The ketogenic diet is a popular thing: actresses Vanessa Hudgens, Alicia Vikander and Halle Berry are following it. Unfortunately, this isn't the first time celebrity recommendations have clashed with evidence-based medicine. Understand why the ketogenic diet isn't the healthiest way to lose weight.
Where does the ketogenic diet come from?
The ketogenic diet isn't a fad at all: it was invented way back in the 1920's to treat seizures. It was a humane substitute for fasting, which remained the only cure for epilepsy in those years. Although an anticonvulsant drug appeared in 1938, today the keto diet is mainly used to treat drug-resistant epilepsy in children.
Most likely, the ketogenic diet would have remained an exotic method from the arsenal of neurologists. But in the 1970s, an American cardiologist, Robert Atkins, read a paper that found this diet helped people lose weight. Based on this data, the busy doctor developed his own nutritional system and wrote several books about it.
Atkins' nutritional system proved to be simple, understandable, and even yielded quick results. It was a hit with Hollywood stars and other public figures, quickly making the ketogenic diet famous.
This is how the keto diet works
The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-protein, and high-fat diet. The standard ketogenic diet is 70% fat, 20% protein, and 10% carbohydrates, but the number of calories that can be gained from the "ketogenic diet" remains the standard: 2000 kcal per day.
Carbohydrates make up only 20-50g on a ketogenic diet, which is not enough for our bodies, which are designed to get most of their energy from carbohydrates. Therefore, after a ketogenic diet, the body begins to burn glycogen - the "reserve" of carbohydrates in the liver.
When glycogen stores are depleted (and this happens as early as day 2-4 of such a diet), the body switches to fat reserves. When fat is broken down, ketone bodies are formed, from which energy can also be obtained - hence the name of the diet.
What are the problems with the keto diet?
Evolution has "rewarded" us with the ability to store fat just so we can get through tough times. We're just not designed to eat fat long-term. If you abruptly cut carbs and "lean" on fat with protein, you can "earn" serious health problems over time.
Provokes obesity
It seems - how so, because it has been proven that ketogenic diets help with weight loss? That's true - but the problem is that the lost weight will soon return.
In short, in this situation, the "yo-yo effect" is triggered. After each cycle of extremely low-carb diets, the body learns to better extract energy from the food fed to it. When a person undergoing a poorly thought-out ketogenicdiet has lost weight, starts eating carbohydrate foods again, the weight returns very quickly, although the portions of food remain the same.
When you try to lose weight on a diet, your body responds by increasing your appetite, so by the time you're done, the poor guy starts overeating -- and excess weight "deserves. "
Violates digestion
An important source of carbohydrates are grain products: muesli, pasta and bread. But in these products, in addition to carbohydrates, there is another important component: fiber. Soluble fiber "feeds" the beneficial bacteria that live in our gut, while insoluble fiber prevents constipation. People who are malnourished from a fiber ketogenic diet are more likely to suffer from digestive issues.
Leads to malnutrition
The main problem with all low-carb diets is that a person begins to eat less vegetables and fruits - they are also sweet. But vegetables and fruits are the main source of vitamins.
Studies of the ketogenic diet in children with epilepsy have shown that patients who adhere to it are not getting enough nutrients needed for health. In this situation, children with epilepsy are prescribed vitamins in capsules. But adult healthy people who decide to lose weight, as a rule, do not even think about such a risk.
hurts the heart
Excess fatty foods are generally harmful to the cardiovascular system. This promotes the synthesis of cholesterol - the main material for atherosclerotic plaques, which "like" to clog blood vessels and cause a heart attack or stroke.
But low-carb (including ketogenic) diets come with their own problem: It turns out that such eating plans can disrupt heart rhythms and cause fatal atrial fibrillation. So it's not surprising that a poorly designed ketogenic diet increases the risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease and other causes.
Causes gallbladder problems
Excess fatty foods can provoke gallstone disease. It works like this: when there is an excess of cholesterol in the body, the liver begins to "dump" it into the gallbladder. There it sometimes begins to crystallize, forming gallstones.
May cause ketoacidosis
Ketoacidosis is a life-threatening condition that usually occurs in people with diabetes. However, science knows of at least one case where a keto diet triggered ketoacidosis in a healthy breastfeeding woman.
Contraindicated in people with pancreatitis
Pancreatitis is a disease of the pancreas that requires you to eat no more than 20 grams of fat per day. Excess fat on a ketogenic diet can trigger an illness attack.
Nutritionists do not recommend low-carbohydrate diets for people who exercise a lot or who exercise for a living.
The keto diet in athletes not only leads to the loss of a certain amount of adipose tissue, but also exhausts muscles, because in conditions of aerobic and mixed training the body simply does not have time to oxidize fat to get the required amount of fatenergy and is forced to destroy its own proteins.
Of course, this also has an effect on well-being - the athlete becomes weak, endurance and speed indicators decrease.
What's the difference between a keto diet and a good weight loss program?
Keto diets don't take into account people's actual energy needs. As a result, a person who adheres to this often not only reduces the intake of carbohydrates from the diet, but also drastically reduces the total calorie content of the diet. All this triggers the "yo-yo effect" and the person gains weight as soon as he returns to a normal diet. In addition, ketogenic diets are often unbalanced - as a result, a person does not receive essential nutrients and provokes health problems.
Competent weight loss programs are aimed not only at losing weight, but at maintaining this effect in the future. The only way to avoid the yo-yo effect is through programs built on the principles of healthy eating.
A diet that will allow you to lose weight should be:
- diverse - so that a person fully receives not only proteins, fats and carbohydrates, but also vitamins, trace elements and fiber;
- tasty - to avoid the "temptation" of fast food and ready meals;
- nutritious enough - so that there is enough strength and energy for mental work, sports and other pleasures in life;
- should contain neither a calorie surplus nor a calorie deficiency.
A good weight loss program doesn't work without an overall lifestyle improvement and doesn't deliver quick results. However, weight loss on such programs occurs smoothly, the result is stored for a long time, and health only gets stronger.