The ketogenic diet is quickly becoming a top nutrition and weight loss program with health and fitness experts, and for good reason. It’s been studied extensively and has been determined to be an effective treatment and preventative measure for a variety of conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, some types of cancer, neurological disorders, and even acne. And it’s a painless, satisfying way to lose weight quickly and naturally.
How Ketogenic Diet Works?
The principle behind the ketogenic diet is actually very simple. When we eat carbohydrates, our bodies release insulin in reaction to the elevated blood glucose levels caused by the carb intake. Insulin is a hormone that signals the cells to store as much available energy as possible, first as glycogen, then as fat. Because the ketogenic diet limits carbs in the diet, it keeps the body’s carbohydrate supply nearly empty at all times. This prevents high levels of insulin from being released and causes the body to turn instead to fat stores for its energy supply. This state is known as ketosis. Ketones are molecules that are generated during the body’s metabolism of its fat stores. Ketones can be used for energy and, importantly, can be used instead of glucose for most of the brain’s energy needs (fatty acids, on the other hand, cannot).
Tips to Make a Ketogenic Diet Plan
So what does a person eat on the ketogenic diet? Well, that depends on a number of factors. Generally speaking, any diet that consists of less than 60 grams of net carbohydrate per day is considered ketogenic. However, athletes and people with high metabolisms may be able to take in 100 or more grams of net carbs per day and still maintain ketosis. Likewise, an older person who is sedentary may need to take in fewer than 30 net grams to reach the state of ketosis.
The ketogenic diet is high in protein, but most of the calories come from fat, which is used by the body for energy. The amount of fat a person must consume will depend on that person’s protein and carb intake, their daily energy expenditure, and whether they seek to lose weight. Across the board, a ketogenic diet will get forty to eighty percent of its calories from fat, twenty to thirty percent of its calories from protein, and thirty percent or less of its calories from carbohydrates. Because few people tend overeat on diets this high in fat, calorie counting is usually not necessary.
Ketogenic Diet is Heart-Friendly!
Of course, the type of fat consumed is vitally important. I recommend staying away from polyunsaturated omega-6 fats (for example, soy, corn, cottonseed, safflower oils). Fats high in medium-chain triglycerides, like coconut oil, are encouraged because they are easily turned into ketones.
The ketogenic diet is a high fat diet, but it won’t raise your cholesterol or increase your risk for heart disease. Quite the opposite. Heart disease is caused by inflammation, which in turn is caused mostly by trails fat and sugar intake rather than the consumption of heart- healthy fats.
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