The keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet.Magical properties are attributed to it: they say that it will not only help you lose weight forever, but also rebuild your metabolism and free you from health problems.What really?
The popularity of the keto diet is off the charts: this request shows almost half a million links with advice, meal plans and a list of allowed foods.
Many famous actresses and actors follow the keto diet.But is it worth doing this for a person who has no intention of surprising Hollywood and robbing graves?For example, someone like me?
What is the keto diet?
There are several types of low-carbohydrate nutrition: from the liberal LCHF (low-carbohydrate, high-fat) to the extreme carnivorous diet - "carnivore diet", in which the diet contains only animal products.
The keto diet falls roughly in the middle between these extremes.This is a low carb, very high fat diet.According to various estimates, fats should occupy up to 70-80% of the diet.This is why we are promised an increase in life expectancy by 10 years, an increase in energy and productivity and a cure for cancer.
How does keto work?
We usually get energy from glycogen, which is obtained from carbohydrates and stored in the muscles and liver.When you switch to a high-fat diet, your metabolism changes.Instead of glucose, the body begins to consume ketones as a source of energy, molecules that the liver produces in the absence of glycogen.That is, in fact, in the absence of carbohydrates, our body will receive energy from an alternative source: fats and proteins.
To switch to this alternative nutritional source, you need to rid your body of glycogen waste and force it into a state of ketosis.This is exactly what a high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb diet should help.Different sources determine the carbohydrate dose to be 20-30 g per day.This corresponds to approximately one and a half slices of bread or 50 g of buckwheat.The rest of the diet consists of fatty meat, fish, butter, nuts and eggs.
In the 1920s, the keto diet was used for children with epilepsy.However, almost a hundred years have passed since then and today, according to the report, the keto diet is one of the least used ways to combat this disease.
A new wave of popularity for keto has come from studying the nutrition of people living in extreme cold."Their diet consists almost entirely of meat and fat. Interest in this diet grew as it became clear that these people have extremely low rates of cardiovascular disease, degenerative brain diseases (dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's) and type 2 diabetes."
But to what extent this depends on nutrition, and where is the cause and where is the effect, it is impossible to say for sure.There are no scientific studies that confirm this connection.
How to get into the ketogenic diet?
Going keto isn't exactly a pleasant procedure.In the process of giving up carbs, many experience a phenomenon called the “keto flu.”“This condition is similar to a cold; aches and drowsiness appear, the throat may hurt, and problems with stool may appear. Most often, the symptoms disappear within 1-3 days.”
...Or last much longer.“It happens that the adaptation lasts from 1 to 6 months, depending on the type of nutritional system followed by a person first and the degree of overweight. Often unpleasant symptoms are associated not so much with the transition to a different type of diet itself, but with one of its consequences: the death of candida in the body: “When it decomposes, it releases toxic substances and this makes the person feel bad.”
As for vitamins: "When switching to a keto diet, a person initially loses a lot of water, which is retained, among other things, by glycogen in the muscles. Water brings with it minerals - electrolytes: magnesium, potassium, zinc and sodium. Therefore, their deficiency should be filled."
Contraindications for the keto diet
"It is absolutely not suitable for thyroid diseases and for those who love carbohydrates. "And also for those who expect quick results, because this is not always possible."
“Also, you should not try it yourself for those who have acute kidney and liver problems, pancreatitis, liver dysfunction, porphyria, type 1 diabetes.”
Keto diet menu
It will be difficult even for those who, in principle, love to eat. The list of permitted foods is small, the variety of proteins is generally very limited by their quantity, and the daily protein intake should not exceed 20%.But not everyone wants to eat exclusively fat.
Harmful?Greet?Or is it still harmful?
There are conflicting opinions on this topic.Supporters of evidence-based medicine very often speak out against it.According to a well-known nutritionist, the keto diet can be deadly for some: “People with diabetes can develop ketoacidosis when they switch to this type of diet instead of ketosis. This is a condition that develops when there is a deficiency of insulin. In this case, one can die within 24 hours. The person loses consciousness, then is resuscitated. And only if someone finds the victim in time and realizes that he needs help. The fact is that with ketoacidosis, a person emitsthe smell of acetone, similar to what appears after alcohol abuse. It is easy for strangers to get confused with each other, so the attitude towards a person lying unconscious on the street may be appropriate.
But, we emphasize, this applies only to people with diabetes.A normal healthy person cannot develop ketoacidosis.
“Yes, ketoacidosis can affect people with certain medical conditions, for example type 1 diabetics, whose body cannot handle large amounts of ketones. However, insulin-dependent people are people with a serious and sometimes congenital condition. They should not even eat carbohydrate-rich foods. On this basis alone one cannot conclude that the keto diet is dangerous for everyone else.”
Overall, there is no scientific evidence that the ketogenic diet is harmful to a healthy person.(Unless, of course, you count digestive problems: For some this diet causes constipation and for others diarrhea.)
But there is no evidence that it is useful.
Perhaps because, in terms of lifestyle, it is still very young. "The ketogenic diet has become widespread recently. And it's hard to find people who follow it for a long time."
"The long-term studies I've seen on keto lasted 24 weeks. — As for people saying they've been using it for 50 years... People say what they want! Every day I see people saying they don't eat anything and for some reason they don't lose weight."
Furthermore, there is a difference between a therapeutic keto diet, i.e. prescribed for medical reasons, and a regular nutritional diet.The second is milder, does not require extremes and is often combined with a regular low-carb diet: "Many people switch to keto for periods: after 2-3 months, they return to a more liberal version of low-carbohydrate, high-fat nutrition (LCHF). The amount of carbohydrates allowed for LCHF is greater: from 50-70 to 100-120 g per day. But also, of course, not at the expense of sweet rolls, but atat the expense of high-quality whole foods: vegetables, fruits, berries, and sometimes some grains.
Who needs a keto diet anyway?
Research shows that ketosis, without which there is no keto diet, is effective under conditions of extreme stress: it prevents oxygen poisoning among deep-sea divers and makes ultramarathon runners more resilient.
However, once again there is no consensus on this topic.One study found that the keto diet can slightly improve endurance performance (particularly in mountain bikers).And according to another study, it does not improve, but, on the contrary, reduces performance.
Does the keto diet protect against disease?There are conflicting opinions on this topic too.There appears to be evidence that it can help treat cancer.However, according to information, the keto diet not only helps with this, but can also cause unwanted side effects.
However, ordinary people are not athletes!- they still switch to the keto diet.
For that? “Also for reasons of mental clarity, good health, mood and restful sleep.”Although, as a health benefit, sometimes it is enough to simply follow a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet - eat 50-70 g of carbohydrates per day: "Some even on such a diet lose weight and solve some health problems."
The doctor believes that it is not worth doing: “As a lifestyle, the keto diet is a dubious decision. The keto diet is used only for medical reasons, that is, for epilepsy, and only under the supervision of a doctor. As a permanent diet, it is not physiological, because constant carbohydrate hunger is unnatural. I understand that those who follow the keto diet do not think of not eating carbohydrates as hunger, but for the brain, that's exactly what it is. After all, the brain feeds mainly on carbohydrates. And they shouldbe on the diet."
Will the ketogenic diet help you lose weight?
The keto diet does not promise exact numbers: “in X days you will lose Y kg”, but its adherents assure that as soon as you pass it, excess weight will begin to disappear.
If only because people on keto obviously eat less.Many do it only twice a day: morning and evening.During the day they don't eat lunch because they aren't hungry.Fats take longer to become saturated and broken down.
Scam or truth?
According to a recent study, all diets around the world work exactly the same way: they simply create a calorie deficit.That is, for weight loss it is not so important what exactly you stop eating: carbohydrates, fats, proteins or simply reduce the amount of food.“But a person is structured in such a way that it is easier for him to believe in a miracle diet, rushing to extremes, than to agree with himself once and for all and constantly eat rationally. - That is why all kinds of diets were, are and will be popular. And each new one will promise lightning-fast weight loss once and for all.”