The ketogenic diet is also known as a keto diet that offers numerous health benefits. In fact, it is a very low carbohydrate, high-fat diet which is extremely helpful in losing weight and improve the health conditions. Furthermore, it is really advantageous against different severe diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and epilepsy.
This guide will explain everything related to the ketogenic diet that you need to know.
What is a ketogenic diet?
The ketogenic diet is basically a very low carbohydrate which is similar to the Atkins Diet and other low-carb diets. It dramatically reduces carbohydrate intake and replaces it with fat. After this reduction, your body goes into a metabolic state known as ketosis. This state makes your body incredibly efficient for energy at burning fat. In the liver, it also converts fats into ketones and this energy can be supplied to the brain.
Different types of ketogenic diets
There are numerous types of keto diets. Here are a few most common types:
- A standard ketogenic diet (SKD): This is a low carbohydrate including moderate protein with a high-fat diet. SKD contains about 5% carbohydrates, 20% protein, and 75% fats.
- A high-protein ketogenic diet (HKD): This is almost similar to the SKD. However, it contains more protein as compared to the standard keto. It has 5% carbs, 35% protein, and 60% of fats.
- The targeted ketogenic diet (TKD): This diet offers you to add more carbs around workouts.
- A cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD): This diet is quite different than other types. CKD involves cycles of higher-carb refeeds. For example, there will be 2 high-carb days after 5 keto days.
Among these types, SKD and HKD are studied extensively. Targeted and Cyclical ketogenic diets are really advanced techniques. Athletes and bodybuilders primarily utilize these methods.
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Before we move ahead, you should keep one point in your mind that most of the information in this article is related to the standard ketogenic diet. However, basic principles are almost the same for all keto types.
What to eat on a ketogenic diet?
Here is the list of your meals will go around these foods:
- Meat: Red meat, sausage, chicken, steak, bacon, ham, and turkey.
- Eggs: You can utilize pastured or omega-3 whole eggs.
- Nuts and seeds: Walnuts, Almonds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, and chia seeds.
- Fatty fish: It includes trout, salmon, mackerel, and tuna.
- Cheese: Unprocessed cheese is the best option such as cream, cheddar or mozzarella.
- Butter and cream: You should utilize grass-fed if possible.
- Healthy oils: Keto diet requires you to use healthy oil such as extra virgin olive oil, avocado, and coconut oil.
- Condiments: Salt, other healthy herbs and pepper can be used.
- Low-carb veggies: You can use low-carb veggies such as tomatoes, peppers, onions, and green veggies.
- Avocados: You can utilize entire avocados or fresh guacamole.
What food to avoid on a ketogenic diet?
You should reduce or even stop eating any food having high carbs. Here is a list of some foods that you should use in a limit on a ketogenic diet:
- Sugary foods: Sugary foods need to be limited such as ice cream, candies, cake, fruit juice, soda, smoothies, etc.
- Fruit: You should reduce the consumption of all fruits except a small portion of berries such as strawberries.
- Grains or starches: It includes cereal, rice, pasta, etc.
- Low-fat or diet products: These type of foods contains high carbohydrates so you should avoid.
- Root vegetables and tubers: you should eliminate such foods such as sweet potatoes, parsnips, potatoes, carrots, etc.
- Some condiments or sauces: Most often such foods contain unhealthy fats (limit processes vegetable oils) and sugar so try to avoid using it.
- Alcohol: Many alcoholic beverages throw you out from the ketosis diet due to their carb content.
Health Benefits of Ketogenic diet
Keto diet has a lot of advantages for numerous type of vital health conditions. Here are a few most prominent and severe diseases which can be controlled by the keto diet somehow:
- Heart disease: The keto diet really reduces the risk factors such as HDL cholesterol levels, blood sugar, blood pressure, and fatness.
- Cancer: It is another vital disease that is spreading dramatically. Fortunately, the keto diet is really helpful to control the different types of cancers and slow tumor growth.
- Epilepsy: Different studies show that the keto diet has the capability to massively reduce the seizures in epileptic children.
- Parkinson’s diseases: According to different researches, the keto diet is extremely helpful for the improvement of Parkinson’s disease.
- Brain injuries: This diet is capable to reduce concussions and recover the brain injury extremely fast.
- Polycystic ovary syndrome: This diet provide the functionality to reduce the insulin level which further plays a crucial role in polycystic ovary syndrome.
- Acne: As we have already mentioned that it can decrease the insulin level so eating less processed or sugary foods can help you to improve acne.
- Weight loss: Fatness is the cause of major disease. A ketogenic diet is a really effective method to lose weight which incredibly lower the risk factors for different disease. So it is the best recommendation as a low-fat diet. There are numerous reasons that prove ketogenic diet superiority over a low-fat diet. For example, it includes protein intake which offers several benefits.
- Reduction in diabetes and prediabetes: Diabetes is considered a change in metabolism, impaired insulin function, and high blood sugar. The ketogenic diet is extremely helpful in losing excessive fatness, which is closely related to metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, and type-2 diabetes.
Some side effects of the Ketogenic Diet and their solutions
The keto diet is extremely helpful for healthy people and prevents the body from numerous severe diseases. However, there may be a few side effects when your body adopts it.
When you start this diet, you may become the victim of keto flu just in a few starting days. Keto flu includes mental function, sleep issues, and digestive discomfort. Furthermore, it can also include poor energy, increase in hunger, nausea and decreased exercise performance.
You can overcome this problem by using the low-carb diet regularly for the first few weeks. Moreover, you can add some mineral supplements into your diet which will help you to prevent different side effects.
