The ketogenic (keto) diet has surged in popularity within the fitness and health community, largely due to its association with various health benefits, most notably weight loss. This diet essentially reprograms your body to utilize stored fat as its primary energy source instead of carbohydrates. Given the rising prevalence of health issues like obesity, often linked to sedentary lifestyles, the keto diet has garnered significant attention. However, it has also faced scrutiny, with many questioning its long-term effects on overall health, especially heart function. This article aims to address these concerns by exploring the science behind the keto diet, its benefits, potential health risks, and providing a structured 28-day meal plan for beginners.
Understanding the Keto Diet
The keto diet is characterized as a very low-carb diet. It restricts carbohydrate consumption while emphasizing foods rich in healthy fats and proteins. The goal is to deplete the body's carb reserves, prompting it to break down fat for energy. This process, known as ketosis, can aid in weight loss and potentially manage certain medical conditions. However, it's crucial to consult with a healthcare professional before starting this diet to ensure its safety for your specific health profile.
In a keto diet, approximately 99% of your energy intake comes from fats, with only 1% from carbs. This shift forces the body to burn fat for energy, producing chemicals called ketone bodies.
Keto Basics
The ketogenic diet is a very low carb, high fat diet that shares many similarities with the Atkins and low carb diets. It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When this happens, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy. It also turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain. Ketogenic diets can cause significant reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels. This, along with the increased ketones, has some health benefits .
Ketosis is a metabolic state in which your body uses fat for fuel instead of carbs. It occurs when you significantly reduce your consumption of carbohydrates, limiting your body’s supply of glucose (sugar), which is the main source of energy for the cells.
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Following a ketogenic diet is the most effective way to enter ketosis. Generally, this involves limiting carb consumption to around 20 to 50 grams per day and filling up on fats, such as meat, fish, eggs, nuts, and healthy oils . It’s also important to moderate your protein consumption. This is because protein can be converted into glucose if consumed in high amounts, which may slow your transition into ketosis .
Practicing intermittent fasting could also help you enter ketosis faster. There are many different forms of intermittent fasting, but the most common method involves limiting food intake to around 8 hours per day and fasting for the remaining 16 hours .
Blood, urine, and breath tests are available, which can help determine whether you’ve entered ketosis by measuring the amount of ketones produced by your body. Certain symptoms may also indicate that you’ve entered ketosis, including increased thirst, dry mouth, frequent urination, and decreased hunger or appetite .
Different Types of Keto Diets
There are several versions of the ketogenic diet, and what you eat depends on the type. They include:
- Standard ketogenic diet (SKD): This is a very low carb, moderate protein and high fat diet. It typically contains 70% fat, 20% protein, and only 10% carbs.
- Cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD): This diet involves periods of higher carb refeeds, such as 5 ketogenic days followed by 2 high carb days.
- Targeted ketogenic diet (TKD): This diet allows you to add carbs around workouts.
- High protein ketogenic diet: This is similar to a standard ketogenic diet, but includes more protein. The ratio is often 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs.
However, only the standard and high protein ketogenic diets have been studied extensively. Cyclical or targeted ketogenic diets are more advanced methods and primarily used by bodybuilders or athletes. The information in this article mostly applies to the standard ketogenic diet (SKD), although many of the same principles also apply to the other versions.
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Foods to Embrace and Avoid on a Keto Diet
Before embarking on a 28-day keto diet plan, it's essential to understand the dietary guidelines, including which foods to include and exclude.
Keto-Friendly Foods
- Vegetables: Prioritize non-starchy vegetables for fiber, vitamins, and minerals. You can eat vegetables such as cauliflower, tomatoes, mushrooms, celery, onions, asparagus, broccoli, and any other non-starchy vegetable.
- Protein Sources: Obtain proteins from diverse sources. Meat: beef, venison, pork, organ meats, and bison. Poultry: chicken and turkey. Fatty fish: salmon, herring, and mackerel. Eggs: pastured, organic, or conventional all work fine.
- Healthful Fats: Incorporate healthful unsaturated fats from sources like olive, avocados, sesame, and hemp seed oil. Healthy oils: extra virgin olive oil, and avocado oil. Avocados: whole avocados or freshly made guacamole.
- Dairy Products: Some of the dairy products you can consume include full-fat yoghurt, cream, butter, and full-fat cheese. Full-fat dairy: unsweetened yogurt, butter, and cream, but check the labels as dairy does contain some carbs. Full-fat cheese: cheddar, mozzarella, brie, goat cheese, and cream cheese.
- Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, etc. Nut butter: no-sugar-added peanut, almond, and cashew butters
- Keto-Friendly Drinks: Water is the best option. Stay hydrated by flavoring water with citrus slices or mint leaves. Keto-friendly beverage choices include: Water. Water is the best choice for hydration and should be consumed throughout the day. Sparkling water. Sparkling water can make an excellent soda replacement. Unsweetened coffee. Try using heavy cream to add flavor to your cup of coffee. Unsweetened green tea. Green tea is delicious and may provide many health benefits.
- Pantry Staples: Stock up on dried herbs and spices, garlic and onion powder, and fish and soy sauce. Condiments: salt, pepper, vinegar, lemon juice, fresh herbs, and spices.
Foods to Limit or Avoid
Since the keto diet is a low-carb plan, you must avoid multiple carbohydrate sources, whether refined or whole-grain.
- Grains and starches: wheat-based products, rice, pasta, cereal, etc. Bread and baked goods: white bread, whole wheat bread, crackers, cookies, doughnuts, and rolls. Grains and grain products: wheat, rice, oats, breakfast cereals, and tortillas
- Sugary foods: soda, fruit juice, smoothies, cake, ice cream, candy, etc. Sweets and sugary foods: sugar, ice cream, candy, maple syrup, honey, agave syrup, and coconut sugar. Sweetened beverages: soda, juice, sweetened teas, and sports drinks
- Fruit: all fruit, except small portions of berries or strawberries
- Beans or legumes: peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc. Beans and legumes: black beans, chickpeas, lentils, and kidney beans
- Root vegetables and tubers: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc. Starchy vegetables: potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, corn, peas, and pumpkin
- Low fat or diet products: low fat mayonnaise, salad dressings, and condiments
- Some condiments or sauces: barbecue sauce, honey mustard, teriyaki sauce, ketchup, etc. High carb sauces: barbecue sauce, ketchup, honey mustard, sugary salad dressings, and dipping sauces
- Unhealthy fats: processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc.
- Alcohol: beer, wine, liquor, mixed drinks. Certain alcoholic beverages: beer and sugary mixed drinks
- Sugar-free diet foods: sugar-free candies, syrups, puddings, sweeteners, desserts, etc.
Potential Benefits of the Keto Diet
The keto diet attracts many due to its potential health benefits.
- Weight Loss: The keto diet can promote weight loss by boosting metabolic rate, increasing satiety, and prolonging the feeling of fullness. A ketogenic diet can help you lose slightly more weight than a low fat diet. This often happens with less hunger.
- Cancer Prevention and Treatment: Some believe the keto diet can help prevent or treat certain cancers, but There is not yet enough long-term research in humans to support the anecdotally-described health benefits of the keto diet. The diet is currently being explored as an additional treatment for cancer, because it may help slow tumor growth.
- Heart Health: Healthy fats, such as those found in avocados, may improve heart health by reducing cholesterol levels. The ketogenic diet can help improve risk factors like body fat, HDL (good) cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar.
- Diabetes Management: The diet may benefit individuals with type 2 diabetes by helping maintain low but healthy glucose levels, reducing blood sugar spikes. The ketogenic diet can boost insulin sensitivity and cause fat loss, leading to significant health benefits for people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.
Studies have now shown that the diet can have benefits for a wide variety of different health conditions:
- Alzheimer’s disease. The keto diet may help reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and slow its progression .
- Epilepsy. Research has shown that the ketogenic diet can cause significant reductions in seizures in epileptic children .
- Parkinson’s disease. Although more research is needed, one study found that the diet helped improve symptoms of Parkinson’s disease .
- Polycystic ovary syndrome. The ketogenic diet can help reduce insulin levels, which may play a key role in polycystic ovary syndrome .
- Brain injuries. Some research suggests that the diet could improve outcomes of traumatic brain injuries .
However, keep in mind that research into many of these areas is far from conclusive.
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Potential Health Risks and Side Effects
While beneficial, the keto diet can also lead to side effects, especially during the initial stages.
- The Keto Flu: This is common in those new to the diet, characterized by nausea, vomiting, fatigue, insomnia, dizziness, constipation, headaches, and endurance issues. Reported keto flu symptoms include diarrhea, constipation, and vomiting . Other less common symptoms include: poor energy and mental function increased hunger sleep issues nauseadigestive discomfort decreased exercise performance
- Various Health Conditions: Long-term adherence to the keto diet may increase the risk of kidney stones, fatty liver disease, and hypoproteinemia (lower than normal protein levels).
Long-Term Risks
While the keto diet has its benefits, staying on it in the long term may have some negative effects, including risks of the following:
- low protein in the blood
- extra fat in the liver
- kidney stones
- micronutrient deficiencies
A type of medication called sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors for type 2 diabetes can increase the risk for diabetic ketoacidosis, a dangerous condition that increases blood acidity. Anyone taking this medication should avoid the keto diet .
More research is being done to determine the safety of the keto diet in the long term. Keep your doctor informed of your eating plan to guide your choices.
Sample 28-Day Keto Meal Plan
Here’s a sample 1-week ketogenic menu that can be altered depending on individual dietary needs:
Monday
- Breakfast: two eggs fried in butter served with sauteed greens
- Lunch: a bunless burger topped with cheese, mushrooms, and avocado atop a bed of greens
- Dinner: pork chops with green beans sauteed in olive oil
Tuesday
- Breakfast: mushroom omelet
- Lunch: tuna salad with celery and tomato atop a bed of greens
- Dinner: roast chicken with cream sauce and sauteed broccoli
Wednesday
- Breakfast: bell pepper stuffed with cheese and eggs
- Lunch: arugula salad with hard-boiled eggs, turkey, avocado, and blue cheese
- Dinner: grilled salmon with spinach sauteed in sesame oil
Thursday
- Breakfast: full-fat yogurt topped with Keto granola
- Lunch: steak bowl with cauliflower rice, cheese, herbs, avocado, and salsa
- Dinner: bison steak with cheesy broccoli
Friday
- Breakfast: baked avocado egg boats
- Lunch: Caesar salad with chicken
- Dinner: pork chops with vegetables
Saturday
- Breakfast: cauliflower toast topped with cheese and avocado
- Lunch: bunless salmon burgers topped with pesto
- Dinner: meatballs served with zucchini noodles and Parmesan cheese
Sunday
- Breakfast: coconut milk chia pudding topped with coconut and walnuts
- Lunch: Cobb salad made with greens, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, cheese, and turkey
- Dinner: coconut chicken curry
Additional Meal Ideas
Here are other keto-friendly meal plan ideas you can consider for your 28-day keto diet plan. If not, you can still use them as a guide to create your meal plan.
Day one
Day one of your keto journey begins with comforting cinnamon porridge, a fresh and vibrant avocado salad and a succulent roast chicken dinner that sets you up for the rest of the week (Julia Stotz)
Today’s dinner recipe makes enough roast chicken for you to use in other recipes throughout the week.
Breakfast
Cinnamon porridge
Serves: 1
Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 tbsp almond flour
- 2 tbsp ground linseeds (flaxseeds)
- 160ml (5½ fl oz) coconut milk
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra
For topping:
- 6 raspberries
Method:
- Combine flour, linseeds, milk, oil, salt, cinnamon and 100ml (3½ fl oz) water in a pan over medium heat and stir until mixture begins to thicken. Transfer to a bowl and top with raspberries and extra cinnamon. Serve.
Nutrition per serving: 383 cals / 34g fat / 14.5g carbs / 9.3g fibre /5.2g net carbs / 9g protein
Lunch
Avocado and prosciutto salad with blue cheese
Serves: 1
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 75g (2¾ oz) mixed leaves
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 6 prosciutto slices
- 60ml (¼ cup) Blue Cheese Dressing (see below)
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Place mixed leaves in a bowl and top with avocado and prosciutto. Top with dressing and season to taste.
Nutrition per serving: 578 cals / 47g fat / 20.9g carbs / 11.7g fibre / 9.2g net carbs / 23g protein (without blue cheese dressing)
Blue cheese dressing
Makes: 300ml (10fl oz)
Serving size: 40ml
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 60ml (¼ cup) buttermilk
- 60ml (¼ cup) sour cream
- 2 tbsp Avocado Oil Mayo (see below)
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 115g (4oz) blue cheese, crumbled
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp finely chopped shallot
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Place buttermilk, sour cream, mayo, oil, vinegar and blue cheese in a bowl and whisk together until combined well. Fold in remaining ingredients. Season to taste. Store in fridge for up to a week.
Nutrition per serving: 117 cals / 12g fat / 2g carbs / 0g fibre / 2g net carbs / 1g protein
Avocado oil mayo
Makes: 200ml (7fl oz)
Serving size: 1 tbsp
Prep time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 large egg yolks (at room temperature)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- 240ml (8fl oz) avocado oil
- 1½ tsp apple cider vinegar
Method: