Keto diet is not like other low-carb, high protein diet that significantly helps in weight loss. A keto diet is majorly based on fat, the fat provides as much as 80% of the daily calories
The objective of keto diet is to provide a different type of fuel for the body in lieu of glucose (sugar) that we get from the carbohydrates. An alternative fuel known as "ketone" is produced from fat. Therefore, your body is forced to convert fat rather than sugar to energy. This is known as ketosis.
When your body experience this ; your metabolism speed up. Fat would not make your insulin rise as carbohydrate or even protein will.
It should be noted that ketogenic diet is a "therapeutic diet", that is only of advantage to people with certain medical conditions. Ketogenic diet is NOT meant for everyone.
If you are on keto diet, then, you must eat fat at each meal. The keto diet reduces carbohydrates total consumption to 20-50grams of carbohydrate daily.
In a daily 2,000- calorie diet, you may need to take 165g of fat, 75g of protein and 40g of carbohydrate. The actual ratio varies from one individual to another. This can be estimated to 70-80% fat, 10-20% protein and 5-10% carbohydrate.
Most keto diet allows food that is high in saturated fat e.g lard, butter. This is because, according to practical experiment, saturated fat is more effective in keto diet than unsaturated fat ( remember, this is typically for some medical conditions and some processes are going on in the body).
But unsaturated fats such as olive oil, nuts, oily fish and avocados can also be helpful. Low-carb fruit and vegetables could be taken in controlled amount e.g berries and vegetables like, spinach, kale, swiss chard.
Risks associated with ketogenic diet
Heart diseases : some dietitians suggests that saturated fats should not be more than 7-10% of your daily calories because of the connection to heart diseases. Keto diet is usually high in saturated fat.
Hypoglycemia : Keto diet may lead to low blood sugar which is known as hypoglycemia. This occur when blood sugar level falls - 70mg/dL or less.
Nutrient deficiency: of course, when you are not eating varieties of fruits and vegetables, you stand a riskl of being deficient in micro-nutrients, that is- vitamins and minerals.
In children, it may lead to stunted growth because of reduction in insulin-like growth factor.
Regular consultation with a dietitian may help in creating a keto diet that could help reduce these risks (guess you now know why you shouldn't take keto diet if you are not on a related medical condition).
Side effects are : constipation, headache, mental fogginess. These side effects are usually short-term side effects.
The ketogenic diet has been shown to produce favorable metabolic changes in short-term.
Who is keto diet good for?
Like I said earlier, keto diet is not meant for everyone and you can see it could even result in some health risks as we have discussed in this article.
Now, let's list the medical conditions appropriate for keto diet.
1) Treatment of resistant epilepsy
2) Type 2 diabetes
3) Morbid obesity
4) Prediabetes
Research has shown that keto diet has helped "some people" ( not all ) reverse Type 2 diabetes
Research suggests that keto diet can boost the health of those with Alzheimer's disease, autism or brain cancers.
It is important to work with your physician and dietitian who can monitor you while on keto diet
For Natural and Safe Ketogenic Supplement, you can check here
Related : Diabetes : types and management
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Importance of knowing your cholesterol levels
Health benefits of Apples
Health benefits of fruits and the right time to eat fruits
Comments
Post a Comment