Keto diet, according to Harvard University, ” aims to force your body into using a different type of fuel”
Introduction
Today we’ll be
talking about the ketogenic diet
otherwise known as the keto diet super
popular diet but what is it what kind of
foods can you eat is it good for you
what are the downsides of trying keto
plus we’ll give you some meal ideas and
hopefully help you decide if trying the
keto diet is right for you
what is the keto diet
it’s a high fat
Keto is a high-fat, moderate-protein, ultra-low-carb diet
moderate protein ultra low carbohydrate
diet so very different than the way that
most people eat the ketogenic diet is
set up so that about 70 of your calories
come from fat about 20 from protein and
no more than 10 percent of your calories
are coming from carbohydrates the idea
behind the keto diet is that it puts
Your body in ketosis
normally our
bodies run mostly on carbs we break down
the carbohydrates we eat into smaller
molecules into simple sugars called
glucose and then we’re able to absorb
that and use that as energy when there’s
no carbohydrates left we can tap into
the small amount of carb sources we have
in our muscle but most of our energy
stored as fat in the body or if we’re
not eating any carbs we can get that
energy from fat in our diet so what
types of foods can you eat on a
ketogenic diet
What food can I eat on a keto diet?
carbs so think about foods like meat red
meat pork chicken bacon and sausage you
can eat nuts and seeds you can eat low
carb vegetables so think about spinach
asparagus and again some of those
moderate carbohydrate containing veggies
like onions and peppers may also have a
place in your diet because it’s not zero
carbs it’s just low carbs so some fruits
you may find on a ketogenic diet like
berries tend to be lower in
carbohydrates than fruits like mango
pineapple and bananas you can also
include lots of different oils and fats
in your diet so avocado oil olive oil
butter coconut oil those can all be part
of your diet so when it comes to the
list of foods you can’t eat you may
think that feels a little bit longer
when you decide to start a keto diet
because some of your favorite foods like
pasta rice brownies ice cream so
anything that’s super starchy anything
that’s really sweet might not be allowed
on keto diet because of the carb intake
or the carb count on those Foods those
are some foods you can eat on the keto
diet but how might it come together at
Meal Time
now it helps if you know how to cook and
you have a little bit of creativity but
some breakfast ideas on a ketogenic diet
might be a Cheesy omelette so you’re
having eggs cheese and you add some of
those non-starchy vegetables in maybe
asparagus or a little bit of peppers A
lot of people doing keto may also stray
from traditional breakfast foods and
have some other meats or avocado for
breakfast so again instead of putting
avocado on toast you might use avocado
as a topper for an omelette or an egg
muffin so that you’re keeping that fat
high and those carbs low some lunch and
dinner ideas for the ketogenic diet
might be putting together things like
chicken salad or a shrimp salad making
them with the full fat versions of
mayonnaise or Greek yogurt serving them
with a side of greens dressed with olive
oil you can get creative with different
stir fries again using low carbohydrate
sauces to put together meals and instead
of serving your meals with rice or over
noodles you can make zucchini noodles or
try cauliflower rice so what a little
bit of creativity you can still have a
diet that has a lot of different varied
fat sources vegetable sources again
trying some of those things for snacks
that may be lower in carbs like berries
paired with something higher in fat like
a full fat Greek yogurt and then again
sometimes just grabbing a handful of
nuts or something like that which are
higher in fat do have a little bit of
carbs but not a lot also the keto diet
may seem really appealing because
technically you could eat all the bacon
and sausage and cheeseburgers without
buns that you want and still maintain
your fat and carb ratios you could do
that but then you’d be getting a lot of
processed meat in your diet which isn’t
linked with great health outcomes so to
truly get the benefits you’re going to
want to focus on eating things like
sardines and salmon and avocado and nuts
and less of the ultra processed foods
let’s talk benefits of following a
ketogenic diet
Benefits of keto
most people who follow a keto diet will
lose weight while you get to eat all
those high fat foods you’re probably
ending up consuming fewer calories than
you were on whatever way of eating you
were before you went keto that’s because
it’s really hard to overeat high fat
foods they’re very satisfying very
filling and so you tend to have smaller
portion sizes and a lot of those easy to
grab snack foods like potato chips
pretzels popcorn those won’t fit on your
diet so weight loss tends to be at least
a short-term benefit for people
following a ketogenic diet the keto diet
may also be easier to follow than some
more complicated diets once you have an
awareness of how many carbs are in a
food you have a good sense of whether or
not you can eat it and you don’t
necessarily need to be counting calories
or tracking any of your intake as long
as you stick to choosing those high fat
and lower carbohydrate Foods more often
low carb diets in general have been
popular for a long time so there’s
typically something for you to work with
there but it does require some cooking
skills some basic nutrition knowledge
what’s really interesting about the
ketogenic diet is beyond weight loss its
effect on certain chronic conditions so
the diet actually came into existence in
the 1920s as a way to help kids who have
epilepsy stop their seizures so there is
some promising research around following
a keto diet and reducing your risk or
helping manage symptoms for certain
neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s
Ms and Parkinson’s the research is
really preliminary because it wasn’t
until recently that more people were
trying keto and more researchers were
looking into its effects but we do know
that it changes the way that your brain
gets Fuel and there may be some benefits
to following a ketogenic diet for those
neurological conditions that said we
really need to do more research to learn
more and when it comes to Chronic
conditions and a keto diet it’s not all
good news
Downsides of the keto diet
a recent study found that eating a keto
diet or a very low carb diet may
increase your risk of heart disease and
again I think it comes down to which
type of foods you are choosing to
include on your keto diet is it olive
oil and almonds and salmon or is it
bacon and sausage and processed cheese
and again they both can fit but which
are you choosing more often plus all of
our individual disease risks vary so
someone who has heart disease in their
family or is maybe less active might be
at higher risk to begin with so talk to
your doctor as you’re thinking through
if the ketogenic diet is right for you
another downside to following the
ketogenic diet is that as some people
enter ketosis they experience What’s
called the keto flu now that’s exactly
what it sounds like you’re truly
experiencing flu-like symptoms because
of your dietary changes that may be
headaches nausea fatigue diarrhea
constipation you just don’t feel great
and now one way to help reduce those
risks of Keto flu is to make sure you’re
really dialing in your water and
electrolyte balance as you start ketosis
you’re cutting out a lot of foods that
are rich in electrolytes like potassium
and magnesium and sodium so you may want
to consider being mindful of your intake
again making sure you’re getting enough
of those non-starchy vegetables like
celery has potassium in it but so do
bananas and potatoes which you’re not
really going to be eating so really
being mindful of which foods contain
those micronutrients potentially adding
an electrolyte supplement to your water
and making sure you’re staying hydrated
to help reduce those symptoms
anecdotally some people say that just
going low carb before they enter ketosis
can help them because they’re not going
from eating a lot of carbs straight to
an ultra low carb diet so you may want
to consider sort of weaning yourself
into keto by just focusing on cutting
back on carbs and then deciding to make
the leap all the way into a keto diet
Who should and shouldn’t try keto?
if you are pregnant or nursing it’s not
recommended to start a ketogenic diet
also if you have a history of Eating
Disorders or disordered eating because
the keto diet is very restrictive it is
likely not right for you if you’re at
higher risk of certain chronic
conditions like heart disease you also
may want to talk to your doctor so that
you have a better sense of what
embarking on the keto diet may do to
your health so talk to a doctor or a
dietitian who knows you and your health
concerns and issues more closely it also
may be helpful for people with diabetes
but it’s not the only way to manage your
diabetes so if you do have diabetes and
you’re interested in this but you really
love carbs just know that you don’t have
to cut them out to manage your diabetes
there’s lots of different ways to eat
and you can certainly still have
carbohydrate-containing foods and manage
your blood sugar if you’re doing it in a
smart way and choosing more of those
good for you carbohydrates more complex
carbs that have fiber so those starchy
vegetables those fruits and whole grains
as with any diet it’s really important
when you’re especially when you’re
cutting out food groups to be mindful of
the foods you are choosing you really
want to have nutrient-rich options more
often when we look at the research
overall if you’re just doing keto to
help lose weight what the research shows
is that the Most Unexceptional diet to lose weight is
the one that you can stick to long term
so if cutting out all carbs forever
doesn’t sound great to you you may want
to consider changing the way you eat and
focusing just on adding more fruits and
vegetables or adding more fiber to your
diet or lean protein in order to help
you meet those weight loss goals without
necessarily entering into ketosis I hope
you found this video really helpful if
you do decide to try the keto diet we
have lots of resources on healthline.com
and again I highly recommend that you
read up and learn a lot about nutrition
because if you’re going to do keto the
right way you kind of have to become a
little bit of a nutritionist yourself
let us know what other questions you
have about keto or other diets Down
Below in the comments and don’t forget
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