Admin The ketogenic diet (or simply the keto diet) is a low-carb, high-fat diet that has many health benefits.
In fact, many studies have shown that this type of diet can help you lose weight and improve your health. The ketogenic diet may even have benefits for diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease.
Here’s a detailed beginner’s guide to the keto diet.
What is a Keto Diet?
A keto diet(or ketogenic diet) is a low carb and high-fat diet for weight loss and many other general health benefits. It is popular with millions of people aross the world.
As a scientifically proven diet plan, ketogenic diet owns great success for effective weight loss and sometimes maybe even more useful than a low-fat diet, according to research.
The ketogenic diet shares many similarities with the ‘Atkins’ and ‘Low carb’ diets, which are also popular in the category.
One can never negelect Ketosis when it comes to ketogenic diet. Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body uses fat for fuel instead of carbs.
This enables the body to effectively burn off the excessive fat and utilise it as the main source of energy. The body fat is broken down into ketones by the liver, which ultimately acts as an energy source.
Different Types Of Keto Diets
There are several versions of the ketogenic diet, including:
- Standard keto diet (SKD): This is a very low carb, moderate protein and high fat diet. It typically contains 70% fat, 20% protein, and only 10% carbs.
- Cyclical keto diet (CKD): This diet involves periods of higher carb refeeds, such as 5 keto days followed by 2 high carb days.
- Targeted keto diet (TKD): This diet allows you to add carbs around workouts.
- High protein keto diet: This is similar to a standard ketogenic diet, but includes more protein. The ratio is often 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs.
However, only the standard and high protein keto diets have been studied extensively. Cyclical or targeted keto diets are more advanced methods and primarily used by bodybuilders or athletes.
What is Ketosis?
The ketogenic diet approach to weight loss is based on the idea that driving the body into a state of ketosis will minimize fat loss. Ketosis is a normal metabolic process that occurs when the body does not have enough glucose stores to use as energy. When these stores are depleted, the body chooses to burn stored fat instead of carbohydrates for energy. This process produces acids called ketone bodies, which accumulate in the body and can be used as energy.
What to Eat and Avoid Eating?
The keto diet is about increasing calories from fat and very low carbohydrates. This means following a restricted, keto-friendly list of foods.
Keto-friendly foods
Here are some foods you can eat on a keto diet
- Oils (such as olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil)
- Avocado
- Heavy cream
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Cheese
- Coconut (unsweetened)
- Nuts (almonds, macadamia nuts) and seeds (chia seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds)
- Green leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach, kale, collard greens)
- Non-starchy vegetables, including zucchini, asparagus, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, and bell peppers
- Meat (chicken, beef, pork, lamb)
- Eggs
- Fish (especially fish with high fat content, such as salmon and sardines)
What not to eat (or drink) on a keto diet
Foods and drinks you want to avoid on a keto diet include many whole fruits (although some are keto-friendly), dried fruits, whole grains, cold cuts, chicken nuggets, milk, ice cream, alcohol, and desserts.
Who Uses Keto Diet?
People use a ketogenic diet most often to lose weight, but it can help manage certain medical conditions, like epilepsy, too. It also may help people with heart disease, certain brain diseases, and even acne, but there needs to be more research in those areas. Talk with your doctor first to find out how it works, and if it’s safe for you to try a ketogenic diet, especially if you have type 1 diabetes.
