Burning fat by eating fat - it sounds too good to be true, right? But following keto diet rules, this is reality. The keto diet follows a low-carb, high-fat approach to eating that consists of about 75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% net carbs. Research has shown that embracing the rules of keto not only promotes fat loss but has the ability to improve certain conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cognitive decline. So, what are keto basics that we should know? And how does the keto diet work?
What is the Keto Diet?
The ketogenic or “keto” diet is a low-carbohydrate, fat-rich eating plan that has been used for centuries to treat specific medical conditions. In the 19th century, the ketogenic diet was commonly used to help control diabetes. In 1920 it was introduced as an effective treatment for epilepsy in children in whom medication was ineffective. Though it may seem newer to your newsfeed, the ketogenic diet has been around since the 1920s. The keto diet is all about cutting carbs and eating more fat, similar to the Atkins diet from the 1970s. Today, other low-carb diets including the Paleo, South Beach, and Dukan diets are all high in protein but moderate in fat.
The keto diet reduces your total carb intake to less than 50 grams a day. This is the equivalent of a cup of white rice. The keto diet excludes carb-rich foods like grains, beans, fruits and starchy vegetables. Roshini G. Merneedi, RD, a dietitian at Northwestern Medicine, explains that your body's primary energy source is glucose, which comes from the breakdown of carbohydrates. The keto diet limits carbohydrates, forcing your body to burn fat for fuel instead. Once the body is running primarily off of ketones, myriad other benefits to health and wellness appear.
How the Keto Diet Works
The premise of the ketogenic diet for weight loss is that if you deprive the body of glucose-the main source of energy for all cells in the body, which is obtained by eating carbohydrate foods-an alternative fuel called ketones is produced from stored fat (thus, the term “keto”-genic). The brain demands the most glucose in a steady supply, about 120 grams daily, because it cannot store glucose. During fasting, or when very little carbohydrate is eaten, the body first pulls stored glucose from the liver and temporarily breaks down muscle to release glucose. If this continues for 3-4 days and stored glucose is fully depleted, blood levels of a hormone called insulin decrease, and the body begins to use fat as its primary fuel.
When these stores are full, they are converted into fat. In this state, your body breaks down fats into molecules called ketones. Ketones serve as an alternative fuel source.
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Understanding Key Terms
- Glucose: Glucose is the easiest molecule for the body to convert to energy. This is the reason that carbohydrate intake will negate the ability of the body to enter ketosis.
- Insulin: Insulin aids in the transport of glucose around the body.
- Ketosis: Ketosis is defined as the process by which your body breaks down fatty acids to produce ketones in the liver, which can supply both the brain and body with energy.
Basic Keto Rules
When it comes to deciding what to eat, keto rules are pretty simple. Eat mostly healthy fats (about 75% of your daily calories should come from fats), moderate protein intake (about 20%) and minimal carbs (no more than 5%). When starting any kind of diet can be tough, but especially the ketogenic diet. Following keto diet rules is not only about changing your diet, but it's about changing your lifestyle.
Macronutrient Ratios
The cornerstone of the ketogenic diet, healthy fats are where you'll get the majority of your caloric energy each day. Counter to much of the propaganda surrounding high-fat low-carb diets, keto requires full-fat ingredients (you need it to replace those carbs). This ratio represents the standard macronutrient breakdown for a keto diet per day.
- Fats (70-80%): Strong emphasis on fats at each meal and snack to meet the high-fat requirement. Most ketogenic plans allow foods high in saturated fat, such as fatty cuts of meat, processed meats, lard, and butter, as well as sources of unsaturated fats, such as nuts, seeds, avocados, plant oils, and oily fish. Animal fat (eg. Try our succulent steak tips, cooked to perfection and bathed in a delicious peppercorn sauce. Those listed above are saturated and largely unprocessed fats. That's key because fats in processed junk foods are different.
- Protein (10-20%): Resist the urge to start shoveling protein when you switch to a keto diet. In fact, 25% represents a typical quantity of protein for an average person. That said, choosing good proteins is still a priority. Look for other sources of protein intake as well! Many vegetables have appreciable amounts of protein. Protein stays moderate.
- Carbohydrates (5-10%): It bears repeating, one of the most important tenets of the ketogenic diet is reducing your carb intake per day to near zero. Most carbs become simply sugars in the gut, providing only short-term energy and contributing to negative health factors in the long term. Certain fruits in small portions like berries. Fruits other than from the allowed list, unless factored into designated carbohydrate restriction. 5% of calories from carbohydrates, including low-carb, non-starchy vegetables and small amounts of leafy greens.
Foods to Avoid
Avoiding certain foods might be tricky when first getting started with basic keto rules, but not impossible. Make sure you pay attention to the number of carbs you're eating as you could easily throw off your progress and get kicked out of a ketogenic state. Many items are prevalent in our food culture.
- Grains: Wheat, barley, oats, rice, quinoa, sorghum. All of it. No bread, pasta, or rice. Nothing prominently featuring cereals or grains.
- Fruits: Believe it or not, fruit is on the list. Even most fruits contain too high a quantity of carbs to eat regularly on a keto diet.
- Sugary foods: soda, fruit juice, smoothies, cake, ice cream, candy, etc.
- Grains or starches: wheat-based products, rice, pasta, cereal, etc.
- Fruit: all fruit, except small portions of berries or strawberries
- Beans or legumes: peas, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, etc.
- Root vegetables and tubers: potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc.
- Low fat or diet products: low fat mayonnaise, salad dressings, and condiments
- Some condiments or sauces: barbecue sauce, honey mustard, teriyaki sauce, ketchup, etc.
- Unhealthy fats: processed vegetable oils, mayonnaise, etc.
- Alcohol: beer, wine, liquor, mixed drinks
- Sugar-free diet foods: sugar-free candies, syrups, puddings, sweeteners, desserts, etc.
Foods to Embrace
Choose lower carb foods such as grass-fed meat, wild-caught fish, eggs, leafy vegetables, and high-quality fats.
- Meat: red meat, steak, ham, sausage, bacon, chicken, and turkey
- Fatty fish: salmon, trout, tuna, and mackerel
- Eggs: pastured or omega-3 whole eggs
- Butter and cream: grass-fed butter and heavy cream
- Cheese: unprocessed cheeses like cheddar, goat, cream, blue, or mozzarella
- Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, etc.
- Healthy oils: extra virgin olive oil, and avocado oil
- Avocados: whole avocados or freshly made guacamole
- Low carb veggies: green veggies, tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc.
- Condiments: salt, pepper, herbs, and spices
Net Carbs vs. Total Carbs
Here's an important concept when you're evaluating your carbohydrate intake. Fiber is a carb, but it is processed differently by the body. "Net carbs” and “impact carbs” are familiar phrases in ketogenic diets as well as diabetic diets. They are unregulated interchangeable terms invented by food manufacturers as a marketing strategy, appearing on some food labels to claim that the product contains less “usable” carbohydrate than is listed. Net carbs or impact carbs are the amount of carbohydrate that are directly absorbed by the body and contribute calories. They are calculated by subtracting the amount of indigestible carbohydrates from the total carbohydrate amount. Indigestible (unabsorbed) carbohydrates include insoluble fibers from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables; and sugar alcohols, such as mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol commonly used in sugar-free diabetic food products. However, these calculations are not an exact or reliable science because the effect of sugar alcohols on absorption and blood sugar can vary. Some sugar alcohols may still contribute calories and raise blood sugar. The total calorie level also does not change despite the amount of net carbs, which is an important factor with weight loss. To find your net carbs, subtract the carbs from fiber from the total carbs.
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Types of Ketogenic Diets
There are several different styles of keto diets.
- Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD): This is the standard diet an individual new to the keto diet would follow if they were first starting out. This is a very low carb, moderate protein and high fat diet. It typically contains 70% fat, 20% protein, and only 10% carbs . This is the original and best-studied of the different diet strategies. All foods must be weighed on a scale to achieve a relative weight distribution of 4 grams of fat for every 1 gram of combined protein and carb eaten throughout the day. In other words, you will likely need to avoid all carb-rich foods (like pasta, potatoes, fruit, etc.). A typical meal might look like half an avocado with a small piece of salmon cooked in a lot of olive oil with a side salad. It will all be topped with a cream sauce made with heavy cream and cheese.
- Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD): The CKD is more suited for athletes and active individuals alike who simply need the carbs to fuel their intense training sessions. The keto rules of this diet involves a period of higher-carb refeeds during the week. This diet involves periods of higher carb refeeds, such as 5 ketogenic days followed by 2 high carb days.
- Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD): The TKD is also meant for more active individuals who struggle with energy during their workouts, but it's less intense compared to the CKD. This diet allows you to add carbs around workouts.
- High-Protein Ketogenic Diet: The keto diet rules from this diet isn't too far off from the Standard Ketogenic Diet, however, it does include more protein. This is similar to a standard ketogenic diet, but includes more protein. The ratio is often 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs. This diet generally still requires a scale for weighing food. It's defined by a ratio closer to 3 grams of fat for every 1 gram of combined protein and carb (generally with a focus on more protein than carbs). In other words, you'll still avoid most carb-rich foods except for maybe one or two servings per day.
- Modified Ketogenic Diet: This diet is the more user-friendly keto diet and likely the most popular. These diets generally avoid all starchy foods (pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, corn, peas, beans and legumes). Desserts and any other high-carb foods are also not part of the diet.
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.
Benefits of Following Keto Basics
When it comes to the health benefits you can gain from following keto basics, the list goes on and on in both the short term and the long term. The ketogenic diet has been shown to produce beneficial metabolic changes in the short-term. Along with weight loss, health parameters associated with carrying excess weight have improved, such as insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. There is also growing interest in the use of low-carbohydrate diets, including the ketogenic diet, for type 2 diabetes.
Weight Loss
It can not only help you lose weight, but studies show that the keto diet is superior to the often recommended low-fat diet for weight loss.
- Overweight and obese individuals have had tremendous success with weight loss following keto diet rules. One study, in particular, found that people on a keto diet lose 2.2 times the amount of weight than those on a calorie-restricted low-fat diet. The keto diet is also known to turn your body into a fat-burning machine.
- Research suggests that the keto diet helps people cut calories because the diet doesn't include many foods that people are likely to overeat. However, it can be difficult to transition off of the keto diet without regaining weight. That's because people typically start eating more high-carb foods.
- A ketogenic diet can help you lose slightly more weight than a low fat diet. This often happens with less hunger.
Reduces Inflammation
While inflammation is a natural biological response, chronic inflammation is a bad thing. Sticking to keto basics can help reduce inflammation in the body by switching off a number of different inflammatory pathway.
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Improves Brain Function
When you start following keto basics, your brain switches to ketones as fuel instead of carbs. Running off of ketones, you experience fewer energy slumps as you do when compared to eating a lot of carbs. Ketosis helps clear the brain of brain fog while creating more mitochondria (cells that help generate energy and power).
Other Potential Health Benefits
Studies have now shown that the diet can have benefits for a wide variety of different health conditions:
- Heart disease: The ketogenic diet can help improve risk factors like body fat, HDL (good) cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar .
- Cancer: The diet is currently being explored as an additional treatment for cancer, because it may help slow tumor growth.
- 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.
Potential Side Effects and How to Manage Them
While the ketogenic diet may be intimidating at first, there’s no cause for alarm. Although the ketogenic diet is usually safe for most healthy people, there may be some initial side effects while your body adapts.
- Keto Flu: When the body is first adjusting to ketosis, many have found a series of flu-like symptoms develop. There’s some anecdotal evidence of these effects often referred to as the keto flu Based on reports from some on the eating plan, it’s usually over within a few days.
- Nutritional deficiencies: Switching to keto diet foods without thorough planning can remove key nutrients from the diet. The keto diet is very low in carbs which means you can't eat many fruits and vegetables. Constipation is likely the greatest long-term complication of the keto diet because of a low fiber intake. Fiber is a form of carb that is digested not by our human cells, but by the microbes in our gut. Any high-fiber foods (like beans, whole grains, and certain fruits) are also high in carbs, which is not typically part of the keto diet. Possible nutrient deficiencies may arise if a variety of recommended foods on the ketogenic diet are not included. It is important to not solely focus on eating high-fat foods, but to include a daily variety of the allowed meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds to ensure adequate intakes of fiber, B vitamins, and minerals (iron, magnesium, zinc)-nutrients typically found in foods like whole grains that are restricted from the diet.
- Possible negative effects on heart health: There are mixed results in studies that examine the specific effects of the keto diet on heart health. This is likely because much of it depends on individual food choices. The high-fat nature of the diet could also have negative impacts on heart health. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat intake to less than 6%. “In practice, many people eat high amounts of saturated fats, which could increase your risk of heart disease,” says Dr. Cheema. “You may be eating a lot of fatty meat thinking it’s a good thing for you because it's high in fat. This can dramatically alter your lipid profile. While high-fat diets can elevate LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, the type of saturated fat matters. The bottom line is that having more fats in your diet can lead to higher cholesterol. “We know that higher cholesterol tends to increase your chances of heart attacks and strokes,” says Dr. Cheema.
- Kidney Issues: The keto diet may not be appropriate for everyone, specifically people with kidney disease. “Although more research is needed in that area, there is some suggestion that it can make kidney disease worse over time,” says Dr. Some people also experience dehydration on the keto diet because they’re eliminating glycogen, which holds water, from the bloodstream. There can be issues with bone health when people switch to low-carb keto diets. Researchers see that markers for bone breakdown are higher and markers for bone building are lower.
- Electrolyte Imbalance: A ketogenic diet can also change the water and mineral balance of your body, so adding extra salt to your meals or taking mineral supplements may help. Talk to your doctor about your nutritional needs.
Minimizing Side Effects
To minimize this, you can try a regular low carb diet for the first few weeks. This may teach your body to burn more fat before you completely eliminate carbs. At least in the beginning, it’s important to eat until you’re full and avoid restricting calories too much. Usually, a ketogenic diet causes weight loss without intentional calorie restriction.
Tips for Sticking to the Keto Diet
Starting any kind of diet can be tough, but especially the ketogenic diet. Following keto diet rules is not only about changing your diet, but it's about changing your lifestyle.
- Read Food Labels: Learning how to read food labels is key in sticking within keto diet rules.
- Seek Support: If your friends and loved ones closest to you know that you're trying to follow keto diet rules and change your lifestyle (and that it means a lot to you), they're more likely to be supportive and choose places with your goals in mind.
- Plan Ahead: If you're going out for Mexican food, you may be a bit too tempted to eat those chips. If you're traveling, be sure to plan ahead. Make sure you research places to eat and snack. If you're visiting family or going to a gathering, take keto-friendly snacks you know you can eat.
- Eat Out Strategically: Order this and replace any high carb food with extra vegetables. Egg-based meals are also a great option, such as an omelet or eggs and bacon. Another favorite is bun-less burgers. You could also swap the fries for vegetables instead. Add extra avocado, cheese, bacon, or eggs. At Mexican restaurants, you can enjoy any type of meat with extra cheese, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream. For dessert, ask for a mixed cheese board or berries with cream.
Sample Keto Meal Plan
- Monday: Veggie and egg muffins with tomatoes; Chicken salad with olive oil, feta cheese, olives, and a side salad; Salmon with asparagus cooked in butter
- Tuesday: Egg, tomato, basil, and spinach omelet; Almond milk, peanut butter, spinach, cocoa powder, and stevia milkshake with a side of sliced strawberries; Cheese-shell tacos with salsa
- Wednesday: Nut milk chia pudding topped with coconut and blackberries; Avocado shrimp salad; Pork chops with Parmesan cheese, broccoli, and salad
- Thursday: Omelet with avocado, salsa, peppers, onion, and spices; A handful of nuts and celery sticks with guacamole and salsa; Chicken stuffed with pesto and cream cheese, and a side of grilled zucchini
- Friday: Sugar-free Greek, whole milk yogurt with peanut butter, cocoa powder, and berries; Ground beef lettuce wrap tacos with sliced bell peppers; Loaded cauliflower and mixed veggies
- Saturday: Cream cheese pancakes with blueberries and a side of grilled mushrooms; Zucchini and beet “noodle” salad; White fish cooked in olive oil with kale and toasted pine nuts
- Sunday: Fried eggs with and mushroomslunch; Low carb sesame chicken and broccoli; Spaghetti squash Bolognese
Always try to rotate the vegetables and meat over the long term, as each type provides different nutrients and health benefits.