What is ketogenic diet ?

The ketogenic diet (also known as the keto diet) is a low-carb, high-fat diet with several health advantages.

Many studies have shown that eating this way can help you lose weight and improve your health .

Diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's illness may all benefit from a ketogenic diet.

The keto diet is explained in full in this beginner's handbook.

1.What is a ketogenic diet?

Keto basics

The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that resembles the Atkins and low-carb diets in many ways.

It entails substantially lowering carbohydrate consumption and substituting fat. This decrease in carbohydrates causes your body to enter a metabolic condition known as ketosis.

Your body becomes very effective at burning fat for energy when this happens. It also causes fat to be converted to ketones in the liver, which can provide energy to the brain 

Ketogenic diets can lower blood sugar and insulin levels significantly. This, in addition to the higher ketones, offers certain health advantages.

Different types of ketogenic diets:

The ketogenic diet comes in a variety of forms, including:

• Standard ketogenic diet (SKD): This is a low-carbohydrate, moderate-protein, high-fat diet. It usually has 70 percent fat, 20 percent protein, and barely 10% carbohydrates.

• Cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD): This diet includes higher carb refeeding times, such as 5 ketogenic days followed by 2 high carb days.

• Targeted ketogenic diet (TKD): You may eat carbohydrates around exercises on this diet.

• High protein ketogenic diet: This diet is comparable to a traditional ketogenic diet, but with additional protein. Typically, the fat-to-protein-to-carbohydrate ratio is 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbohydrates.
  
  Only the regular and high-protein ketogenic diets have been thoroughly researched. More sophisticated ketogenic diets, such as cyclical or targeted ketogenic diets, are largely employed by bodybuilders and athletes.
  
  Although many of the same concepts apply to all variations of the ketogenic diet, the material in this page largely refers to the standard ketogenic diet (SKD).

2.What is ketosis?

Ketosis is a metabolic condition in which your body burns fat instead of carbohydrates for energy.

It occurs when you drastically restrict your carbohydrate intake, decreasing your body's availability of glucose (sugar), which is the cells' primary source of energy.

The most effective strategy to enter ketosis is to eat a ketogenic diet. This usually entails restricting carb intake to 20 to 50 grammes per day and focusing on fats such meat, fish, eggs, nuts, and healthy oils.

lt's also crucial to keep your protein intake in check. This is because if you eat too much protein, it will be turned to glucose, which will slow down your ketosis.

Intermittent fasting can also help you get into ketosis faster. Intermittent fasting can take numerous forms, but the most typical includes restricting food consumption to roughly 8 hours each day and fasting for the remaining 16 hours.

There are blood, urine, and breath tests that may be used to see if you've entered ketosis by measuring the quantity of ketones your body produces.

Increased thirst, dry mouth, frequent urination, and decreased hunger or appetite are all signs that you've entered ketosis.

3.Ketogenic diets can aid weight loss

A ketogenic diet can help you lose weight while also lowering your risk of illness.

In fact, evidence suggests that the ketogenic diet may be just as successful as a low-fat diet for weight reduction.

Furthermore, because the diet is so satisfying, you may lose weight without monitoring calories or keeping track of what you eat.

Following a very low carb, ketogenic diet was marginally more beneficial for long-term weight loss than following a low fat diet, according to a study of 13 research. The keto diet resulted in an average weight loss of 2 pounds (0.9 kg) greater than the low-fat diet group.

Furthermore, it resulted in lower diastolic blood pressure and lipid levels.

Another study indicated that participants who followed a ketogenic diet for eight weeks lost roughly five times as much total body fat as those who followed a low-fat diet.

Increased ketones, decreased blood sugar levels, and higher insulin sensitivity might all be contributing factors.

Click here to get your keto cookbook.

4.Ketogenic diets for diabetes and prediabetes

Changes in metabolism, elevated blood sugar, and reduced insulin action are all symptoms of diabetes.

Excess fat is connected to type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, and metabolic syndrome, and the ketogenic diet can help you lose it.

According to a previous study, the ketogenic diet increased insulin sensitivity by 75%.

A small research in women with type 2 diabetes indicated that sticking to a ketogenic diet for 90 days lowered haemoglobin A1C levels, which is a marker of long-term blood sugar control.

Another study indicated that over the course of two years, 349 persons with type 2 diabetes who followed a ketogenic diet dropped an average of 26.2 pounds (11.9 kg). When it comes to the relationship between weight and health, this is a significant advantage.

Furthermore, they had better blood sugar control, and the need of specific blood sugar drugs reduced among participants during the course of the trial.

Check read this article on the benefits of low-carb diets for diabetics for additional information.

5.Other health benefits of keto

The ketogenic diet was originally developed to treat neurological illnesses like epilepsy.

Studies have now proven that eating a healthy diet can help with a wide range of health issues:

• Heart disease: Body fat, HDL (good) cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels can all benefit from a ketogenic diet.

• Cancer: Because it may help limit tumour development, the diet is presently being researched as an additional cancer treatment.

• Alzheimer’s disease: The keto diet may assist to alleviate Alzheimer's symptoms and decrease the disease's development.

• Epilepsy: The ketogenic diet has been found in studies to help children with epilepsy have fewer seizures.

• Parkinson’s disease: Although additional research is needed, one study revealed that eating a plant-based diet can aid with Parkinson's disease symptoms.

• Polycystic ovary syndrome:The ketogenic diet can aid in the reduction of insulin levels, which may be important in polycystic ovarian syndrome.

• Brain injuries:According to some studies, eating a healthy diet can help people recover from traumatic brain injuries.

Keep in mind, however, that most of this data is yet inconclusive.

6.Healthy keto snacks

Keep in mind, however, that most of this data is yet inconclusive.

• fatty meat or fish

• cheese

• a handful of nuts or seeds

• one or two hard-boiled or deviled eggs

• celery with salsa and guacamole

• 90% dark chocolate

• smaller portions of leftover meals

• full-fat Greek yogurt mixed with nut butter and cocoa powder

7.Keto tips and tricks

Although getting started on the ketogenic diet might be difficult, there are a few strategies you can employ to make it go more smoothly.

To figure out how your favourite foods may fit into your diet, familiarise yourself with food labels and check the grammes of fat, carbohydrates, and fibre.

Meal planning ahead of time may also be advantageous and can help you save time during the week.

Keto-friendly recipes and meal ideas may be found on a variety of websites, food blogs, apps, and cookbooks.

Some meal delivery services, on the other hand, provide keto-friendly alternatives for a quick and easy way to enjoy keto meals at home.

When you're short on time, consider nutritious frozen keto meals.

When attending social gatherings or visiting family and friends, carrying your own food might help you suppress cravings and stick to your meal plan.

Click here to get your keto cookbook.