Is the keto diet right for you?
Are you interested in losing weight? Tired of diets championing low fat or lean and craving high fat meats? You might as well consider following the keto diet, the new kid on the block. Believed by many celebrities including Halle Berry, LeBron James, and Kim Kardashian among others, the keto diet has been the subject of much controversy among nutritionists and doctors. Wondering if the keto diet is safe and appropriate for you?
What is a keto diet anyway?
Be aware that the body uses sugar in the form of glycogen to function. A keto diet that is very restricted in eating sugar forces your body to use fat as fuel instead of sugar, because it is not getting enough sugar. When the body doesn't get enough sugar for fuel, the liver is forced to convert available fats into ketones that the body uses as fuel — hence the term keto.
This diet is a high fat diet with moderate amounts of protein. Depending on how much carbs you eat, your body reaches a state of ketosis in less than a week and stays there. Because fat is used instead of sugar as fuel in the body, weight loss is dramatic without any supposed calorie restriction.
A keto diet should aim to get 60-75% of your daily calories from fat, 15-30% from protein and only 5-10% from carbohydrates. This usually means that you can only eat 20-50 grams of carbohydrates per day.
What can you eat on this diet?
The diet is a high-fat diet somewhat similar to the Atkins diet. However, there is a greater focus on fats, usually the "good" fats. Can you eat the keto diet?
olive oil
Coconut Oil
hazelnut oils
ghee
ghee
Grass fed beef
chicken
fish
other meat
full fat cheese
egg
generous
leafy vegetables
Non-starchy vegetables
nuts
seeds
You also get a whole range of snacks for keto followers. As you can see from this list, fruits are restricted. You can have low-sugar fruits in limited quantities (mostly berries), but you will have to give up your favorite fruits because they are all sweet and/or starchy.
This diet contained no grains of any kind, starchy vegetables like potatoes (and all tubers), no sugar or sweets, no bread and cake, no beans and lentils, no pasta, no pizza and burgers, and very little alcohol. It also means no coffee with milk or tea with milk - in fact, no milk, ice cream, and milk-based desserts.
Many of these solutions have workarounds where you can have carb-free pasta and pizza, you can eat cauliflower rice and now there are restaurants that cater to keto lovers.
What are the benefits of the keto diet?
If you are wondering if this diet is safe, its proponents and those who have achieved their weight loss goals will certainly agree that it is safe. Among the benefits of the keto diet you can expect:
Weight loss
Low blood sugar or no sugar spikes
appetite control
The effect of seizure control
Blood pressure is normalized in hypertensive patients
Reduce migraine attacks
People with type 2 diabetes who follow this diet may be able to reduce their medication
Some benefits for cancer sufferers
Aside from the first four, there is not enough evidence to support its efficacy or otherwise for other diseases as more long-term research is needed.
Are there any side effects of this diet?
When you first start the keto diet, you can suffer from what is known as the keto flu. These symptoms may not occur in everyone and usually begin after a few days of following the diet, when your body is in a state of ketosis. Some of the side effects are:
nausea
Abdominal cramps and pain
headache
vomiting
Diarrhea and/or constipation
muscle cramps
Dizziness and poor concentration
insomnia
Cravings for carbohydrates and sugar
This may take up to a week to subside as your body gets used to the new diet. You may also experience other problems when starting the keto diet - you may find that your urination is increased, so it is important to stay well hydrated. You may also experience ketoacidosis when your body is in optimal ketosis and you can use mouthwash or brush your teeth more frequently.
Side effects are usually temporary and once your body adjusts to the new diet, they should go away.
How safe is the keto diet?
Just like any other diet that restricts foods into certain categories, the keto diet is not without risks. Since you are not supposed to eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, and other foods, you may be deficient in many essential nutrients. Since the diet is high in saturated fats, and if you indulge in “bad” fats, your cholesterol levels can rise which increases your risk of heart disease.
The long-term keto diet can also cause many nutritional deficiencies as you cannot eat grains, many fruits and vegetables and miss out on fiber such as important vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and antioxidants among other things. You can experience GI distress, low bone density (no dairy and other sources of calcium) and hiccups.
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