels.
A study in people with type 2 diabetes found that 7 of the 21 participants were able to stop using all diabetes medications.[3]
3) Heart diseases: In a keto diet, it is important to choose healthy foods. Eating avocados instead of pork can improve heart health by reducing cholesterol. Also, it depends upon the lifestyle and diet quality.
A 2017 review of studies of animals and humans on a keto diet showed that some people experienced a significant drop in levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or bad cholesterol, and triglycerides, and an increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good” cholesterol.
4) Reduces the risk of certain cancers: One study found that the ketogenic diet may be a safe and suitable complementary treatment to use alongside chemotherapy and radiation therapy in people with certain cancers. This is because it would cause more oxidative stress in cancer cells than in normal cells, causing them to die.[4]
5) Improves acne: Consumption of foods which are high in processed and refined carbs changes the balance of gut bacteria and which in return affects blood sugar to rise and fall, both of which cause skin problems. Cutting carbs from diet can surely reduce the symptoms of acne.
There are many more benefits of keto:
• May help control migraine
• Improves many cases of PCOS
• It can also treat high blood pressure
• It might help with certain mental health issues
• It can also reduce the symptoms of Alzheimer`s disease
• It can cause a massive reduction in seizures in epileptic children
• It may protect brain function
How can you boost your activity of ketosis?
• Try not to eat out: Nowadays, there are many restaurants that serve keto recipes, but it`s difficult to track your intake of carbs.
• Follow your carbs intake: You should not go beyond your limited intake of carbs as it makes a great difference in your diet.
• Intake of carbs should be 20-50 grams per day: If you want your body to produce ketones, then you must stick to this rule only.
• High-quality fats should be included in your diet: Avocado oil, butter, nuts, fatty fish, meat eggs, extra virgin olive oil should be included in your diet. 70% of calories should be from healthy fats only.
• You must have knowledge about hidden carbs sources: You must be aware of what you eat, many spices, condiments, sauces are high in carbs.
• You can try the IF diet: Intermittent fasting can help you continue its energy balance and can shift the body`s fuel source from carbohydrates to fats.
• Increase physical activity: exercise can exhaust your body`s glycogen stores, which urges your liver to build its creation of ketones.
• Medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) supplement: These supplements are the fats that are absorbed in the body and can be easily transformed into ketones.
• Ketone levels should be checked regularly: With regular testing of ketone levels, you can adjust your diet accordingly, and it helps you know if you are in ketosis or not.
Side effects of keto diet
When there is a change in metabolism from burning carbs to fats and ketone bodies. There are many symptoms like muscle fatigue, headache, tiredness, etc.
Keto flu: many people experience this thing while starting on the journey of your diet. Light nausea, irritability, lack of motivation, dizziness, fatigue, headache. After a week, these symptoms disappear as the body adapts to increased fat burning. Also, carb-rich food leads to water retention in the body, so most of the excess fluid is lost. One can also eliminate these symptoms by having lots and lots of water and salt.
1 Day meal plan
Breakfast: Two scrambled eggs, tomato slices, coffee with heavy cream
Snack: full fat cottage cheese topped with seeds and nuts
Lunch: spinach salad with a grass-fed burger on top, cheese and avocado
Snack: roasted, salted almonds
Dinner: grilled salmon with a side of broccoli topped with butter
Summary: keto diet is a great diet but is not for everybody; it is great for overweight people, diabetic people, or someone who is trying to improve his\her metabolic health. Also, it only works if you are consistent and stick with it for the long run.