The Keto Diet
By_Laser Origin, 7 July 2020
What is the ketogenic diet?
The keto diet is a diet with a very low or no carbohydrate content. This lack of carbohydrates is offset by a sharp increase in lipid content.
Carbohydrates are stored in the body as glycogen and are mainly found in sugary products, starchy foods and fruits. Lipids are fatty acids. To put it more simply and generally, the ketogenic diet consists of replacing starchy foods and sugary products with fat.
For this way of eating to lose weight, you need to know how to distribute the intakes:
– 50% carbohydrates
– 75% lipids
– 20% protein
Usually the body gets its energy from carbohydrates. However, being limited in the ketogenic diet, the body will get its energy from lipids, which are much better used by the body and therefore practically all eliminated during the day and not stored! In addition, when the body draws its energy from lipids, it releases ketone waste which results in a decrease in appetite and therefore considerable weight loss.
What are its advantages and disadvantages?
The benefits of this diet are that your appetite is reduced and therefore you lose weight quickly. There are no caloric restrictions as in other diets and there are exceptional positive effects on the body because this diet also helps to cure epilepsy and improve the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
But the ketogenic diet also has drawbacks. There is little dietary diversity because no deviation allowed, so it is difficult to follow and monotonous. In addition, there are unpleasant side effects during the first weeks: the ketogenic flu.
Ketogenic flu
Ketogenic flu is what is called the transition from normal nutrition to ketogenic nutrition that puts the body in a state of ketosis. Ketosis is defined by the fact that the body produces ketone wastes which accumulate in the blood and produce odors similar to that of nail polish which are felt in the breath. This chemical reaction occurs because the blood sugar level decreases. This can lead to dehydration, an increased risk of kidney stones, urolithiasis and constipation.
To conclude, precautions are to be taken before starting this new way of eating but remember that the ketogenic diet was created initially in the 1920s in order to cure epilepsy, cancers and inflammatory diseases therefore its interest in the therapeutic environment is no longer to prove. This diet is also excellent because the ingested lipids nourish the interior of the body but also the exterior. It then nourishes the skin of the whole body as well as the face, it is softer, plumpy and appears healthier and glowy.
