The ketogenic diet has been popularized in recent years for its ability to help people lose weight.
While you've likely heard about its ability to burn stubborn fat, you may be asking yourself what exactly keto entails, and why it seems like so many people are switching to it.
Below is a closer look at what keto is, how it works on the body, as well as some things you should consider before starting a keto diet. Decide for yourself if keto is a good fit for you.
What Is the Keto Diet?
The keto diet places a stringent restriction on the consumption of carbohydrates. Carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, grains, starchy vegetables, sugar, and legumes are all avoided on the keto diet.
The reality is that this can be quite difficult. Many foods contain some carb component: traditional tacos, for instance, are a no-go as the shell, beans, and salsa all go against the keto system.
Other common foods you need to avoid on a keto diet include:
- Potatoes
- Pasta
- Whole grains
- Rice
- Corn
- Fruits
Not to mention, you need to cut sugar.
The main thing that attracts many people to keto is that while you have to kick sugar and carbs, you're able to enjoy your favorite meats, dairy, fish, and many vegetables. In the recent past, people might have looked at you like you were crazy if you said you were on a diet while munching on a strip of bacon – today, with keto, you're able to do just that.
While many comfort foods such as steak, cheese, and cream are considered to be keto, it's important to note that there is a healthy and unhealthy way to get to ketosis.
Like any other diet, it is important that you consume quality ingredients, and one of the main concerns with keto is ensuring you're eating minimal bad fats and focusing on heart-healthy fats. Replacing butter with fatty acid-rich options like avocado oil, coconut oil, or olive oil represents one way to do that.
Some examples of common ingredients you may eat in a keto diet include:
- Cauliflower and broccoli
- Chicken, beef, or pork
- Lettuce, spinach, and other leafy greens
- Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
- Salmon, other fatty fish, and seafood in general
How Does Keto Work?
In the human diet, there are important molecules that our body needs to function known as macronutrients. These macronutrients include carbohydrates, protein, and fats. While it may seem counterintuitive to limit one of these to lose weight, keto actually utilizes an ingenious underlying biochemical pathway in the human body to burn fat and possibly improve metabolic health.
The keto diet owes its name to a process called "ketosis." Ketosis occurs when the body switches from using carbohydrates as a source of energy to using fats and protein instead.
The body always prioritizes carbohydrates as a source of energy because they are the easiest macro to convert into energy. Unlike other low-carb diets, keto chooses to restrict your carb intake in order to increase the number of "ketones" in your body. Ketones are essentially fat energy units. In addition to lower blood sugar and heightened insulin sensitivity, the keto diet supports the breakdown of fat into these energy units. During ketosis, the body is forced into using fats and protein as a source of energy since there are simply not enough carbohydrates to fuel the body.
How Does Keto Promote Weight Loss?
The benefit to ketosis lies in the fact that the body starts to utilize fats as a source of energy.
When the body has surplus energy from food, it stores it in the form of fat. From an evolutionary perspective, this is what allowed early humans with food insecurity to survive.
In today’s world, however, many people face the opposite problem, and as a result, the body is stuck with all of this extra energy in the form of fat with nowhere to go but storage.
Ketosis activates the breakdown of these internal energy reserves and helps to burn off excess fat. Without carbs, the body continuously utilizes its fat reserves, allowing you to shed stubborn fat.
Three Things To Know Before Starting Keto
While keto may seem like the ultimate diet to help you lose weight, it's important to have reasonable expectations and consider the potential drawbacks associated with cutting carbs and running your body on fats and protein. Below is a closer look at some aspects of keto that you should be mindful of before starting your journey.
1. There May Be Changes to Your Digestive System
One thing that can occur while on keto is constipation. Most fiber within our diet is derived from food sources that are also high in carbs, such as beans, oatmeal, fruit, and whole grains.
When you cut out these foods, you can increase the chance of developing constipation or other digestive issues while on a keto diet.
2. There’s Potential For a Lot of Missed Nutrients
Another thing to consider is that many carb-rich foods such as fruit and vegetables are full of vitamins and nutrients that can be more difficult to obtain through keto-friendly sources.
While you can take supplements to help get missed nutrients like vitamin C, zinc, and magnesium, it's generally superior to get these nutrients through your diet.
3. It Can Negatively Affect Sexual Health
Keto can be a double-edged sword when it comes to your sexual health.
While weight loss can do wonders in helping to restore and revitalize your sex life, at the same time, the keto diet may lead to a decline in testosterone.
One study looked at the differences in free testosterone levels of men who were on a high protein diet or high carbohydrate diet. The results of the experiment showed higher testosterone levels in the high-carb diet group and pointed to the potential importance of carb consumption in the testosterone pathway.
Low testosterone can cause a number of issues, such as low libido, weak ejaculations, and even erectile dysfunction.
The Takeaway
Keto is a low-carb, high-protein, high-fat diet that can be helpful in weight loss. However, many people find it challenging to sustain for the long-term.
A keto diet eliminates carbs, causing your body to start using protein and fats for energy, which can help individuals burn extra fat.
As a weight loss diet, strict keto can be effective short-term. In the long term, it may be better (and easier) to loosen keto stringency on carbs or switch to a more rounded diet.
