Is a Keto diet for you?
One of the most interesting research topics I studied in my Master's Sports Nutrition course was for top cycling athletes that explored the use of the ketogenic diet (Keto diet). Since then I have seen it become a tremendously popular diet on the Best Sellers List and online. Many of the success stories tout quick weight loss, lowering high triglycerides levels, and reversing Type 2 diabetes. Who wouldn’t want to be on the Keto Diet with the current positive promotion it is receiving? However, like all food elimination diets, it has also generated several questions about its promoted successes and concerns in the health community. In this post I want to share concise and up to date information, so that you too can be informed enough to determine if a Keto Diet is for you.
A Keto Diet sounds kind of easy to follow because it almost eliminates an entire macronutrient, carbohydrates, from your daily diet. In this very low carbohydrate diet, you would severely limit grains, fruit, starchy vegetables, legumes and sweets from consumption. Correctly used Keto Diets restrict carbohydrates to between 20-50 grams per day, an equivalent of no more than a cup of white rice per day. To meet calorie needs, one replaces those carbohydrate calories with foods that consist of mostly fat and some protein. After few days with very low carbohydrate consumption, stored glucose becomes insufficient, both for normal fat oxidation through the supply of oxaloacetate in the Krebs cycle and for the supply of glucose to the brain. Because the brain cannot use fatty acids as a source of energy it is forced to find an alternative. This alternative source of energy is called ketones, which is produced in the liver from fatty acids released in the body or from consumed fat. When ketone bodies accumulate in the blood, this is called ketosis. Reaching ketosis shows that your body is using ketones as an energy source and not glucose coming from carbohydrates in food or from storage.
The main words in the above section is “after a few days”. You see, everyone is different. Healthy individuals naturally experience mild ketosis during periods of fasting (e.g., sleeping overnight) and very strenuous, slow, endurance exercise. Advocates of the ketogenic diet state that if the diet is carefully followed, blood levels of ketones should not reach a harmful level (known as “ketoacidosis”) as the brain will use ketones for fuel, and most people will typically produce enough insulin to prevent excessive ketones from forming. How soon ketosis happens and the number of ketone bodies that accumulate in the blood must be determined by collecting data from the individual’s blood samples, body fat percentage and resting metabolic rate. This is why a Ketogenic Diet is actually more difficult than simply not eating carbohydrates. A person needs the support knowledge and testing tools to use ketones for energy effectively.
Generally, popular ketogenic meal plans suggest an average of 70-80% fat from total daily calories, 5-10% carbohydrate, and 10-20% protein. For a 2000-calorie diet, this equates to about 165 grams fat, 40 grams carbohydrate, and 75 grams protein. The reduced protein amount on the ketogenic diet is kept moderate in comparison with other low-carb high-protein diets, because eating too much protein can prevent the body from going into ketosis. The amino acids in higher amount of consumed protein can be converted to glucose, so that would defeat the purpose of the Keto Diet. Therefore, a true ketogenic diet specifies enough protein to preserve lean body mass (i.e., muscle), but will still cause ketosis. A typical meal for the Keto Diet would look something like the graphic to the below right for dinner or lunch meals.
When it comes to getting results on any diet, the key is results with consistency not short term perfection. Maintaining ketosis over long periods of time requires some true commitment and may be a challenge for many trying to follow the Keto Diet. The Keto Diet is quite restrictive. One must consider how long to commit to this type of meal plan to get the desired results and at what cost. In addition, long term very low carbohydrate intake may increase opportunity for nutritional deficiencies like B vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals, and fiber, especially if you aren’t monitoring your overall nutritional intake closely. Other concerning health side effects are muscle cramps, bad breath, changes in bowel habits, keto-flu and loss of energy. To really use the Ketogenic Diet to your advantage, you must make it work for your body correctly. In fact, if you are totally convinced this is the diet for you, I would strongly suggest using the oversight of a knowledgeable doctor or dietitian for the best success and safety. They will be able to track your consumption; support diet corrections and help you monitor your blood ketone and glucose levels to improve your overall wellness.
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