We all want a good, healthy diet for optimum health, vitality, and fitness goals. This is no doubt why people scrutinize the type of foods they eat and try so many different fad diets. But when does it stop being a fad and start making good sense for the long run? A big diet trend right now is, the ketogenic diet, or the keto diet. Due to immense popularity it is one of the diets under scrutiny.
Different individuals have questions on how healthy this diet is when we have all heard that ketosis can be “bad” for you. Well, the keto diet comprises of foods which are high fat and low carbohydrate. The number of people eating a ketogenic diet has been on the rise over the past few years. Here are some findings that support the fact that a ketogenic diet is actually pretty good for your body and dietary needs.
Low carbohydrate levels
A ketogenic diet consists of 70-80% fat composition, as compared to just 5-10% carbohydrate composition. The high fat composition facilitates the production of sufficient energy in the body. However, the body must first go into a state of ketosis. This implies that instead of breaking down carbohydrates for energy, the body will break down the fats instead. Breaking down of fats results in production of fatty acids which can later be converted into ketone bodies. These ketone bodies therefore are converted into energy. This is quite efficient, and most of us would rather burn unwanted fat for fuel, rather than carbs.
It’s healthy for your kidneys
A ketogenic diet minimizes strain on the kidney. As mentioned earlier, this diet involves high fat intake, more than two thirds of the entire diet. Proteins comprise only 15-25% of protein. Lower protein intake guarantees less stress on the kidneys. Moreover, the diet does not require high protein intake since most of the diet consists of fats. The fats therefore are adequate for energy production. Basing on this fact, a ketogenic diet is safer as compared to other low carb diets such as Atkins. Atkins actually stresses on high protein intake, which may affect the kidneys over time.
Treatment for epilepsy
This is actually one of the most significant advantages that a ketogenic diet has over other types of diets. When there is high fat intake in the body, ketone bodies are used for the production of energy, instead of carbohydrates. Apparently, a ketogenic diet has been proven to compromise neural activities hence compromising the seizure episodes likely to be experienced by different patients. This diet was first endorsed a hundred years ago. So far, it is one of the most effective solutions to epilepsy.
Other health benefits
A ketogenic diet has recently been proven to be effective in preventing cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes as well as facilitate weight loss. This may be quite ironic, based upon the outdated ideas about high fat intake among most medical practitioners. Surprisingly, this diet helps in containing cancerous growth, which is triggered by high glucose and insulin levels.
Conclusion
Every person has his/her own opinion on how suitable this diet is. Actually, this has been a trending debate among nutritionists and diet experts for a while now. For a while, there has not been any clear answer as to whether a ketogenic diet is healthy or not. However, basing on the findings above, this diet is undoubtedly beneficial to the body. You can learn more about the keto diet plan and keto diets here.
