Keto diet - what is it and for whom is it suitable?

If twenty or thirty years ago someone put all the products in two baskets, sorting them according to the principle of greatest and least usefulness, then today you will have to carry out a thorough audit of them. The strangest story happened during this time with fat - the recent main enemy of humanity is not only fully rehabilitated, but almost declared his savior. Is that so, of course, nutritionist Chris Moore.

Recently, a patient admitted to me that she and her husband eat almost a pound of bacon a week - three slices for breakfast, and then two more with a salad for lunch. I have been working as a nutritionist for more than twenty years and it seems that nothing will surprise me, but then I still could not resist and asked: why? The patient said that her husband had watched a TV show about the keto diet and they decided to give it a try. Six months of bacon - and now the husband has lost nine kilograms and, according to his wife, almost bursts with energy that overwhelms him.

I hear more and more from people about the miracles that the keto diet does for them. They claim that it burns body fat, energizes and defeats diseases, and that from now on it is not only possible but necessary to eat as much bacon as you want. But all their enthusiasm needs at least a serious test - is the keto diet really that good, which does not limit the intake of animal fats?

The ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high-fat, moderate-protein diet. It was originally used to treat epilepsy in children by raising the level of ketone bodies in the blood.

What is ketosis?

Let's start with the name of the diet: where does this "keto" come from? When the body is desperately deficient in carbohydrates - for example due to diabetes or prolonged hunger - it must break down its own fat more actively than usual to get energy. Ketosis develops: metabolism is disrupted and more ketone bodies accumulate in the tissues than necessary. Keton bodies are products of fat metabolism. They are produced by the liver when insulin levels drop in the blood.

"The liver makes ketone bodies all the time, but their levels depend on the carbohydrates and proteins you eat - the body needs both, " explains Jeff Volek, a professor at the University of Ohio.

The breakdown of fat in a healthy person's body and the formation of ketone bodies is a normal process called ketogenesis. Unlike ketosis, ketogenesis does not lead to drastic weight loss. Ketosis is a pathology that in addition to diabetes and prolonged starvation can be caused by the keto diet, as it almost excludes carbohydrate foods from the diet. A person who has developed ketosis loses weight drastically, as well as due to some other pathologies.

The ketogenic diet forces the body to use fat as the main source of energy. This role is usually played by carbohydrates, which, when taken with food, are processed into glucose, which is extremely important for the nutrition and functioning of the brain. However, if the diet is low in carbohydrates, the liver converts fats into fatty acids and ketone bodies. Ketone bodies enter the brain and are used as a source of energy instead of glucose. An increase in the level of ketone bodies in the blood (ketosis) leads to a decrease in the frequency of epileptic seizures.

In the keto diet, the main part of the daily diet - from 60 to 80% - are fats, proteins - about 15%, and only the remaining 10% are carbohydrates (this is about half of the small cube). At first glance, it looks like the Atkins diet, but the keto diet involves more severe carbohydrate restriction, according to Spencer Nadolski, author of The Recipe for Fat Loss. Many theorists usually say that the less carbohydrates we eat, the more fatit burns our body and for this reason the metabolism improves, the immunity increases - and in general, various miracles begin to happen to our bodies.

In everyday life, however, we get about half of our calories, not one-tenth of them from carbohydrates. So, essentially the question is: can your body be in ketosis long enough to achieve the promised nirvana without serious health consequences? Are you going to literally go crazy with fat?

Is the keto diet right for you?

It may sound strange, but the best diet for you is the one you are used to following. For Volek, who has been keto for twenty years, it is good, but is it suitable for you? Unfortunately, there is no research on what happens in the body of a person who has been on a keto diet for a long time. During the A to Z Weight Loss Study, researchers studied the Atkins, Zone, LEARN and some other diets, but in the study, subjects consumed 25 to 35% carbohydrates - not even close to 10%, who advised limitingto the keto diet.

The only thing that is known for sure: on the keto diet you will really lose weight. In Italy in 2015, they studied the performance of people sitting on it, and on average in three months they lost about 10-12 kilograms. A year earlier in Spain it turned out that in one year this way you can lose about 20 pounds. It is true that in the following year, subjects often return to the weight they had before the experiment as soon as they left the solid diet.

What will you eat if you decide to try it? First and second, this bacon. Of the other products you will not like much. Starchy vegetables - potatoes, pumpkin, corn - are strictly forbidden, like most fruits. Milk, beans, rice and pasta will also have to be forgotten.

The keto diet is difficult to follow and can be dangerous for some. "Extreme diets, especially the keto diet, are strictly contraindicated in people with neurodegenerative diseases such as epilepsy, " says Dr. Alan Aragon.

The ketogenic diet is considered optimal in society for weight loss. However, according to scientific evidence, the effect of weight loss soon after switching to a ketogenic diet is caused by a decrease in the amount of water in the body and the amount of body fat is affected only by energy balance. To lose weight, the energy supplied by food must be less than that expended on physical activity. One of the advantages of the ketogenic diet, as well as other low-carbohydrate diets, is that ketosis, which occurs in low-carbohydrate diets, contributes to weight loss in obesity. The difference in calories eaten can be up to a thousand kilocalories per day compared to low-fat diets. The effect of ketogenic diets strongly depends on the protein content of the diet.

Can I take drugs that cause an increase in ketone bodies? No way. Do not listen to those "consultants" who will assure you that even without any diet, you can cause ketosis with the help of special drugs.

So, is the keto diet right for you or not? If you are an extreme athlete who is willing to experiment with your body, if you like to take risks and fast results are important to you, give it a try! If you just want to lose a few pounds and in the past you have already encountered a "yo-yo effect" (when after a strict diet a person breaks down and gains more weight than he managed to lose), then maybe you should not take the risk. however, you approach the keto diet wisely, there are three lessons you can learn from it that will definitely be useful to you.

1. Reduce your intake of "empty" carbohydrates. Analyze which foods you get the most from your daily carbohydrate intake: if it comes from fruits rich in fiber and antioxidants, then that's fine, but if your sources of carbohydrates are candy, soda and any foodprepared with white flour What to do: Feel free to send them to the trash.
2. Do not avoid fats. The passion for low-fat foods, which began in the 1990s, can easily be left in the past. Nothing good about that. Often, to compensate for the lack of fat, manufacturers increase the amount of sugar in such products. Eat oily fish such as salmon, mackerel or sardines at least twice a week. And whatever you cook, do not skimp on vegetable, especially good - olive oil.
3. Eat lots of greens. All leafy vegetables and greens go well with fatty and protein foods - fans of the keto diet eat a lot of them. You do the same. Eat cabbage, spinach, bok choy, arugula and other types of salads without restrictions.

What happened to my bacon patients? Their feeding experiments continued until the moment their child was born. Of course, they immediately forgot about the diet (no time to think, as the young mother explained). So remember: sooner or later you will get tired of stuffing bacon in yourself regularly and you will return to normal, familiar food.

Receptions

Salmon and asparagus salad

Composition:

• 150 g salmon fillet;
• 80 g green asparagus;
• 1/2 head lettuce iceberg;
• 2 eggs;
• 4 anchovy fillets;
• 5 cherry tomatoes;
• 5 large capers (or 6-8 small) - take capers in salt, not in brine, they should be washed before use;
• 1/2 medium red onion;
• Articles 6-8l. olive oil;
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard;
• juice of half a lemon.

How to cook:

1. If you've ever cooked anyone, you can handle this salad. In practice, the main dish of Nice is repeated, instead of tuna, only oily salmon is used, and asparagus is used instead of green beans (you can also use beans).
2. Salmon is best cooked not in a hot pan or hot oven, but on steam or in a slow oven: 20-30 minutes at a temperature of 80-85 degrees, no higher (otherwise the protein will shrink and the fishwill come out tough). But you can also fry in a pan (just do not overdo it! ) - the fish should be tender and retain some transparency inside.
3. Cook the asparagus. It should be fresh, so don't overcook it! Cooking time depends on its size, so we do not recommend leaving the stove - asparagus cooks quickly.
4. Put the disassembled iceberg in a plate (salad should be washed, dried and torn into medium pieces), asparagus, salmon, disassembled into large pieces, halves of cherry tomatoes, anchovies, capers, onions, sliced rings and hard-boiled eggs (ideallycase the yolk should not remain liquid but soft). On the fields with olive oil sauce with Dijon mustard and lemon juice. You do not need to salt the dish - anchovies and capers are already salty enough.

The ketogenic diet is used by athletes engaged in continuing sports that require endurance, such as ultramarathons, triathlons, cycling and more. The body of athletes who adhere to this diet uses fat more efficiently as a source of energy and thus helps maintain glycogen stores during prolonged exercise.

Bacon and lettuce salad

Composition:

• 2 heads of lettuce the size of a palm
• 100 g of bacon;
• 8 sprigs of mint;
• 1 egg yolk;
• 6 tablespoons olive oil and a little more for frying;
• 1 tsp granulated mustard;
• 1 tbsp. sherry vinegar.

How to cook:

1. For this salad you will need to make a slightly more complex sauce: put mint leaves and mustard in a tall glass, add egg yolk, pour sherry vinegar. Beat with a blender, adding olive oil in a thin stream.
2. Cut the lettuce in half lengthwise and quickly fry over high heat. It should be lightly caramelized, ie acquire a golden brown color, remaining fresh and crunchy inside. Fry the bacon over high heat without oil or in the oven until crispy. Put lettuce, bacon and sauce on a plate. Garnish with mint leaves.