What is Keto Diet?
Numerous studies have shown that keto diet can help not only to get rid of extra pounds, but also improve well-being, and make you healthier overall.
In some cases, it has been shown to have a favorable effect on various diseases, including epilepsy, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease.
The ketogenic diet is a fat rich, low-carb diet, much like the Atkins diet, the Paleo, South Beach, and Dukan diets.
The keto diet is believed to be one of the most effective diets for burning fats and losing body weight.
How Keto Diet works?
The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet moderate-protein intake diet. It causes your body to burn fats instead of carbohydrates. In a normal physical state, the carbohydrates contained in food are converted into glucose, which is then used for producing energy.
However, if carbohydrates are scarce, the body will start converting fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies to replace glucose as an energy source. An increased level of ketone bodies in the blood, is a state known as “ketosis”.
Ketosis is a metabolic condition that occurs when the amount of carbohydrates in your diet is so small that the body simply must use fatty acids for producing energy.
When the body is short of carbohydrates, it begins to consume fat reserves, and as a result a weight loss occurs.
During the diet, it is important to eliminate low-carb foods from your diet and focus on fats and proteins. Here is a list of products that can and cannot be used with the keto diet.
Keto Diet foods to eat
- Any type of meat (including ham, chicken, bacon)
- Fatty fish (salmon, trout and other fatty species)
- Eggs
- Butter, milk, cream
- Various cheeses
- Nuts
- Seeds (sesame, flax, chia)
- Vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, avocado)
- Spices (salt, pepper, seasonings)
Keto Diet foods to avoid
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- Sweets in any form (pastries, confectionery, ice cream, candies, juices, smoothies, soda)
- Fruits
- Pasta
- Cereals
- All beans (lentils, peas, chickpeas)
- Potato, parsnip, carrot, etc.
- Sauces as they contain many preservatives, unhealthy fat and sugar
- Harmful fats such as mayonnaise, processed vegetable oil and others
- Alcoholic beverages
- Any low-fat diet processed foods
Keto Diet side effects and who should avoid it
At the initial stage when the body is being adapting to the keto diet, some side effects may occur such as:
- Lack of energy
- Decreased mental capacity
- Periodic nausea
- Discomfort in the digestive organs
- Sleep problems
- Weakening of physical activity
The individuals that should not use the keto diet are:
- Pregnant women
- Living with diabetes
- Individuals with diseases of the cardiovascular system
- Persons with impaired kidney function
- Children
Medical supervision and regular checkups are recommended.