The keto diet is advertised as a weight loss miracle, but this eating pattern is actually a medical diet that has risks.
In the world of weight loss diets, low-carb, high-protein diets are often a concern. Paleo and Atkins diets fall into this category. Sometimes referred to as a ketogenic or “keto” diet. But the real ketogenic diet is different. Unlike other low-carb diets, which focus on protein, the keto plan is centered on fat, which supplies up to 90% of daily calories. And this is not the kind of diet that can be tried as an experiment.
The ketogenic diet involves eating very low amounts of carbohydrates and replacing them with fat to help your body burn fat for energy. Health benefits can include weight loss and lowering the risk of certain diseases.
How Does Keto Diet Work?
The goal of the keto diet is to force your body to use a different type of fuel. Instead of relying on sugar (glucose) that comes from carbohydrates (such as grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruit), the keto diet relies on ketone bodies, a type of fuel that the liver produces from stored fat.
Burning fat might be an ideal way to lose weight. But getting the liver to make ketone bodies is complicated:
This requires you to cut back on carbohydrates, to less than 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day (keep in mind that a medium banana contains about 27 grams of carbohydrates).
It usually takes a few days to reach the state of ketosis. Eating too much protein can interfere with ketosis.
There are several versions of the ketogenic diet, and the foods you eat depend on which type. They include:
- Standard ketogenic diet (SKD)
This is a very low-carb, moderate-protein, and high-fat diet. They usually contain 70% fat, 20% protein and only 10% carbohydrates.
- Cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD)
This diet involves periods of higher carb reintroduction, such as 5 ketogenic days followed by 2 high carb days.
- Targeted ketogenic diet (TKD)
This diet allows you to add carbohydrates during exercise.
— High protein ketogenic diet
This is similar to the standard ketogenic diet, but contains more protein. The ratio is often 60% fat, 35% protein and 5% carbohydrate.
However, only the standard, high-protein ketogenic diet has been extensively studied. Cyclical or targeted ketogenic diets are more advanced methods and are mainly used by athletes.
The keto diet information in this article mostly applies to the standard ketogenic diet (SKD), although many of the same principles apply to other versions as well.
Can Keto Diet Help You Lose Weight?
The ketogenic diet is an effective way to lose weight and reduce risk factors for disease.
In fact, research suggests that a ketogenic diet may be just as effective for weight loss as a low-fat diet.
Moreover, the diet is so filling that you can lose weight without counting calories or tracking your food intake.
A review of 13 studies found that following a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet is slightly more effective for long-term weight loss than a low-fat diet. People who followed the keto diet lost an average of 2 pounds (0.9 kg) more than the group who followed the low-fat diet.
What’s more, it also leads to a decrease in diastolic blood pressure and triglyceride levels.
Another study in 34 older adults found that those who followed a ketogenic diet for 8 weeks lost nearly five times more total body fat than those who followed a low-fat diet.
Increased ketones, reduced blood sugar levels, and improved insulin sensitivity may also play an important role.
