Why The Ketogenic Diet Is The Best For Weight Loss

The premise of the keto or ketogenic diet of eliminating or minimizing carbohydrates and resorting to fats and proteins is a trend that is becoming more and more popular. Therefore, before venturing to start it, it is convenient to know what it consists of, how to do it, and its benefits, and risks.

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This low-carb, high-fat eating plan shares many similarities with low-carb diets.

Recently, its boom has been observed in specific sports fields and is currently a widely used alternative to losing weight.

Although it’s true that numerous studies have shown that a ketogenic diet is useful in helping to lose weight, the truth is that it is not recommended for everyone. 

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What Is The Keto Diet?

The term keto diet is the adaptation of ketogenic diet.

It refers to a feeding model whose main mission is the creation of ketone bodies, metabolic compounds generated in the liver in response to the lack of energy reserves.

This diet is related to the drastic reduction of carbohydrates and their replacement with fats, which exposes the body to a metabolic state called ketosis, where the body, running out of energy reserves, has to resort to fats to use them as immediate fuel.

In simple terms, the keto diet lowers blood sugar and insulin levels producing a transition in the body’s metabolism in which carbohydrates are replaced by fats and ketones.

How Does The Ketogenic Diet Work?

The body obtains glucose from simple carbohydrates, such as milk, sugar, fruits, or from complex carbohydrates, such as cereals, flour, pasta, or legumes.

Glucose, which circulates through the blood, is stored in the liver or in the muscles in the form of glycogen, and constitutes the main source of energy for the entire organism, especially for the brain and heart.

So, as long as there is glucose, or in its absence glycogen, the human body does not use its fat reserves.

In this regard, the keto diet consists of reducing the intake of carbohydrates and increasing the content of proteins and healthy fats, in proportions of between 50 and 60% fat, 20 to 30% protein, and 10%, or less, of carbohydrates.

The keto diet causes the body to switch its fuel supply to run almost entirely on fat.

This causes insulin levels to become very low, which in turn allows fat burning to increase dramatically.

Types of Ketogenic Diets

There are several types of ketogenic diets, including:

Standard ketogenic diet: it’s a very low carbohydrate eating plan, with a moderate intake of protein and high in fat.

With this variant, 75% fat, 20% protein, and only 5% carbohydrates are consumed.

Cyclical ketogenic diet: this plan includes more frequent periods of carbohydrate consumption, for example, 5 days of keto foods followed by 2 days of carbohydrates.

Adapted ketogenic diet: with this modality, it’s allowed to add carbohydrates on sports training days.

High protein ketogenic diet: it’s similar to a standard ketogenic diet, the difference is that it includes more protein.

With this type of keto diet, you consume 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbohydrates.

It’s noteworthy that only the standard and high-protein ketogenic diets have been the subject of close study.

On the other hand, cyclical or adapted diets are more advanced methods and are mainly used by athletes.

What Benefits Does The Ketogenic Diet Bring?

The keto diet can provide many benefits, including:

• Increases satiety and decreases appetite: numerous studies have established that a diet based on the parameters of the ketogenic diet —the consumption of fats and proteins— helps control hunger because it generates a feeling of satiety for longer.
• Avoid heart disease: it can improve risk factors such as body fat, HDL cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels.
• Reduces epileptic seizures: scientific research supports that the keto diet can greatly reduce epileptic episodes in children.
• It helps patients with type 2 diabetes: its benefit for diabetic patients is that it controls blood sugar levels and, on the other hand, decreases and reduces the negative impact of high insulin levels.
• It could reduce Alzheimer’s symptoms and slow its progression.
• Because it lowers insulin levels, it could play a role in PCOS.
• Lowering insulin levels and reducing sugar or processed food intake may improve acne.
• It helps to have more constant energy and greater mental performance.
• It improves cholesterol, blood sugar, insulin levels, and blood pressure.

Scientific Evidence Of The Operation Of The Keto Diet

There are at least 31 randomized controlled trials showing faster weight loss with low-carb diets, according to the latest reports from the entity.

Three of these studies published by renowned scientific media are:

Annals of Internal Medicine year 2004 – This medical journal of the American College of Physicians published a study that showed that compared to a low-fat diet, a low-carbohydrate diet program reported greater weight loss.

New England Journal of Medicine year 2008 – This journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society (USA) talked about a two-year study in which 322 people were randomly assigned to follow a Mediterranean diet, a low-fat diet, and a low carbohydrate diet. In the end, the low-carb group lost more weight than the rest.

The Journal of Nutrition 2015 – This journal of the American Society for Nutrition discussed research that revealed that a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet reduces abdominal and intermuscular fat and increases insulin sensitivity in adults at risk of type 2 diabetes.

How To Do The Keto Diet?

Ketogenic diets are characterised by five-meal menus, where eggs, meat, dairy, vegetables, fish, nuts, and seeds are the stars.

In addition, there is a large presence of foods rich in healthy fats such as avocado or fish such as tuna, cod, or salmon.

To achieve the state of ketosis in the keto diet, simple and complex carbohydrates are reduced to the maximum.

Depending on the circumstances of each person and their physical condition, the maximum limit of daily carbohydrates is usually set between 20 and 50 grams.

The approximate proportion of daily calorie intake on the keto diet is:

• 60 to 75% fat.
• 25 to 30% protein.
• 5 to 10% carbohydrates.

Foods To Eat On The Keto Diet

A ketogenic diet consists mainly of getting your calories from fatty foods and some protein.

To achieve this, meals must be prepared around the following foods:

Meats: red meats, ham, sausages, chops, chicken, and turkey.

Cheeses: unprocessed cheeses, such as cheddar, goat, cream, blue, or mozzarella.

Fatty fish: such as salmon, trout, tuna, and mackerel.

Eggs: preferably pasture-raised.

Nuts and seeds: among them flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, almonds, and walnuts.

Healthy oils: the best are extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil.

Avocados: they are eaten whole or in guacamole.

Low-carb vegetables: among these, are the greenest vegetables (cruciferous), tomatoes, onions, and peppers.

Seasonings: food can be seasoned with salt, pepper, some healthy herbs, and spices.

KETO products: there are specific preparations for this type of diet, shakes, bars, snacks…

Foods To Avoid On The Keto Diet

On the keto diet, any food high in carbohydrates should be avoided.

Foods that are reduced or eliminated on the ketogenic diet include:

Sugary foods: the consumption of soft drinks, fruit juices, milkshakes, ice creams, and sweets is avoided.

Fruits: all fruits are forbidden, except small portions of berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries.

Cereals or starches: products derived from wheat, rice, pasta, and cereals are eliminated.

Dietary products: they are not consumed as they are highly processed and rich in carbohydrates.

Some condiments or sauces: those containing sugar and saturated fat are avoided.

Saturated fats: the intake of refined oils (soy, sunflower, corn, canola, etc) and mayonnaise are limited.

Alcohol: given its high carbohydrate content, many alcoholic beverages are eliminated from this diet.

Beans or legumes: peas, beans, lentils, and chickpeas are not consumed.

Root vegetables and tubers: potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots are removed.

Disadvantages Of The Ketogenic Diet

When you enter a state of ketosis, fatty acids are transformed in the liver in a metabolic process that seeks to obtain energy quickly.

This is when ketones are released, molecules that the body now uses as an energy source.

In the presence of ketosis, the body becomes incredibly efficient at converting all the fat into energy, it can also supply more fuel to the brain.

However, in addition to these advantages, its disadvantages must be weighed:

• The keto diet is not recommended for certain pathologies, such as in the case of thyroid, kidney, liver, or pancreatic problems.
• Along the same lines, it’s not recommended to follow this diet in the long term, since it’s very unbalanced, so it would not be an adequate diet to maintain weight, and it can cause a rebound effect.
• Although healthy people can use the ketogenic diet, some side effects may appear at the beginning as part of the body’s adaptation process, such as a decrease in energy and mental capacity, an increase in the feeling of hunger, insomnia, nausea, digestive upset, and decreased exercise performance.
• Finally, because the ketogenic diet can change the water balance and minerals in the body, it’s advisable to add extra salt to meals or take mineral supplements.

Final Thoughts

The keto diet is useful for people who are overweight or for those who want to improve their metabolic health, however, it’s not good for everyone and should never be undertaken without consulting a health practitioner.

There are ongoing studies to assess the consequences of this type of diet in the long term.

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