Reasons Why You Should Embrace a Ketogenic Diet

First things first, what is a ketogenic diet you ask? Well in a few words, it can be defined as a low-carb high-fat diet. The Ketogenic(Keto) diet is commonly known for weight loss and a lot of health benefits.

The diet itself involves several practices. First, you drastically reduce your carbohydrate intake, and second, you replace this with fat(healthy fat). The reduction induces ketosis, which is a metabolic state where the body burns fat for energy at an incredibly fast rate.  Now that you have a basic understanding of this phenomenon, let’s delve into the minor details. Enjoy the read!

The Types Of Ketogenic Diets Out There

Since this is an informative article, we will start by showing you the various versions of the Keto diet. Here we go;

• Standard Ketogenic Diet(SKD)

This diet entails very low carbs(10 percent), paired with moderate protein(20 percent), and a high-fat regimen(70 percent). 

• Cyclical Ketogenic Diet(CKD)

His diet has cycles of higher carbohydrate refeeding, such as 5 ketogenic days followed by 2 moderate carb days.

• Targeted Ketogenic Diet(TKD)

This diet encourages you to eat carbs around your workouts.

• High Protein Ketogenic Diet 

This is similar to a traditional ketogenic diet, but it has more protein. Typically, the ratio is 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbohydrates.

Only the normal and high protein ketogenic diets, however, have received detailed research. More complex techniques, such as cyclical or targeted ketogenic diets, are mainly used by bodybuilders or athletes.

Now Back To Ketosis

As previously mentioned, it is a metabolic state where your body uses fat as fuel, as opposed to carbs. This only occurs when there is a significant reduction in carbohydrate consumption, which leads to a limited glucose supply.

The most successful way to achieve ketosis is by following a ketogenic diet. In general, this entails restricting carbohydrate intake to 20 to 50 grams a day and focusing on fats. However, the protein consumption should also be controlled, to avoid a state where this protein is converted into glucose.

Ketosis For Weight Loss

A ketogenic diet is an easy way to lose weight and reduce disease risk factors. In reality, evidence suggests that the ketogenic diet can be just as good as a low-fat diet for weight loss. A meta-analysis of 13 studies showed that a relatively low carbohydrate, ketogenic diet was significantly more efficient for long-term weight loss than a low-fat diet. Those who adopted the keto diet lost an additional 2 pounds (0.9 kg) to someone who followed a reduced-fat diet.

A Diabetes and Prediabetes Control Mechanism

The ketogenic diet will assist you in losing extra weight, which is related to type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, and metabolic syndrome. A small research of women with type 2 diabetes discovered that maintaining a ketogenic diet for 90 days lessened considerably the levels of hemoglobin A1C, an indicator of long-term blood sugar control. 

The Other Health Benefits of a Keto Diet

The ketogenic diet began as a treatment for brain disorders such as epilepsy. Several studies have now demonstrated that the diet can support a wide range of various health conditions:

• The heart disease
• It is currently being explored as an additional cancer treatment
• Reducing the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease
• Can help reduce seizures for epileptic children
• Can help control insulin levels, hence reducing chances of getting polycystic ovary syndrome
• Helping improve brain injury outcomes for recovering patients. 

Although these benefits seem lucrative, research is still ongoing to confirm how factual they are.

Foods

There are a wide variety of foods that you need to avoid, and ones you should replace them with. Here are two lists, one for foods you need to avoid and the other for ones you should take in their place.

To Avoid

• Orange juices, tea, smoothies, ice cream, pizza, and other sugary treats
• Rice, wheat-based foods, noodles, breakfast cereal, and other starches/grains.
• Fruit: all but berries; berries can be eaten as a snack.
• Peas, lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, and other legumes
• Root vegetables and tubers include cabbage, yams, carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and other tubers.
• Low fat or diet food, such as mayonnaise, salad dressing, and condiments.
• BBQ sauce, honey mustard sauce, teriyaki sauce, and ketchup
• Unhealthy fats including, among other things, refined olive oil and mayonnaise.
• All forms of alcohol should be avoided.
• Sugar-free delicacies including sugar-free candies, puddings, syrups, and cakes, among other things.

To Eat

• Red meat, pork, ham, sausage, bacon, chicken, and turkey.
• Salmon, trout, tuna, mackerel, and other fatty fish.
• Pastured or omega-3 whole eggs
• Cream and cheese: grass-fed butter and heavy cream
• Cheddar, goat, cream, blue, and mozzarella.
• Almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and other nuts and seeds
• Whole avocados or freshly made guacamole
• Green vegetables, strawberries, onions, peppers, and other low carb vegetables
• seasonings (salt, vinegar, vegetables, and spices)

Conclusion

This diet will prove beneficial for people struggling with weight loss, diabetic patients, and those looking to improve their metabolic health. However, it should be avoided by professional athletes as their bodily demands might require eating some of these foods you are to avoid while following this diet. 

As you look to embrace this dieting regimen, we urge you to look into buying compostable plastic packaging for your storage needs. You will be required to store your seasonings and foods in these premium-quality packaging. To wrap up, we encourage you to consult your doctor before starting such a diet. Good luck!

Photo by Drew Taylor on Unsplash

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