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

If twenty or thirty years ago someone had put all the products in two baskets, sorting them according to the principle of greatest and least usefulness, then today you would have to review it carefully. The strangest story at this time happened with fat - the recent main enemy of mankind has not only been fully rehabilitated, but almost declared his savior. That's right, nutritionist Chris More understands.

Recently, a patient admitted to me that she and her husband eat almost a kilogram of bacon a week - three slices for breakfast and then two more for lunch with salad. I have been working as a nutritionist for over twenty years and it may seem that nothing will surprise me, but then I still can't resist and ask: why? The patient said her husband was watching a TV show about the keto diet and they decided to give it a try. Six months on the bacon - and now the husband has lost nine kilograms and, according to his wife, he is almost overwhelmed by energy.

Increasingly, I hear from people about the wonders that the keto diet does for them. They claim that it burns fat in the body, activates and wins disease, and that in the future it is not only possible but also necessary to eat as much bacon as you want. But their enthusiasm needs at least a serious test - is a keto diet that does not limit animal fat intake really that good?

A ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-protein, high-protein diet. It was originally used to treat epilepsy in children by increasing the levels of ketones in their blood.

What is ketosis?

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

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

The breakdown of fat in the body of a healthy person and the formation of ketone bodies is a normal process, called ketogenesis. Unlike ketosis, ketogenesis does not cause dramatic weight loss. Ketosis is a pathology that, in addition to diabetes and prolonged fasting, can also be caused by a keto diet, as it almost eliminates carbohydrate products from the diet. A person who has developed ketosis loses weight dramatically, as well as some other pathologies.

A ketogenic diet forces the body to use fat as its 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 function of the brain. However, if the diet is low in carbohydrates, liver fat is converted into fatty acids and ketone bodies. Ketone bodies enter the brain and are used as an energy source instead of glucose. Increased levels of ketone bodies in the blood (ketosis) lead to a reduction in the frequency of epileptic seizures.

In the keto diet, the main part of the daily diet - from 60 to 80% - is fat, protein - about 15%, and only the remaining 10% are carbohydrates (this is about half of the small bread). At first glance, it looks like the Atkins diet, but the keto diet includes a tighter carbohydrate restriction, says Spencer Nadolski, author of The Fat Loss Prescription. Several theorists generally suggest that the less carbohydrate we eat, the more fat the body burns, which in turn improves metabolism, increases immunity - and in general, various miracles begin to happen to our body.

However, in normal life, about half of the calories we get, not a tenth of carbohydrates. So basically the question is: can your body be in ketosis long enough to reach the promised nirvana without serious health consequences? Will you literally start raging with fat?

Is a keto diet right for you?

This may sound strange, but the best diet for you is one you are used to following. For Vololek, who has been keto for twenty years, she is good, but is she right 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 weight loss study from A to Z, researchers studied the Atkins diet, zone, LEARN and some other diets, but in the study, women consumed 25 to 35% carbohydrates - not even close to the 10% who recommend limiting to a keto diet.

The only thing that is known for sure: by following a keto diet, you will really lose weight. In Italy, in 2015, they studied the performance of people sitting on it and lost an average of around 10-12 kilograms in three months. A year earlier in Spain, it turned out that in a year in this way you can lose about 20 kilograms. True, over the next year, subjects often returned to the pre-experiment weight as soon as they gave up a strict diet.

What will you eat if you decide to try it? First and foremost, it's bacon. You won't get much of the other products. Hard vegetables - potatoes, pumpkin, corn - are strictly prohibited, as are most fruits. You will also have to forget about milk, beans, rice and pasta.

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

A ketogenic diet is considered to be the optimal society for weight loss. However, according to scientific evidence, the weight loss effect 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. The energy supplied by weight loss should be less than that consumed in physical activity. One of the benefits of a ketogenic diet, like other low-carb diets, is that the ketosis produced by low-carb diets contributes to weight loss in the event of obesity. The difference in calories eaten can be up to a thousand kilocalories per day compared to low fat diets. The effects of ketogenic diets are highly dependent on the protein content of the diet.

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

So is a 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, then give it a try! If you just want to lose a few pounds and have experienced the "yo-yo effect" in the past (when a person breaks down after a strict diet and gains more weight than he managed to lose), then maybe you should not take the risk. However, if you approach the keto diet wisely, you can learn three lessons that will definitely come in handy.

1. Reduce your intake of "empty" carbohydrates. Analyze what foods you make the most of in your daily carbohydrate intake: if it comes from fruits that are rich in fiber and antioxidants, then that’s fine, but if your carbohydrate sources are candy, soda, and any food made with white flour, you know What to do: feel free to send them to the trash.
2. Do not avoid fats. The fascination with low-fat foods, which began in the 1990s, can certainly be a thing of the past. There is nothing good about it. Manufacturers often increase the amount of sugar in such products to compensate for the lack of fat. Eat fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel or sardines at least twice a week. Whatever you cook, do not skimp on vegetables, especially good - olive oil.
3. Eat lots of greens. All leafy vegetables and greens go well with fatty and protein foods - keto dieters eat a lot of them. And you do the same. Eat without cabbage, spinach, bok choy, arugula and other salads without restrictions.

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

Recipes

Salmon and asparagus salad

Ingredients:

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

How to cook:

1. If you have ever prepared nicoise, you can also handle these salads. It practically replicates the main course of Nice, takes only fat instead of tuna, and uses asparagus instead of green beans (but beans can also be used).
2. Salmon is best cooked not in a hot pan or hot oven, but on a steamed or slow cooker: 20-30 minutes at 80-85 degrees, not higher (otherwise the protein will curl and the fish turn out tough). But you can also fry in a pan (just don't overdo it! ) - the fish should be tender and have a certain transparency inside.
3. Make the asparagus. It has to be crispy, so don't overcook it! The cooking time depends on its size, so we do not recommend leaving the stove - asparagus cooks quickly.
4. Put the broken iceberg on a plate (the salad needs to be washed, dried and torn into medium pieces), asparagus, broken pieces of salmon, cherry tomato halves, anchovies, capers, rings chopped and hard-boiled onions. eggs (ideally the yolk should not remain liquid but soft). Tops with olive oil sauce with Dijon mustard and lemon juice. The dish should not be salted - anchovies and capers are already enough salt.

The ketogenic diet is used by athletes who maintain endurance sports such as ultramarathon, triathlon, cycling, and so on. The body of athletes who follow this diet uses fat more efficiently as an energy source and thus helps to maintain glycogen stores in a sustained effort.

Lard and lettuce salad

Ingredients:

• 2 palm-sized lettuce heads
• 100 g of bacon;
• 8 sprigs of mint;
• 1 egg yolk;
• 6 tbsp. k. l. olive oil and a little more for frying;
• 1 teaspoon of mustard;
• 1 tbsp. k. l. sherry vinegar.

How to cook:

1. For this salad you will need to prepare a slightly more complex sauce: put mint leaves and mustard in a tall glass, add egg yolk, pour sherry vinegar. Foam with a blender while adding olive oil in a thin stream.
2. Lettuce cut lengthwise in half and quickly fry on high heat. It should caramelize slightly, that is, get a golden brown color, remaining fresh and crisp inside. Bake the bacon on a high heat without oil or in the oven until crispy. Put salad, bacon and sauce on a plate. Garnish with mint leaves.