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People have heard about the Keto Diet, and many more are talking about Keto. Some people swear by a Keto diet. What exactly is the Keto Diet?.
The official name is “Ketogenic diet” and revolves around eating fewer carbohydrates, moderate proteins, and more fat. The Keto diet has your body using fat as energy. The menu is designed to have your body obtain 60-75% of your calories from fat, 15-30% of calories from protein and 5-10% calories from carbs.
After starting the diet, in two to seven days your body goes into a condition known as “ketosis” where there are not enough carbs for cells to use as energy. The body begins to produce “ketones” which are used instead of carbs that are no longer available to burn as energy. Your body begins to burn fat to use as energy, resulting in weight loss. Ketosis is actually a natural part of metabolism which happens either when carbohydrate intake is very low or when you haven’t eaten for a long time. This leads to reduced insulin levels, which causes the breaking down of fat cells. During this the liver gets flooded with fat which turns a major part of it into ketones.
During Ketosis many parts of your body are burning ‘ketones’ for energy instead of carbohydrates. This includes a large part of the brain. In Ketosis parts of the body and brain use ketones for fuel instead of carbs. The formation of two chemical known as ketones and decanoic acid during the process help control epileptic seizures. This is why the keto diet was put in place to treat people who had seizure disorders.
What is on the Keto menu?
The Keto diet consists of no processed foods, you can eat only natural organic food. Most meats like beef, chicken, and so on. Most oils like olive, coconut, avocado, and mayo. The health packed vegetables such as cauliflower, avocado, broccoli, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, and so many more. Grass-fed dairy fat like heavy cream, cream cheese, sour cream, and so on. Nuts, almost every nut that grows on earth. Seafood, like salmon, trout, tuna, halibut, clams, lobster, everything. Berries, a short list, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. Eggs, coffee, and spices. Go real light on alcohol.
The keto diet can be enjoyed worldwide because just about everything on the keto diet grows somewhere in the world. Whatever ingredients are not listed in the keto diet cannot be had not even to taste. One reason for the popularity of the keto diet is its fat to carb ratio. The diet focuses on the fat and protein, not so much on carbs. There are also plenty of snacking food designed for the keto diet.
How good is a Keto diet?
It takes three to seven days to go into ketosis, you have to use the stored glucose first. Once ketosis sets in there can be some issues, such IBS symptoms, fatigue will occur due to low carbs. These side effects of the keto diet referred to as the “keto flu,” are sometimes accompanied by nausea, mental fog, cramps, and lightheadedness. This doesn’t last for more than a week, which is the same time you notice the first weight loss?. Being on a Ketogenic diet can increase heart rate in some people, but it can be put under control by staying hydrated and increasing your salt intake.
How does weight loss happen ?
People on the keto diet lower their calorie intake to 1,500 calories or so per day. Since they are eating healthy fats and lean proteins, they feel fuller sooner. It takes more energy to burn fat and protein hence more calories are burned leading to weight loss. Besides the Keto diet reduces hunger and increases satiety which is helpful while trying to lose weight. The keto diet may not be for everyone as one might want to follow the menu for a short time.
Side Effects
Side effects are less common. Some of them include issues for breastfeeding women, kidney stones in epileptic children and high cholesterol levels. However these can be minimized by drinking enough water and eating foods rich in fibre and minerals. Ketogenic diets and MCT supplements may improve memory and brain function in people with Alzheimer’s disease, although studies based on this are only in their early stages.
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