What is a Ketogenic or Keto Diet ?

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The ketogenic or keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet, that helps the body to produces ketones in the liver to use it as energy. The ketogenic diet has many health benefits which may include; Weight loss, improved physical and mental performance and benefits against diseases such as diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, heart diseases, Alzheimer’s, etc.

Our body needs energy to function properly; usually this energy is obtained from glucose as its molecule is easily converted and uses as energy. But when we consume something high in carb, our body will produce glucose and insulin. The produced glucose is used as energy, leaving the fats to store in the body.

Therefore ketogenic or keto diet is use to burn this stored fat by the process of ketosis. Ketosis is the process in which our body is able to survive the low intake of glucose. Due to the reduced intake of carbohydrates our body’s glucose level is not enough; therefore it burns the stored fat and uses it as energy instead of glucose.

During the process of ketosis our body produces ketones from breaking down the fats in the liver and used as energy. This energy is supplies throughout the body & the brain.

Types of Ketogenic Diets

• Standard Ketogenic Diet (SKD): it is known as the most common type of ketogenic diet. This diet is divided into the percentage of 70-75% of fat, 20% of protein and 5-10% of carb.
  
  
• Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD): it is another type of ketogenic diet that mainly targets around workouts. In this diet you can consume 20-50 gm of carbohydrates 30-60 mins before exercise to maintain energy levels. This diet is encouraged to people who work out/exercise regularly.
• Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD): this type of diet is an advanced level of TKD and mainly aims at athletes and competition goers who need carbohydrates as energy during their training. In this diet you can consume 450-600 gm of carbs during 24-48hrs prior the competition.
• High-protein ketogenic diet: it is somewhat similar to SKD but is high-protein. This diet is ideally for people who want to lose their extra fat. This diet is divided into the ratio of 60% fat, 35% protein and 5% carbs.

What Not to Eat

When on keto diet, everything that is high in carbs should be avoided or limited for better results. This includes:

• Sugary foods
  

  

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• Root vegetables
• Fruits
• Beans or legumes
• Grains or starches
• Low-fat or diet products
• Sauces or condiments
• Unhealthy fat
• Sugar-free diet foods

What to Eat

Following is the list of low-carbs things that you can eat, when following a keto diet plan:

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  Meat & fish
  
• Vegetables (low-carb)
• Avocados
• Condiments
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Butter
• Cream
• Healthy oils

Final word

Following a balanced keto diet plan can have a positive impact on your health and performance but before going on a keto diet you should make sure will it suit your present health conditions or not. So, I’ll highly recommend you first to do a bit of a research about the ketogenic diet, its pros and cons, side effects and most importantly consult a nutritionist.