The Ketogenic Diet: A Brief Guide to Keto

The ketogenic diet, popularly known as the keto diet, has gained mass popularity among people trying to lose weight or cut down the overall fat percentage of the body. Does it work? If you are planning to start with the ketogenic diet, then hold on we have formulated a brief guide for beginners to answer all the queries regarding the ketogenic diet.

What is Keto Diet?

The ketogenic diet is mainly high fat, low carbs, and moderate protein diet. It was introduced in the early 90s to treat disorders like epilepsy and diabetes. However, in the recent past, it has gained popularity for its potential to help people lose weight fast.

Generally speaking, the typical diet of an average American is mainly carbohydrates, and the body uses these carbs in the diet to break into glucose to meet the daily energy needs. The primary goal of the keto diet is to swap these carbs with fat as the primary source of energy, making it 60 to 80 percent of the total intake. 

How does Keto work?

When the primary energy source is not carbohydrates, the body enters into a state of ketosis, which is liver producing ketone bodies by using the body's fat reserves to produce energy. This primary mechanism utilizes the fat resources instead of the carbohydrates provided by direct intake. In the keto diet, the carb intake is not more than 50g, and the body is thus forced to utilize fat reservoirs to serve its purpose.

Types of Ketogenic Diet

There are four main types of ketogenic diets:

Standard- This is the most common type of ketogenic diet, which involves 70% fat, 20% proteins, and 10% carbs

Cyclical- In this type of ketogenic diet, there are two refill days of high carbs day allowed with five ketogenic days

Targeted- In this variety, high carb intake is allowed only around the time of workout to allow muscle recovery

High Protein- This is similar to the standard variety, but a slightly higher percentage of protein is allowed. Usually follows the composition of 35% proteins, 60% fat, and 5% carbs

Ketogenic Diet Benefits

Many health conditions improve with the ketogenic diet. Some of the key benefits of the ketogenic diet are-

• Type 2 diabetes
• Seizures
• Alzheimer's disease
• Autism
• Enhanced cognitive ability
• Psychiatric disorders

What can you eat on a Keto Diet?

Some of the food items which can be included in your keto diet are-

• Nuts
• Fatty oils
• Fish
• Chicken
• Eggs
• Cottage cheese
• Coconut
• Meat
• Full-fat dairy products
• Low starch vegetables

Some examples of low starch veggies-

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Mushroom
• Peppers
• Asparagus
• Leafy green vegetables

Food Items to Avoid

The main goal of a ketogenic diet is to limit the carbs intake so the main items to avoid are listed below:

• Bread
• Pasta
• Rice
• Baked items
• Corn
• Beans
• Sugary items
• Alcoholic beverages
• Breakfast cereals
• Sweet potatoes
• Potatoes

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