What is the keto diet?

Reduce the intake of carbohydrate-rich foods in favor of a greater consumption of foods rich in fat (lipids).

A healthy diet diametrically opposed to the one we usually know in which carbohydrates and proteins are kings to the detriment of lipids, such is the rule of this nutrition. The keto diet tends to democratize and become a healthy diet, to be talked about, among stars, on networks, throughout the world because it allows you to eat rich and tasty dishes while having an impact in terms of line and weight (recipes are not lacking on social networks) while maintaining a high energy level.

Naturally and inevitably, it arouses controversy.

Decryption.

HISTORICAL

In the 1920s, doctors created the ketogenic diet to mimic the metabolism of fasting and treat refractory epilepsy in children. The keto diet originated as a medical therapy . The diet helped hundreds of patients and reduced the risk and frequency of epileptic seizures until about the 1940s, when antiepileptic drugs became popular. In the 1960s, Dr. Robert Atkins popularized a version of keto: the low-carb diet , which involves drastically reducing carbohydrates (low sugar) at the beginning, and after reaching a healthy weight, increasing them a little.

Nowadays, the ketogenic diet is a diet practiced worldwide, especially in the United States and Europe. It is still prescribed to combat epileptic seizures and certain other pathologies but also in a search for weight loss, to keep the line, mental clarity, better sports performance , better quality of sleep etc., and is considered risk-free.

THE KETO DIET: DECRYPTION

OBSOLETE RECOMMENDATIONS

Health authorities encourage us to consume 5 fruits and vegetables per day, little saturated fat while distributing our daily energy intake as follows:

A daily intake of 55% carbohydrates, 30% fats and 15% protein (breakfast + lunch + dinner)

At the same time, with this nutrition, we note with horror the explosion of diabetes , obesity , the risk of metabolic diseases , etc. over the last fifty years.

THE KETOGENIC DIET

The ketogenic diet or keto diet consists of drastically reducing the consumption of products containing carbohydrates in our diet in favor of a greater consumption of lipids or fats (oil, nuts and oilseeds, coconut oil). The ketogenic diet puts the body in a state of ketosis.

Daily carbohydrate (carb) consumption can vary between 20 grams and 50 grams in order to produce what is called: " ketone bodies ". These values ​​can of course vary depending on each individual, as each person's body has its own specificities. Some fruits can be consumed in moderation because they have a low carbohydrate intake (berries, red fruits).

The average macronutrient ratio is therefore very different from the one we know.

It is composed of 70-80% fat (rather than 30%), 20-25% protein (rather than 15%), and 5-10% carbohydrates (rather than 55%).

This reduction in carbohydrates has the effect of allowing the body to enter a state of ketosis .

In plain terms, this is a change of fuel in our body . Indeed, the body, deprived of carbohydrates, will use the available fats and produce ketone bodies as a source of energy (note the importance of knowing your carbohydrate consumption in grams and calculating the grams of carbohydrates when preparing a recipe). What then happens is a reduction in glycogen (sugar) reserves causing weight loss and many health benefits.

THE BENEFITS OF THE KETO DIET

For decades, numerous scientific studies have proven the many health benefits of the ketogenic diet . Whether in the context of weight loss , but also to treat serious illnesses, or to perform in sports or lower insulin in diabetics and thus attempt to reverse type 2 diabetes .

3.1 The Keto Diet for Weight Loss:

Weight loss is the benefit that boosted the democratization of this diet and made it famous. More than a dozen scientific studies agree to demonstrate the evidence of the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet for losing weight (in comparison with other known diets). In addition, many easy-to-make recipes allow for a varied diet. Diets aimed at weight loss until now recommended reducing fats and did not work in the long term. The state of ketosis generated by this diet is the key to success.

This weight loss is encouraged thanks to the natural process (ketosis) created by this diet on the body.

a/ Water loss

When you transition from a high-carb diet to a low-carb diet, weight loss occurs rapidly. This comes primarily from water loss when you deplete your body's glycogen stores , because glycogen stored in your muscles and liver is bound to water.

b/ Transformation of the energy source

After this transition, deprived of sugar , the body will draw on stored fats to release a new source of energy, thus creating the "ketone bodies" mentioned above. This is the body's energy source.

c/ Better insulin sensitivity

This low-carb diet has the effect of improving insulin sensitivity, making blood sugar spikes less severe, which allows blood sugar to be managed more effectively. This is of cardinal importance, because too high insulin and permanent or very high glucose spikes promote weight gain by storing this sugar in the form of fat.

d/ Satiety

Another reason that promotes weight loss in keto diet is: the feeling of satiety . Foods consumed in ketogenic diet are dense and nutritionally rich, which promotes a lower consumption of calories and explains the need not to want to eat constantly. This type of food promotes an increase in leptin and ghrelin , the hormones that control appetite . In addition, MCT oil which comes from coconut and MCT creams also from coconut allow the development of bulletproof coffee or fatty coffee which acts effectively for a feeling of satiety between breakfast and lunch.

3.2 The keto diet in the treatment of diseases

Many studies have been conducted to analyze the positive effects of the ketogenic diet on many diseases.

a/ The keto diet in the treatment of type 2 diabetes or prediabetes

The ketogenic diet, in the context of type 1 diabetes , has shown more than promising effects but which remain for the moment in their infancy. We will not discuss it in this article.

Regarding type 2 diabetes , the beneficial effects of the keto diet are proven. An American study published in the journal Diabetes Therapy has demonstrated that the keto diet can be beneficial in fighting type 2 diabetes.

In this study conducted on a panel of 349 people with this disease, after one year of ketogenic diet, 94% of patients on insulin reduced their dosage or stopped their treatment. The proportion of participants who stopped their treatment is 1/3.

Source of the study

b/: The keto diet against cancer

Several studies have highlighted that the ketogenic diet can help slow tumor growth, even stop its growth or even eliminate the tumor in the best case. Scientific studies are also being conducted to study the effect of the keto diet on the sensitivity of tumors to chemotherapy.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5842847/

Many documented works deal with the question. We can cite: " Fighting cancer with the ketogenic diet " by Magali Walkowicz or: " The ketogenic diet against cancer " by Pr Ulrike Kammerer, Dr Christina Schlatterer, Dr Gerd Knoll in which they tend to demonstrate, with scientific studies to support it, that "the ketogenic diet is not a "miracle diet": it is a diet based on century-old scientific research and which, combined with regular physical activity, undoubtedly constitutes one of the best strategies against cancer today."

c/The keto diet against epilepsy

The ketogenic diet was discovered through its results in the medical treatment of epilepsy. Ketones that are produced during long periods of fasting are associated with a reduction in epileptic seizures. When the fast is broken with high-carb foods, seizures return. The keto diet, with its low-carb content, mimics this fasting state and produces ketones. Researchers are studying other reasons to better explain why this nutrition reduces seizures.

d/ The keto diet against Alzheimer's disease

In people showing early signs of dementia , work carried out by the Journal of The Alzheimer's disease "has shown that the keto diet could boost the cognitive reflexes of a panel of people suffering from early Alzheimer's. From the sixth week of the diet, ketones appeared in the urine and an improvement in short-term memory was observed.

Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30856112/

The list of diseases is not exhaustive. Many other serious and less serious pathologies are, in some cases, reduced or even completely disappear thanks to the ketogenic diet.

DEFICIENCIES WITH THE KETO DIET?

Articles claim that the ketogenic diet causes nutritional deficiencies, particularly in micronutrients, i.e. vitamins and minerals. Micronutrients are essential nutrients because they help slow down the aging process, protect the body against diseases, etc.

4.1 Vitamin B deficiencies?

We can read that the keto diet would cause deficiencies in B vitamins divided into seven main types (B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 ​​(pyridoxine), B7 (biotin), B9 (folate), and B12 (cyanocobalamin)

However, the ketogenic diet is a diet in which certain foods are favored such as leafy vegetables, meat, fish, nuts, cheese which are food families that contain them in large quantities.

4.2 Deficiencies in vitamins A, C, K or D?

Many keto friendly foods contain vitamin A such as kale, broccoli, spinach, liver, beef, cheese. As for vitamin C, parsley is a good source or peppers, mint, coriander, basil, thyme, dill, Brussels sprouts or spinach. Regarding vitamin K , many vegetables are provided with it (Brussels sprouts, broccoli, leafy vegetables) but also poultry, pastured meat, fish. For vitamin D, fatty fish, cheese, egg yolks, beef liver are made up of it.

4.3 Iodine deficiency?

Essential for proper thyroid function, iodine is found in many keto-friendly foods like cod, cheese, eggs, tuna and of course salt.

4.4 Iron deficiencies?

Good amounts of iron are also found in spinach, pumpkin seeds, eggs, broccoli and dark chocolate.

4.5 Omega 3 deficiencies

The ketogenic diet is a diet in which oily fish have a prominent place. We find in this category of foods, salmon, sardines which are excellent sources of omega 3. We can also mention eggs.

4.6 The role of electrolytes

By depriving the body of carbohydrates, glycogen stores are depleted, and electrolytes are removed with them, because these stores are made up of one part glycogen and three parts water (this is one reason why we feel more thirsty when following a keto diet).

Electrolytes are magnesium , potassium , and sodium .

When, despite a balanced and varied keto diet, deficiencies can be felt. Deficiencies due to the stress of daily life, certain intolerances or certain foods that we do not consume because they are simply not to our taste, yet rich in electrolytes.

A balanced ketogenic diet should therefore allow us to have an adequate level of electrolytes, thus avoiding any imbalance in these very important minerals, otherwise alternatives exist in supplementation.