Ketogenic Diet : A New Trend Everywhere

Diet trends circulate the internet as many look for quick fixes to lose weight or look and feel better. One such diet is the ketogenic diet, which has been popular for quite a while. However, the original purpose of this diet was the solution to a medical issue. More than a diet, keto is a dietary therapy that focuses on eating fewer carbohydrates and more fats. Anticonvulsant drugs in the 1920s and 1930s were used to treat people with epilepsy, however, not many responded well to the drugs. To this group, a ketogenic diet was prescribed which helped them manage the condition better. The way keto works is by replacing the traditional amount of carbohydrate intake with fat. This puts the body into a state known as ketosis which makes the body more efficient at burning fat and producing energy. As glucose is primarily used by the body as a source of energy, keto diet induces ketosis to make the body switch to burning fat as fuel. Protein intake should also be monitored, as a source found that consuming too much protein would lead to glucose conversion, thus slowing down one’s progress towards reaching ketosis. 

Understanding how ketosis works is an important part when starting a keto diet. Ketosis is a process that the body goes through on an everyday basis, regardless of the number of carbs you eat. This is because this process provides us with energy from ketones whenever sugar is not readily available.

In fact, you may have already experienced a very mild level of ketosis if you ever skipped a meal or two, didn’t eat many carbs during the day or exercised for longer than an hour. By doing one of these three things, you can initiate the process of ketosis.

Whenever the need for energy increases and carbohydrates aren’t available to meet that demand, the body starts increasing its ketone levels. If carbs are restricted for a more significant amount of time (i.e., longer than three days), then the body will increase ketone levels even further. These deeper levels of ketosis confer many positive effects throughout the body — effects that are experienced in the safest and healthiest way possible by following the ketogenic diet.

However, most people are rarely in ketosis and never experience its benefits because the body prefers to use sugar as its primary fuel source — especially if plenty of carbs and protein are provided by the diet. 

There are several versions of ketogenic diet, including,

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 body-builders or athletes.

Today, keto diet is a popular route that many are opting for, to reach their weight loss goals. Being a diet that is low fat in nature, the body becomes much more efficient at burning calories using fat as fuel. The emphasis on eating healthy fats also leads to quality nutrition as compared to processed foods. Keto diet has also shown to lower the risk factors for diabetes, heart disease and reduce insulin levels which play a role in managing polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which is very common nowadays in girls. More than 80% of girls are facing this problem which results in infertility.

Like many other diets, the keto diet has its fair share of pros and cons. When adapting to any new diet, the body goes through adaptation which may take a few days or weeks. People switching to the keto diet may see these changes before the body completely syncs with the diet. 

•  Unable to push hard during workouts

•  Hunger pangs

•  Sleep issues

However, a few side effects of the diet itself are as follows:

•  Micronutrient deficiency Excess calcium in urine (Hypercalciuria)

•  Kidney stones

Keto diet has proven effective for weight loss, diabetics and other diseases. However, like all other diets, consulting a nutritionist is the key as self prescription may do more harm than good. A nutritionist can also guide one to the right way to do the keto diet without compromising on taste or health.