Ketogenic diet is considered one of the most popular diet in recent years, 70% of people take to lose weight, 30% of people take to take care of health, most people will love this diet after using the habit, but 90% of people in the fitness community will oppose the ketogenic diet, the ketogenic diet is really such an effective diet for weight loss? Ketogenic is really so bad for fitness people? Please put aside all your prejudices about ketogenic and keep a neutral perspective on this article on ketogenic diet, let us analyze the good and bad of ketogenic diet.
Introducing the Ketogenic Diet
On the Internet, you may see that a ketogenic diet is an appropriate amount of protein, good enough fat, and low enough carbohydrates, such as 70% fat, 25% protein, and 5% carbohydrates. Ketogenic means a diet that allows the body to produce “ketones” and more of them, with the goal of staying in stable nutritional ketosis.
Why do we need to produce ketones? Because ketone bodies are the metabolic product of burning fat when the body’s carbohydrate (Note 1) level is low enough. In order for the body to produce enough ketones and know that it is burning fat, there are two key points: low enough liver glucose (Note 2) and low enough insulin (Note 3). If you want to know more, there is a longer explanation later, but the short answer is to try not to eat foods high in carbohydrates, such as starch and sugar, and to eat more vegetables, meat and eggs.
Note 1: Carbohydrates include starch, such as rice, flour, bread, and refined sugars, which are sweet carbohydrates, and are stored in the blood as glucose or in the liver.
Note 2: Ketone bodies are produced only when liver glycogen is at its lowest level.
In a normal diet, it takes about 12 hours or more for liver glycogen to be consumed. Therefore, normal people can produce ketone bodies even if they fast for a while, but they break down once they eat breakfast. When liver glucose is high, ketone bodies are difficult to produce even if there is a lot of free fat ready to be broken down by the liver. When liver glucose is low enough, ketone production is rapid. Usually after the third day of a ketogenic diet, the amount of ketone bodies will be determined by the amount of free fat.
Note 3: Ratio of Insulin to Glucagon
With insulin = storage of lipase is stimulated, fat in the fat cells can not be broken down. No insulin plus high catecholamine hormone = fat can be broken down. The breakdown of fat is very problematic and there are many slow steps. When fat can be broken down, the triglycerides in the fat cells are broken down into glycerol + three free fatty acids. The free fat sticks to Albumin and is transported in the bloodstream to provide energy where it is needed. If the rest of the body has enough energy, it is sent to the liver to be broken down and ketone bodies are produced, which in turn are transported in the bloodstream to the organs that need them for energy.
Nutritional ketosis
In the absence of carbohydrate intake, the liver will metabolize fat as ketone bodies because the brain and some other organs cannot use fat for energy. When the concentration of ketone bodies increases in the blood (Note 4), we call it ketosis, and the ketosis caused by diet is called Nutritional Ketosis.
Note 4: The concentration of ketone bodies in the blood of people on a mixed diet (eating starch, vegetables, and meat) will be less than 0.5mmol/L, while the blood ketone concentration in a stable ketogenic diet will be about 0.6~3mmo/L.
In the process of ordinary eating, the body will also produce ketone bodies, but the opportunities for production are few, and the amount of production is not enough to reach the concentration of nutritional ketosis. The ketogenic diet is low in carbohydrates, moderate in protein and high in oil to keep the body in nutritional ketosis for a longer period of time so that the blood ketone concentration is higher (representing fat burning) and to ensure the body’s fat burning effect.
After entering stable ketosis, you can enjoy the benefits of the ketogenic diet to the body, such as improved hormones, appetite, antioxidants, etc., and weight loss is usually a collateral effect.
Ketogenic adaptation period
However, before entering stable ketosis, there is a “ketogenic adaptation period”, during which the body feels very uncomfortable because of the lack of energy conversion. The main reason for this is that we eat too much carbohydrate, so our bodies are used to using carbohydrate as an energy source, and are not used to burning fat.
The time it takes for everyone to enter stable ketosis varies, from about a week for the average person to a longer period of time for those who have been eating high levels of carbohydrate. Entering stable ketosis means that your body’s main source of energy has changed to fat and ketone bodies instead of glucose. It also means that the fat has been broken down and used successfully through a number of hurdles.
How to eat a ketogenic diet?
As long as insulin secretion is low enough and body carbohydrate is low enough, the body can produce more ketone bodies. Therefore, as long as we try to avoid foods that are too high in carbohydrate and foods that raise insulin too much, we can keep our body stable in ketosis.
In terms of major nutrient ratios, 5% carbohydrate (high FII), 20-25% protein (medium FII), and 70-75% fat (low FII) are the ratios that can stabilize ketosis in 99% of people. However, I would recommend a progressive approach to slowly enter the ketogenic diet.
Carbohydrates are less than 40 grams a day, protein is about 1~1.4 grams a day, and fat is adjusted according to appetite. This is because most people cannot eat so much fat at the beginning, so they will be a little bit afraid psychologically and physically they will not be able to adapt to it, so they will first focus on eating comfortably. If you can calculate the main nutrients, choose your own food to eat to the target data, it will be a relatively simple starting point, and then make fine adjustments.
If you don’t know how to count nutrients, you can refer to the following suggestions.
- You can eat more meat (beef, chicken, duck, goose…), animal offal (heart, liver, kidney), eggs, fish (not too lean), vegetables (except root vegetables can eat more), high-fat fruits (olives, avocado, coconut meat), seaweed
- Can eat seafood in moderation (usually high protein and low-fat ingredients), onions, spices
- Can eat a little (fat loss in the weight can not be eaten) blueberries, cranberries, soy products (tofu, soybean skin), nuts
- Do not eat a variety of starch or high carbohydrate food
Major Nutrients Algorithm
The main nutrients can be divided into three, carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Ketogenic diet should be very low carbohydrate, moderate protein, enough fat, so if you are not sure which food can not eat, you can use the following way to view. For example, if you want to look up eggs, you can google search: eggs main nutrients, so you can find it. Basically, if the carbohydrates are low enough and the protein is not too high, you can eat it.
Ketogenic Discomfort
It is normal to experience some side effects after starting a ketogenic diet, such as poor mental performance, weakness and drowsiness, and headaches, because the body has been too accustomed to using Carbohydrate as the main source of energy, so suddenly eating very little Carbohydrate can cause such problems. However, these side effects usually improve within a week, or longer in more severe cases.
- Cramps: Sodium, calcium and magnesium deficiency can cause this. So salt supplementation, eating avocado, and drinking bone broth will improve a lot.
- Insomnia: Blood flow to the brain increases when blood ketones are high, so it makes you feel good, and then you get used to it.
- Exercise power becomes less: Very normal, after a period of time will be improved
- Common ways of improvement: Drink water, take salt, and wait for it to pass.
Analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the ketogenic diet
The main advantage of the ketogenic diet is that it can be very effective in improving metabolic abnormalities (high fasting blood sugar, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low HDL).
Advantages of a ketogenic diet
- Burns more fat, reduces muscle consumption: As long as the caloric intake is less than TDEE, weight loss is possible, but the main nutritional distribution of the ketogenic diet can effectively lose fat and reduce muscle consumption.
- Appetite control: Many weight loss drugs are labeled “effective appetite suppression”, but the ketogenic diet itself is very effective in controlling appetite. For gluttony, not full of people is a major advantage. Ketogenic diet habit people usually will naturally intermittent fasting, on weight loss and more points.
- Good for cardiovascular aspects. Good cholesterol (HDL) up, bad cholesterol (LDL) down: As the ketogenic diet recommended that we take good oil, so the cardiovascular disease data on a very good change.
- It makes the body more sensitive to insulin. Fasting blood sugar and insulin decrease. Insulin sensitivity is a very important data. It is very important to control it well, no matter for weight or for health.
- It is good for the brain. When the brain uses ketones for energy, it can function more efficiently. The benefits of ketones for the brain are really many, so in recent years there have been experiments to treat brain diseases with a ketogenic diet.
- It’s a great way to cut out belly fat.
- Lower blood pressure
- Anti-oxidation, reduce free radical formation, protect the brain nervous system, and nerve cell regeneration. Ketone body is a histone deacetylase inhibitor, short for “HDI”, HDI effect: mood control, treatment of cancer, parasites, inflammation and other diseases.
Disadvantages of a ketogenic diet
- Takes time to adapt
- Feel bad during the adaptation period
- Muscle maintenance is possible, but the effect of muscle building is uncertain
- Muscle strength will drop at the beginning
- Some people eat too much oil at the beginning, the stomach and intestines will not adapt
Conclusion
Ketogenic diet can be very effective in the disposal of metabolic abnormalities, most of the research is also aimed at this direction, the efficiency of the ketogenic diet for weight loss has been confirmed to be very effective, in weight loss can also be effective in maintaining muscle, better yet, other diseases also have great help.
The disadvantage is to use to achieve long-term and stable muscle gain is relatively difficult, because the benefits of ketogenic is to suppress appetite, so it is difficult to eat enough food to gain muscle, of course, many people who have just begun to gain muscle its practical ketogenic or can gain muscle, but strong men to use ketogenic to gain muscle is no study to do reference. To gain muscle, it is recommended that the traditional diet can be used.
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