Eating pancakes, peanut butter and fat meat while dieting? Yes, this is possible as these products are low in sugar! The solution has come with a new trend, called the “Keto Diet”. If you haven’t heard about the Keto Diet before, you may be aware of the Low Carb Diet? In a nutshell: the Keto Diet is a Low-Low-Low Carb Diet. This type of nutrition not only supports weight management but also fights diseases. But how good is this nutritional trend really?
The Keto diet focusses on depriving the body of carbohydrates and thus sugar while feeding it on a diet rich in fat. Contrary to many other diets no calories are counted with this method.
Ketogenic nutrition in sports and medicine
A ketogenic diet aims at losing weight by improving the fat burning processes through the lack of carbohydrates. This is the reason why enjoying a piece of white chocolate is OK as long as it contains a very small amount of carbohydrates. In particular, athletes are turning to this new diet because it prepares them optimally for competition. This approach can make sense for a limited period of time because the body is forced to use its fat deposits due to the lack of sugar in order to provide the energy that the body needs. Moreover, glucose storage including its water content is depleted which results in additional dehydration of the body. This makes muscle parts stand out more clearly under the skin and at the same time reduces body weight in a natural way.
Ketogenic nutrition plays an important role not just for weight management but also in the medical field as ketogens have anti-inflammatory, energy-increasing, fat-burning, concentration-increasing and blood-sugar-lowering effects. This diet is also intended to support the treatment of epilepsy and other neurological diseases and has been medically acknowledged. Although it has not yet been researched thoroughly to see why it can help, it has been proven that it reduces the overexcitation of nerve cells and inhibits inflammation.
What does the diet do to the body?
Due to the high intake of fat and the absence of carbohydrates in the diet, the fat metabolism of the body will be completely "reprogrammed" over a longer period of time and because of the lack of glucose, the body turns into a state called ketosis. Instead of burning sugar, the body uses its own fat reserves and thus reduces body fat.
In the liver fats are converted into ketone bodies so that the body can continue to function efficiently and effectively. This process is of great significance to the brain because otherwise there would be no other energy supplier without glucose being present.
How to implement the diet?
• <5% carbohydrates per day
• 25-35% proteins per day
• 60-70% fat
Usually carbohydrates make up to 50% of the daily energy needed by an adult.
No effect without side effects?
In general, it can be said that nothing miraculous happens within a week, since a body needs at least a week to adapt its metabolism to the new diet. In theory, you can follow the Keto Diet as long as you want to. In practice, however, you should make sure that your diet consists of a great variety of food and meals.
Once the dietary goal has been achieved, the body must slowly get used again to a regular diet with more carbohydrates being available. This is because just as the metabolism slowly changed to the ketogenic diet, it will just as slowly now have to get used to normal carbohydrates again. If this happens too quickly, a yo-yo effect may be the result.
What to eat?
Fats replace carbohydrates on the menu. No fruits are allowed because they contain fructose. Blueberries or raspberry are permitted in small quantities.
What should be considered?
The ketogenic diet is a rather extreme diet as it brings the body out of balance because it changes the entire metabolism.
A certain intake of carbohydrates is essential for the body and therefore this diet is not suitable as a permanent type of nutrition. It is important to choose high-quality carbohydrates such as whole grain products and to avoid white flours and highly processed sugar.
The Keto Diet may be helpful as part of a treatment at a health resort or as part of therapy. If for medical reasons a ketogenic diet is the diet of choice, this should always be discussed with a family doctor in advance.
Individual private label solutions by Biohealth International
The focus should always be on a varied diet. As a specialist in sports nutrition and meal replacement products, Biohealth International offers a variety of solutions to ensure a complete and wholesome supply of nutrients. The Biohealth International team is ready to take a step forward with you and develop your individual meal replacement products. It is not only during the diet, but also afterwards, that care must be taken that the yo-yo effect does not take place. Biohealth International is extensively involved in meal replacement and dietary products that have long-lasting effects and that also support a healthy lifestyle. Depending on various target groups, Biohealth International develops individual private label solutions for the fields of weight management and sports nutrition.
Nutrition advice
Permitted food:
Food to avoid: