Have You Heard of the Ketogenic Diet?
There is not a year that goes by that the wellness world doesn’t introduce us to another revolutionary diet that promises to deliver optimal health. The latest trend is the paleo diet but have you heard about the ketogenic diet?
What is the Ketogenic Diet?
The ketogenic diet is an extremely low-carb, high fat diet, that allows approximately 25 grams of carbs or less per day. If you are wondering what 25 grams of carbs looks like, one medium-sized banana will provide you approximately 27 grams of carbs. Believe it or not the ketogenic diet was originally developed in the 1920s when researchers found that fasting had anti-seizure effects on the patients they were studying. They discovered that, without the presence of carbohydrates and sugar, the body had the ability to metabolize or use fat as energy. The energy converted from stored fat is called ketones and our bodies can easily adapt and switch from running on glucose (carbs) to ketones (fat).
How Does This Impact Our Health?
Switching our metabolism from using sugar to using fat for energy is a perfectly natural process, however, as with all change there is a period where the body has to adjust as hormones and electrolytes rebalance. This period can often produce flu like symptoms, referred to as “Keto flu.” Besides weight loss other benefits of the ketogenic diet include the management of diabetes and Alzheimers.
Is It For You?
This diet is obviously not for everyone and the fact that you can feel physically sick for the first few weeks as the body adapts make it significantly challenging. It is often recommended for people who are active but have reached a weight-loss plateau and are struggling to lose that last bit of body fat. It is always advisable to seek professional advice before attempting this diet as well as ensuring you are safely monitored whilst you are on the diet.For most people it should never be used as a long term plan and as with every diet results vary from person to person.