Keto diet - what is it and who is it for?

If someone, twenty or thirty years ago, had put all the products in two baskets and arranged them according to the principle of maximum and minimum usefulness, then today you would have to do a thorough review of them. The strangest story happened at this time with fat - the recent main enemy of mankind is not only fully rehabilitated, but almost declared to be a savior. Is this so, understands nutritionist Chris More.

Recently a patient admitted to me that she and her husband ate almost a kilo of bacon a week - three slices for breakfast and then two more with a salad for lunch. I have been working as a nutritionist for more than twenty years and it seems that nothing came as a surprise to me, but then I still could not resist and asked: why? The patient said that her husband was watching a TV show about the keto diet and they decided to give it a try. Six months on bacon - and now the husband has lost nine kilos and according to his wife he is almost bursting with energy over him.

Increasingly, I hear from people about the miracles that the keto diet does for them. They claim that it burns fat in the body, energy and overcomes disease and that from now on it is not only possible, but also necessary to eat as much bacon as you want. But all their interest needs at least a serious test - is a keto diet that does not limit the consumption of animal fat really that good?

The ketogenic diet is a low carb diet high in fat and moderate in protein. It was originally used to treat epilepsy in children by increasing the amount of ketones in the blood.

What is ketosis?

Let's start with the name of the diet: where did this "keto" come from? When the body is deficient in carbohydrates - for example due to diabetes or chronic starvation - it needs to break down its own fat more efficiently than usual to get energy. Ketosis develops: metabolism is disrupted and moreketone bodies accumulate in tissues. Ketone bodies are products of fat metabolism. They are produced in the liver when insulin levels in the blood decrease.

"The liver produces ketone bodies all the time, but the amount depends on the carbohydrates and proteins you eat - the body needs both, " explains Jeff Volek, a professor at the University of Ohio.

The breakdown of fat in a healthy person's body and the formation of ketone bodies is a normal process, it is called ketogenesis. Unlike ketosis, ketogenesis does not lead to spectacular weight loss. Ketosis is a pathology that, in addition to diabetes and chronic fasting, can be caused by a keto diet, as it almost eliminates carbohydrate foods in the diet. Those who have received ketosis lose a lot of weight as well as other diseases.

The ketogenic diet forces the body to use fat as its main source of energy. This role is usually played by carbohydrates, which, when taken with food, are processed into glucose, which is extremely important for the nutrition and function of the brain. However, if the diet is low in carbohydrates, the liver converts fats into fatty acids and ketone bodies. Ketone bodies enter the brain and are used as an energy source instead of glucose. An increase in the amount of ketones in the blood (ketosis) leads to a decrease in seizures.

In the keto diet, the bulk of the daily diet - from 60 to 80% - is fat, protein - about 15% and only 10% of the remaining carbohydrates (this is about half of a small cup). At first glance, it looks like the Atkins diet, but the keto diet involves severe carbohydrate restriction, according to Spencer Nadolsky, author of The Fat Loss Prescription. Many scientists generally claim that the less carbohydrate we eat, the more fat our body burns and as a result our metabolism improves, our immunity increases - and in general various miracles begin to happen on our body.

But in normal life we get about half of the calories and not a tenth of them from carbohydrates. So basically the question is: Can your body be in ketosis long enough to achieve the promise of nirvana without serious health consequences? Are you literally going to freak out with fat?

Is the keto diet right for you?

It may sound strange but the best diet for you is what you are used to following. For Volek, who's been on keto for twenty years, she's good, but is she right for you? Unfortunately, there is no research on what happens in the body of a person who has been on a keto diet for a long time. In the study on weight loss A to Z, researchers studied the Atkins diet, Zone, LEARN and several other diets, but in the study, female individuals consumed 25 to 35% of carbohydrates - this is not even close to the 10% who recommend limiting yourself to the keto diet.

The only thing that is known for sure: on the keto diet you really lost weight. In Italy, in 2015, they studied the performance of people who sat on it and on average for three months they lost about 10-12 kilos. A year earlier in Spain it was revealed that this year it is possible to lose 20 kilos. It is true that next year, individuals often went back to the weight they had before the experiment, as soon as they went off a rigid diet.

What will you eat if you decide to try it? First and second, that bacon. Of the other products, not much will suit you. Starchy vegetables - potatoes, pumpkin, cereals - are strictly forbidden, as are most fruits. We must also forget about milk, beans, rice and pasta.

The keto diet is difficult to follow and can be dangerous for some. "Extreme diets, especially keto diets, are strictly excellent for people with neurodegenerative diseases such as epilepsy, " says Dr. Alan Aragon.

The ketogenic diet is considered optimal in the community due to weight loss. According to scientific data, the effects of weight loss soon after switching to a ketogenic diet are due to a decrease in the amount of water in the body and the amount of fat is only affected by energy balance. For weight loss, the energy gained from food should be less than that spent on exercise. One of the benefits of the ketogenic diet, like other low-carb diets, is that the ketosis found in low-carb diets promotes weight loss in obesity. The difference in calories eaten can be up to a thousand kilocalories per day compared to a low-fat diet. The effects of a ketogenic diet are highly dependent on the protein content of the diet.

Can I take drugs that cause an increase in ketones? In no case. Do not listen to the "consultants" who will assure you that even without diet you can induce ketosis with the help of special drugs.

So is the keto diet right for you or not? If you are an extreme athlete who is ready to experiment with your body, if you want to take risks and quick results matter to you, give it a try! If you just want to lose a few pounds and have already experienced a "yo-yo" effect (when a person breaks down a strict diet and gains more weight than they managed to lose weight), then maybe you should not risk it. Approaching the Keto Diet Wisely There are three lessons you can learn from it that will definitely come in handy.

1. Reduce the consumption of "empty" carbohydrates. Analyze which foods you get the most from your daily carbohydrate intake: if it comes from fruits that are rich in fiber and antioxidants, then that's fine, but if the sources of carbohydrates are candy, soda and all foods made with white flour, you know whatto do: Feel free to send them in the trash.
2. Do not avoid fats. A passion for low-fat food that began in the eighties can certainly be left behind. Nothing good about that. Often, to make up for the lack of fat, manufacturers increase the amount of sugar in such products. Eat fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel or sardines at least twice a week. And whatever you cook, do not shrink on vegetables, especially good - olive oil.
3. Eat plenty of greens. All leafy vegetables and veggies go well with fatty and protein foods - fans of the keto diet eat plenty of them. And you do the same. Eat kale, spinach, bok choy, arugula and other types of salads without restrictions.

What happened to my bacon patients? Their experiments with nutrition lasted exactly until the moment their baby was born. Of course, they immediately forgot about the diet (there is no time to think about it, as the young mother explained). So remember: sooner or later you will get tired of stuffing bacon regularly and you will go back to regular, familiar food.

Recipes

Salmon and asparagus salad

Ingredients:

• 150 g salmon fillets;
• 80 g green asparagus;
• 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce;
• 2 eggs;
• 4 fillets of anchovies;
• 5 cherry tomatoes;
• 5 large capers (or 6-8 small ones) - take the capers in salt, not salt water, they must be washed before use;
• 1/2 medium red onion;
• 6-8 gr. l. olive oil;
• 1 teaspoon mustard;
• juice of half a lemon.

How to cook:

1. If you have ever cooked nicoise, you can handle this salad too. It almost repeats the main course of Nice, only fatty salmon is used instead of tuna and asparagus is used instead of green beans (although beans can also be used).
2. Salmon is best not cooked in a hot pan or hot oven, but steamed or in a slow cooker: 20-30 minutes at a temperature of 80-85 degrees, not higher (otherwise the protein will curl and the fish will be hard). But you can also fry in a pan (do not over-try it! ) - the fish should be soft and keep some transparency inside.
3. Boiled asparagus. It needs to be crispy, so do not overdo it! The cooking time depends on its size, so we do not recommend leaving the stove - asparagus cooks quickly.
4. Put the iceberg on a plate (the salad needs to be washed, dried and shredded into medium-sized pieces), asparagus, salmon cut into large pieces, halves of cherry tomatoes, anchovies, capers, onions chopped in circles and hard-boiled eggs (preferably the egg yolk should not be liquidrather soft). Top the fields with olive oil sauce with Dijon mustard and lemon juice. You do not need to salt the dish - anchovies and capers are already salty enough.

The ketogenic diet is used by athletes who stay in sports that require endurance, such as ultramarathon, triathlon, cycling and more. s. frv. The body of athletes following this diet uses fat more efficiently as an energy source, thus helping to preserve glycogen stores during prolonged exercise.

Bacon and lettuce salad

Ingredients:

• 2 palms of lettuce
• 100 g bacon;
• 8 sprigs of mint;
• 1 egg yolk;
• 6 tbsp. l. olive oil and a little more for frying;
• 1 teaspoon mustard;
• 1 tbsp. l. sherry vinegar.

How to cook:

1. For this salad you will need to make a slightly more complex sauce: put mint leaves and mustard in a tall glass, add egg yolks, pour in sherry vinegar. Whisk with a blender while adding the olive oil to a thin stream.
2. Cut the cabbage in half lengthwise and fry it quickly over high heat. It should caramelize a bit, that is to acquire a golden brown color and be fresh and crispy on the inside. Fry the bacon over high heat without oil or in the oven until crisp. Put salad, bacon and sauce on a plate. Garnish with mint leaves.