Carbohydrates , damn carbs!

Low-carb diets, long live low-carb diets!

No cancellation, but how good are carbohydrates?

We already talked about it, remember?

But it is also true that with carbohydrates you gain weight easily that you are then able to lose only and only with a diet tailored for you .

And carbohydrate can also be addictive.

And it is also true that an excess of carbohydrates leads to a high weight gain , so let’s say that we have easily identified one of the enemies of our diet.

This brings us to a big question:

how do we do without carbohydrates in our weight loss diet but at the same time still receive the nutrients we need?

And can we really maintain weight after dieting?

The answer for proponents of this diet is very simple.

Let’s talk about the ketogenic diet  and you probably already know what it is.

Ketogenic is a menu based diet that cuts carbohydrate foods and replaces them with fats and proteins thus allowing the body to enter and regulate a natural strength of the body known as ketosis .

In ketosis, the body burns ketones rather than carbohydrates for fuel.

The dieter uses this process to improve their own and weight loss. You may have heard of the ketogenic diet in the Atkins diet regimen .

DOWNLOAD KETOGEN DIET IN PDF

What is the ketogenic diet

The ketogenic diet menu  was developed in 1920 by endocrinologist Henry Rawle Geyelin to treat epilepsy 

In 1921, Geyelin recognized that therapeutic fasting made his patients’ bodies work differently by changing the way nutrients were processed.

This change led to fewer seizures. Even the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates found that when epileptics fasted they were much less prone to seizures.

Of course, fasting could not be a cure to be carried out over time.

When Geyelin investigated further he found that during these fasting periods the blood glucose level plummeted sharply. At the same time, the levels of fat metabolites, called ketones, were increased.

Burning ketones instead of glucose was evidently easier on the brain and eliminated the risk of severe convulsions.

Geyelin needed to understand how to maintain this state for long periods of time. So, over the next decade, he devised a new diet regimen.

Its initial version of the keto diet was used extensively to treat epilepsy in children starting in the 1930s, but once new effective drugs called anticonvulsants entered the pharmaceutical market its popularity waned.

In 1994, the diet became popular again after a Hollywood producer named Jim Abrahams used it successfully to treat his son’s epilepsy

After trying virtually all other treatments, he and his family found an article by a physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital .

The document recommended the keto diet as a potential treatment for epileptics in case the drugs did not work as expected.

Charlie Abrahams quickly went from having nearly a hundred attacks a day to having none without taking medicine.

A TV movie and several Abrahams-sponsored commercials managed to spark new scientific interest in the diet.

The Charlie Foundation was created to fund further research and provide information on ketogenic therapies for families.

Studies since then have shown that nearly half of patients on the keto diet have seen a reduction in seizures of at least fifty percent.

Since its inception nearly a century ago, weight loss programs such as the Atkins diet and the Dukan diet (although the Dukan diet takes an alternative approach because it is low in fat) have made use of the basics of the ketogenic diet and of its food 

The first step in the Atkins diet, called the induction phase, is essentially a ketogenic diet.

Well, so far we have seen how the ketogenic diet is good for those suffering from epilepsy but what are the mechanisms on which it rests and with these mechanisms you can lose weight ?

Why does the ketogenic diet work?

Normally the carbohydrates in food are converted into glucose, which is then used to fuel the body and brain by circulating it through the bloodstream to provide immediate energy to the cells.

However, if the body is in ketosis, the liver converts fats into fatty acids and ketone bodies to be used for the same purpose.

In order to achieve and maintain ketosis you must severely limit the amount of carbohydrates in your diet.

Most of what you eat should be high in fat and protein, and carbohydrates should be limited to include all the vegetables that grow in the soil.

By tuning your diet in this specific way you are allowing your body to get its energy in a different way .

In the ketogenic diet, the body is starved of carbohydrates and is forced to use fats instead.

Science is still studying how exactly the keto diet works in changing the body’s natural processes but it is also true that we already know that it helps in several neurological problems , not just epilepsy.

By focusing on the ‘macro’ (short for the three main macronutrients, fats, proteins and carbohydrates), the diet becomes like a food pyramid on our head.

Achieving optimal ketosis leads to heavier fat burning. This form of ketosis can be maintained over the long term in the diet by forcing the body to use its own fat stores instead of burning sugars or starches for energy. People who regularly exercise CrossFit or body builders for example swear by the effectiveness of the keto diet.

What can you eat on the ketogenic diet?

The foods you eat to maintain ketosis can actually be quite delicious.

It is possible to calculate how many macro elements (fats, proteins and carbohydrates) are needed to maintain the optimal level of ketosis high.

If you are considering trying the keto diet to lose weight, there are a few daily recommendations available, depending on what you want to achieve.

The classic formula is a 4: 1 ratio of fat and protein to carbohydrates.

Some experts – those most concerned with the potential of the keto diet in treating cancer – require 75% fat, 23% protein and 2% carbohydrate.

For body builders, only 30-50 grams of carbohydrates per day are recommended.

You can get these grams by eating green vegetables and any incidental carbohydrates you acquire from your meals.

If we really want to make an average it would take 50% fat, 30-40% protein and the rest carbohydrates from vegetables.

Fats and proteins are actually more filling than carbohydrates. So on a keto diet you will eat less but you will certainly feel more full.

Most of the calories come from fat but you have to be careful to choose the right ones at the supermarket. Due to their inflammatory effect, some people’s bodies have difficulty metabolizing the omega 6 fatty acids found in many low-cost vegetable oils.

We must also stay away from trans fatty acids, unsaturated ones, as much as possible.

Sugar cravings can sometimes be a little hard to deal with. I think we all struggle with this every now and then. But you have to stay strong! You don’t have to think about dessert, despite your brain asking for it.

Then, if you just can’t, a sugar substitute like stevia can be used instead of real sugars. If you choose stevia, always choose the liquid form and not the powder form that contains maltodextrin ! Always read the labels!

Some foods that can be included in a ketogenic diet are definitely:

Chicken
Fish and Seafood
Avocado
Eggs
Sausage
Organic Non-Starchy Vegetables
Nuts and Seeds
For a complete list of foods you should eat, and which ones you should avoid like the plague, take a look  here .

So, let’s try?

Now that you know more you may be wondering if you should try the ketogenic diet on yourself. Well, that depends.

Meanwhile, I always want to remind you that there is nothing better than a diet that takes into account what you really need.

All the experts I have found have said that the keto diet results in short-term weight loss.

However, there has yet to be a definitive yes or no as to whether it is a lasting solution.

A 2006 study  compares the ketogenic diet to non-ketogenic diets.

The researchers found that while both types of diets provided reduced insulin resistance, those on ketogenic diets also found negative emotional and metabolic effects.

They concluded by saying, “The use of ketogenic diets for weight loss is not justified.”

A 2007 study found the ketogenic diet good for losing a lot of weight in the first month but not so good that it doesn’t compare to the effect of a non-ketogenic diet.
The most favorable weight loss study was conducted more recently. In 2010 , researchers demonstrated that ketogenic diets were effective on severely obese adolescents.

The reason the diet may not be safe in the long term is because of the possible complications from the prevalence of ketones in the blood. You may have problems with dehydration or worse yet your blood may turn sour.

The UK Diabetes Association says these high levels of ketones in the blood can lead to a state called ketoacidosis , which can “develop serious illness in a relatively short time”.

Your mood could also be affected because a lack of carbohydrates limits the amount of tryptophan in your system. Tryptophan serves in the synthesis with serotonin, an important mood regulator. And this could also lead to depression and excessive laziness, especially in already sedentary subjects.

But the brain health benefits are certainly just those.

Ketones can increase the number of mitochondria (the ‘powerhouse of the cell’, as they say) in brain cells.

The diet is considered fantastic by experts in their respective fields for treating Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, and for improving memory in older adults who are more susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease.

The keto diet can also reduce the risk of heart disease by increasing levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as the ‘good’ cholesterol, while reducing LDL, the ‘bad’ cholesterol.

The most important thing about understanding the ketogenic diet is that it cannot be taken lightly.

It changes your metabolism a lot, literally the way your body functions. This type of diet should be administered under clinical supervision or by food experts.

If you want to try something a little simpler, less intense, with guaranteed health benefits, try a Mediterranean diet plan first.

Unless you’re looking for instant body builder or athlete results, a diet must prove to work well enough over a long period of time to be trusted.

We can’t now be sure that the keto diet will ever work in the long run for people trying to lose weight. It sure has health benefits, but there are plenty of other diets to try as well.

What do you think about it? Have you tried the ketogenic diet?