Since 2016, the curiosity of people about ketogenic diet has been evident through different media platforms including Google Trends. Hundreds of Facebook pages about ketogenic diet are also available for anyone. Even celebrities have a huge contribution in disseminating information about its wonders. The now popular diet is often associated with ways how people can lose weight, but its effectiveness is often challenged by other health experts.
Does the ketogenic diet really work? Is it safe?
The human body needs food as its main source of energy to work on its daily activities. It uses the glucose from carbohydrate foods like rice, fruits, starchy vegetables, and more. In times when the body lacks intake of these foods, it burns fats as substitute and produces molecules called ketones. The process is called ketosis.
In the medical field, ketogenic diet or keto diet is initially for treatment of children with epilepsy, as it has been found to lessen the occurrence of seizures. Keto diet aims to use high-protein and high fat foods instead of carbohydrates as the body’s source of energy. However, it attracted more people when mainstream media widely considered it as a weight loss regimen. In order to make it work for people who want to lose weight, the Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD) suggests 70-75% fat, 20% protein and 5-10% carbs. Among the biggest keto myths is that it has totally zero carbs. On the contrary, keto diet still has carbs, but sugar and starches are replaced with low glycemic carbs coming from vegetables. Carbohydrates are really effective in making anyone gain weight, hence cutting them from your diet can really make the difference.
Keto diet is a strict low-carb diet. It is important that people who want to try it know the right food to jumpstart their journey. These foods include high-fat meats, fish, oils, nuts, high-fat dairy, and low-carb vegetables. Among the foods you need to avoid are bread, pasta, rice, and most conventional baked goods. The best drinks to pair your diet with are water and unsweetened coffee or tea.
Despite its many benefits, keto diet is still not advisable to everyone, especially to diabetics and other people who have management problems with blood sugar. People with kidney problems are also discouraged from following the diet.
As a health & wellness expert I believe knowledge gives you options. The more you know about diet & nutrition the more you can experiment with your food. I’m not a huge fan of diets like this as they are not sustainable. I believe in becoming educated about nutrition & applying that knowledge to your life. I believe in balance, & stick with the 90/10 rule. I eat healthy 90% of the time.
