Throughout its history, civilized mankind has sought to improve the quality of life, the foundation of which is nutrition. Numerous diets and fasting systems are proof of this. They are given beautiful names, among them there are understandable ones with a familiar set of products, but there are many unusual ones with an exotic focus.
Recently, the keto diet, ketogenic diet (ketone diet) or low-carbohydrate diet with a high proportion of fat in the diet, is gaining more and more popularity. Its importance is a sharp reduction in carbohydrate foods and an increase in the proportion of predominantly fatty foods and moderate protein intake. As a result of keto nutrition, fatty acids are broken down into ketone bodies, which in conditions of glucose deficiency feed all organs, including the brain.
Until recently, athletes resorted to the ketogenic diet in an attempt to build muscle mass and reduce their body fat to zero. However, a carbohydrate-free diet has been inherent in humanity since the beginning of its history. Physiologically, we are all hunters and hunters.
The human brain has evolved due to the consumption of massive amounts of fat throughout evolutionary history. Ancient people ate exclusively animal food, the components of which were only proteins and fats. According to scientists, for a relatively short period of its existence, the body of modern man did not have time to adapt to a diet containing carbohydrates and, moreover, consisting only of carbohydrates, which make up the diet of raw eaters.
It is quite reasonable to conclude that with the introduction of carbohydrate nutrition is an inevitable process opposed to the development of human intelligence. To understand the keto diet in more detail, it is necessary to learn some basic concepts related to this topic, they will help you find the answer to the question: what is the keto diet.
What is a keto diet, concept, definition
Recently, there has been a huge amount of information about the ketogenic diet. Authors interpret the essence of the keto system in their own way, pursue different goals, but the essence of keto does not change from this. Let's start simple.
Keto is eating certain foods in certain combinations to make the body run on ketones. Ketones are produced by the body when fat is burned. They are alternative fuels. For the human body, this fuel is the most convenient, since the amount of "waste" is significantly reduced, such fuel is the most efficient.
If we make an analogy with car fuel, carbohydrate foods are the cheapest fuel containing a huge amount of impurities, while no-carb or low-carb foods are Euro fuel, a premium fuel for our body, because they do not contain by-products "tasty" impurities, keto fuel ismost effective for the living organism.
One of the main benefits of the keto diet is the lack of hunger and cravings for certain foods. You can easily stay on this diet for a long time. It is not only effective, it is comfortable and pleasant.
Over 90% of diets fail. They cannot be followed all the time. Carb cravings and hunger are doing their job. An overwhelming number of temptations lead to disruption and disastrous results. The lost weight returns and often brings with it friends - new pounds.
With keto, there is no such unpleasant feeling as hunger. Yes, you can enter a state of ketosis while fasting, but why if there is a great way to achieve it without restricting yourself from food. The keto diet does not cause as much damage to the body as fasting.
Taking a ketogenic diet, the body continues to receive all the necessary substances and does not experience hunger. At the same time, the process of breaking down fats is started - the body enters a state of ketosis, i. e. it begins to produce ketones due to the reduced consumption of carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are not completely excluded from the diet (the exception is the period of entry into ketosis, it is recommended to completely exclude carbohydrates). They must be present in the diet, but their percentage of protein and fat must be controlled. The fewer carbs, the deeper the ketosis.
The ketogenic diet is a fat burning diet. A huge number of people dream of losing weight and reducing their volume. For those who are serious about the state of their bodies, keto is that magic pill that is easy and pleasant to swallow.
Many people think that eating a lot of fat is bad. But if you significantly reduce the amount of carbohydrates, then there is absolutely no threat from the consumption of fat. Because when entering ketosis, the body simply switches from sugar to fat. By the time it takes 2 to 3 days. And to achieve this, you need to drastically reduce the amount of carbohydrates.
For a more efficient entry into ketosis, carbohydrates are completely excluded. Such restructuring in nutrition forces the body to look for other sources of energy. And such a source is fat reserves, carefully accumulated over many years.
In low-calorie diets, weight loss is due to the loss of water reserves. This can last a week, two weeks. Euphoria is coming - it worked! Slimming in progress! But at the end of the diet, the water weight returns. The point of such diets is reduced to zero, if not worse, the weight returns and carries extra pounds with soda. The fat burning process is not started. Water loss and fat loss are completely different things.
If you use physical exercises for weight loss, then they give only 15% of the result, that is, very insignificant compared to the correct keto diet. In addition, constant hunger and the desire for any food do not allow you to withstand at least for some time a low-calorie diet.
98% of these diets end in failure, explaining the lack of willpower. When you eat carbohydrate foods, blood sugar levels drop due to a surge of insulin, which suppresses blood sugar. With low blood sugar there is a constant feeling of hunger, irritability.
When you follow a keto or ketogenic diet, you will burn real fat. Water weight will also decrease, but the main goal of burning body fat will be achieved. And the less carbohydrates you eat, the more efficient the fat burning process will be. The feeling of hunger and desire for food will disappear. Because of these circumstances, you can stay on this diet for quite a long time.
Any restructuring of the body leads to unpleasant symptoms. In order to avoid transient symptoms, intake of vitamins and electrolytes is necessary.
Along with a number of negative side effects of the keto diet, there are also positive ones:
- Improving memory;
- Energy boost;
- Intelligence increases;
- The mood is improving.
Because ketones are the best food for the brain. As a result, inflammation and pain or tension, if any, disappear. Keto leads to an improvement in the condition of the skin, the rash disappears, if it was there.
A comparison of low-calorie, low-fat and keto diets shows significant advantages of keto over other diets.
Why you should use the keto diet
Everyone who has resorted to a ketogenic diet has a specific goal. And the goals can be different. These can be needs of both an aesthetic nature and a desire to improve health or at least to improve the condition caused by a certain disease.
Often, switching to a keto diet is associated with a desire to reduce weight and volume. This is the most obvious result of the keto diet. Success is guaranteed under the strict system requirements. The goal is achieved easily and with pleasure. The inevitability of positive weight loss results is proven by a huge number of enthusiastic reviews.
Once they understand how a low-carb diet works, people often try to stick to keto later in life. A proper understanding of ketosis gives confidence in their actions.
But in addition to the aesthetic result, the main goal for many is solving health problems. After all, the point of being in ketosis is to lower and normalize insulin levels.
About 80% of the world's population has problems with insulin - insulin resistance, that is, a violation of the absorption of insulin by receptors. As a result of such a failure, the body is forced to produce more and more insulin to compensate for its deficiency. This causes many health problems.
An increase in the intake of carbohydrates leads to an increase in the production of insulin, insulin resistance occurs. The average person with insulin resistance (prediabetes) produces 7 times more insulin than the body needs. Excess insulin leads to diabetes, metabolic disorders, obesity, high cholesterol.
The brain can burn glucose, but fat feeds it better. The human brain is more comfortable burning fat. This state is ketosis. To achieve this state, you must adhere to a strict diet - low in carbohydrates and high in fat. Moderate ketosis is a state to aim for.
Ketone bodies in the body come from fat. You can't get them from sugars and carbohydrates. Ketone bodies are used to fuel the brain and fatty acids are used to fuel the muscles.
Alzheimer's patients are known to have elevated levels of insulin in their blood.
Heart and blood vessel problems are also a consequence of insulin resistance. As a result, vasoconstriction occurs due to the appearance of cholesterol plaques, the appearance of blood clots, calcium deposition, which can lead to a heart attack or even a stroke.
As a consequence of insulin resistance - appearance of depression, anxiety, deterioration of emotional mood. The most serious consequences are fatty liver and cancer, because cancer cells feed on sugar.
From the above material, you can determine a whole list of reasons in favor of a ketogenic diet. The majority of the population will find motivating factors for themselves that say why you need to go keto.
Who is on a keto diet
Despite the relatively young direction in the world of diets, keto nutrition has a huge number of supporters with solid experience in using this nutritional system. The ketogenic diet has proven to be beneficial not only among those who want to lose weight, but also among diabetics, when the lipid profile is ideal and insulin levels decrease to normal. The experience of American doctors is known throughout the world.
And another interesting theory. When taking medicine, it has an effect on a certain organ in the human body. When the nutritional system changes to keto, the brain, pancreas, liver and other organs come under the favorable influence. And this fact already has a very solid and reliable basis.
Regular provision of the necessary tests and their control ensures that the system of medical nutrition, with an increase in the proportion of fat in the diet, moderate consumption of protein foods and practically excluding carbohydrate foods, for those suffering from the above diseases, is chosen correctly.
Ketogenic diet is not limited by age among those who want to lose weight or improve their health. This diet is suitable for both athletes and non-athletes, both young and old.
Pregnant women successfully use the keto diet. There are no contraindications to a low-carbohydrate diet during breastfeeding.
The results will not be late. You just need to start eating right, listen to your body and follow the instructions for beginners that you can find on this resource.
And if the keto diet is used for weight loss, then this process will become pleasant and effective.
Reasons to go keto
The first and perhaps for someone the most important is to get rid of food addiction, overeating, desire for certain groups of foods: sweets, starchy foods. A huge number of people experience an irresistible desire for sweets. Who has not received candy as a reward since childhood, in almost all families, cakes, biscuits, sweets are served for the festive table?
The presence of sugar on the daily table has become familiar. It so happened that the most beautiful moments are connected with sweets.
The amount of sweet foods in the diet of children sometimes does not scare adults. "Little ones love sweets. "And they are connected with the fact that the child accepts the tasty with tenderness. The child does not have much choice. What is given to him, that is what he takes. Over time, children form a firm belief that candy, cake are good. In addition, the amount increasessweets consumed, a food addiction to sweets appears.
With the appearance of health problems, most people understand that it is necessary to adjust their diet, to introduce some restrictions on food. But not everyone can cope with the desire for sweets, a habit that takes root from childhood and only strengthens with time.
In addition, eating sweet stressful situations for some is comfort and a solution to the problem, but, unfortunately, not for long. Periodic attempts to abandon sugar-containing products once and for all end in failure, crashes.
This is where keto nutrition comes in handy. There is not a single review that, strictly observing all the conditions of a carb-free diet, I would want to sit down with something sweet.
If such impulses suddenly arise, then it should be reconsidered, is everything being done correctly as part of clinical nutrition?
Check the calories (KBZhU), the amount of food eaten, the "purity" of the food consumed, whether a sufficient amount of the necessary vitamins enters the body. If you approach this question correctly, then the positive results will not make you wait. With the transition to keto the levels ofblood sugar normalizes.
Another important reason to go carb-free is the condition of the skin. During the first weeks, the skin of the face is transformed. No need to visit beauty salons. Over time, the use of creams with different types of orientation is reduced to a minimum.
For many people who have problems with the gastrointestinal tract:
- gastritis;
- cholecystitis;
- Pancreatitis;
- Public housing.
There is a great opportunity to reduce them. Cramps, pain, swelling are a thing of the past. The intestines begin to perfectly cope with their duties without the help of pills and other forms of medicine.
Of course, if there are serious diseases, the transition to a ketogenic diet should be carried out under the supervision of a specialist doctor, monitoring the main indicators of the state of health with the help of research.
What can you eat on a keto diet
Carbohydrates - 5% of all calories (vegetables are listed separately because they don't have as many calories and don't cause an insulin response). Proper carbohydrates that are acceptable on keto do not include flour products, sugar, grains, fruits.
Proteins - 20% of all calories (86 - 175g). This group should include:
- meat;
- fish;
- Seafood;
- Cheese;
- eggs.
It should be noted that if possible, preference should be given to products grown in a natural environment: pasture-raised meat, commercial seafood. In the food, it is necessary to take meat broths, offal. Among the drinks, the so-called armored coffee is very popular. However, this drink is more food than drink.
Fat is 70% of all calories.
At first glance, the fat content of the diet may seem overwhelming. But it should be understood that the percentages listed refer to calories, not volume or weight.
Most foods are a combination of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Clean fats include ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, low-carb avocados, and animal fats.
Allowed vegetables on keto are leafy greens, broccoli, lettuce, and other green vegetables. They provide the body with vitamins, trace elements and antioxidants. Remember that they contain fiber.
World-class nutritionists have developed many recipes with KBJU's keto-friendly ratio. There are soups, side dishes, meat and fish dishes, even desserts and sweets. Using ready-made recommendations for cooking keto food, you can develop an approximate menu for yourself for a certain period of time, for example, for a week, a few days, and stick to it, without tormenting yourself with the question: "what to cook? "".
What not to eat on Keto
All grain products (bread, pasta, cereals, sweets and legumes) should be avoided.
Excluded from keto are foods containing starch (potatoes, rice, corn), which quickly turn it into sugar.
Sugars (cane, beet, honey, fructose, all syrups and fruit juices, sugary sodas) are unacceptable on keto. If necessary, sugar substitutes (stevia, xylitol, erythritol) are allowed.
It is recommended to avoid GMO products (soybean, corn, rapeseed oil).
When buying products, be sure to pay attention to the composition. This recommendation applies to meat and fish products, as well as cheese. Semi-finished products should also be abandoned.
Fats are very important for the body, but you have to be very selective about them. Some of them are dangerous. Solid vegetable fats that have undergone multi-step processing are trans fats on an industrial scale. Keto is against this kind of food processing.
Alcohol is also unacceptable on keto. Although among the abundance of strong drinks you can choose dry wines. There are circumstances in which you should not advertise that you are on a keto diet. Then you should choose drinks without sugar and gas. At the same time, it is still necessary to observe the measure.
If you follow all the above recommendations when choosing products for a ketogenic diet, then buying them will not seem too difficult, and over time these rules will become normal.
Cons of Keto
Along with a whole list of positives, keto also has its drawbacks. Although negative points will be negative if you pay attention to them and treat them as flaws.
It is worth paying attention to the state in which the body enters the initial stage of the keto path. This condition is called ketoflu. It is characterized by heaviness in the stomach, slight disturbances in digestion. Acetone breath, headache, weakness or depression of the body are possible. But despite all the apparent severity, these unpleasant moments are temporary. Also, they don't always accompany entering ketosis, and it's not necessarily a complete list.
But if you get the right mindset psychologically and remember that these aggravating circumstances will pass as soon as you enter ketosis, then most of the downsides won't seem so big, especially if you use techniques to work around them.
Keto physical activity
It is known that in the modern world, the first supporters of keto are athletes, for whom the absence of fat or its minimal amount, dense muscles and endurance play an important role. And considering that keto nutrition sharpens memory, speed of thought, clarity of mind, then this nutritional system becomes interesting not only for athletes and people who love physical culture.
As you know, a beautiful, supple body is not just about food. An important role in building our beautiful shell is played by sports, those physical activities that a person uses because of his type of activity, hobby or sports life.
To enhance the effect of keto nutrition, sports are perfectly acceptable.
The best time to exercise is not in the evening or in the morning, but after a long interval of time after eating. That is, when the level of ketones in the body is increased.
It is known that during periods of lack of food (starvation) the body produces more ketones than when consuming fatty foods. If you do have a pre-workout meal, it is advisable to reduce the proportion of protein in the portion. You don't need to change your carb ratio before or after your workout.
Fasting days
The concept of "fasting days" is acceptable rather with forced enhanced eating. Everyone knows the physical state after the holidays, when abundant feasts are inevitable and physical activity is minimized.
If you approach this question correctly, then the holiday menu can be used for the benefit of your body, that is, eat selectively, only what the body needs on keto. But even with selective nutrition, overeating is not excluded, and after abundant consumption of fat-protein foods, heaviness in the body is observed. Of course, you need to control your actions and remember that taking a large amount of food, even without carbohydrates, will not lead to a positive effect.
But if there was still a fact of overeating, you need to apply unloading for the body. Also, the body will only tell you when to stop eating and when to start again. The very concept of "fasting days" for keto is not entirely applicable. Among the followers of the keto system there is the concept of "intermittent fasting".
Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is not a strict restriction of fuel intake in the body. It is known that high-calorie food allows the body to go without food for a long time. The intervals between meals become longer. And if you listen to your body and do not follow the generally accepted breakfast-lunch-dinner routine, consume food only when necessary, then this interval can be significantly increased.
It may extend from morning to the next morning or from noon to noon. That is, a daily meal can become a one-time meal. Here you don't have to keep track of time, count minutes, try to beat your own record. You just have to listen to your body. And that is reasonable, instead of subjecting him to forced hunger strikes or putting him in a state of starvation.
This is what intermittent fasting is.
It should not be done occasionally, but constantly. Our body will only tell us when it needs refueling and when it should stop refueling. One has only to learn to hear it, understand it and apply the necessary actions in practice.
So, the main reason for switching to a ketogenic diet is to improve health, get rid of diseases, if any. Prevention of diabetes, and in some cases its treatment. Increased energy levels and appetite control. Normalization of cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Improving memory, concentration. Get rid of depression and all the signs of its manifestation. Improving the quality of life in general.