What is Keto Diet: Benefits and Side Effects

What is keto diet?

The Keto diet is a low-carb diet, where the body results from significantly reducing the carbohydrates in your diet and increasing your fat intake. This keto diet has been around for a long time and has been used for medical reasons, but celebrities and athletes are turning to the regimen as an effective weight-loss technique.

This involves reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs keeps your body in a metabolic state called ketosis and results in sudden decreases in blood sugar and insulin levels in the body.

The ketogenic diet is an effective way to enter into ketosis. As it involves the consumption of carb around 20-50 grams per day and filling up on fats such as fish, eggs, nuts, and healthy oils. When you are on a keto diet it is important to moderate the consumption of protein, because it can easily convert into glucose if consumed in high amounts and results in slowing down the process of ketosis.

Practicing intermittent fasting also helps in ketosis faster. However, there are different types of intermittent fasting and most of them involve limiting food intake to around 8 hours per day and fasting for the remaining 16 hours.

Keto diet for weight loss

The main goal of the keto diet is to force your body into a metabolic state, not through the starvation of calories but with the starvation of carbohydrates. Our bodies are incredibly adaptive in the state we put in, all we need to do is just focus.

When you overload your body with fats and avoid intake of carbohydrates, it will slowly begin to burn ketones as a primary energy source. Optimal ketone levels in the body offer many health benefits which are shown below.

As mentioned before, the keto diet uses your body fat as an energy source, so there are absolute weight loss benefits. On a keto diet, the insulin levels drop easily and turn your body into a fat-burning machine.

The other benefits of a Keto diet include:

1. Controls Blood Sugar:

The Keto diet naturally lowers blood sugar levels due to the type of foods we eat. It has been observed that a ketogenic diet is one of the most effective ways to manage and prevent diabetes when compared with low-calorie diets.

2. Improves Heart Health:

Following a ketogenic diet involves all healthy foods which help in improving the health of the heart. Because high-fat foods will increase the levels of bad cholesterol which can increase the risks of cardiovascular diseases, therefore, it's important to eat nutritionally balanced food while following a perfect keto diet.

3. Reduce The Risks Of Certain Cancers:

The Keto diet is being explored as an additional treatment for different types of cancer as it leads to the slow growth of tumors. Because the keto diet reduces blood sugar which results to lower risks of insulin complications. Insulin is a hormone in the body that controls blood sugar levels that link to certain cancers.

4. Improves Symptoms Of PCOS:

PCOS is a hormonal disorder that leads to excess male hormones and polycystic ovaries in female bodies. A diet that includes high carbohydrates will have adverse effects such as weight gain and skin issues. It was found the keto diet has beneficial effects on people with hormonal disorders including PCOS.

5. Increases Mental Focus:

Increased intake of fatty acids can impact many benefits to our brain's function. So following the keto diet has improved mental performance where ketones are a great source of fuel for the brain.

Ketones are considered a great source of fuel for the brain and when you decrease the intake of carbs, you are avoiding big spikes in blood sugar levels. Being together, results in improved concentration and focus.

Do's and don'ts in the ketogenic diet

List of Dos on Ketogenic diet:

Stay hydrated
Focus on healthy fats
Include low-carb vegetables
Monitor protein intake
Be patient and calm

List of Don’ts on Ketogenic diet:

Don’t overeat carbohydrates
Don’t consume excess protein
Don’t forget about micronutrients
Don’t forget to workout
Don’t ignore the side effects

Different types of ketogenic diets

There are various types of ketogenic diets depending on the individual and his/her requirement.

Standard Ketogenic Diet: Focuses on low carbs, moderate protein, and high fat.
Cyclical Ketogenic Diet: Focuses on time, following the diet for a few days constantly in a week, and then resting.
Targeted Ketogenic Diet: Related to muscle building and improving athletic performance.
High-protein Ketogenic Diet: More protein is consumed
Modified Atkins Ketogenic Diet: Limited carbs, more protein, and fat intake.

Take Away

Even though the keto diet is usually safe and healthy for most people, there may be some initial side effects. You can minimize it by including a regular low-carb diet for the first few weeks which helps to teach your body to burn more fat before you eliminate carbs.

A Keto diet also changes the mineral and water balance in your body, so adding a pinch of extra salt to your food may help. Make sure to talk with your doctor before starting any diet about the nutritional needs and restricted calories. If you want to add some supplements to enhance your process of weight loss then you can add our Weight Loss Max product and can purchase from our Mars by GHC website.

FAQs

Can I build muscle in the keto diet?

Yes, you can still build muscle when you are on a keto diet, without a proper workout plan.

Is ketogenic diet is same as the keto diet?

Yes, the ketogenic diet is the same as the keto dies. The Keto diet is shortened form of the Ketogenic diet.

Is the keto diet safe?

The answer depends on you, it is safe and harmful at the same time. Although it helps get your dream body, it might lead you to low blood pressure, kidney stones, constipation, and more.

References

Building muscle on a Keto: A complete guide. By Healthline, Feb 20, 2020.

Intermittent Fasting on Keto: Things to consider. By Everyday Health, Nov 23, 2022.

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