The ketogenic diet - Keto - is used for weight loss and other health benefits. The diet consists of food with a high content of fat but low carb content, which makes it similar to the Atkins Diet and other low-carb diets. However, the diet replaces the low-carb intake with fats, which puts the body in a state of ketosis - a metabolic state where the body produces ketones using fat. The fat is then used to produce energy that replaces the carbs. In ketosis, the body efficiently burns fats into ketones in the liver and supplies power to the brain.

Benefits

A keto diet helps reduce insulin and blood sugar levels. Among other advantages of the keto diet, it helps reduce the risk of heart disease as the body fat is used up, which then reduces the cholesterol level. Research has also shown that it is hugely beneficial for people who have epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease, and the diet is also being used to cure different types of cancer. The keto diet is also used to help treat acne as it reduces insulin levels and overall intake of less processed food and high sugar content.

Types of Keto Diet

● High Protein Ketogenic Diet: This diet consists of food having more protein in your diet, mainly using a ratio of 5% carbs, 60% fats, and 35% protein.

● Targeted Ketogenic Diet: This diet is more for health benefits, allowing you to add carbs to your diet but only around workouts. 

● Standard Ketogenic Diet: This diet includes high fat, low carbs, and moderate protein using the ratio of 5% carbs, 20% protein, and 75% fat. 

● Cyclical Ketogenic Diet: This diet has cyclical periods of the keto diet. For example, you may adopt a keto routine for five days and then have food with high carb content for the rest of the days

The standard high-protein diet is mainly adopted for general health benefits, whereas the cyclical keto and targeted keto diets are primarily used for fitness purposes.

Myth or Reality

It is a proven, research-backed reality that the ketogenic diet is more effective for weight loss and reducing the risk of health diseases than other low-fat diets. It also lets you lose weight without counting calories or keeping track of your food, as high-fat food fills you up quicker. One research found that you can lose weight 2.2 times faster than those on a low-fat diet. The diet also proves to be beneficial for health because of the positive effect of the high protein content in the food, which positively affects the body. The ketones are also great for the body as they help with insulin and blood sugar levels.

However, the ketogenic diet may not work due to numerous reasons. One of the reasons is that you are not keeping track of the carbs you are consuming;  the primary purpose of the keto diet is to have low carb content. However, if the carbs are not tracked, the whole diet plan may lose its purpose, and you may gain weight instead. It is also as important to track fat and protein intake in your diet as the diet may only work if a high fat and protein diet replaces the low carb intake for the body to produce ketones and provide energy to the body. It is also essential to focus on the quality of your food. This entails that you should not consume low-quality and highly processed food items that may also have lower protein and fat content than a better-quality version of the same food. Planning is also highly essential when it comes to adopting a keto diet, as high fat and protein may not be available all the time. Your food should also contain high magnesium, sodium, and potassium as they are energy minerals and make up for low carbs, which usually provide energy.

Overall, the ketogenic diet may only work if it consists of a balanced diet, as it is not a particularly extreme dietary routine and allows you to have low carbs. However, with that said, your diet should still be mapped out in a way where other minerals and foods should replace the purpose of carbs in your body so that they can provide energy to the body by producing ketones.

Our clinical experts continually monitor the health and medical content posted on CURA4U, and we update our blogs and articles when new information becomes available. Last reviewed by Dr.Saad Zia on May 2^nd, 2023.