ketogenic diet

3 Reasons Why You Should Try Ketogenic Diet: A Guideline for Beginners

The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that can help you burn the fat effectively and cut back most of the carbs which are easy to digest, such as soda, sugar, and pastries. This kind of diet aims to make you get more calories from proteins and fat rather than from carbohydrates.

Many people believe that a ketogenic diet is quite similar to the Atkins and low-carb diets, which involve the reduction of carbs consumption and replacing it with fat intake. Since the ketogenic diet is popular with its benefits, here are the 3 reasons why you should try this diet:

1. Health Benefits from Ketogenic Diet

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When the intake of carbs is reduced, our body is in a metabolic state known as ketosis. When it happens, the fat in our body can be burned efficiently for creating energy. Ketosis also causes the fat in the liver to turn into ketones, which is essential for supplying the energy to the brain. The ketogenic diet is also believed can manage some medical conditions, such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. Prior research presented that the seizures on epileptic children can be reduced by conducting a ketogenic diet. Another study found that the diet helps to improve symptoms amongst people with Parkinson’s disease.

But, you need to be aware that the main purpose of most ketogenic diet attempts is to lose weight instead of gaining health benefits. So, you need to consult with the doctor if you are aiming to manage some medical conditions by doing the ketogenic diet. Those with gestational diabetes may also not be suitable for the diet considering the condition needs an increased amount of proteins. However, the ketogenic diet may help people with type 2 diabetes by maintaining glucose levels.

2. Enjoying High-Fat Foods

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When you are taking a ketogenic diet, your body needs to allow ketosis to happen through the day. So, the insulin levels in the body need to be low. In order to make it happens, you should eat less than 50 grams of carbs a day, and this usually takes 3 to 4 days. In addition, the protein intake should be around 40 to 50 grams a day for women and 50 to 60 grams a day for men. This can be very joyful for those who love high-fat foods, such as low-carb veggies (avocado, nuts, olive oil or butter, high-fat salad dressings), meat (lamb, skin on poultry), eggs, fish (mackerel, tuna, sardines).

Though the meal plan of ketogenic diet seems restricted, the good news is you can still eat almond, cashew butter, walnuts, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and broccoli. These foods are keto-friendly. You also can add a whole avocado to every single meal you take. It is also easier for cheese lover since mozzarella, cheddar, and cream cheese are good to be consumed. In addition, yogurt, butter, and cream are also okay to be taken.

On the other hand, you need to avoid or eliminate the sugary foods like ice cream, cake, smoothies, candy, fruits (all kind of fruits except berries), potatoes, carrots, and vegetable oils. You are also suggested to limit the consumption of low-fat or dietary products since most of them are highly processed and high in carbs. These dietary changes may cause some noticeable symptoms such as headaches, constipation, and frequent urination. But, you don’t have to worry since the side effects are mostly temporary. People often experience no long-term effects caused by these changes of food consumption habit.

3. Speedy Weight-Loss

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The ketogenic diet is the good news since it affects the blood sugar massive reductions in our body. You definitely can achieve your weight loss goal without having to fast! Some people only need 3 to 6 months to gain their ideal weight by doing the ketogenic diet. Many people also tried to do the diet in 30 days which resulted in weight-loss and deflated belly. On the other hand, some people might also fail to lose weight after doing the ketogenic diet. This might happen if you are eating too often or simply consume too much calories.

Once completing the ketogenic diet, you need to slowly increase the carbohydrates intake, reducing the high-fat intake and upping the intake of proteins. These could not be done in a rush if you don’t want to go back to where you started. So, it is very important to go back to your previous eating habit slowly after completing your ketogenic diet period. Another important thing is not to get stressed-out of these meal plan changes. Stress can let you dive in into unhealthy foods.

However, some experts warn that ketogenic diet is only good to run no more than 3 months. The long-term ketogenic diet can cause irregular heartbeat and put the people at risk five times greater of stroke and heart attack. In addition, when doing the ketogenic diet, the vitamins consumed are usually the soluble ones, and it can cause vitamin deficiencies in the long-term. Last but not least, if you are having a history of high triglyceride levels, you need to think twice before you set the ketogenic diet for a long-term period.

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