Keto Carb Balance: What's The Right Ratio?

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What is the keto diet?

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that has been used for centuries to treat specific medical conditions. In the 19th century, it was used to help control diabetes, and in 1920, it was introduced as an effective treatment for epilepsy in children. Today, it is often used as a weight-loss strategy.

The keto diet involves drastically reducing your carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where it becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy. The liver also turns fat into ketones, which can supply energy for the brain.

There are several versions of the keto diet, including the standard ketogenic diet (SKD), the cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD), the targeted ketogenic diet (TKD), and the high-protein ketogenic diet. The SKD is the most researched and recommended version, typically consisting of 70% fat, 20% protein, and only 10% carbs.

On the keto diet, you can eat meat, fatty fish, eggs, butter, nuts, healthy oils, avocados, and low-carb vegetables. You should avoid sugary foods, grains or starches, most fruit, beans, legumes, root vegetables, alcohol, and unhealthy fats.

The keto diet has been shown to have health benefits, including weight loss, improved insulin sensitivity, and reduced risk factors for heart disease. However, there are also potential side effects and risks associated with the diet, and it may not be suitable for everyone. It is important to consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new diet, especially one as restrictive as keto.

What can you eat on the keto diet?

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that shares similarities with the Atkins and low-carb diets. It involves drastically reducing your carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where your body uses fat instead of carbohydrates as its primary energy source.

Meat and Poultry

Chicken, pork, steak, ground beef, lamb, bacon, turkey, ham, and sausage.

Seafood

Salmon, snapper, tuna, halibut, cod, trout, catfish, scallops, crab, clams, oysters, lobster, mussels.

Dairy

Heavy cream, soft and hard cheeses, cream cheese, and sour cream.

Eggs

Pastured or omega-3 whole eggs.

Fats and Oils

Butter, coconut oil, olive oil, ghee, lard, avocado oil, and mayonnaise.

Vegetables

Cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, green beans, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, asparagus, cucumber, onion, mushroom, spinach, lettuce, and olives.

Nuts and Seeds

Almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds.

Berries

Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries, in moderation.

Beverages

Unsweetened coffee and black tea, dry wine, champagne, and hard liquor, in moderation.

It's important to note that not all keto diets are the same, and the specific foods you can eat may vary depending on the type of keto diet you're following. It's always a good idea to consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new diet, especially one as restrictive as the keto diet.

What are the benefits of the keto diet?

Benefits of the Keto Diet

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that offers many health benefits. Here are some of the most significant advantages of following a keto diet:

Weight Loss

The keto diet is well-known for its weight loss benefits. By reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing fat consumption, the body enters a metabolic state called ketosis, where it burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. This leads to effective weight loss and improved health.

Improved Blood Sugar Control

The keto diet is particularly beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome. By lowering insulin levels and reducing carbohydrate intake, the keto diet can help manage blood sugar levels and even lead to a reduction in diabetes medications.

Reduced Appetite and Hunger

The keto diet has been shown to reduce appetite and hunger. The high-fat content of the diet helps people feel more satisfied and naturally eat less. This makes it easier to stick to the diet and achieve weight loss goals.

Improved Heart Health

The keto diet has been found to improve several markers of metabolic health, including blood pressure, blood sugar, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. It can also lead to a reduction in total cholesterol and an increase in "good" HDL cholesterol.

Neuroprotective Effects

The keto diet has been studied for its potential benefits in neurological disorders, such as epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease. The production of ketones during ketosis is believed to provide neuroprotective benefits and improve brain function.

Potential Cancer Treatment

Some research suggests that the keto diet may be a complementary treatment for certain cancers. By starving cancer cells of glucose, the keto diet may slow tumor growth and make cancer cells more vulnerable to chemotherapy and radiation.

What are the risks of the keto diet?

The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that has been used to treat specific medical conditions, such as epilepsy, and is also gaining popularity as a weight-loss strategy. While it has been shown to be effective for weight loss and improving health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, there are several risks associated with the keto diet that should be considered.

Firstly, the keto diet may lead to what is commonly known as the "keto flu". This includes symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and constipation, which occur as the body transitions to using ketones and fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates. These symptoms usually subside within a few weeks, but it is important to monitor them and stay hydrated.

Secondly, the keto diet may stress your kidneys due to the high intake of animal foods, which can cause your blood and urine to become more acidic. This can lead to an increased risk of kidney stones and may be especially harmful to individuals with chronic kidney disease.

Thirdly, the keto diet restricts carbohydrates, making it difficult to meet daily fiber needs. This can result in digestive issues and constipation, as well as negatively impact gut health by reducing the diversity of beneficial bacteria in the gut.

Fourthly, the keto diet may lead to nutrient deficiencies, especially in vitamins and minerals such as calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, and phosphorus. This is due to the restriction of nutrient-dense fruits, whole grains, and legumes.

Fifthly, the keto diet may cause dangerously low blood sugar levels, especially in individuals with type 1 diabetes who are at risk of hypoglycemia. Even those with type 2 diabetes may be at risk if they are taking insulin medications.

Sixth, bone health may be impacted by the keto diet, as some studies have linked it to decreased bone strength and bone mineral density loss.

Lastly, there is ongoing debate about the long-term effects of the keto diet on the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. Some evidence suggests that high-fat, low-carb diets focusing on animal foods may lead to poor health outcomes, while those emphasizing vegetable sources of fats and proteins provide benefits.

It is important to consult a healthcare professional before starting the keto diet, especially for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions, to ensure that it is safe and to minimize the risks of potential complications.

How do you get into ketosis?

To get into ketosis, you need to deplete your body's glucose reserves, which typically come from the carbohydrates you eat. Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body uses fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.

Cut down on carbs

The ketogenic diet typically involves reducing your total carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams a day. This is because, with limited carbs, your body has nothing to convert to glucose. And without glucose, your body is forced to burn fat for energy instead, via a process called ketosis.

Eat more healthy fats

The keto diet is a high-fat diet. Eating a diet rich in fat while also limiting carbs prompts your body to burn fat, rather than glucose, for fuel. This is the basis of ketosis. People following a ketogenic diet get 75% of their calories from fats, which should come from avocado, nuts, olive oils, and other unsaturated, or healthy, fats.

Try intermittent fasting

The body enters ketosis when it doesn't have glucose to burn, including after fasting for about 12 hours. Intermittent fasting involves cycling between periods of fasting and eating. When combined with exercise, it can help you reach ketosis faster.

Exercise more

During exercise, the body quickly uses up its glucose reserves. Therefore, if you're exercising for longer than a couple of hours, the body switches over to burning fat for fuel via ketosis because there's no glucose left.

Limit protein

When eaten in excess, protein can be converted to glucose, which can make it harder or impossible to achieve and maintain ketosis.

Monitor your ketone levels

The most definitive way to know you are in ketosis is through a blood test. Blood levels of 0.5 to 3 mg/dl indicate nutritional ketosis. Other ways to test for ketosis include breath acetone tests, urine ketone testing, and monitoring physical symptoms.

Frequently asked questions