Keto: What You Need to Know about the Trendy, Low Carb Diet
By TLB Contributing Writer: Boris
Low carb diets are big business these days, but they have actually been around for a very long time. Dr Atkins, who was famous for creating the low carb diet that first became widely adopted, was basing his research on findings from the mid 20th century, so while it may seem like a very modern concept to lose weight by restricting carbs and eating a lot of fat, it is something that has had a lot of sound research put into it.
A lot of people follow a ketogenic diet – that is, a diet that induces a process in the body called ketosis where fat is used for energy – and the success stories are innumerable. There is no doubt that low carb works, however there are a lot of misconceptions about how to do it properly and safely.
How Does Keto Work?
Keto diets work by forcing the body to make a switch from burning carbs, to burning fat. The body can do both efficiently, but it uses carbs first. By following a diet that is very low in carbohydrate, you essentially use up all of the carbs stored in your muscles very quickly, and after that, you are burning dietary fat and body fat for everything you do – from exercise through to normal metabolic processes.
There are some other benefits to keto too – it prevents blood sugar spikes, and naturally curbs your appetite, making keeping calories down easy and helping with weight loss in that way too.
What Can You Eat?
A keto diet is the most restrictive form of low carb diet, and is also called a ‘VLC’ or ‘very low carb’ diet. It is basically like the induction stage of Atkins, where you keep your carbohydrate intake under 20 grams per day. Most people do occasionally have a ‘carb load’ day, but this is done in a planned way, it is not just a day when they pig out on cake and pizza! While following a keto way of eating, your diet comes from things that are high in fat, with moderate protein. This can mean cheese, fatty meat, eggs, cream, oily fish, and nuts. Your only carbs usually come from leafy green vegetables.
Many people make mistakes with their diet macros when they first try keto, because it feels odd to them to eat so much fat when they are trying to lose weight. This means they eat too much lean protein, and not enough fat. The fat is essential to the process, so make sure you are following keto correctly.
Is Keto Safe?
Keto is safe for most people and is even recommended by doctors for purposes other than weight loss, for instance it has been shown to help control epilepsy and manage or even reverse type 2 diabetes. However, you do need to ensure you are doing keto properly, and you may also need to take supplements to ensure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals, as with any weight loss diet. There are also supplements designed to help people on keto specifically, and you can find a helpful Nutrigold 7 Keto review here.
If you want to try keto, you may well find it is easier and more convenient than you thought, and it will give you some great weight loss results!
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Great article. Do you happen to have information on how the keto diet affects people with high cholesterol? Particularly because you are increasing your fat intake.
You are welcome. We also hope this information will be beneficial to many. To your good health!
Very helpful and informative post. Really interesting details you have mentioned. And I hope this will be useful for many people. Thank you for sharing!