The keto diet is a very low-carb diet. It’s so low in carbs that the body has to switch to mainly using fat for fuel. For example, real foods like eggs, meat, avocados, butter, olive oil, nuts, etc.
| Diet Plan | Keto Diet |
| Nature | low carb, high fat diet |
| Working Principle | During this diet plan, we reduce the intake of carbohydrates and replace them with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. In Ketosis, the body burns fats for energy. |
| Other names | The keto, ketogenic diet, low-carb diet, moderate-protein diet, and high-fat diet. |
| Foods to eat | Eggs, meat, avocados, butter, olive oil, and nuts. |
| Foods to avoid | Sugary foods, grains or starches, fruit, beans, root vegetables and tubers, unhealthy fats, and sugar-free diet foods. |
| Major advantages | Lose weight and improves your health. |
Table of Contents
What is a Keto Diet?
When the body is out of sugar, fat (in the liver) is converted into energy molecules called ketones. And the diet that causes this is called a ketogenic diet (explain later), meaning it produces ketones.
Being fueled mostly by fat, a state called “ketosis”, has many benefits, including becoming a fat-burning machine. It’s perfect for weight loss by hunger and burning fat 24/7 even when you are sleeping. Because it gives you tons of energy, you will basically never run out of energy.
Keto diet foods (zero carb foods)
The one golden rule in the Keto diet is to keep carbs low. When we say “zero carbs”, we are talking about foods and beverages that contain less than one gram of net carbs per serving, and foods that are not usually consumed in large enough quantities to negatively affect your daily carb consumption.
There are so many low-carb food (keto diet) options, the ultimate list of zero-carb foods is given next.
What do you eat on the keto diet?
- Low sugar fruits (avocado, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry-all are full of antioxidants)
- Eggs (source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids, contains selenium, Cu, iron, zinc, vitamins B & D)
- Seafood (Salmon and sardines are rich in vitamin B, potassium, and selenium)
- Vegetables (keto vegetables) (onions, bell pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, baby spinach, chard)
- Olive oil (It contains Oleic acid- a monosaturated fat that helps to maintain cardiovascular health)
- Coconut oil (It is known as a source of the ketone. It helps to reduce waist size)
- Nuts (Source of high fiber and low fat-reduce risk of cancer, depression, and heart diseases)
- Butter and cream (Saturated fat is not bad)
- Cheese (It is known as a source of conjugated Linoleic acid which aids in fat loss)
- Chocolate (it should not contain artificial sweetener and it must have 70% cocoa content)
- Tea/Cofee (Carb free drinks increase metabolism, mental alertness, and mood)
Why the Keto diet is popular?
The Keto diet has become super popular in the last few years. It’s actually not entirely new. The foundation of Keto is something old that we have heard about a million times.
It’s a strict low-carb diet, it’s a gluten-free diet, it’s similar to a Paleo diet, and it’s very close to the old and well-known Atkins diet. The basic idea is super simple and based on real foods. You simply avoid carbohydrates like sugar, and processed junk food, and instead, you eat meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, and natural fats like butter.
What is Ketosis?
Ketosis is a metabolic state in which our body uses fats to create an energy source called ketone bodies and the process is called ketogenesis. This is a natural process, we aren’t typically in a state of ketosis, this is because our bodies almost always prefer to use glucose as an energy source and we can easily obtain glucose by just eating carbs.
Even when carbs are not readily available we can utilize stored glucose that is called glycogen. so really in order to enter ketosis, we need to basically burn off all our glycogen stores and not really eat any carbohydrates.
How does the Keto Diet Reduces Weight?
A ketogenic diet is high in fat, moderate in proteins, and low in carbohydrates.
Most ketogenic diet plans recommend having 70% of your calories as fats, 25% from proteins, and only 5% from carbs.
Carbohydrates are important because they absorb glucose after digestion.
Glucose is utilized in the mitochondria of cells to produce energy in the form of ATP.
The ketogenic diet restricts carbohydrates, how can we generate ATP.
When there is a lack of glucose, the body breaks down the stored fat and produces another type of molecule called ketone body.
These ketone bodies can be utilized to generate energy in the form of ATP. When the ketone bodies accumulate in the body, it’s called ketosis.
Too many ketone bodies can be very fatal, so you have to be very careful in maintaining the ketone bodies at a non-toxic level.
Why Keto Diet is Good?
The Keto diet is good because of the following factors:
- A low carb ketogenic diet lowers the insulin levels in the body since insulin is a growth-stimulating hormone, its absence can slow down cancer.
- It helps to lower bad cholesterol levels (LDL) and increase good cholesterol levels (HDL).
- Scientists believe that this phenomenon is due to lower levels of insulin in the body.
- It helps to lose weight, one theory suggests that it takes more calories to convert fat into ATP than what it takes to convert glucose into ATP.
- Another theory points out that high amounts of fats and proteins in the diet satisfy your appetite faster.
- Some people use the keto diet for its weight-loss potential, weight loss is very rapid in the first few days due to water loss, afterwards, weight loss slows down but stays linear.
- A study has shown that athletes on the ketogenic diet burn significantly more fat during a workout. Many people go on a ketogenic diet to increase mental clarity.
How does Keto Diet work?
The answer to the question “how keto diet works“, requires understanding the main principle of the ketogenic diet.
The main principle of the ketogenic diet is to deprive the body of glucose.
Glucose is the major source of energy in the human body.
It is obtained by ingesting carbohydrate foods.
In a ketogenic diet, instead of carbohydrates, an alternate fuel called ketones is produced from stored fats.
Since the human brain can’t store carbohydrates, it demands a continuous supply of carbohydrates.
In the absence of carbohydrates, the human body first pulls stored glucose from the liver.
If this shortage continues for three-four days, the stored glucose gets fully depleted.
This decreases the insulin level of the body and the body starts using fats as its primary source of energy. The liver produces ketones from fats which are used as a source of energy.
The accumulation of ketone bodies in the blood is called ketosis [Reference].
Side Effects of Ketogenic Diet
Over the first few days on the keto diet, the body enters the state of ketosis, and insulin levels drop rapidly while ketone bodies increase.
Many, though not all people experience the keto flu phenomenon during this time. This is caused by the rapid loss of water that has been retained in the water along with the carbs from the previous diet, along with this water there is a massive loss of electrolytes including sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Symptoms are thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, muscle cramps, nausea, mental fog, and headaches.
The most dreaded complication is the ketoacidosis-high level of ketone bodies, especially in people with type-1 diabetes can cause this potentially fatal condition, therefore, it’s always advised to consult your physician before you start a ketogenic diet.
A high-fat diet may be challenging to maintain. You might develop symptoms of carbohydrate restriction like hunger, fatigue, irritability, constipation, and brain fog.
Another effect of the ketogenic diet is breath-smelling fruity or like nail polish from the ketone bodies. The smell comes from the spontaneous decomposition of one of the ketone bodies acid or acetic acid into acetate. Many reports that the smell goes away after being on the diet for a while
Important Links
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Body’s Preferred Source Of Energy
Sources of Glucose (C6H12O6)
Generally, glucose (C6H12O6) is obtained from bread, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products.
Our body needs food to create the energy that helps keep us alive.
Glucose is one of the body’s preferred sources of fuel in the form of carbohydrates.
Although glucose is important, it’s best in moderation. Unhealthy glucose levels can have permanent and serious effects on our health.
Summary
In a ketogenic diet, the goal is to switch from a state when your body is burning glucose to a state of ketosis, where your body is burning ketones.
In other words, you are forcing your body to start burning your fat as its main source and instead of carbs.
This is accomplished by making one’s food intake high in fat with moderate protein and almost no carbohydrates.
The body soon runs out of its preferred energy source carbohydrates and begins to burn fats instead.
On a keto diet, the aim is generally for carbs to make up 5% of macronutrient intake, while protein intake is 15 to 30% and fat intake is the rest.
It may take several days for your body to adapt to the change in macronutrient composition.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How does the body process glucose?
- When we eat, our body immediately starts working to process glucose (C6H12O6).
- Our blood sugar level normally rises after we eat.
- Enzymes start the breakdown process with help from the pancreas.
- The pancreas is a gland located behind the stomach and next to the small intestine. It helps the body with the absorption and digestion of food.
- The pancreas produces hormones such as insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin that regulate the nutrients and energy our body uses.
- When we eat, our body signals the pancreas to release insulin to deal with the rising blood sugar level.
2. What Is Diabetes?
- Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs due to the malfunctioning of the pancreas.
- Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas, that acts as a key to let glucose produce energy.
- All carbohydrate foods are broken down into glucose in the blood. Insulin helps glucose get into the cells.
- Not being able to produce insulin or use it effectively leads to raised glucose (C6H12O6) levels in the blood (known as hyperglycemia). Over the long term, high glucose levels are associated with damage to the body and failure of various organs and tissues.
- In type 1 diabetes our body produces very little or no insulin, which means that we need daily insulin injections to maintain blood glucose (C6H12O6) levels under control.
- In type 2 diabetes our body does not make good use of the insulin that it produces. Most people with type 2 diabetes require oral drugs and/or insulin to keep their blood glucose levels under control.
Important: This blog is for information purposes only. If you are considering to switch to the Keto diet, it is advisable to seek the advice of a licensed healthcare professional.
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