So the magical keto diet. There are so many rumors and speculations about her, how many hopes are placed on her, how many hours have been spent in the toilet because of her. Keto apologists preach about rapid melting of fat glaciers, incredible performance, crystal clarity of mind, etc. etc. in a similar spirit. We don't know where this data comes from because scientists are just beginning to examine this diet under the microscope.
Let's discuss all the pros and cons of a fatty diet.
The essence for beginners: what is it in simple words?
Let's clarify one important point right away: a high-fat diet (ketogenic diet) is still not a low-carb diet, but primarily a super-high fat diet.
The keto diet is a low-carb weight loss diet with a moderate amount of protein in the diet and active fat consumption.
If you count calories, the percentage calorie distribution would be:
- 80% of calories come from fat,
- 15% protein calories. ,
- the remaining 5% are carbohydrates.
That means at least 75% of the calories in your diet should come from fat; The sources of this can be eggs, bacon, sausages, avocados, vegetable oils, coconut oil and butter.
We would also like to point out that this is not a diet based on so-called animal fats. pure meat diet, not at all! Vegetables are consumed, but with moderate or complete avoidance of starchy vegetables such as potatoes.
What is important for beginners to know? What is a "fat diet" in simple words?
The essence of the ketogenic diet can be described in simple words. With such a nutritional system, the body enters a state called "ketosis" and begins to synthesize ketones for subsequent energy production (hence the name "ketogenic" diet). Such a transition is only possible if carbohydrate intake is strictly limited.
Our body is able to cover its needs completely from fat reserves. But the lack of carbohydrates is terrible for our brain and nervous system, which need glucose: the brain cannot use fatty acids for energy.
If we ignore carbohydrates, the body, in order not to stretch its legs, begins to pervert and create substitute carbohydrates - ketone bodies.
Ketone bodies are organic biomolecules soluble in aqueous media that are synthesized in the liver from fatty acids when food intake (especially carbohydrates) decreases. Once these biomolecules are transported to extrahepatic tissues, they can be used as an energy source.
Ketone bodies are constantly synthesized in small quantities in the human body, but usually the concentration of ketones is so low that they are not detected in urine tests.
However, when the level of ketone bodies in the blood increases (a condition called ketonemia), they begin to be excreted in the urine (known as ketonuria); Ketonemia and ketonuria taken together indicate the body's transition into a state of ketosis.
The ultimate goal of the ketogenic diet is to put the body into a state of nutritional ketosis (not to be confused with pathological ketosis), which ultimately controls metabolism to use fatty acids and ketones as the main source of energy.
In the initial phase, the most important thing is not to overdo it with the amount of protein.
If you eat too much protein (more than 20%), the body starts the process of gluconeogenesis and eventually all the excess protein is converted into glucose, preventing you from entering the state of ketosis.
Therefore, it is important to choose fatty foods with some protein. There is no need to rely on chicken, but rather buy fatty cuts of beef. Instead of diet turkey bacon, buy regular bacon. Only 20% of your calories should come from protein.
Also remember that you need to drink lots and lots of fluids. The main symptom of ketosis is the smell of acetone on the body and in the breath. Cool, right?
The fact is that excess fat derivatives are excreted by the body and cause this specific smell. Previously we talked about how fat energy factories are the "most polluting. "
It is not always possible to completely remove the smell. However, most of the smell can be removed with plenty of plain water.
This. If you drink a lot of water (3 liters or more per day), excess ketones are excreted through urine and sweat. This will remove most of the smell after showering. In addition, it improves well-being (eliminates lethargy).
Interesting fact: The keto diet was originally invented for epileptics.
Why we don't recommend: the dangers of eating fat
For one simple reason: This is not a balanced diet. And such diets that openly demonize any food are absolutely not included in our concept: "Beauty does not require sacrifice, beauty requires health. "What freedom from papal pressure can we talk about when you eliminate large amounts of food from your diet?
We do not deny that the body can exist more or less adequately with minimal or complete absence of carbohydrates with sufficient protein intake and the physiologically necessary amount of fat, but ideally we still ensure that all three nutrients are present in the diet. d. H. Use a balanced diet to lose weight!
Is it possible to lose weight?
Often, people in search of slimness begin to believe in all sorts of fairy tales, such as: "If you exclude this food group, the weight will disappear on its own. " This is where such monsters are born, such as the paleo diet.
Let's look at this interesting question with you: "Is it possible to lose weight by eliminating proteins, carbohydrates or fats from the diet? ""The brilliant Line McDonald will help us with this (excerpts from his work below).
Let's imagine that you consume a certain amount of calories, but get them from different sources: in the first case, you get them mainly from carbohydrates; in the second - from proteins and in the third - from fats.
On carbohydrates
Let's imagine that we get the majority of our calories from carbohydrates. Under normal nutritional conditions, carbohydrates are rarely converted to fat (a process called de novo lipogenesis).
There are exceptional situations, for example chronic overeating of carbohydrates. That means 700-900 grams of net carbs per day for several days.
In this situation, carbohydrates overwhelm glycogen stores, exceeding the required number of calories for the day and eventually converting carbohydrates to body fat.
But when you eat more carbs, you burn more carbs and less fat. And that's why too many carbs make you fatter, even if carbs aren't converted directly into fat.
In general, an excess of carbohydrates, by inhibiting fat breakdown, forces all the fats you consume to be stored in the form of subcutaneous reserves, preventing the existing fats from being burned.
Yes, carbohydrates won't directly make you fatter by storing them in fat, but an excess of carbohydrates will still affect your fat reserves and prevent you from burning the fat you eat during the day.
This is why if you exceed your daily calorie intake by 500 calories of fat or 500 calories of carbohydrates, you will become fat. They simply do it for different reasons and in different ways.
An additional 500 calories of fat is simply stored under the skin, and 500 calories of carbohydrates ensures that all the fat consumed during the day goes into reserves, as carbohydrates, not fats, are oxidized.
Conclusion: When you eat more carbohydrates, you burn more carbohydrates and less fat; When you eat fewer carbohydrates, you burn fewer carbohydrates and more fat. Unexpected, right?
On a squirrel
Protein Buddy is never converted to fat or stored that way. However, when you eat a lot of protein, the body uses it for energy (instead of carbohydrates and fats), which means other nutrients are stored.
The result is that consuming too much protein will make you fat, not directly, but due to the fact that all the fat you eat gets under your skin.
Of course, protein has the strongest thermic effect, so more of the calories consumed are used to digest food. Excess protein makes you less fat anyway, but if the calorie balance is exceeded, you will still get fat.
However, not by converting protein directly into fat, but by reducing the number of other nutrients burned.
Bottom line: When you eat more protein, you burn more protein (and therefore less fat and carbohydrates); When you eat less protein, you burn less protein (and therefore more carbohydrates and fat). If you imagine your face, you clearly now look something like this:
On fat
Dietary fats are primarily stored; Eating more of it does not have a significant impact on the oxidation of subcutaneous fat.
When you eat fats, their fate is to be deposited in fat reserves, because. . . Their consumption has very little impact on fat oxidation. It also has no significant effect on protein or carbohydrate oxidation.
Overall conclusion: All three options make you fatter, but the mechanisms are different.
The only difference is that fat is stored directly and proteins and carbohydrates force you to store the fat you eat.
Of course, there will be those who misunderstand that low-carb and/or low-protein diets have no advantage over others in terms of burning subcutaneous fat.
But on these diets, you burn more fat, but you also eat more fatty foods. So the overall fat balance remains the same despite changes in other components. No matter how you look at it, it always depends on the energy balance and the calorie deficit.
Surely you have a logical question: why not stop eating fat?
This is because carbohydrates are converted into fat through de novo lipogenesis. This is the case when the amount of fat consumed through food falls below 10% of the total calories consumed. In this case, your body starts the process of de novo lipogenesis, so you still gain weight.
The body is smarter than us. With sufficient fat intake (i. e. over 10% of total calories), the fate of the fat we eat is to be stored in fat reserves, and proteins and carbohydrates are used for other processes.
And if the amount of fat consumed is too small, the body begins to convert carbohydrates (and most likely protein, although much less often) to store them as fat.
lie or truth
Of course, under certain conditions, the keto diet will work and you will lose weight. But it's not about them, not about fats and not about a special menu. The fact is, you will simply eat less!
They've been denigrating diets for so long, but people don't believe it: and rightly so, because diets work!
For example, here is a meta-analysis of about 50 studies that compared 11 popular diets, which can be divided into the following groups: low-carb (Atkins, South Beach, Zone), low-fat (Ornish, Rosemary Conley), balanced (Jenny Craig). , Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers).
It turns out (surprisingly) that any weight loss diet is better than no diet.
After six months, people on a low-carb diet lost more weight. But the overall difference in weight loss (differences in indicators) between all diets is insignificant: a few hundred grams.
For example, the average weight loss on low-carbohydrate diets over 6 months was 8. 73 kg and 7. 25 kg in 12 months and on low-fat diets was 7. 99 kg in 6 months and 7. 27 kg in 12 months.
Research has shown that a low-carb diet may be slightly more effective for weight loss in the short term compared to a highly calorie-restricted diet.
This is due in part to a reduction in the body's glycogen stores (in the liver and muscles) and associated fluid loss (which totals about 2 kg in a typical adult). But as we see, there is little difference between them in the long run.
A study comparing low-carb and low-fat diets over the past two years found that there was no significant difference in weight loss between the two.
By the way, please note that the diet was most effective in the first six months. And after a year the weight generally began to increase. An impressive example of metabolic adaptation.
Benefits and effects
The ketogenic diet doesn't make you hungry or take away any calories. Roughly speaking, we simply compensate for the decrease in carbohydrates with proteins and fats.
Of course, this does not mean that sharply reducing carbohydrate intake will allow you to eat too much fatty and protein foods. Calorie intake must be kept within normal limits. Another undisputed benefit of the keto diet is appetite control.
Many people who have been on one diet or another know that the strongest appetite arises precisely during the diet. The keto diet eliminates the feeling of hunger. Fatty and protein foods, which the keto diet is rich in, allow a person not to feel excessive appetite and at the same time lose weight.
Damage
Since the ketogenic diet focuses on foods containing fat and protein, digestive disorders are possible - heaviness in the stomach, flatulence, constipation.
This is because the diet contains virtually no fiber, which is found in bread, potatoes, fruits and vegetables. To avoid digestive problems, you should consume vegetables and fruits in minimal quantities. For example, cabbage and sour grapes are suitable.
Another disadvantage of the keto diet is the unpredictability of glucose deficiency. It is unknown how your body will behave when you deprive it of such an important energy resource.
It will take time for the body to convert into ketones. In the first week, a person usually feels malaise, dizziness and general weakness. It is important to stick with it for at least 21 days to see the results of the diet.
A reduction in the amount of micronutrients (vitamins/minerals, etc. ) is common with any low-carb diet because the majority of micronutrients come from carbohydrate-containing foods. Therefore, you need to use vitamin-mineral complexes.
In response, there is a decrease in blood acidity due to an increase in the amount of ketones it contains.
If you have problems with carbohydrate metabolism (e. g. diabetes), vomiting and "ketoacidosis" are possible. In a healthy body, ketones are utilized without consequences. By the way, the smell of acetone confirms this (a sign of ketone utilization).
We're already seeing ketosis people jumping into the comments shouting, "I've been in ketosis for 116 days and I'm more active than ever! ""Let's tell you our personal opinion: ketosis people are worse than vegans in online fights. Not all, but for some reason a lot of them.
Go to any article on the subject and you'll see them pouring buckets of dirt on the author simply because he doesn't write laudatory odes to fat. We always advise them to eat buckwheat and calm down.
This is probably because a person projects his personal, inner conflict onto others. This happens particularly often when it comes to nutrition/exercise/religion. For example, a person's mind is forced to constantly deal with many factors, and such a person, in a dispute with an external opponent, tries to loudly put forward arguments against it, thereby feeling like a winner.
Another example is that a newcomer to a food system suppresses his own doubts in such disputes. In short, these people are not arguing with you, but with themselves, it's better not to bother them, they will bite you to death, you are made of protein and fat.
And if you personally "lied everything, I don't eat coals and feel great, " then that doesn't mean that this happens to others too! An individual's personal experience cannot prove or disprove anything.
Why? Yes, because these "personal opinions" and reviews of you are a carriage and a small cart and everyone is different. Who will you trust, who has a nicer nickname?
Contraindications to use
In the event of health deviations, diet or exercise should only be undertaken after consulting a doctor. People with diseases of the kidneys, digestive system or intestines should not use the keto diet.
Initially, a lack of glucose has a strong effect on brain activity, so such a diet is undesirable for mental workers.
By the way, due to ketoacidosis, the American Dietetic Association does not recommend the keto diet, but rather other diets that contain more carbohydrates.
Note: Diabetic ketoacidosis (ketoacidosis) is a variant of metabolic acidosis, which is associated with impaired carbohydrate metabolism due to insulin deficiency: high concentrations of glucose and ketone bodies in the blood.
On the one hand, the keto diet is easy, but on the other hand, it is very difficult. Of course, it all depends on the form you choose. Some people act so fanatically that the diet ends badly. You must not neglect the rules of the diet, you must listen to your body and give it a rest. Ultimately, it's all about health and you shouldn't forget that. Think for yourself, decide for yourself.