Among the many diets that help to lose weight, there is also a ketogenic diet, characterized by a small amount of carbohydrates eaten and an abundance of fatty foods. Scientists have shown that this version of the ketogenic diet helps improve the condition of a person with diabetes, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease and even oncology.
ketogenic diet- This is a diet in which the diet contains low-carbohydrate foods and fatty foods. In reality, there is a displacement of carbohydrate substances from fats. These menu changes bring the body into a metabolic state called ketosis. At the same time, the process of burning fat and releasing energy increases, and ketones are converted in the liver, which gives a lot of energy to the brain. The ketogenic diet helps lower blood glucose and insulin levels. So what is a ketogenic diet - popularly called simply keto, it is characterized by a reduction in the intake of carbohydrates to a minimum and an increase in fatty foods in the diet. It provokes the work of metabolism, aimed at the breakdown of fats and ketones, and not carbohydrates.
What types of ketogenic diets are there?
There are many options for the ketogenic diet. The most popular of them:
- The standard (SKD) is a minimum of carbohydrate substances - 5%, a maximum of fats - 75%, an average amount of proteins - 20%.
- Cyclic (SKK) - periodically comes a time to consume a large amount of carbohydrates. At the same time, the first option is observed for 5 days, and then a high-carbohydrate diet for several days.
- Wrong (NKD) - with this option, it is allowed to add carbohydrates before and after training.
- High protein - similar to the standard version, but the presentation of BJU is as follows: 35% protein, 60% fat and 5% carbohydrate substances.
Standard and high protein options are more recommended for use. The rest is mainly used by athletes and bodybuilders.
Benefits of the ketogenic diet
The ketogenic diet helps to get rid of obesity and at the same time does not harm health. Nutritionists claim it's better than low-fat diets. At the same time, the diet is more nutritious and there is no need to count calories. People who used the ketogenic diet lost weight several times faster, while improving their levels of good cholesterol and triglycerides.
Note: A major advantage of a ketogenic diet over a low-fat diet is adequate protein intake, which is very important for the body. A ketogenic diet promotes more weight loss than one that focuses on eating a small amount of fatty foods. And it is important that everything happens without the excruciating feeling of hunger.
How it helps diabetics and people predisposed to it
With this problem, the metabolism is disturbed, blood sugar increases and insulin functions in the body are disrupted. The ketogenic diet promotes the burning of excess fat, which is important for diabetics, people with metabolic disorders. Scientists have proven that a ketogenic diet improves the body's sensitivity to insulin by 75%.
Experiments conducted with type 2 diabetics gave amazing results - out of 21 patients, 7 people were able to refuse to take diabetes medication. Losing weight is much more important than with other types of diets. In type 2 diabetics, insulin sensitivity increases, which causes fat burning. And this is very important for patients.
Other benefits of a low-carb diet
The ketogenic diet is recommended to maintain the health of patients with neurological pathologies.
It is also recommended for various diseases, such assh.
- Pathology of the heart. A positive effect on such factors: fat, cholesterol, blood sugar, pressure.
- Oncology. It has a beneficial effect in reducing the growth of cancer cells.
- Alzheimer's disease. Improves symptoms and prevents the development of pathology.
- Epilepsy. It reduces the number of seizures in children.
- Parkinson's disease. It improves the symptoms of this disease.
- Polycystic ovaries. Reducing insulin has a good effect on the development of the syndrome.
- With brain damage. Impact of shocks is reduced, recovery time is reduced.
- Acne. Low levels of insulin and the absence of excessive intake of carbohydrates contribute to the improvement of the skin condition.
The ketogenic diet is beneficial for many diseases, especially those related to insulin levels, metabolism and neurology.
What you should eliminate from your diet
From the menu it is necessary to exclude all products containing carbohydrates in large quantities:
- Containing sugar - soda, fruit and berry juices, cakes, ice cream and other sweets.
- Cereals and containing starch - flour products, rice, cereals.
- Fruit products - everything except berries, but little by little.
- Legumes - peas, lentils, beans and more.
- Vegetable products - potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes and more.
- Dietary and fat-free - after processing, they have a lot of carbohydrates.
- Sauces that contain sugar and unhealthy fat. Vegetable oil, mayonnaise.
- Alcoholic drinks - they are saturated with carbohydrates.
Highly processed, sugar-free diet foods are bad for a ketogenic diet.
These foods must be eaten
And these products should be consumed while maintaining a ketogenic diet:
- Meat products - bacon, sausage products, bacon, red meat, chicken, turkey.
- Fatty fish.
- Chicken eggs.
- Cow's butter and heavy cream from grass-fed cows.
- Raw cheeses - mozzarella, goat, etc.
- Nuts - walnuts, pumpkin seeds, almonds, etc.
- Various oils - olive, coconut.
- Avocado in its pure form or in a salad.
- Vegetable products with low carbohydrates - onion, cucumber, tomato and other green vegetables.
- Spices in the form of salt, pepper and dry herbs.
It is recommended to eat the products in their pure form, so that the recipes of the dishes consist of one ingredient.
Sample menu for the week
For clarity, a menu of a ketogenic diet for one week is provided:
| day | meal | Menu |
| Monday | BREAKFAST | Poached eggs with bacon and tomatoes |
| dinner | Poultry and feta cheese salad with butter | |
| dinner | Steamed salmon with asparagus | |
| Tuesday | BREAKFAST | Fried eggs with tomatoes, goat cheese |
| dinner | Smoothie with almond milk, cocoa and stevia | |
| dinner | Meatballs, cheese and vegetables | |
| Wednesday | BREAKFAST | Milkshake |
| dinner | Avocado shrimp salad | |
| dinner | Pork chops, cheese and vegetables | |
| Thursday | BREAKFAST | Fried eggs with avocado, onion, pepper |
| dinner | Nuts, salsa, guacamole | |
| dinner | Chicken with sauce, cream cheese | |
| Friday | BREAKFAST | Sugar-free yogurt with coconut oil and cocoa |
| dinner | Beef steak and vegetables | |
| dinner | Egg and cheese burger | |
| Saturday | BREAKFAST | Eggs with cheese, vegetables and bacon |
| dinner | Ham, cheese and nuts | |
| dinner | Variety of white fish, eggs with spinach | |
| Sunday | BREAKFAST | Fried eggs with lard and mushrooms |
| dinner | Sandwich, salsa, guacamole | |
| dinner | Beef steak with vegetables |
It is required to diversify the menu as much as possible so that a more complete set of nutrients enters the body.
What can you eat on a ketogenic diet?
When hunger strikes between mandatory meals, you can satisfy it with healthy snacks.
For this you can use:
- boiled meat or fatty fish;
- cheese allowed;
- some nuts or seeds;
- a couple of boiled eggs;
- chocolate with 90% cocoa;
- milkshake with cocoa and butter;
- yogurt with cocoa and nut butter;
- strawberries with whipped cream;
- celery with salsa and guacamole sauce.
You can refresh yourself with a small portion of food prepared for the main meal.
What can you eat outside the house?
In catering establishments there are many different dishes from meat and fish of fatty varieties. You can get rid of excess carbohydrates by ordering more vegetables. Egg dishes are different - with ham, cheese, vegetables.
Burgers are best eaten without the bun, but only the filling is eaten. You can add cheese, eggs or bacon to it. If there is nothing suitable for a ketogenic diet, but you still need to lose weight, then order mixed cheese, meat of any kind, fish, eggs and lots of vegetables in restaurants and cafes.
How to improve the adaptation period
The ketogenic diet is considered safe for almost everyone, but adapting to this diet can lead to a disease, which is popularly called "keto flu". It is characterized by: general malaise due to lack of energy, disturbances in mental activity, insomnia, animal hunger, nausea and upset stomach. This condition lasts for a few days, and then disappears without a trace. To eliminate such symptoms, it is necessary to adjust the low-carbohydrate diet immediately in the first days. These activities contribute to the greatest weight loss before you need to completely eliminate carbohydrates from the menu.
Important: Such nutrition provokes a change in the balance of water and minerals in the body. Additional salt and mineral supplement services may be required. The body needs an additional 3000 mg of sodium, 1000 mg of potassium, 300 mg of magnesium per day. If you take them, you can avoid the imbalance of nutrients in the body.
At the beginning of the ketogenic diet, you can eat until you are full, do not reduce the consumption of high-calorie foods. Weight loss occurs without calorie restriction. If you follow all the rules, then the side effects of the ketogenic diet will not be so significant.
What questions do people ask?
If you read reviews, you can highlight questions often asked by those who want to lose weight.
- Can you eat carbs later? Yes you can. They should be excluded from the beginning, but after 3-4 months you can enjoy sweets with and without ketones, not forgetting to return to the ketogenic diet.
- Is it possible to lose muscle mass or build it? With any diet, muscle mass is lost, but with this diet, high protein intake won't make it very noticeable. You can increase that too, but not as much as with high carb diets.
- How much protein can you eat? Its amount should be moderate so that insulin does not increase and the number of ketones decreases. Of all calories eaten, 35% should come from protein foods, the rest from ketones.
- What should I do if I feel constant weakness? This may be due to incomplete immersion in a state of ketosis, as well as poor burning of fats and ketones. It is necessary to reduce the consumption of carbohydrates and once again read the complete guide of this diet, observe the amount of ketones.
- Bad breath, what to do? This is what happens with the ketogenic diet. You should drink pure water with various natural additives or use chewing gum to reduce the concentration of ketones.
- Is ketosis really dangerous to health? People confuse ketosis with ketoacidosis, but it is really dangerous and occurs with uncontrolled diets.
- I have digestive problems and diarrhea, what should I do? This is a common side effect of the keto diet and goes away on its own after 3-4 weeks.
The ketogenic diet, like any other diet, has side effects. They pass quickly, but with prolonged problems, it is better to refuse this.
Contraindications
Nutrition with an increase in the number of ketones is not indicated for everyone. Who can practice the ketogenic diet: diabetics, obese people who need to improve their metabolic processes, as well as those who are able to maintain this diet for a long time.
Please note: For active athletes, as well as those who want to gain muscle mass, it is less suitable. They should choose a different type of diet. The remaining contraindications are in the characteristics of human health.
A low-carbohydrate diet promotes weight loss and improves health. Before switching to the proposed diet, you should consult a nutritionist or a doctor.