What Is the Keto Diet, and Is It for You?
If you’re anywhere near the Internet these days, you’ve likely heard about the ketogenic, or “keto” diet — a high-fat, low-carb way of eating that promises to melt body fat and improve your health. While low-fat diets were all the rage in the 1970s and 1980s, research has shown starving your body of fat to lose fat is a myth. The keto diet switches up the ratio of macronutrients — carbohydrates, protein, and fat — in your diet, which can have a big impact on weight loss, heart health, hormone regulation, and insulin resistance.
Speaking of macronutrients, a typical Western diet consists of relatively high amounts of carbohydrates relative to fat and protein. The keto diet asks you to flip the script, getting 70-80% of your calories from fat, 20-25% from protein, and only 5-10% from carbohydrates. For most people, this is a big change to the way they eat, but once they start to see the benefits, the new lifestyle is a no-brainer to maintain.
The ketogenic diet, commonly known as the keto diet, is a low-carb, high-fat diet that has been used for decades to treat certain medical conditions. It has gained popularity in recent years as a weight loss and health improvement tool.
The main principle of the keto diet is to drastically reduce carbohydrate intake and replace it with fat. This forces the body to enter a state of ketosis, in which it starts burning fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. In other words, the keto diet trains the body to use fat as its primary source of energy.
To achieve ketosis, the typical keto diet involves consuming less than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. This is significantly lower than the 150-300 grams per day recommended for a healthy, balanced diet. The low-carb intake is typically achieved by replacing carb-heavy foods like grains, fruits, and starchy vegetables with fatty foods like nuts, seeds, and avocado.
The high-fat intake on the keto diet is what provides the body with energy in the absence of carbohydrates. However, it's important to choose healthy sources of fat, such as avocado, olive oil, and fatty fish, rather than processed and high-sugar foods.
One of the main benefits of the keto diet is its potential to aid in weight loss. Because the diet forces the body to burn fat for fuel, it can lead to significant weight loss in a relatively short amount of time. In addition, the keto diet may also improve certain markers of health, such as blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
However, the keto diet can also be challenging to follow and may not be suitable for everyone. It requires strict adherence to the low-carb, high-fat guidelines and can be difficult to maintain in the long term. In addition, it can cause side effects like the "keto flu," a period of symptoms like nausea, fatigue, and headache that some people experience when transitioning to the diet.
It's always important to consult with a healthcare provider before starting any new diet, and the keto diet
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How Does It Work?
So, what’s happening when you eat keto? Your body enters a state called “ketosis,” which means that it burns ketones rather than glucose for fuel. When you’re eating a higher level of carbohydrates, your liver turns the sugar, or glucose, into energy. It’s why carb-loading before a big race seems to help athletes perform better. As long as glucose is present, your body wants to use it and will resist breaking down stored fat. On the keto diet, you’re reducing the amount of glucose available. Your body will move on to breaking down fat to produce and use ketones for energy instead, creating a state known as “ketosis.”
Ketosis has numerous benefits, such as increased mental performance, since the brain is able to readily use ketones for energy, improved cholesterol levels, decreased triglycerides, and decreased blood glucose. Your body also adapts to using ketones when you exercise, giving you a longer-lasting, efficient fuel system to support harder, fat-burning workouts.
Is Keto Safe?
Ketosis, which is a perfectly safe level of ketones (0.5-5.0mmol/L), is often confused with ketoacidosis, a dangerous metabolic state for diabetics. As the ketogenic diet does impact insulin and glucose levels in the body, it’s always recommended that individuals, especially those with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes consult a medical professional before implementing a lower-carb eating plan. When beginning a keto diet, you may also experience flu-like symptoms as a result of the fuel switch from carbohydrates to fat. This usually lasts less than two weeks once the body adjusts.
If you’re ready to get started on the path to weight loss, increased energy, and better health, start with your plate! Increase your consumption of healthy fats, such as grass-fed butter, coconut oil, nuts, avocados, and dairy, and add more lean meats into your meals. Stick to leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables, and limit grains and fruits. Try it today and enjoy the benefits of this healthy lifestyle!
