What Is The Keto Diet?

One of the most famous and effective methods of fat burning is a well-known Keto or Ketogenic diet. Keto diet, also known as the low-carb diet, limits the daily intake of carbohydrate to the level where the body will not use glucose for energy, rather resort to the fats in the liver and get into a state known as ketosis. The fats in the liver break down and produce ketones. The Keto diet radically transforms the metabolism state of the body. It is slightly difficult to get the hang of it for obvious reasons. Depriving your body of carbs is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. Your body takes time to get adjusted to the new metabolism. However, once successfully achieved, the benefits of following a Keto diet are immense and way beyond weight loss and fat-burning. It also leads to better physical stamina and mental performance in the longer term. 

It might take you around a week to enter into the state of ketosis. Once in the ketosis state, you can use fat (the stored fat as well as the one you eat) instead of the carbohydrates. This happens because your ketone levels increase by the breakdown of the liver fats. The ultimate goal of a keto diet is to push your body into this ketosis state, which is achieved by depriving the body of carbohydrates instead of calories. The human body is amazingly adaptive, so if you stop providing it with carbs and load it with fats; instead, it will begin to use up the ketones as the principal source for energy.

How to find out if your body is in Ketosis?

Once you start the keto diet, you can test if your body has entered the state of ketosis or not after a few days. All you have to do is get your hands on the ketone test strips, which will help you in monitoring the level of ketone bodies via your urine. If the concentration of ketones is high enough, then you have entered the ketosis state successfully. There are other ways of finding out that your body id in ketosis as well from decreased appetite and better sleep to stronger smelling urine and breath.

Is Fat bad or good for our Body?

You may be confused about taking so much fat as fat is usually perceived to be bad for the health. However, this is not the truth, and most of the fats are not only good but essential for our body as well. Also, fats are the most productive energy source as they provide nine calories per gram while protein and carbohydrates provide four calories per gram each. Fats and protein are essential for the body and survival while it can do fine with the carbohydrates. While on the keto diet, you have to eat fresh foods from meat, fish, and vegetables to oil and healthy fats while minimising the intake of processed food. As it is sustainable, keto has become the most popular diets recently.

Foods to Take

The following foods must be included in your diet plan in a larger ratio.

• Fatty fish: Salmon, trout, tuna etc.
• Meat: Red meat, steak, chicken, turkey etc.
• Eggs
• Butter and cream
• Unprocessed Cheese.
• Healthy oils: virgin olive oil, coconut oil and avocado oil.
• Avocados
• Nuts and seeds.
• Low-carb veggies
• Condiments: Including salts, spices and herbs.

In other words, your diet should include meat, fish, eggs, nuts, butter, healthy oils, and low-carb veggies.

Foods Not to Take

The foods high in carb must be avoided or limited. Avoid the below-listed food while on the keto diet:

• Sugary and processed foods
• Grains or starches
• Fruit: all the fruits except the berries
• Low-fat or diet products
• Beans or legumes
• Root vegetables and tubers
• Condiments that contain sugar
• Unhealthy fat
• Alcohol
• Sugar-free diet foods

In other words, avoid carb-based foods like legumes, grains, sugars, candy, juices, and so on.

Benefits of Ketogenic Diet

There are numerous benefits associated with the ketogenic diet from enhanced energy levels and weight loss to better mental and physical performance and much more. We can safely say that everyone can benefit from the low carb, high fat (LCHF) diet. We have brought you a rundown of its top benefits:

1. Weight Loss

The ketogenic diet is extremely effective when it comes to weight loss as the body starts taking fat as the primary energy source. Insulin level in the body drops while in the ketosis state, which allows the body to start burning the fat. Another reason behind the popularity of the keto diet is the fact that it produces better and sustainable results compared to the low fat and high carb diets as far as weight loss and management are concerned. Incorporating MCT oil in your diet is an efficient way to increase the ketone levels in your body. All you have to do is add a few drops of this oil in your salad dressing or smoothie, and you are all set for some serious weight loss.

2. Therapeutic for Epilepsy

The keto diet has been used for treating epilepsy for over a century that too successfully. This diet has become the go-to therapy for controlling epilepsy in children. One of the major pluses of using this diet as a therapy for epilepsy is the fact that far lesser medication is required to control the condition when coupled with the ketogenic diet.

3. Controlled Levels of Blood Sugar

While on the keto diet, your blood sugar levels tend to drop naturally as a result of the foods you are intaking. Many studies have even proved that the keto diet is way more productive when it comes to preventing and managing diabetes as opposed to low-calorie diets. If you are type 2 diabetic or even pre-diabetic, considering the keto diet can be very helpful in managing and preventing diabetes respectively as it helps to control the blood sugar levels.

4.    Enhanced Energy Levels

Fat becomes the main energy source for your body in ketosis, which is a far more efficient and productive source of energy. As a result, you will feel full of life and energy throughout the day. Besides, you will also feel satiated for longer as fats are more satisfying and contain more calories.

5.    Enhanced Mental Performance

The keto diet also brings mental benefits, as the ketones are a fuel source for the brain they help in enhanced focus and mental performance. The LCHF diet helps control the blood sugar spikes while increasing the intake of the fatty acid which results in enhanced focus alongside improved brain functioning. Many people go on the keto diet, particularly to achieve mental performance benefits.

6.    Improved Cholesterol & Blood Pressure

The ketogenic diet is also associated with controlled cholesterol and blood pressure. Keto improves the cholesterol and triglyceride levels to avoid the arterial build-up. In keto diet, the increase in HDL and decrease in LDL takes place as a result of the low carbs and high fats that improve both the cholesterol levels and the blood pressure. Also, since the keto is helpful in weight loss and management, it is further helpful in maintaining the blood pressure levels.

7. Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is a precursor of diabetes. If left unchecked, it soon develops into type 2 diabetes. Research has shown that low-carb diets like keto help lower the insulin levels while bringing them into the healthy range.

Keto Flu

Keto flu is very common among the keto dieters, which happens due to the low electrolytes and sodium levels and has flu-like symptoms. You may feel headache, irritability, and fatigue alongside nausea, cough, and sniffles. It is imperative to keep a lookout on these symptoms and know that it isn’t the real flu and is in noway viral or contagious.

What causes Keto flu?

The main reason as already mentioned is that your body falls short of the important electrolytes, particularly sodium. Once you start keto, you go on eating a lot of wholes and natural food which on the one hand is great, but it may result in a sudden drop of the electrolytes. Also, since the insulin levels drop due to the reduced carb intake, the sodium stored by the kidneys reduces. As a result, you get the keto flu. Keto flu can be avoided by intaking enough sodium.

You can fight or end the keto flu by including more electrolytes into your diet. Just have a soup or add more salt o your keto food. In any case, the flu isn’t long-lasting and should end as soon as you increase the intake of electrolytes.

So, go ahead and start your keto diet today to become the fat-burning machine and achieve its outstanding benefits while losing all those extra pounds while becoming strong and healthy in a natural way. And with our Keto calculator, getting started with keto is a hell lot easier. Go ahead and give it a try.