All about the Ketogenic Diet or Keto Diet

Have you ever heard of the ketogenic diet called keto diet or keto diet? This diet, derived from the word "ketones" (ketones) and focused on high fat consumption and very low carbohydrate, has been growing in popularity for a few months, but few really know what it is.

What are the benefits of this mode of food and, above all, what foods are promoted in the Keto diet? What is the ketogenic diet? Ketogenic food, although recently in the spotlight, has been around since the early 1920s.

This strict food protocol was originally developed for specific pathological cases, for example when people were with severe epilepsy. However, today, this type of diet is used for many reasons, such as in Alzheimer's or cancer therapy. It is also very popular among athletes and to promote weight loss.


The ketogenic diet focuses on high consumption of fat (lipids), average protein and very low carbohydrates. In fact, there are many "types" of keto diets, from strict to flexible. On average, the lipid: protein/carbohydrate ratio is 4: 1, that is, about 80% of the energy consumed comes from fat, while 15-20% comes from protein and only about 10 % comes from carbohydrates (even 5% for a strict diet).

Thus, for a diet of 2000 calories a day, 1600 calories should come from fat, 300 to 400 calories from protein and 100 to 200 calories from carbohydrates. If we consider that 1 g of fat is 9 calories and 1 g of protein or carbohydrate is 4 calories, a person on a ketogenic diet could eat only 25 to 50 g of carbohydrate per day for 75-100 g of protein and 178 g of lipids. Just for comparison, 1 apple contains on average 20 g of carbohydrates!

How does the ketogenic diet work?

The goal of the ketogenic diet is simple: to minimize glucose to force the body to get its energy in fat, in the same way as during a fast. To summarize the process of catabolism, when the body no longer has access to glucose to produce its energy, it begins, on the one hand, the process of gluconeogenesis (to form glucose from fatty acids or amino acids) to bring a little glucose to the red blood cells.

On the other hand, and this is what interests people who adopt a ketogenic diet, the body begins to degrade the triglycerides (fat) consumed or those stored in our adipose tissue, fatty acids, which are then oxidized and converted to energy for the liver.

This process also causes the formation of ketone bodies in the liver, which will then be sent to the organs  and degraded for use as a source of energy. The formation process of ketone bodies is called ketogenesis and their degradation in peripheral cells is called ketolysis. A "fuel" person with ketone bodies is called ketosis.

Basically, the body literally draws its energy from eaten or stored fats rather than carbohydrates (carbohydrates). After a longer or shorter adaptation period (from a few weeks to a few months) of strict diets, the body has been "educated" to produce energy from fat and can start this process more easily from the reserves. fat in our adipose tissue when we are not eating, promoting fat loss.

What are the benefits of the Keto diet?

To teach the body to draw the energy of the fat, therefore, leads to endurance over the longer term. Allows for more stable blood glucose and lower insulin production by the pancreas, so useful in case of health problems such as migraines associated with hypoglycemia or type II diabetes. In the case of cancer, helps limit the spread of cancer cells that feed mainly on sugar. In the case of epilepsy or Alzheimer's, allows stabilization of the disease by decreasing the inflammation of the brain. May allow slight weight loss over the long term.

What are the dangers of the ketogenic diet?

May cause side effects while your body adapts to low glucose and is able to produce energy from fat: headaches, fatigue, nausea, etc. Lack of balanced diet Many of the foods that are part of a healthy and balanced diet are cut, mainly vegetables such as legumes, vegetables, fruits, and some whole grains.

In addition, this diet is very focused on the consumption of animal products that cause health problems in the long term. It can be well conducted, but can also be misused with the consumption of deli meats or bacon, for example, foods that are by no means good for health.

There is a lack of important nutrients in this diet, including fiber, vitamins, and minerals for optimal health. It also generally leads to an imbalance of the intestinal microbiota. the central point of our physical, mental, immune and inflammatory health.

Conclution

Not very effective if used for weight loss. In general, weight loss does not even equal 5 pounds (lbs) after several months, and people end up regaining that weight by starting to eat "normally". To lose weight in a sustainable manner, rather than adhere to any diet, it is much more interesting to adopt a healthy lifestyle based on a healthy diet that is unprocessed and mostly or completely vegetal and exercise regularly.






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