Among the many diets that help lose weight, there is also a ketogenic diet, characterized by a small amount of carbohydrates eaten and a large amount of fatty foods. Research scientists have shown that this version of the ketogenic diet helps improve the condition of a person with diabetes, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, and even oncology.
ketogenic diet- This is a diet in which the diet contains low-carbohydrate and fatty foods. In reality, there is a displacement of carbohydrate substances by fat. These menu changes put the body into a metabolic state, the name of which is ketosis. At the same time, it increases the process of fat burning and energy release, and ketones are converted in the liver, which gives a lot of energy to the brain. The ketogenic diet helps lower blood glucose and insulin levels. So what is a ketone diet? Popularly called simply keto, it is characterized by a reduction in carbohydrate intake to a minimum and an increase in fatty foods in the diet. It provokes the work of metabolism, aimed at the breakdown of fats and ketones, and not carbohydrates.
What types of ketogenic diet are there?
There are many options for the ketogenic diet. The most popular of them:
- Standard (SKD) is a minimum of carbohydrate substances - 5%, a maximum of fat - 75%, an average amount of protein - 20%.
- Cyclic (CKD): Periodically it is time to consume a large amount of carbohydrates. At the same time, the first option is observed for 5 days, and then a high-carbohydrate food for a couple of days.
- Incorrect (NKD) - With this option, adding carbohydrates before and after training is allowed.
- High Protein – Similar to the standard version, but the BJU design is as follows: 35% protein, 60% fat, and 5% carbs.
Standard and high protein options are more recommended for use. The rest are mostly used by athletes and bodybuilders.
Benefits of the ketogenic diet
The ketogenic diet helps to eliminate obesity and at the same time does not harm health. Nutritionists claim that it is better than low-fat diets. At the same time, the diet is more nutritious and there is no need to count calories. People who used the ketogenic diet themselves lost weight several times faster, while improving levels of good cholesterol and triglycerides.
Note: A big advantage of a ketogenic diet over a low-fat diet is sufficient protein intake, which is very important for the body. A ketogenic diet promotes greater weight loss than one that focuses on eating a small amount of fatty foods. And it is important that everything happens without the unbearable feeling of hunger.
How it helps diabetics and predisposed people
With this problem, metabolism is disturbed, blood sugar rises, and insulin functions in the body are disrupted. The ketogenic diet promotes the burning of excess fat, which is important for diabetics, people with a metabolic disorder. Research scientists have shown that a ketogenic diet improves the body's sensitivity to insulin by 75%.
Experiments conducted with type 2 diabetics gave surprising results: out of 21 patients, 7 people were able to refuse to take diabetes medications. Weight loss is much more significant than with other types of diets. In type 2 diabetics, insulin sensitivity is increased, which triggers fat burning. And this is very important for patients.
Other benefits of a low-carb diet
The ketogenic diet is recommended to maintain the health of patients with neurological pathologies.
It is also recommended for various diseases, such as:
- Heart pathology. A positive effect on such factors: fat, cholesterol, blood sugar, pressure.
- Oncology. It has a beneficial effect in reducing the growth of cancer cells.
- Alzheimer's diseaseImproves symptoms and inhibits the development of pathology.
- Epilepsy. Reduces the number of seizures in children.
- Parkinson's disease. Improves the symptoms of this disease.
- polycystic ovaries. Reducing insulin has a good effect on the development of the syndrome.
- With brain injury. The impact of concussions is reduced, the recovery time is reduced.
- Acne. Low insulin levels and the absence of excessive carbohydrate intake contribute to improving the condition of the skin.
The ketogenic diet is beneficial for many ailments, especially those related to insulin levels, metabolism, and neurology.
What to remove from your diet
From the menu it is necessary to exclude all products that contain carbohydrates in large quantities:
- Containing sugar: soft drinks, fruit and berry juices, cakes, ice cream and other sweets.
- Cereals and starch-containing: flour products, rice, cereals.
- Fruit products - everything except berries, but little by little.
- Legumes: peas, lentils, beans and more.
- Vegetable products: potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes and more.
- Diet and fat-free: After processing, they are high in carbohydrates.
- Sauces that contain sugar and unhealthy fats. Vegetable oil, mayonnaise.
- Alcoholic beverages: they are saturated with carbohydrates.
Highly processed, sugar-free diet foods are bad for a ketogenic diet.
These foods should be eaten
And these products are required to be consumed while maintaining a ketogenic diet:
- Meat products: ham, sausages, ham, red meat, chicken, turkey.
- fatty fish.
- Chicken eggs.
- Cow butter and heavy cream from grass-fed cows.
- Raw cheeses - mozzarella, goat, etc.
- Nuts: walnuts, pumpkin seeds, almonds, etc.
- Various oils - olive, coconut.
- Avocado in its pure state or in salad.
- Low-carb vegetable products: onion, cucumber, tomato and other green vegetables.
- Seasonings in the form of salt, pepper and dried herbs.
Products are recommended to be consumed in their pure form, so that recipes for dishes consist of one component.
Sample menu for the week.
For clarity, a menu of a ketogenic diet for a week is provided:
| days | food | Menu |
| Monday | Breakfast | Boiled eggs with bacon and tomato |
| Dinner | Poultry and feta salad with butter | |
| Dinner | Steamed salmon with asparagus | |
| Tuesday | Breakfast | Fried eggs with tomato, goat cheese |
| Dinner | Almond milk, cocoa and stevia smoothie | |
| Dinner | Meatballs, cheese and vegetables | |
| Wednesday | Breakfast | Milk shake |
| Dinner | Shrimp salad with avocado | |
| Dinner | Pork chops, cheese and vegetables | |
| Thursday | Breakfast | Fried eggs with avocado, onion, bell pepper |
| Dinner | Nuts, salsa, guacamole | |
| Dinner | Chicken with sauce, cream cheese | |
| Friday | Breakfast | Sugar-free yogurt with coconut oil and cocoa |
| Dinner | Beef steak and vegetables | |
| Dinner | Burger with egg and cheese | |
| Saturday | Breakfast | Eggs with cheese, vegetables and ham |
| Dinner | Ham, cheese and nuts | |
| Dinner | Variety of white fish, eggs with spinach | |
| Sunday | Breakfast | Fried eggs with butter and mushrooms |
| Dinner | Sandwich, sauce, guacamole | |
| Dinner | Beef steak with vegetables |
It is required to diversify the menu as much as possible so that a more complete set of nutrients enters the body.
What can you eat on a ketogenic diet?
When hunger strikes between mandatory meals, you can satisfy it with healthy snacks.
For this you can use:
- boiled meat or fatty fish;
- cheese allowed;
- some nuts or seeds;
- a couple of hard-boiled eggs;
- chocolate with 90% cocoa;
- milk cocktail with cocoa and butter;
- yogurt with cocoa butter and nuts;
- strawberries with whipped cream;
- celery with salsa and guacamole sauce.
You can refresh yourself with a small portion of prepared food for the main meal.
What can you eat away from home?
In catering establishments there are many different meat and fish dishes of fatty varieties. You can get rid of excess carbohydrates by ordering more vegetables. Egg dishes are varied, with bacon, cheese, vegetables.
Burgers are best eaten without buns, but only the filling is eaten. You can add cheese, eggs or bacon. If there's nothing suitable for a ketogenic diet, but you still need to lose weight, order a mix of cheese, meat of any kind, fish, eggs, and lots of vegetables at restaurants and cafes.
How to improve the adaptation period
The ketogenic diet is considered safe for almost everyone, but adaptation to this diet can lead to an ailment, which is popularly called "ketogenic flu". It is characterized by: general discomfort due to lack of energy, alterations in mental activity, insomnia, beastly hunger, nausea and stomach discomfort. This condition lasts for several days and then disappears without a trace. To eliminate such symptoms, it is necessary to adjust the low-carb diet immediately in the first days. These activities contribute to further weight loss before you need to cut carbs off the menu altogether.
Important: such nutrition causes a change in the balance of water and minerals in the body. Additional servings of salt and mineral supplements may be required. The body needs an additional 3, 000 mg of sodium, 1, 000 mg of potassium, and 300 mg of magnesium per day. If you take them, you can prevent nutrient imbalance in the body.
At the beginning of the ketogenic diet, you can eat to satiety, do not reduce the consumption of high-calorie foods. Weight loss occurs without caloric restriction. If you follow all the rules, the side effects of the ketogenic diet will not be so significant.
what questions do people ask
If you read the reviews, you can highlight the frequently asked questions of those who want to lose weight.
- Can you eat carbohydrates later? If you can. They should be excluded at first, but after 3-4 months you can enjoy desserts with and without ketones, not forgetting to return to the ketogenic diet.
- Is it possible to lose muscle mass or increase it? With any diet you lose muscle mass, but with this diet a high protein intake will not make it too noticeable. You can also increase it, but not as much as with diets with the use of carbohydrates.
- How much protein can you eat? Its amount should be moderate so as not to increase insulin and reduce the number of ketones. Of all the calories consumed, 35% should come from protein foods, the rest from ketones.
- What should I do if I feel constant weakness? This can be due to incomplete immersion in a state of ketosis, as well as poor fat and ketone burning. It is necessary to reduce the consumption of carbohydrates and once again read the complete guide to this diet, watch the amount of ketones.
- Bad breath, what to do? This happens with the ketogenic diet. You should drink pure water with various natural additives or use chewing gum to reduce the concentration of ketones.
- Is ketosis really dangerous for health? People confuse ketosis with ketoacidosis, but it is really dangerous and happens with uncontrolled diets.
- I have digestive problems and diarrhoea, what should I do? This is a common side effect of the ketone diet and goes away on its own after 3-4 weeks.
The ketogenic diet, like any other diet, has side effects. They pass quickly, but with prolonged problems it is better to refuse this.
Contraindications
Nutrition with an increase in the number of ketones is not shown to everyone. Who can practice the ketogenic diet: diabetics, obese people who need to improve their metabolic processes, as well as those who are able to maintain this diet for a long time.
Please note: for active athletes, as well as those who want to gain muscle mass, it is less suitable. They need to choose a different type of diet. The remaining contraindications are in the characteristics of human health.
A low-carbohydrate diet promotes weight loss and improves health. Before switching to the proposed diet, a nutritionist or attending physician should be consulted.