How can you follow a keto diet without breaking the bank. What are the most cost-effective keto-friendly foods to buy. How do you maximize nutrition on a keto budget. Where should you shop for affordable keto ingredients.

Understanding the Basics of a Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet has gained significant popularity in recent years, prompting many to overhaul their eating habits. This high-fat, very low-carb dietary approach differs drastically from the typical Western diet, which often relies heavily on processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and added sugars. While the prospect of adopting a keto lifestyle might seem daunting and potentially expensive, there are numerous ways to make it budget-friendly without compromising on nutritional value.

What defines a ketogenic diet?

A ketogenic diet typically consists of:

• 70-80% of calories from fat
• 20-25% of calories from protein
• 5-10% of calories from carbohydrates

This macronutrient distribution aims to induce a metabolic state called ketosis, where the body burns fat for fuel instead of glucose.

Skip Expensive Packaged Keto Foods

One of the most crucial tips for maintaining a keto diet on a budget is to avoid falling into the trap of purchasing expensive, pre-packaged “keto-friendly” products. These items, while convenient, often come with a hefty price tag and may not align with the whole-food approach that many health professionals recommend for optimal results on a ketogenic diet.

Are packaged keto foods necessary for success?

Contrary to what clever marketing might suggest, packaged keto foods are not essential for success on a ketogenic diet. In fact, relying too heavily on these products can detract from the potential health benefits of the diet. Bonnie Nasar, a registered dietitian nutritionist, emphasizes that “keto bars or cookies are processed foods. The idea behind the keto diet, particularly as one form of treatment for specific diseases, is to go for a whole foods approach, not a processed one.”

Cost-effective alternatives to packaged keto snacks

Instead of expensive keto-branded snacks, consider these budget-friendly options:

1. A handful of mixed nuts
2. Hard-boiled eggs
3. Celery sticks with natural peanut butter
4. Cheese cubes
5. Homemade keto fat bombs

These alternatives not only save money but also provide better nutritional value compared to their processed counterparts.

Prioritize Non-Starchy Vegetables

While the ketogenic diet is often associated with high-fat foods, it’s crucial not to overlook the importance of vegetables. Non-starchy vegetables play a vital role in providing essential nutrients and fiber while keeping carbohydrate intake low.

Which vegetables are keto-friendly and budget-conscious?

Some affordable, keto-friendly vegetables include:

• Cauliflower
• Zucchini
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Lettuce
• Bell peppers

These vegetables are not only low in carbs but also versatile in cooking applications, making them excellent staples for a budget-conscious keto diet.

How to save money on keto-friendly produce?

To maximize savings on vegetables:

1. Buy whole vegetables instead of pre-cut options
2. Choose seasonal produce
3. Consider frozen vegetables, which are often more affordable and just as nutritious
4. Learn basic knife skills to efficiently prepare vegetables at home
5. Grow your own herbs and small vegetables if possible

By implementing these strategies, you can significantly reduce your grocery bill while ensuring a steady supply of keto-friendly vegetables.

Strategic Meat Selection for Keto on a Budget

Protein is a crucial component of the ketogenic diet, but high-quality meats can quickly become one of the most expensive items on your grocery list. However, with strategic selection, you can maintain a protein-rich keto diet without overspending.

Which meat cuts offer the best value for keto dieters?

When shopping for meats on a keto budget, consider these options:

• Chuck roast instead of rib eye for beef
• Pork shoulder roast rather than bone-in pork chops
• Chicken thighs as an alternative to boneless, skinless breasts
• Ground meats, which are often more affordable than whole cuts
• Organ meats, which are nutrient-dense and typically inexpensive

These choices can significantly reduce your meat expenses while still providing the necessary protein and fat for a ketogenic diet.

How to maximize the use of budget-friendly meats?

To get the most out of your meat purchases:

1. Buy in bulk when prices are low and freeze portions for later use
2. Learn to cook tougher, less expensive cuts in a slow cooker or pressure cooker
3. Use meat as a flavor enhancer rather than the main component of every meal
4. Incorporate eggs as an affordable protein source
5. Consider canned fish like sardines or tuna for quick, budget-friendly meals

By employing these strategies, you can ensure a steady supply of protein-rich foods while adhering to your keto budget.

Smart Shopping: Where to Find Keto Bargains

Where you shop can have a significant impact on your keto budget. While it may require some extra effort, finding the right stores and shopping strategies can lead to substantial savings over time.

Which stores offer the best deals for keto shoppers?

Consider these options for budget-friendly keto shopping:

• Trader Joe’s: Known for affordable produce and unique keto-friendly items
• Aldi: Offers low prices on basics and rotating keto-friendly specialty products
• Costco or Sam’s Club: Great for buying keto staples in bulk
• Local ethnic markets: Often have better prices on vegetables and unique cuts of meat
• Farmers markets: Can offer fresh, local produce at competitive prices, especially at the end of the day

Exploring these options in your area can help you find the best deals on keto-friendly foods.

How to maximize savings at the grocery store?

To further reduce your keto grocery expenses:

1. Compare prices between stores and shop accordingly
2. Use grocery store apps and loyalty programs for additional savings
3. Check weekly circulars for sales on keto-friendly items
4. Consider store brands for staple items
5. Shop during off-peak hours for potential markdowns on perishables

Implementing these strategies can help you stick to your keto diet while keeping your grocery budget in check.

Incorporating Budget-Friendly Protein Sources

While meat is often a staple in ketogenic diets, there are other protein sources that can be more budget-friendly while still fitting into a low-carb lifestyle. Diversifying your protein sources can not only save money but also provide a wider range of nutrients.

Which plant-based proteins are keto-friendly and affordable?

Consider these plant-based protein options for your keto diet:

• Tofu: Low in carbs and highly versatile
• Tempeh: Fermented soybean product with a meaty texture
• Hemp seeds: High in protein and healthy fats
• Nutritional yeast: Provides a cheesy flavor and is rich in B-vitamins
• Certain nuts and seeds in moderation

These options can be more cost-effective than animal proteins and add variety to your keto meal plan.

Are there any keto-friendly beans?

While most beans are too high in carbs for a strict keto diet, there are a few exceptions:

1. Black soybeans: With only 1 gram of net carbs per half-cup, these are the most keto-friendly beans
2. Lupini beans: Another low-carb option, popular in Mediterranean cuisine
3. Eden black soybeans: A specific brand that offers canned black soybeans with very low net carbs

These beans can provide fiber, protein, and nutrients while keeping carb counts low, making them valuable additions to a budget-conscious keto diet.

Meal Planning and Preparation for Keto Success

One of the most effective ways to maintain a keto diet on a budget is through careful meal planning and preparation. This approach not only saves money but also helps ensure you always have keto-friendly options available, reducing the temptation to stray from your diet or resort to expensive convenience foods.

How can meal planning reduce keto diet costs?

Meal planning offers several benefits for budget-conscious keto dieters:

• Reduces food waste by using ingredients efficiently
• Allows for bulk purchasing of frequently used items
• Minimizes impulse purchases of non-keto foods
• Helps avoid costly takeout or restaurant meals
• Enables you to take advantage of sales and seasonal produce

By planning your meals in advance, you can strategically use ingredients across multiple dishes, maximizing your grocery budget.

What are some time-saving meal prep strategies for keto?

To streamline your keto meal preparation:

1. Batch cook proteins like chicken or ground beef to use in various meals throughout the week
2. Prepare large salads or vegetable mixes that can be portioned out for several days
3. Make keto-friendly sauces and dressings in bulk to add flavor to simple meals
4. Pre-portion snacks like nuts or cheese for grab-and-go options
5. Utilize a slow cooker or Instant Pot for hands-off cooking of budget-friendly cuts of meat

These strategies can save time and money while ensuring you always have keto-compliant meals ready.

Maximizing Nutrition on a Keto Budget

While following a ketogenic diet on a budget, it’s crucial to ensure you’re still meeting your nutritional needs. By focusing on nutrient-dense foods and understanding which supplements might be necessary, you can maintain optimal health without breaking the bank.

Which affordable foods offer the most nutritional bang for your buck on keto?

Consider incorporating these nutrient-rich, budget-friendly foods into your keto diet:

• Eggs: Rich in protein, healthy fats, and various vitamins and minerals
• Sardines: High in omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and calcium
• Spinach: Packed with iron, vitamins A and C, and fiber
• Avocados: Excellent source of healthy fats, potassium, and fiber
• Sunflower seeds: Provide vitamin E, selenium, and healthy fats

These foods offer a wide range of essential nutrients while fitting into a keto macronutrient profile and a tight budget.

Are supplements necessary on a budget keto diet?

While it’s possible to meet most nutritional needs through whole foods, some supplements may be beneficial:

1. Electrolytes: Sodium, potassium, and magnesium supplements can help prevent the “keto flu”
2. Vitamin D: Especially important if you have limited sun exposure
3. Omega-3 fatty acids: If you’re not regularly consuming fatty fish
4. Fiber supplement: To ensure adequate fiber intake, which can be challenging on a strict keto diet

Consult with a healthcare professional to determine which supplements, if any, are necessary for your individual needs and budget constraints.

By implementing these strategies and focusing on nutrient-dense, whole foods, it’s entirely possible to follow a ketogenic diet while adhering to a tight budget. Remember that the key to success lies in careful planning, smart shopping, and a willingness to prepare meals at home. With time and practice, maintaining a keto lifestyle can become both manageable and affordable, potentially leading to improved health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs in the long run.

12 Ways to Do the Keto Diet on a Budget

The ketogenic diet is a type of diet that makes people completely overhaul their eating habits. The high-in-fat, very low carb plan is extremely different from what’s often referred to as the Standard American Diet, which is high in sugar, saturated fat, sodium, and grains, and low in vegetables, fruits, and healthy oils. So it makes sense that you may think revamping the way you eat on a keto diet is going to require fancy “keto-friendly” foods and expensive grocery store runs.

Luckily, that doesn’t have to be the case. “You can absolutely make keto work on a budget,” says Bonnie Nasar, a registered dietitian nutritionist in Freehold, New Jersey, who promotes a plant-based Mediterranean ketogenic diet. Also consider the long view. If you’re following keto on the recommendation of your doctor as part of your treatment plan for a medical condition, eating a nutrient-dense version of the ketogenic diet may lead to health improvements. “Essentially, this may decrease healthcare costs down the road. You’re going to come out ahead when you’re eating healthier,” says Nasar.

RELATED: What to Eat and Avoid on the Keto Diet

Still, you’re going to want to find out how to save at the store now. Here’s how.

1. Skip the Fancy, Packaged Keto Diet Foods

Once a diet becomes trendy (as keto has), companies are quick to hop on the bandwagon and develop keto-compliant foods, like meal replacement bars, fat bombs, or shakes. You don’t need these things to be successful on a keto diet, says Nasar. Not only that, but relying on these foods too much takes you away from a great benefit of keto: eating fewer packaged foods.

“Keto bars or cookies are processed foods. The idea behind the keto diet, particularly as one form of treatment for specific diseases, is to go for a whole foods approach, not a processed one,” Nasar says.

Aside from your health, another benefit of skipping packaged keto foods is that they’re really pricey. When it comes to cost and nutrition, a handful of nuts will beat out a packaged keto bar.

RELATED: 10 Grab-and-Go Keto Diet Snacks

2. Don’t Forget to Add Nonstarchy Veggies to Your Plate

Keto is so focused on fats and proteins that it’s easy for veggies to get pushed to the wayside. And while it’s true that they supply carbohydrates and that many have to be limited, you should bulk up all your meals with vegetables, advises Stephen Herrmann, PhD, the director of program development and training for Profile Sanford, a division of Sanford Health, a health system based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Veggies such as spaghetti squash, cauliflower, and lettuce can go a long way to adding volume and heart-healthy fiber to your meals. Precut veggies, including bagged cauliflower “rice” or packaged zucchini noodles, may be convenient, but they’re also more expensive. One money-saving key is to buy them in their whole form and take the time to watch a couple of YouTube videos on how to cut and chop them like a pro.

3. Choose Your Cuts of Meat Wisely

There’s a wide distribution of meat prices, with factors such as where you live, where you shop, the cut of meat, and the type of meat (pasture-raised, organic, and the like) affecting the price tag. You’ll want to pay attention to those dollar signs and be strategic.

In general, says Nasar, if you’re craving beef, skip the rib eye and go for a roast cut, which tends to be cheaper. Rib eye at Target is currently $13.99 per pound (lb), while chuck roast is $5.99/lb.

Similarly, bone-in pork chops are more expensive ($3.99/lb at Target) compared with a pork shoulder roast ($2.79/lb), especially since with the former option you’re paying for the weight of the bone.

Chicken thighs are also generally one of the more budget-friendly meats you can buy — they’re a steal at $1.96/lb at Walmart when compared with a boneless skinless breast at $4.64/lb.

RELATED: What Are the Best and Worst Fats on the Keto Diet?

4.  Shop at Trader Joe’s or the Go-To Bargain Grocery Store in Your Area

Trader Joe’s is certainly a favorite grocery store right now — and for good reason. Their prepared foods are inventive, and the real win is that their produce tends to be cheaper, says Nasar. “If you shop at Trader Joe’s, you’ll get more bang for your buck when it comes to vegetables,” she says.

If you don’t have a TJ’s in your hometown, peruse the farmers market or hit your local bargain grocery store. The point is: Healthy eating that doesn’t hurt your wallet, on keto or otherwise, requires doing a little bargain hunting. “You can find additional savings with a little comparison shopping,” says Nasar.

5. Buy These Beans to Keep Carbs Low and Heart-Healthy Protein High

One of the biggest “tricks” of the trade in lowering your grocery bill is buying beans. But on a keto diet, most beans offer far too many carbs. For example, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture, ½ cup of canned, low-sodium black beans has more than 11 grams (g) of net carbs. (You can calculate net carbs, which keto dieters often count instead of total carbs, by subtracting the fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbs, according to Atkins.com.)

One of the exceptions: black soybeans, says Nasar, who recommends this bean variety for her keto clients. You can pick up an entire can of organic black soybeans for a couple of dollars, and a ½-cup portion packs only 1 g of net carbs. The serving also offers 7 g of fiber, which will help keep your digestive system healthy (a major plus when you consider all the uncomfortable tummy trouble that keto can cause).

Another bean option Nasar recommends? Lupini beans, a brined white snacking bean. For a ¼-cup portion of one brand, Cento, you get just 2 g of net carbs, along with 1 g of fiber.

RELATED: What Are the Benefits and Risks of the Keto Diet?

6.  Find Frozen, Not Fresh, Berries to Get Your Keto Fruit Fix

If you’re choosing to include fruit in your keto diet, you’ll do so in limited amounts. After all, a medium apple contains more than 20 g of net carbs. So the fruit options are few. That’s where berries come in, because they tend to be high in fiber and lower in net carbs compared with other fruits.

They can be expensive — except when you buy a big bag of them frozen. They won’t go bad in your fridge and go to waste, and you can portion out a small amount at a time to add to a keto smoothie, or thaw them to use as a syrup-like topping on keto pancakes. A ¼-cup of frozen raspberries has 3.4 grams of net carbs.

7. Join a Meat Share to Nab Deals on Beef, Pork, and More

Depending on where you live, there may be local farms or butcher shops that offer the chance to purchase a whole, half, or quarter cow, says Nasar. The upfront costs are higher, but it’s a great way to buy in bulk and save a serious amount on the per-pound price. For instance, one farm raising grass-fed cattle in Wisconsin lists a quarter cow (150 to 180 lb) at $3.65/lb; including a processing fee, the total can be upwards of $800. (The cuts will come frozen.) What’s more, if you’re interested in buying more environmentally friendly sources of meat, you can save money by making the investment in one of these meat shares — and even getting it sent to you if there are no farms nearby that have this offering. For instance, an online subscription company that offers 100 percent grass-fed, humanely raised meats, Primal Pastures, says a whole beef share will cost $3,000, which is 300 pounds and saves $5/lb on their typical beef prices. Plus, you’ll get a range of cuts that will inspire you to get creative in the kitchen.

RELATED: 10 Keto Diet Comfort Food Recipes

8. Skip Organic, Grass-Fed, and Free-Range

Many keto advocates suggest buying grass-fed or free-range meats and organic vegetables. That’s great advice, but if you’re low on cash, know that these varieties aren’t required for you to lose weight on the keto diet. “If you’ve been eating a Standard American Diet, you can make a lot of headway [when it comes to your health] by focusing on the bigger picture and worrying about the details later on,” says Dr. Herrmann.

The goal is to move toward a pattern of noshing on whole, fresh foods, including conventional (nonorganic) produce and proteins. Later on, if you desire and your budget allows, you may want to explore organic options. If you’re worried that conventional vegetables are inferior or you’ll be harming your body in some way because organic is out of your budget, check out the resource Safe Fruits and Veggies. The nonprofit represents both organic and conventional fruit and vegetable farmers and can help put any fears to rest.

9. Opt for Eggs to Get Healthy Fat on the Cheap

Eggs are some of most cost-effective foods out there — and they’re completely okay on keto. One large egg has 4.8 g fat, 0.4 g carbs, and 6.3 g protein, which can easily fit into your macro goals. What’s more, in 2018 a dozen eggs cost $1.25 on average (that’s just 10 cents per egg), according to the Farm Bureau. Scramble with dark leafy greens and top with cheese for breakfast or cook into a frittata for lunch or dinner.

RELATED: 10 Healthy Foods You Can’t Eat on the Keto Diet

10. Get Comfortable With Meal Planning to Reduce Food Waste

One of the most eye-opening stats about our eating habits: Households waste, on average, $1,500 worth of food every year, according to SavetheFood.com, which is run by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). That applies no matter what diet you’re on — keto or not. Proper meal planning (which is, essentially, a commitment to eating leftovers), cooking up wilted or softened veggies, learning proper storage tips, and planning meals before grocery shopping are all things that can help reduce the amount you toss, the website suggests.

11. Focus on High-Fat, Low-Cost Oils From Plants

Avocados are delicious on a keto diet, but if they’re out of the picture because they cost too much where you live, get your fats through oils. Avocado oil is going to be a cheaper option than fresh avocados, says Nasar. You won’t get the fiber from a fresh avocado, but it will offer a source of monounsaturated fats that are heart-healthy and will help you add fat to your meals to stay in ketosis. She also recommends extra-virgin olive oil. These oils can be purchased at lower cost from inexpensive retailers like Target. Their store brand — Market Pantry — sells a 50-ounce bottle for about $12. When buying a big quantity like this, keep it in a cool, dark cupboard (not right next to the stove or in the fridge), recommends the North American Olive Oil Association.

12. Buy Keto-Friendly Nuts, Like Almonds and Walnuts, in Bulk

One of the most common money-saving tips you’ll hear is the call to “buy in bulk. ” That’s great, provided you have the space and adequate memory to eat them before they expire. Keep in mind that buying in bulk also opens you up to the threat of food waste, so it’s important to choose the foods you buy in large quantities wisely — and store them properly.

If you have a membership at a wholesale store like Costco or Sam’s Club, not only can you score great deals on large quantities of meat and oils, but also specialty items that tend to cost more at the store, like nuts. Costco, for instance, sells 3 lb bags of almonds for around $15. Almonds are keto-friendly (1 ounce, or 22 kernels, has 14.9 g fat, 2.3 g net carbs, and 6 g protein). As a bonus, they stay fresh for a long time. According to the Almond Board of California, keeping them in a cool, dry place will help them stay fresh for up to two years.

A Final Word on Following the Keto Diet on a Budget

You don’t have to break the bank with your new keto lifestyle. Most importantly, you can follow this plan while eating good quality, nutritious foods. Sometimes, the costs may seem higher at the outset, as you contemplate buying a tub of almonds or a handle of EVOO, but remember this: “You’re purchasing the fuel for your body and investing in your health,” says Herrmann.

6 Best Keto Diet Podcasts for 2021

If you’ve decided to start, recommit to, or continue following the popular ketogenic diet this year, you likely have one goal in mind: weight loss (and potentially better health, too). The very low-carbohydrate diet is notoriously a complete nutritional overhaul, as you scale back your intake of carbs. Made up of up to 75 to 80 percent dietary fat and only 20 to 50 grams (g) of net carbs per day, the diet can easily be thought of as one that promotes all butter and bacon — but it’s so much more than that.

Getting and staying in ketosis (a state where your body burns fat for fuel rather than carbohydrates) takes skill. You can read some great books on keto that show you how to eat this way and follow clever keto bloggers for recipe inspiration (keto bread is a thing), but nothing compares to the deep dive that these keto podcasts provide.

RELATED: 10 Tips for Keto Diet Beginners

During your journey as a keto-er, you’ll want practical information, such as exactly what to eat, how to get back on track, and the best products in specific categories (e.g., oils and proteins). But food is only part of your health, and the best podcasters go beyond that, tackling topics like inflammation and its role in disease, good sleep, stress reduction, and learning about yourself and what holds you back from your health goals. They also attract some of the top keto celebrities. More than that, these hosts are engaging, knowledgeable, and like chatting with a friend.

Still, keep in mind that not all keto influencers are medical professionals who are familiar with the possible health risks of dramatic diet changes, such as those required on keto. That’s why you’ll want to be sure this eating plan (or any major diet changes, for that matter) is best for your health goals by talking to your healthcare team and ideally a registered dietitian nutritionist in advance.

Once they give you the go-ahead and possibly adjust any medication as needed, keep them handy for help and advice as you dive headfirst into keto. And then listen to the six best keto podcasters for additional tips:

14-day keto plan and menu – the evidence – Diet Doctor

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This diet plan and guide is based on scientific evidence, following our policy for evidence-based guides.

It’s written by Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt, MD, with the latest major update on June 2, 2020. Additional research and fact-checking by Paul Rutkovskis. It was medically reviewed by Dr. Bret Scher, MD, on June 2, 2020.

The guide contains scientific references. You can find these in the notes throughout the text, and click the links to read the peer-reviewed scientific papers. When appropriate we include a grading of the strength of the evidence, with a link to our policy on this. Our evidence-based guides are updated at least once per year to reflect and reference the latest science on the topic.

All our evidence-based health guides are written or reviewed by medical doctors who are experts on the topic. To stay unbiased we show no ads, sell no products and take no money from industry. We’re fully funded by the people, via an optional membership.

Read more about our policies and work with evidence-based guides, nutritional controversies, our writers team and our medical review board.

Disclaimer: While a keto diet has many proven benefits, it’s still controversial. The main potential danger regards medications, especially for diabetes, where doses may need to be adapted. Discuss any changes in medication and relevant lifestyle changes with your doctor. Full disclaimer

This diet plan is for adults with health issues, including obesity, that could benefit from a keto diet.

Controversial topics related to a keto diet, and our take on them, include saturated fats, cholesterol, whole grains, red meat, whether the brain needs carbohydrates and restricting calories for weight loss.

Should you find any inaccuracy in this diet plan and guide, please email [email protected].

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The Keto Flu, Other Keto Side Effects & How to Cure Them

The keto flu

Symptoms of the keto flu:

• Fatigue
• Headache
• Irritability
• Difficulty focusing (“brain fog”)
• Lack of motivation
• Dizziness
• Sugar cravings
• Nausea
• Muscle cramps

The cause

The keto flu occurs as your body transitions from burning sugar to burning fat for most of its energy needs.

Switching from a high-carb diet to a very-low-carb diet lowers insulin levels in your body, one of the primary goals of a ketogenic diet.

When insulin levels are very low, your liver begins converting fat into ketones, which most of your cells can use in place of glucose. When your body is mainly using ketones and fat for energy, you’re in a state of ketosis.

However, it takes your brain and other organs some time to adapt to using this new fuel. When your insulin levels drop, your body responds by excreting more sodium in the urine, along with water. Because of this, you’ll likely find yourself urinating a lot more often in the first week or so of keto eating.

This change is responsible for some of the rapid – and usually very welcome! – weight loss that happens in the early stages of a keto diet. However, losing a lot of water and sodium is responsible for many of the unpleasant symptoms of keto flu.

It’s well known that response to the keto transition is very individual. Some people may feel fine or slightly tired for a day or two after starting keto. At the other extreme, there are those who develop symptoms that strongly impact their ability to function for several days.

However, the keto flu doesn’t have to be unbearable for anyone if the proper steps are taken to remedy it.

The cure for the keto flu

Symptoms of the keto flu usually disappear by themselves within a few days to weeks, as the body adapts. But rather than suffering needlessly during this time, why not address the cause and start feeling better right now? The first step is by far the most important, and it’s often all that’s needed.
 

1. Top tip: increase your salt and water intake

Since loss of salt and water is responsible for most keto flu issues, increasing your intake of both can help reduce your symptoms significantly and often eliminate them altogether.

During the first few weeks of your keto lifestyle, whenever you develop a headache, lethargy, nausea, dizziness or other symptoms, drink a glass of water with half a teaspoon of salt stirred into it.

This simple action may alleviate your keto flu symptoms within 15 to 30 minutes. Feel free to do this twice a day or more, if needed.

Or for a tasty alternative, drink consommé, bouillon, bone broth, chicken stock or beef stock — and stir in a spoonful of salted butter, if you like. Or, if you’re using low-sodium bone broth or stock, add a pinch or two of salt.

In addition, make sure you’re drinking enough water. The larger you are, the more water you’ll probably lose in the early stages of keto, and the more you’ll need to replace. A good rule of thumb is to drink a minimum of 2.5 liters of fluid every day during your first week of keto.

This doesn’t mean you must drink at least 2.5 liters of plain water in addition to your other beverages. Although drinking plenty of water is important, coffee and tea will contribute toward your fluid intake as well. Still, try to keep your caffeine intake modest (about 3 cups of coffee per day), as high amounts may potentially increase loss of water and sodium.

Getting enough water, sodium and other electrolytes like magnesium and potassium can also help with another issue people often experience in the early stages of a keto diet: constipation.

Learn more about electrolyte supplementation on a keto diet

2. More fat = fewer symptoms

Increasing salt and fluid intake usually resolves most of the keto flu side effects. However, if you continue feeling poorly after following those recommendations, try eating more fat.

Due to decades of misinformation about fat being unhealthy, fat phobia is common among people who are new to low-carb eating. But if you sharply cut back on carbs without upping your fat intake, your body will think it is starving. You’ll feel tired, hungry and miserable.

A well-balanced keto diet includes enough fat to ensure you’re not hungry after a meal, can go for several hours without eating, and have ample energy.

Be sure to increase your intake of fat at the start of your keto journey until your body adapts to using fat and ketones for most of its energy needs. Once you’re fat adapted, let your appetite guide you in cutting back on fat a bit and seeing how much you need to feel satisfied.

In short: When in doubt, add butter or other fat to your food. And check out our top 10 tips for boosting fat intake. You can also follow our keto recipes, which have enough fat in relation to carbs and protein.

3. Slower transition

Has adding more water, salt and fat not helped very much? Are you still feeling achy, tired and off?

We recommend you try to endure keto eating for a few more days until the symptoms pass. Research suggests that a very-low-carb diet is best for weight loss and metabolic issues like type 2 diabetes.Keto flu symptoms are only temporary – they’ll be long gone once you’re a fat burner.

You can, however, slow down the transition to ketogenic eating by consuming a few more carbs, such as following a more moderate low-carb diet that provides 20 to 50 grams of carbs a day.

Eating slightly more carbs may potentially slow down weight loss and result in less rapid and dramatic health improvements. However, it can still lead to better health, especially if you are cutting out sugar and processed foods. And keto flu will no longer be an issue.

Once you’ve adapted to low-carb eating, feel free to try eating less than 20 grams of carbs again to see whether your body prefers this or slightly higher carb intake.

4. Take it easy with physical activity

Although many people find that their energy and stamina improve on a keto lifestyle, trying to do too much in the early stages can worsen keto flu symptoms.

Well-known ketogenic researcher Dr. Steve Phinney has conducted studies in endurance athletes and obese adults demonstrating that physical performance decreases during the first week of very-low-carb eating. Fortunately, his research also shows that performance typically recovers — and often improves — within 4 to 6 weeks.

Walking, stretching, or doing gentle yoga or other mind-body exercise should be fine and may even help you feel better. But when your body is already under stress from trying to adapt to a new fuel system, don’t place an additional burden on it by attempting any type of strenuous workout. Take it easy for the first few weeks and then slowly increase your exercise intensity.

5. Don’t consciously restrict food intake

Some people find that they aren’t very hungry the first week of keto because they are nauseated or have a headache that reduces their appetite. Yet others may get pretty hungry and worry that they’re eating too many calories to achieve the kind of fast weight loss they’ve heard about.

The Atkins diet begins with induction, its strictest phase that allows for maximum fat burning and getting into ketosis quickly. On this diet, as long as carbs are restricted to 20 or fewer grams per day, you can eat as much of the allowed foods you need to feel full.

It’s not a good idea to focus on calories when you’re trying to become keto adapted. Letting yourself get hungry or stressing about the amount of food you’re eating might even make keto flu symptoms worse. Once you’re steadily in ketosis, your appetite will likely go down, and you’ll naturally end up eating less.

Eat as much of the allowed foods as needed until you’re no longer hungry, and have keto snacks like hard-boiled eggs available in case hunger strikes between meals. On the other hand, make sure to avoid getting overly full by eating slowly and paying attention to hunger and fullness signals.

Dr. Eric Westman’s tips

Learn more about getting the best results and the least side effects on a ketogenic diet from world renowned keto expert Dr. Eric Westman.

The Best Keto Crack Chicken – Recipe

Tips

What to serve with crack chicken

Great low-carb ways to serve the crack chicken is on to of keto bread as a warm open faced sandwich, in a keto tortilla as a wrap, on top of a salad, on top of keto zoodles, or wrapped in a cabbage or salad leaf.

Storing

This dish keeps fresh in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a week. It also freezes well for up to three months. Since it contains many dairy products, it’s always a good idea to thaw it on low heat to keep it from separating.

Ranch seasoning

Store-bought ranch seasoning usually contains a lot of additives and hidden sugar so we recommend making your own, trust us, it’s worth it.

Cooking crack chicken in the oven

This is the perfect hack if you don’t want to wait for hours before dinner is on the table or if you don’t have a slow cooker at home but still want to make this dish.

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).

2. Shred the meat from a rotisserie chicken and remove the skin. OR boil the chicken fillets in chicken broth for 20 minutes under the lid and shred them using two forks when done.

3. Mix the meat together with the ranch seasoning, salt, cream cheese, and half of the cheese. Put it in a baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and cooked bacon.

4. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

5. Garnish with chives and ground black pepper.

Cooking crack chicken in the Instant Pot

Love your Instant Pot? We’ve got you covered.

1. Mix the cream cheese mixture as stated in step 1.

2. Place chicken breasts at the bottom of your instant pot. Spread the cream cheese mixture on top.

3. Close the lid and the vent and cook on high for 15 minutes. Let steam naturally release for 10 min. Open the lid and stir. Let the sauce thicken for a few minutes.

4. Garnish with chives and ground black pepper.

Recommended special equipment

Slow cooker.

10 Day Keto Re-Set – What The Fat?

According to Kim Kardashian, she lost 34kgs on the keto diet. I don’t usually go quite as strict as keto but…

Here’s where I’m at with my nutrition. It’s been a long and summery break here for a New Zealand University academic (me). Beaches, surfing, sun…good times. The thing is that when you are Low Carb Healthy Fat for a long time, you start to creep back into fooling yourself both about your own body composition and being LCHF.

The reality is I’ve eaten more carbs than I should, I’m a bit overweight than I’d like to be, and I feel more sluggish than I’d like to.

What am I talking about?  I’m talking about eating some carb snacks here and there, a few beers, a takeaway meal full of carbs. Fine, I say to myself, I’m the one who came up with the “3 meal rule”. That’s when you allow yourself up to three meals a week when things don’t go completely to plan (a meal out, a birthday celebration, wedding, etc).

You tell yourself what you want to  hear. We all do this, don’t we?

Here’s the trip of lies:

1. Because I haven’t been working as much, I’ve been surfing more, running more and think,  “what the heck, I’m running it off anyway”. Not true, you can’t out-run a poor diet.

2. I don’t bother checking my weight. Deep down I knew it was going up.

3. I tell myself that these are the holidays and you have to relax a bit. The truth was I was well relaxed, and a poor diet didn’t add to any extra relaxation, in fact it made me feel worse.

The Remedy:

Here’s what I’m doing right now.  I’m calling it the 10 Day Keto Reset. It’s a great way to start into low carb, or if you are like me and have been LCHF for years, it’s  a great chance to get back to basics and remind yourself and those around you just what the benefits and basic rules around Low Carb Healthy Fat eating are.

The 10 day challenge is just the right amount of time to re-set things a bit, get your fat oxidation rates right up there, and get the habits back on track into the new year.

My rules for my 10 Day Keto Challenge:

1. No snacks.  For some reason I drifted into snacking at any moment, not because I was hungry but because I just did.  My go-to foods were cheese and nuts – both great LCHF foods and nutritious for sure. But these are things you should eat when you need them. After all, a big benefit of LCHF is not having  to snack all the time because you are hungry.

2. Go really low carb – I usually don’t go for a full ketogenic diet. Average around 80-120 g carbs a day when I’m highly active and on track. More recently I expect that the bad days would have been closer to 160 g/day of carbs which hardly even qualifies as LCHF eating. The trouble is when you eat that many carbs for a while then you lose the ability to be a great fat burner and easily access ketones as your primary fuel source when you need them.  So 10 days of being really super strict on the carbs is a great way to get the fat oxidation rates way up again and returning to being the fat burning machine I usually am.  I’m aiming for 20-30 g carbs/days over the next 10 days.

3. Eat two meals a day. This works really well for me logistically and introduces a big period where my insulin and blood glucose are low and I have to rely on fat burning as my primary fuel source. It’s a nice way of getting a compressed eating window in.  I’ll either miss breakfast and have a well prepared salad/oil/protein lunch and a usual meat/vege LCHF dinner, or I’ll have an egg based breakfast and miss lunch and eat dinner.  I find it very behaviourally hard to miss dinner with my family and it’s socially awkward so I always eat dinner.

4. Weigh myself. OK this isn’t obsessive compulsive, but it’s just for 10 days and I’ll see the start I need from following the above protocols. Its good to take notice of where you are at sometimes.

5. Test my blood ketones.  I’ll do this once a day just  to make sure I really am getting back into nutritional ketosis.  If you don’t want to do this bit you don’t have to. An alternative way is that I check (usually as some fun with my oldest son) how long I can hold my breath for.  I notice that when I’m in ketosis it more than doubles. It’s hard to beat him when I’m eating too many carbs, but I can easily beat him when I’m fat adapted (OK slightly weird I know, but that’s  what I do….).

6. Alcohol free. I like a wine or a low carb beer, but it’s time to have a break for a few weeks, well at least 10 days. I’ll probably go for longer on this challenge.

7. Tell people what you are doing and why. Mostly people want to help, and mostly they’ll probably join in as well.  Ask and you will receive!

The net result – a couple of kilos of unwanted fat will disappear, I’ll be fat burning, and I will have re-set those bad habits that crept back in.  I’ll be good to go for the year!

7-Day Keto Diet Plan

The goal of a ketogenic diet—a nutrition plan high in fats and low in carbs—is to help you lose weight more efficiently by achieving ketosis. Ketosis is when your metabolism starts to burn fat for fuel instead of carbs and sugar. Atkins is a ketogenic diet, but unlike the standard keto diet, Atkins is less restrictive, meaning you get more food choices and a better balance of macronutrients.

With Atkins 20^®, net carbs are restricted to 20g or fewer per day for a two-week induction phase to guarantee that ketosis is achieved, before gradually adding small amounts of net carbs back into your diet. Consuming a well-constructed keto diet that’s low in carbs, moderate in protein, and high in healthy fats—as you do on Atkins 20^® or Atkins 40^®—has shown to be safe and effective. Typical of Atkins 20 ^®, this 7-day keto plan is broken down as follows:

• 60–70% fat: Keto diets replace the calories that typically come from carbs with an increase in the percentage of calories coming from fat. But not all fat is created equal. Reach for healthy fats from high-quality plant and animal sources, such as olive oil and coconut oil as well as eggs, avocados, cheese, and fish.
• 20–30% protein: Following a keto diet requires eating an adequate amount of protein to supply your liver with amino acids, which help make new glucose for the cells and organs in your body that can’t use ketones as fuel. Eating too much protein can suppress ketosis, but not consuming enough can lead to a loss in muscle mass.
• 5–10% carbs: On a keto diet like Atkins, you’ll limit your net carb intake to 20 to 40 grams per day. To ensure you’re getting all of your required nutrients, especially fiber, it is important that the carbs you do eat come from vitamin and mineral-rich foundation vegetables.

Sample Keto Diet 7-Day Meal Plan

Most people can consume up to 50g total carbohydrates per day and maintain ketosis. This sample 7-day keto diet plan, with an average of 20.5g net carbs per day, will show you how to eat right, not less, with Atkins keto while still enjoying a variety of satisfying foods.

Day 1: Monday

Total net carbs: 20. 7g

Keto tip of the day: Low carb diets like Atkins keto have a diuretic effect, so make sure you’re drinking at least 6 to 8 glasses of water each day. Not consuming enough water—especially when starting a new low carb diet—can lead to constipation, dizziness, and sugar/carb cravings. Also make sure you add extra salt to your diet in order to make sure you’re getting enough electrolytes. Try sipping on full-sodium broth or adding a little extra salt to your food.

Day 2: Tuesday

Total net carbs: 20.1g 

Keto tip of the day: Get moving! Exercising regularly can help you achieve ketosis by aiding your body in using up its excess glucose before storing as glycogen. It’s normal to feel a bit sluggish when starting a keto diet, so if you’re new to the low carb lifestyle, stay active with low-intensity movement like yoga and walking. When you’re feeling more energized, add in some high-intensity exercise a few days a week. 

Day 3: Wednesday

Total net carbs: 19. 7g

Keto tip of the day: If you are new to a low carb lifestyle, you might start to come down with what’s known as the keto flu. A term coined by the keto community, this is a temporary side effect experienced by some people when they start the keto diet. If you are experiencing headaches, weakness, and poor concentration, don’t throw in the towel! Electrolytes and water are quickly depleted when you first start a keto diet, so make sure you are drinking plenty of water and consuming a little extra sodium and potassium. It also helps to get adequate sleep and make sure you are eating plenty of healthy fats.

Day 4: Thursday

Total net carbs: 19.3g 

Keto tip of the day: Craving something sweet? Whip up a decadent dessert with this easy recipe for Chocolate Pecan Pie Bites suitable for all Atkins phases. Note that one serving of this recipe will add 1.8g net carbs and 7.1g of fat to today’s menu. Browse Atkins extensive recipe database for more low carb dessert recipes.

 Day 5: Friday

Total net carbs: 21.9g

Keto tip of the day: It’s the end of the work week, so meet up with your friends or family for dinner! Living low carb doesn’t mean you have to cook every one of your meals. Stay on track when dining out by asking the restaurant for nutrition information, choosing meat and veggie dishes, opting out of starchy sides like mashed potatoes, and avoiding sugary condiments like BBQ sauce. And check out these other keto-friendly restaurants!

Day 6: Saturday

Total net carbs: 20.7

• Breakfast (4.9g net carbs): Red Bell Pepper Filled with Creamy Eggs and Spinach
• Snack (1g net carbs): Atkins Strawberry Shake
• Lunch (2.5g net carbs): Tuna salad with 4 oz tuna, 2 stalks celery, 1 dill pickle spear, 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• Snack (4.5g net carbs): 1 portobello mushroom cap, ¼ cup Salsa Cruda, and 1 oz pepper jack cheese
• Dinner (7.8g net carbs): 5 oz Italian sausage, ¼ medium onion sliced, and ½ red bell pepper sliced with a side of 2 cups baby spinach, ½ cup sliced mushrooms, and 2 Tbsp Blue Cheese Dressing

Keto tip of the day: If you’re feeling celebratory or are out on the town, enjoy a low carb drink without throwing off your week. One 3.5 ounce glass of dry red wine has 2.6g net carbs, and 1 ounce of bourbon has 0g net carbs. However, watch out for hidden carbs in mixers, and remember that these are additional carbs to today’s menu. You can easily keep track of your daily net carbs with the Atkins app or this guide.

Day 7: Sunday

Total net carbs: 20.8

Keto tip of the day: Head to the supermarket and meal prep for the upcoming week to stay on track with your low carb lifestyle! Switch things up by making some of your favorite meals with low carb ingredient swaps. And brush up on how to avoid the most common keto mistakes.

Atkins has even more diet plans and meal plans personalized for your lifestyle, as well as an incredible library of 1,000+ delicious low carb and keto recipes.

90,000 menus per week for women and men, rules and nutrition plan

^{Keto diet for weight loss.}

The essence of the ketosis weight loss program

As confirmed by numerous reviews, the keto diet is an effective method of burning fat reserves. Since the daily menu consists of nutritious meals, there is practically no feeling of hunger, so the body is not stressed.

During a ketogenic diet, metabolism is rebuilt.

The diet involves the maximum reduction in the amount of carbohydrates, due to which the body begins to extract energy from body fat.

Rules for achieving ketosis

To enter a ketosis state, you must follow these recommendations:

1. Avoid snacks from the diet, because they can cause a surge in insulin.
2. Start playing sports. It is enough to take no more than half an hour a day for exercise.
3. Do not be afraid to eat fats, because they are the main source of energy.
4. Reduce the amount of protein consumed – up to 1. 7 per 1 kg of body weight.
5. Reduce carbohydrate intake to 30 g per day.
6. Drink a lot of purified water – up to 3-4 liters per day.

Typical symptoms of ketosis:

• Decreased appetite;
• the appearance of a characteristic odor of acetone from the mouth, from urine and sweat;
• Frequent urge to urinate;
• dry mouth.

4 stages

The restructuring of the body takes place in 4 stages. The duration of the first phase is 12 hours after the last carbohydrate meal.At this stage, the body uses up its stores of glucose.

The second phase lasts 48 hours. During this period, glycogen is consumed. At the third stage, metabolism begins to rebuild. The body already extracts energy not from carbohydrates, but from protein and fatty acids.

The last stage begins in a week: the body adapts to carbohydrate deficiency and enters a ketosis state.

For the system to give results, it is advisable to adhere to it for a month.

^{How the keto diet works.}

The required amount of carbohydrates per day for a keto diet

You need to consume 20-30 g of carbohydrates per day. Special recipes for the keto diet meet this requirement. To replenish carbohydrates, it is enough to eat 100 g of raspberries or blackberries, 1/2 grapefruit daily.

^{Food pyramid.}

Is it necessary to count calories on a keto diet?

It is not necessary to count calories on a keto diet, but it is important to keep the balance of BJU. It is necessary to consume about 150 g of protein, 30 g of carbohydrates and 142 g of fat per day.To understand how much nutrients 1 meal should contain, the daily intake of BJU is divided by 5. Thus, it turns out that for 1 meal a person should receive 30 g of protein, 28 g of fat, 5 g of carbohydrates.

What foods to use

List of allowed products are long enough, so you won’t have to starve on a diet.

The list can be conditionally divided into the following categories:

1. Meat. Pork is recommended.
2. Fish. It is advisable to eat salmon.
3. Oils and fats.
4. Fermented milk products. It is recommended to include fatty hard cheeses and cottage cheese in the diet.
5. Nuts and seeds.
6. Fruits and vegetables: lemon and grapefruit, coconut, blackberries and raspberries, tomatoes and cucumbers, beets, carrots, etc.

Coffee must be drunk with cream of 20-30% fat. Add sausage and bacon to the omelet, scrambled eggs. Canned fish and meat, cod liver, sprats, various pates are also allowed.

Salads can be seasoned not only with olive oil, but also with mayonnaise.Other non-carbohydrate sauces are also suitable. The menu can include dishes containing mushrooms, beans, different types of cabbage, avocados.

Even the use of alcoholic beverages is allowed, but with a minimum sugar content. These include whiskey, brandy, rum, etc.

^{Recommended keto foods.}

Keto Meal Plan

One of the main advantages of this nutrition system is that you do not need to count calories and adhere to a strict meal schedule. The diet is based on a 70/20/10 nutrient ratio: 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbohydrates.

Eating is recommended 3-4 times a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner must be served, lunch is optional). If necessary, it is also allowed to arrange a second dinner. You can go in for sports on a diet, but in the first 2 weeks, physical activity should be slightly reduced.

Menu for the week for the keto diet

The recommended calorie content for breakfast is 550-600 kcal. The first meal should include up to 15 g of carbohydrates.Non-starchy vegetables and cheeses would be a good option. You can make an omelet or scrambled eggs from 3-4 eggs with fried tomatoes. A protein shake, a loaf of cheese will do.

You can also order the same ready-made menu:

Carbohydrates should be limited for lunch, so it is not recommended to consume yoghurts and milk. The energy value of this meal should be 350-400 kcal. Meat broths with vegetables, but without potatoes, salads are suitable for lunch.

For dinner you can eat vegetables and meat. Allowed to add fats in the form of vegetable oil or nuts. The calorie content of dinner is about 300 kcal.

For lunch and before bedtime, you can eat cheese, cottage cheese, boiled eggs, almonds, cucumbers, celery.

For women

An approximate weekly menu for women is presented in the form of a table.

Breakfast

. ..milk and 50 g of cottage cheese, a handful of almonds

, 2 cucumbers 150 g tuna, 50 g boiled asparagus

Meals	Days
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th
2 boiled eggs, 3 thin slices of cheese, 50 g of protein shake, coffee	Omelet, 150 g of baked beetroot, coffee	Egg, ½ avocado, 150 g of baked red fish, vegetables	Omelet with prosciutto, coffee	Fried eggs with mushrooms, a slice of cheese, coffee	Omelet with grated cheese, lettuce, coffee	250 g salted chum salmon with baked tomatoes, boiled egg
Lunch	Apple, a handful of your favorite nuts	1/2 tbsp. yoghurt with 30 g fried cheese balls	40 g protein shake, 1/2 grapefruit	3-5 pcs. vegetable sticks (e.g. carrots, celery, paprika, cucumber)	30g pistachios	Smoothies 1 tbsp. milk and 50 g cottage cheese, a handful of almonds
Lunch	180 g chicken stew, 150 g salad	180 g baked beef, 150 g stewed vegetables	180 g baked turkey with cheese and dill	180 g baked meat, 150 g salad	180 g pork steak, 100 g stewed vegetables	170 g stewed veal, 150 g boiled broccoli	170 g fried pork with vegetables
Dinner	150g chum salmon	Shrimp and squid salad (40 g each), 20 g cheese, 1 egg and cucumber	180 g grilled shrimp, 100 g spinach and cheese salad	180 g sterlet, baked with vegetables and cheese	180 g chum salmon with cheese and vegetables	180 g hot salad of smoked salmon, eggs and olives
Second supper	160 g fermented milk cheese	30g casein	160 g sour milk cheese	50 g casein, 100 g sour milk cheese	1 tbsp. curdled milk, 100 g sour milk cheese	200 g sour milk cheese	50 g casein, 100 g sour milk cheese

^{Meat and vegetables.}

For men

An approximate dietary menu for every day for men, presented in the table, will help you create an individual nutritional plan.

Meals

Days

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

Breakfast

80 g fried omelette, 130 g beef chop, 150 ml tea

160 g rice pudding, toast, 150 ml tea

150 g bacon and eggs, small croutons, 150 ml tea

2 fish cakes, 130 g fresh vegetables, 150 ml of tea

3 boiled eggs, 120 g of baked chicken fillet, 110 g of vegetable salad, 150 ml of tea

120 g of omelet, 110 g of cottage cheese, 150 ml of tea

180 g of mushroom casserole, 1 tbsp.tea with crackers

Lunch

160 g of cottage cheese

1. 5 tbsp. protein shake

90 g cheese

120 g omelet

1 tbsp. rosehip infusions, 1 rusk

70 g applesauce

80 g cottage cheese

Lunch

130 g boiled chicken fillet, 140 g vegetable salad, 250 ml jelly

240 g borsch with meat, 80 g chicken zraz, 80 g cabbage salad, 150 ml jelly

170 g chicken soup, 90 g beef steak, 140 g vegetable salad, 1 tbsp.tea

Portion of borscht, 110 g of meat salad, 100 ml of jelly

Portion of puréed soup, 130 g of meat salad, 1 tbsp. jelly

A portion of fish soup, 130 g of any vegetables, 1 chicken cutlet, 1 tbsp. tea

A portion of chicken soup, 2 beef patties, 80 g of fresh vegetables, 1 tbsp. jelly

Dinner

120 g of baked fish with dill, a portion of brown rice, 200 ml of tea

180 g of shrimps, a loaf of cheese, 1 tbsp. tea

130 g of stewed mushrooms, 150 g of vegetable salad, 1 tbsp. tea

110 g chum salmon, bread with cheese, 1 tbsp. tea

180 g of baked salmon, 120 g of any vegetables, 1 tbsp. tea

160 g shrimp, 110 g boiled chicken, 1 tbsp. tea

130 g fish, cooked in a double boiler, 110 g fresh vegetables, 1 tbsp. tea

Second supper

1 tbsp. protein shake

Casein

1 tbsp. unsweetened kefir

1.5 tbsp. protein shake

Casein

1 tbsp. protein shake

180 ml unsweetened kefir

^{Protein shakes for the second dinner.}

Second option

The next menu option (see table) is suitable for people who are actively working, because it involves only 3 meals a day.

Breakfast

Reviews of ketone fasting

Evgenia, 27 years old, Yekaterinburg

Diet sports. In this case, the regime must be strictly observed. I managed to lose weight in a month, but I do not plan to go on this diet again.

Marina, 38 years old, Moscow

I used to adhere to the Dukan weight loss program, but now I have been following the keto diet for 6 years in a row for 2 weeks a year. During this time, we managed to get rid of 10 kg. The lost kilograms are not returned. I like the diet and the result suits, but I would not dare to hold out on it for more than 2 weeks.

Inna, 42 years old, Volgograd

The system is good, but not suitable for beginners.For those who have never been on a diet, it is better to choose an easier program first. In a short time, I managed to lose 10 kg. I practice this diet before a holiday or summer vacation to get in shape.

Keto Diet 8 ready-made menus for a week for weight loss

Do you need to count calories on a keto diet?

No, you don’t need to count calories. A person experiences reduced hunger on a keto diet and automatically eats less and loses excess weight.Especially if you are basing your diet on natural foods and only try to eat when you are hungry.

It is true that you can lose weight quickly with the keto diet (scientific research). But this does not mean that you can eat any amount of food and still lose weight. For example, if you consume too much fat, your body will only burn that incoming fat, not excess body fat.

Common problems that prevent people from getting results from their diet are snacking on delicious cheeses or eating salted nuts, or keto baked goods, keto cookies.The food is very easy to eat just because it tastes good. If you want to lose weight, try to eat only when you are hungry.

Can you drink alcohol on a keto diet?

Yes. But stick to low-carb alcoholic drinks like dry wine or sugar-free drinks.

Fats from which foods are best to consume?

Best options are butter, olive oil, coconut oil, full-fat dairy products (including heavy cream), and avocado oil. Avoid low fat foods.On a ketogenic diet, fat burning increases significantly in the body, so you can and should eat food with a lot of fat, but in moderation.

How many carbohydrates should you eat on a keto diet per day?

The keto diet recommends eating less than 20 grams of carbs per day, and this is exactly what our keto recipes meet. You may also need to lower your protein intake slightly. Using our recipes and menus means you don’t have to count carbs – we’ve already done the count for you.Follow the food guidelines as well, and you can easily stay in ketosis without having to do carb counts. 90,013 90,000 Read the book The Keto Diet. Your 30-Day Plan to Lose Weight, Balance Hormones, Improve Your Brain and Beat Disease by Josh Ax: Online Reading

Why the keto diet is a healthy choice for everyone

The ketogenic diet is the only meal plan that shifts energy from carbohydrates to fat, and the health benefits of this kind of change cannot be overstated. The body’s use of fats for energy makes you slimmer, healthier, and helps tackle a health problem that has recently begun to attract attention and is rapidly becoming the “new obesity” epidemic. We are talking about the so-called excess body fat – a condition in which, although a person’s weight is within normal limits, the proportional content of fat and muscle mass and bones in his body is disturbed. This condition occurs in approximately 80% of women and 90% of men in the United States. ⁵

Even if you don’t need to lose weight, you may well have excess body fat – a hidden phenomenon that can surreptitiously increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, gout, lung disease, and obstructive sleep apnea.

A 2016 large-scale study published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that people with a high percentage of body fat are at increased risk of death, regardless of their BMI. ⁶ In other words, the number you see on the scale does not properly reflect your overall health, as it does not measure what is under your skin. The amount of fat inside your body, even if you can’t see it, can either promote or harm your health.

My Keto Diet contains a unique set of macronutrients that alone can combat the problem of excess body fat and the risks it poses quickly and effectively.And this is just one of the important aspects that make up the long-term positive effects of this diet. This is what radically sets the very low carb and high fat content of my keto diet out of any diet you’ve ever tried on yourself, and why my diet can change your life.

Carbohydrates make you fat and sick

Most people eat foods that are about 50% carbohydrates, 34% fat and 16% protein. ⁷ Since your body processes carbohydrates much faster than proteins or fats, your energy boomerang rushes back and forth all day. And along with the ups and downs of energy, carbohydrates fill your bloodstream with sugars, triggering two dangerous body responses. First of all, high blood sugar forces your pancreas to produce extra insulin – a hormone that David Ludwig, physician, endocrinologist and professor of nutritional science at Harvard Health School, calls “the best fertilizer for fat cells” because it forces your body to store calories in the form of body fat. ⁸ As a result, this leads to the fact that the fat cells increase in number and size.

And as if these problems weren’t enough, when insulin directs calories to fat, it “closes the door behind them,” sealing those calories inside. And when these valuable energy resources are sealed in fat cells, your body is left with too little glucose available to nourish your brain and muscles. The brain, feeling a lack of nutrition, stimulates the feeling of hunger. So, according to Dr. Ludwig and others, it is not overeating that makes us fat.Processed foods that contain added sugar program our fat cells to grow, which in turn leads to overeating. In other words, low-fat and highly processed, sugar-filled snacks and starches are a significant contributor to the obesity epidemic.

At the same time, the sugar from the processing of carbohydrates that remains floating in your circulatory system causes your body to trigger an inflammatory immune response aimed at getting rid of this sugar, and inflammation, as I mentioned, causes a whole a number of serious health problems, including Alzheimer’s and cancer. Inflammation is your body’s response to external threats. When used to ward off an infection trapped in a wound on your finger, it can be a real lifesaver. When they become chronic due to problems such as high blood sugar or plaque in the arteries, it starts to feel like a serious fire in the body, damaging tissues and leading to organ destruction.

High-density fats support your health

The low-fat craze that began in the 1970s was based on a flawed but well-intentioned logic: because a gram of fat contains twice as many calories as proteins or carbohydrates, then reducing the consumption of fat in half, as experts reasoned, should lead to easy weight loss.Very soon, low-fat foods were everywhere. And guess what they contained? Refined carbohydrates and added sugars, that is, ingredients that cause extra insulin production and thus lead to the formation of body fat. ⁸ As a result, the low-fat craze helped kick-start the obesity epidemic.

This trend is now starting to reverse. Over the past decade, a number of studies have rehabilitated fats. The groundbreaking paper, published in the respected New England Journal of Medicine a few years ago, compared overweight people on a low-fat diet, a moderate-fat Mediterranean diet, and a high-fat diet. ⁹ The study was conducted over a period of two years – a significant period of time in the field of dietary research and long enough to make the results extremely convincing. The researchers found that people on a high-fat diet not only lost more weight, but they also saw positive changes in risk factors for heart disease, including triglycerides and HDL; and participants with diabetes improved their blood sugar readings. Eating fat, this study found, did indeed have a positive effect on the health of the participants.

Surprised? Do not be surprised. Today we know that healthy fats have many positive properties, and my approach to the keto diet includes only the most nutritious and healthy fats available. For example, my keto diet, like the diet of our ancestors, completely excludes hydrogenated oils, and here’s why: during processing, these oils undergo structural changes and oxidize, and oxidized oils provoke inflammatory processes in the body. All the healthy fats in my keto diet come from the most nutritious sources, and many of them are also combined with other super-healthy vitamins, minerals and fat-soluble nutrients.

Just as it is beneficial to eat a wide variety of vegetables and get a range of phytochemicals and nutrients, it is important to eat different types of healthy fats because they each have their own benefits. In the following chapters, we’ll dive deeper into the specific benefits of fats, but for now I’ll give you a quick overview.

● Saturated fats make up a significant part of our cell membranes, so they are vital for the health of every cell in our body, especially the brain.Grass-fed animal products are good sources of these fats.

● Medium chain triglycerides (fatty acids) are fats that are most easily digested and converted into energy in our bodies. Their sources are unrefined coconut and palm oils.

● Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are very important for the control of anti-inflammatory processes in the body. Foods from which these types of fats can be obtained are wild-caught fish, such as salmon, as well as flax, chia, hemp and oils such as cod liver oil and flaxseed.Algae, which has been used as a medicine for centuries, also contains anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, like so much more. Algae are such a powerful source of energy for the body that I call them super algae.

● Monounsaturated Omega-9 Fatty Acids lubricate joints and support hormonal health. My keto diet program encourages many delicious Omega-9 rich foods such as avocados, nuts, seeds, and olives.

● Cholesterol from organic, free-range birds, egg yolks can actually, despite what you’ve been told in the past, improve your good HDL cholesterol, improve your hormonal system, and help your brain’s neurotransmitters.

If you are looking to start your journey to lifelong good health, my high fat and very low carb keto diet is a great way to get started. By putting your body in ketosis, my program offers a wide range of healing changes.It gives your pancreas, the carbohydrate-processing organ, the opportunity to rest and recover. It enables your body to dissolve scar tissue, as well as detect and get rid of unhealthy cells that contain damaged DNA and can be a testing ground for the development of cancer. Ketosis is the most effective way to start the healing process of the whole body.

Top 12 High Fat Foods

Now that you understand the basics of my keto diet program, in the following pages I will walk you step by step through the why and how of my approach.In my functional medicine practice, I approach the treatment of my patients the same way I would approach the treatment of my own family. I give them recipes and shopping lists – just like I gave them to my mom when she battled cancer and the health problems that came after she got cancer treatment for the first time. I explain to them the usual drawbacks of the ketogenic approach and help them solve their own specific problems. I let them know that I am there all the way and intend to do the same in this book.Once I developed a complete, easy-to-follow program for my mom, now I offer you a program that suits you personally, including everything you need to integrate the program into your lifestyle with the least possible effort. The keto diet is not a journey that you go alone. This is the path that we will walk together. Whether you are struggling with overweight or diabetes, or just feeling far from ideal, I am confident that my keto diet program has the potential to change your life.

The time has come for a breakthrough in the fight to improve health.

Keto Test:

Can You Benefit From My Keto Diet Program?

Take this yes / no test to see if my keto diet is right for you. After each yes answer, keep reading to see why my keto diet plan might help.

1. One of the biggest dieting challenges I’ve tried was hunger.Yes / No

Thanks to the high fat and low carbohydrate content of my keto diet, you will never go hungry by following it.

2. No matter what I do, I still have fat deposits on my sides and on my stomach. Yes / No

The very low carbohydrate content of my keto diet puts your body in ketosis and starts burning fat stores for energy. In a matter of days, you will see these stubborn body fat begin to disappear.

3. I have noticed that my energy level goes up and down during the day and I may have problems with my blood sugar. Yes / No

Carbohydrates are responsible for energy surges and falls. By reducing your carbohydrate intake and starting to consume enough healthy fats, you can lower your blood sugar and balance your insulin production.

4. I often feel sluggish and confused. Yes / No

Carbohydrates are to blame for this.Spikes and drops in blood sugar levels make most people feel sleepy. The high fat content of the keto diet will have a positive effect on your brain, which loves to use fat for energy.

5. There are cases of cancer in my family, and I would like to do everything possible to protect myself from this threat. Yes / No

There are promising studies that demonstrate that being in ketosis can clear the body of damaged cells that lead to the formation of cancer cells.

6. I suffer from hormonal problems (thyroid problems, polycystic ovary syndrome, premenstrual syndrome, menopausal symptoms, low testosterone levels). Yes / No

When insulin is out of balance in your system, all other hormones are affected as well. By lowering your carbohydrate intake, you also lower your insulin production, which can help keep all of your hormonal problems in check.

7. My memory is not what it used to be, and I feel that my brain is not working properly.Yes / No

Research shows that the ketogenic diet supports optimal brain function and may improve memory.

8. I have digestive problems and / or fungal infections. Yes / No

The low sugar keto diet helps to normalize digestive problems and stop the growth of fungal infections. At the same time, my keto diet plan contains many non-starchy foods, which means it provides your body with prebiotics in the form of dietary fiber.Prebiotics feed probiotics, which are microorganisms that normalize the intestinal microflora.

9. I often have pain in my joints and / or lower back or neck. Yes / No

Since the keto diet reduces inflammation, it can also reduce soreness throughout the body.

10. I have trouble sleeping or I am not getting enough sleep. Yes / No

Overeating carbohydrates in the evening can cause insomnia in the same way as spikes in insulin levels.

11. I have food sensitivities and a weak immune system. Yes / No

Some of the most common food sensitivities arise from so-called healthy carbohydrates such as wheat, barley and rye. My keto diet eliminates many sources of food sensitivities. At the same time, some types of food sensitivities can be caused by bacteria in your gut. By normalizing the gut microflora, the keto diet also provides protection against food sensitivities.

12. I have neurological problems and / or have migraines. Yes / No

This keto diet was originally developed to treat epilepsy, a serious neurological condition. It has also been shown to help relieve headaches and is beneficial for a wide range of neurological problems, from Parkinson’s to Alzheimer’s.

Chapter 2

Benefits of the Keto Diet. Amazing Ways Ketosis Can Transform Your Health

Now that you know a little about how my keto diet program works, I’ll share with you what it does for your health.This is where things get really exciting. When you hear the word “diet”, you are probably thinking “losing weight.” Point. But medical research shows that not only can a ketogenic diet help you lose weight incredibly quickly, it can also boost brain health, balance gut bacteria, reduce inflammation, fight cancer, balance your hormonal system, and more. When I say that the keto diet can work when nothing else works, I mean exactly that.Dozens of studies have shown how powerful this approach is for transforming your health.

The ketogenic diet is unparalleled because it essentially hacks into your body in a way that no other diet can: it puts your body into ketosis, so you stop burning sugar for energy and start burning fat. Here is an analogy that I often use when communicating with patients: let’s say you want to start a fire that will burn slowly, give constant heat and will not go out for a long time.You have three fuel options: brushwood, logs, or coal. The brushwood flares up quickly and burns quickly. The logs burn longer once they finally light up. But the fuel that will provide you with the longest, lasting, most warming fire is coal. The only problem is that coal is harder to ignite.

So it is with your body. There are three types of fuel that it can use to generate energy. Carbohydrates are similar to brushwood. They quickly “fire up” and give you an immediate burst of energy, but they also burn out quickly, so your energy levels drop a couple of hours after consuming carbohydrates, causing hunger and cravings for high-calorie and sweet foods.Squirrels are like logs. They provide more sustainable energy than carbohydrates. But the best fuel is fat. This “coal” for your body is the most stable and long-lasting source of energy. And the only way to get your body to burn fat, other than complete or partial starvation, is through a ketogenic diet that provides appetite-satisfying, nutritious food. My keto diet, which is high in fat and low in carbohydrates, forces your body to seek energy into the deep layers of stubborn fat deposits – a physiological transformation that is very beneficial to trigger as it has a wide positive effect on the whole body.

Unfortunately, we desperately need a dietary savior. In the 1960s, doctors began recommending a low-fat diet as a way to improve health, and by 1990 the USDA had brought the idea to the general public in a food pyramid. As this pyramid has demonstrated, healthy eating should be built on a solid foundation of bread, cereals, rice and pasta. And as little fat as possible. In keeping with the idea that fat is bad, we have eliminated all healthy fats that have nourished people’s bodies and brains for thousands of years, including bone broth, grass-fed meats, avocados and coconuts.And they replaced them with carbohydrates, carbohydrates and carbohydrates again. If you want proof, go to your local grocery store and walk down the aisles. What do you see? At least half of all products are processed carbohydrates. Flakes, crackers, pasta, sauces, salad dressings, breads, cookies, candy, sodas. These packed shelves are the epicenter of the obesity epidemic, the birthplace of many of the health problems of the American nation today.

The most striking example is diabetes mellitus.It ranks among the top ten most common diseases in the United States. Almost 10% of the population of ¹ (more than thirty million) today suffer from this disease, while falling at risk of a number of other serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, loss of vision, and premature death. More than half of limb amputations in the United States are due to the effects of diabetes. Diabetes mellitus can actually cost life and limbs.And there are 84 million more people in the country whose blood sugar levels lead to their pre-diabetic state and who literally balance on the brink of developing a full-fledged disease. It terrifies me. In 1958, only 1.5 million people in the United States had a history of diabetes. ² Today, more than 100 million adults in the United States are either pre-diabetic or already suffering from the condition, further threatening a host of serious health consequences that can be caused by glucose overload.

Deb McFeely from San Diego almost became one of them. When she was fifty-nine, the doctor reported that her blood sugar was high. Shortly after receiving this disturbing news, she heard about Keto-360, a program I developed with my colleagues Jordan Rubin, Dr. Jason Olafson, and Dr. Isaac Jones. This program solidified the foundation of the comprehensive approach that I set out in this book. Concerned about her health, Deb decided to try our diet.

In the first month, Deb lost about six kilograms, as well as 20 centimeters of fat – 12.5 around the waist, 2.5 from each hip and a little more than an inch from each arm. “For most of my adult life, I’ve been on one diet or the other, but this diet is without a doubt the most effective and simplest I’ve ever tried,” says Deb. – The diet provides enough saturation that sometimes I have to remind myself of food, and I am almost not drawn to sweets.I also sleep better. Before, I often woke up at night and felt exhausted all day. Now I have a deep, restful sleep, so I feel much more energetic. ”

But the present moment of truth came when Deb went to her doctor again. “He told me that I completely changed my blood sugar level. My sugar readings are back in the normal range, she recalls. – It was a really great moment. I am aging and my health is important to me.But I wasn’t sure I could do anything to change my blood sugar. Avoiding sugar and bread and eating more vegetables and healthy fats restored my health. And I got back into my skinny jeans that I wore five years ago. It’s not just a diet. I see it as a recipe for life. ”

90,000 From keto to paleo: 10 diets that can harm

Every year there are more diets that promise health and longevity. Each is positioned as a unique and the only correct way to eat, but in fact it turns out that their health benefits have not been proven, and the side effects are very dangerous.How to understand the approaches to nutrition and which ones should be avoided? Reminder has put together a quick guide to popular diets that can harm your health.

1. Keto and Low Carb Diets

Low carb diets have been credited with a wide range of health benefits, from weight control to curing autoimmune diseases. The keto diet is the most popular. It assumes about 70% of fat in the diet, and only 10% of carbohydrates. In comparison, the Mediterranean diet, which is considered the healthiest, has 50-60% of the daily intake of carbohydrates and only 25-30% of fat.

Why so much fat? Actually, all for the sake of ketosis – a state when, due to a deficiency of carbohydrates, the body is rebuilt and begins to take energy not from them, but from fats. To do this, it breaks down fats into molecules – ketone bodies. There are several reasons why this is particularly useful. First, the body spends more energy to convert fat into energy than it does to convert carbohydrates into energy, and this helps to lose weight. Research does not confirm that basal metabolic rate increases in keto.But a diet really helps you lose weight faster than a higher carbohydrate diet with the same calorie content. But only in the first year of compliance, then the differences disappear.

Second argument: Low-carb diets and ketosis have medicinal properties. First of all, we are talking about epileptic seizures: the keto diet reduces their frequency. Low-carb diets can also improve diabetes, presumably because the body produces less insulin [1, 2]. The American Diabetes Association has even stated that it considers low-carb diets to be the most compelling dietary strategy for blood sugar control.However, people with diabetes need to try these foods carefully and under medical supervision, as they can cause hypoglycemia.

Evidence for other medical conditions that the ketogenic diet could theoretically treat is inconclusive. For example, scientists have found that as a result of ketone metabolism, fewer free radicals are produced, and the amount of reactive oxygen species in the brain also decreases. This hints at the potential of the diet to reduce inflammation in the body. But the effects are observed in mice, not in humans.The same goes for the reduction of cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease, the treatment of depression and bipolar disorder: either we are talking about animals, or the sample is very small.

In terms of harm, the keto diet is not safe for people with diseases of the pancreas, liver, thyroid, or gallbladder. It cannot be considered a smart choice for people with heart disease: a large amount of fat in the diet can raise cholesterol levels and worsen the condition. But what’s most alarming is the results of a large, long-term study of low-carb diets.Scientists monitored the health of 24,825 people for seven years and found that people who consumed the least amount of carbohydrates for two years or more had a significant increase in the risks of both overall mortality and mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer. The short-term diet did not cause such problems.

2. Diet No. 5

“Tables” food was developed by the Soviet scientist Manuil Pevzner in the 1930s and is still popular in the post-Soviet space. Each of the fifteen diet “tables” is designed for specific diseases of the digestive system.The most famous is “Table No. 5” to reduce the load on the liver and restore the function of the biliary system. The diet involves fractional meals, a certain temperature of dishes and a strict ban on fried and spicy foods. Fats are also severely limited: fatty meats and fish, fatty dairy products and sauces are excluded. Initially, the diet was curative, but doctors began to recommend Table No. 5 to healthy people as well as a model of proper nutrition.

Neither Table 5, nor other numbered diets were included in any large study.Nothing is known about their effectiveness for the treatment of diseases and about the benefits for healthy people. Outside Russia and the CIS countries, they do not know about Pevzner’s diets at all. Even Russian medical institutions are already using their updated version. From the point of view of modern dietetics, Pevzner’s diets are outdated for a long time. They are based on generalized models of diseases, and the individual needs of a patient and comorbidity – a combination of several diseases – are simply not taken into account. As well as taking medications, which is absurd for medical nutrition.For example, Table No. 3, due to its high fiber content, can reduce the effectiveness of tricyclic antidepressants, and Table No. 8, due to a lack of fat, impairs the bioavailability of anticoagulants and fat-soluble vitamins.

3. Paleo diet

Paleo diet means nutrition as in the Paleolithic period: meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts. No dairy products, beans, grains or oils – all this appeared later, with the development of agriculture. Not to mention foods with added sugar.Diet followers believe that this is the most natural type of food for humans.

It is important to understand two things about him. First, we don’t really know how our ancestors ate in the Stone Age and whether or not we should be guided by them. Some scientists believe that the people of the Stone Age received most of their energy from fruits and nuts, others that they hunted and supplemented the conventional “mammoth meat” with collected berries, and others that they did not hesitate to pick up the half-rotten leg of the antelope left after the lion’s dinner.So the paleo diet is mostly myth-based. But it is known for sure that the Stone Age man did not eat processed food. Its harm has been proven in many studies, so avoiding chips, sausages, cookies is a definite plus of the Paleo diet.

Second: It is not known how useful the paleo diet is: there is very little scientific research. The ones that are, hint at benefits, but are carried out on a small sample. Thus, a study involving 29 men, divided into two groups – the paleo diet and the Mediterranean diet – showed that volunteers from the paleo group consumed an average of 451 calories less – without restricting themselves specifically.And in a number of small studies, the paleo diet improved metabolic factors like waist circumference and blood sugar levels better than a healthy diet.

However, longer studies have identified a possible problem with the paleo diet. Apparently due to a deficiency in whole grains – a source of fiber – the Paleo diet is associated with fewer beneficial bacteria in the gut. In addition, people who have long adhered to the principles of the paleo diet often have high levels of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) – due to the large number of intestinal bacteria that produce this compound.And high TMAO levels, in turn, are associated with a high risk of heart disease.

4. Intermittent fasting

One of the main trends in recent years: intermittent fasting is promoted by both Silicon Valley biohackers and beauty bloggers on Instagram. With this type of nutrition, periods of food intake alternate with periods of abstinence – and each period is strictly indicated. One of the most popular schemes is a complete refusal to eat at 16 o’clock and a “window” at 8 o’clock when you can eat. There are also more severe frameworks.For example, a 20/4 scheme, where meals are only allowed for 4 hours.

The essence of intermittent fasting is the activation of ketosis, already known from the keto diet, as well as autophagy. Autophagy is supposed to fight aging and age-related diseases: it is a natural process of getting rid of “cellular debris”. It is because of her that many myths have arisen around the diet. For example – what exactly for the invention of intermittent fasting the scientist Yoshinori Osumi received the Nobel Prize. In fact, Osumi was awarded for studying the autophagy gene in yeast and mice.The scientist had to publicly declare more than once that he had nothing to do with promoting intermittent fasting as a way to trigger autophagy in humans.

There is no scientific evidence yet that intermittent fasting really helps people prolong their lives and avoid certain diseases. Some studies, such as reducing the risk of cancer, have been conducted in animals. Others show metabolic benefits and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, but the sample is small and the study period is short.According to some reports, such a diet may be more effective for weight loss – this is evidenced, for example, by a memo from Harvard Medical School. But in a recent study of 116 overweight volunteers, there is no benefit to intermittent fasting without other dietary changes. But there are risks: loss of muscle mass and the development of unhealthy eating behaviors.

5. Diet by blood type

Based on the idea that blood type is related to the ability to digest certain foods.The first people, hunter-gatherers, allegedly had type I blood. Therefore, the diet of the owners of this blood group should consist of meat, fish and vegetables, but not cereals, dairy products and grains. According to the same principle, Group II is supposed to be vegetarians and avoid meat and dairy products: their blood evolved when people switched to agriculture. Group III – to consume a lot of dairy products, like nomadic tribes, and Group IV – to adhere to mixed recommendations, since their blood arose as a result of mixing groups I and II.

Initially, the diet is based on false assumptions. First, the blood group is simply a designation of which antigen protein is on the surface of red blood cells and which antibody is in the blood plasma. It is logical to study the effect of a blood group on immunity and the risk of coronavirus infection. But there is simply no reason to think that blood type is associated with digestion and metabolism. Secondly, it is not yet known for sure whether the most ancient blood group was I – or II group appeared earlier. Both can be considered as the heritage of monkeys: they are in the closest human ancestors – chimpanzees.Those, by the way, are omnivorous. Fruits, leaves, other primate meat, termites, dirt, rocks – when biologist Rob Dunn suggests eating like chimpanzees and describing their diet, the idea seems obviously absurd.

Experts believe that blood type diets limit nutrition for no reason and can cause a lot of discomfort and stress if a person’s preferences are contrary to recommendations. For example, vegetarianism does not go well with a blood group I diet. And people with chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease find it much more beneficial to be guided by health-related recommendations or proven meal plans like the DASH diet.

In terms of research, they show very interesting results. So, almost all diets by blood group have a positive effect on body mass index, cholesterol, insulin and triglyceride levels of participants. True, it does not matter whether the blood type matches the one for which the diet was prescribed. The only type of diet that has not found positive effects is for the III blood group. And the greatest benefit is brought by a diet for the II blood group with a large amount of vegetables and fruits – regardless of the person’s blood group.

6. Fractional meals and grazing

Fractional meals involve eating small meals five to six times a day. By the same principle, grazing works – a “pasture diet”, which prescribes to eat often, but a little, like grazing cows. The authors and followers of such diets believe that frequent meals do not allow the feeling of hunger to form, satiety occurs faster, which means that we eat less and lose weight. And also – that such nutrition “accelerates” the metabolism and forces the body to spend more energy on digesting food.

In fact, the rate of digestion of fats and carbohydrates does not depend on the frequency of meals. Some scientists speculate that such nutrition may improve protein metabolism and benefit athletes and physically active people, but the issue is not well understood.

In terms of overall health benefits, studies of frequent meals with small portions show conflicting results. Some talk about lowering blood glucose levels, and hence the risks of diabetes and heart disease.Others believe that frequent meals, on the contrary, are associated with a higher risk of developing these diseases. A systematic analysis of 38 scientific papers on the topic showed that the fractional type of nutrition is often found in the population of people with obesity and eating disorders. In addition, grazing is associated with a less favorable prognosis for weight loss and mood disorders. But it is not known if grazing leads to problems with nutrition, mood and weight, or just often accompanied by them.

7. Separate feeding

The concept of separate feeding is based on the theory of compatibility and incompatibility of products.Diet author Gerber Shelton believed that the conditions for digestion are different for different types of food. Their combination allegedly leads to disruption of digestive processes and health problems. Fats cannot be combined with proteins, proteins with carbohydrates, milk with any other food. A similar scheme was proposed by the American physician William Hay in the 1920s: he divided foods into alkaline, acidic and neutral and forbade combining them in one meal.

Both Sheldon’s and Haye’s theories are considered pseudoscientific, but remain popular.However, only one peer-reviewed randomized clinical trial investigated food segregation. Scientists have not found any weight loss benefits. But they found a major drawback of the diet: when protein was consumed separately from carbohydrates, the body perceived it only as a source of energy and did not send it to “building” muscles.

8. Raw food

Raw food involves a complete rejection of food that has undergone heat treatment. Generally, the raw food diet is a type of vegan diet – the consumption of raw meat or fish is not included in it.Adherents of this type of diet are rarely guided by the desire to lose weight. More often than not, a raw food diet is followed for ethical reasons. Or because of the belief in health benefits: heat treatment reduces the amount of nutrients in food, which means raw food is healthier. This is not entirely true. Some substances are reduced during preparation, but others, such as beta-carotene, become more bioavailable.

Research suggests that the benefits of a raw food diet are highly questionable. On the one hand, it reduces the percentage of body fat, as well as the levels of triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood.Despite this, raw foodists are more likely to die of heart disease than ovo-lacto-vegetarians. Apparently, due to the high levels of homocysteine ​​and low levels of HDL in their blood. In addition, this combination leads to another problem: a decrease in the bioavailability of nitric oxide. This, in turn, leads to dysfunction of the cell lining of the blood vessels – and to an even greater risk of heart disease.

9. Juice Detox

Detox programs with vegetable and fruit juices are advertised as a way to remove waste and toxins, reduce weight and improve mood.The appeal to waste and toxins is already alarming: the body has a good detox system in the form of the kidneys, liver and intestines. As long as they are healthy, additional detoxification efforts are unnecessary.

The meal plan itself looks unhealthy. When vegetables and fruits are squeezed out of juice, up to 90% of the useful fiber also disappears. Fructose and calories remain. A number of large studies have confirmed that fruit juices can be compared to soda in terms of adverse effects on metabolic health and mortality. In addition, drinking juices instead of food leads to a lack of protein and other nutrients.

There is little research on detox diets, mostly short and poor quality. A major 2015 review found no data on their benefits. A 2017 review found that a juice diet can help you lose weight – but only if it creates a calorie deficit. In most cases, the weight returns to the original figure as soon as the person begins to eat as usual.

10. The Predator’s Diet

The Predator’s Diet — eating only animal products — has become particularly popular thanks to Canadian professor and best-selling psychology and ethics author Jordan Peterson.His daughter, Mikayla, cured rheumatoid arthritis with the help of a predator diet. Following her, Peterson decided to follow a radical version of such a diet: only beef, salt and water. And he did it very publicly. For example, he talked about his diet on Joe Rogan’s podcast.

In fact, the meat diet has hardly any medicinal properties. A cohort study of over 1,000 Canadian children with juvenile arthritis showed that 50% of cases were in remission within five years of diagnosis.That is, with this disease, a cure is not uncommon – and the story of Mikayla Peterson no longer looks like a convincing argument in favor of beef, salt and water.

At the same time, the predator’s diet is based on false statements – for example, about the toxicity of plants and the ultimate harm of gluten. Followers of the diet also deny its negative impact on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, citing one 2012 study on reducing fiber in the diet as a way to prevent constipation. In the meantime, a huge body of systematic reviews still suggest that fiber is essential for healthy gut motility and helps prevent and treat constipation.

Most of all fears in the diet of a predator is caused by the abundance of red meat in the diet. Over the past decade, there has been a lot of research on the link between red meat and an increased risk of cancer. WHO calls it probably carcinogenic. In addition, the predator’s diet eliminates or minimizes vegetables and fruits in the diet – and this also clearly contradicts the recommendations of the WHO and other medical organizations. 90,013 90,000 history, menu, ketone diet features. Permitted foods and nutritionists’ opinion on the ketogenic diet

Moscow, 24.04.2021, 18:45:53, edition FTimes.ru, author Zoya Zharkova.

The trend towards healthy eating is not slowing down.

If you have not yet decided which food religion to join, we suggest you get to know the LCHF nutrition system, which is also known as the keto diet.

LCHF is an easy way to eat quality, natural food, not limit yourself in portions and not count calories, while staying healthy and maintaining your ideal weight.

Low Carb High Fat is a nutritional system based on one elementary principle: eat as little sugar and starch as possible, and as much whole food as possible, rich in fats, proteins and dietary fiber.

LCHF is not a diet, it is a lifestyle, or rather, life itself, which is in full swing when you eat good, wholesome food.

Wait! A diet on cutlets is in vogue

A can of coconut oil, three dozen eggs, a dozen steaks, seven hundred grams of fresh lard, a bottle of olive oil, a kilogram of tofu, several bundles of radishes and a bag of fresh herbs. Something like this looks like the result of a trip to the supermarket of an adherent of the increasingly popular ketone diet (keto diet). Just right to think in horror: “First he will die from indigestion, and then from cholesterol blockage of blood vessels!”And demonstrate your blatant ignorance of dietary trends.
On a high-fat ketone diet, you do not get fat and do not get sick – but lose weight and get healthier! At least this is what numerous keto bloggers and their followers, who call themselves ketoists, firmly believe. They extol life-giving ketosis as a new ideal dietary philosophy, designed to do nothing less than return the genetic code of the 21st century man, spoiled by the dominance of carbohydrates, to its best form, and at the same time rehabilitate fats accused of all sins.

The ketone diet (aka the keto diet) alters the enzyme and hormonal machinery of our body in such a way that the production of the hormone insulin, which regulates blood glucose levels, and, as a result, the feeling of hunger and satiety are reduced.

“Instead” of insulin and in response to an increase in the amount of fat and protein against the background of a sharp decrease in carbohydrates in the diet, the liver with a ketone diet begins to produce ketone bodies, a special form of acetone. These chemical compounds are included in the body in a kind of closed cycle, moving from organ to organ with the bloodstream and affecting the oxidation of fatty acids.

As a result, the body enters ketosis, that is, it learns to gain strength for existence not from the usual available carbohydrate chains, but from the already accumulated deposits of adipose tissue and fats supplied with food, avoiding the devastation of protein reserves. The result is unprecedented rapid weight loss, muscle strengthening, victory over annoying hunger and a new life.

Of course, if your metabolism is tough on the ketone diet: this meal plan (as well as any other) is not universal.For some, even a brief refusal from carbohydrates turns into weakness, a sharp change in well-being, and other signs that indicate that they are not on the way with ketosis.

Reviews about the diet

Engels

Diet advantages: No hunger, no need to stand at the stove for hours. Disadvantages: Weight does not go away as quickly as we would like.

How many attempts in my life have been to lose weight, it is impossible to count. More precisely, in this process I am constantly and eternally hungry, thoughts only about what I will eat.Honestly, I’m tired of it.

On the Internet, I stumbled upon a completely opposite food system – everything that has always been forbidden for those who are losing weight, here, please eat – butter, fat of all kinds and more, mayonnaise, eggs without restriction, etc.

almost all carbohydrates, even buckwheat and oatmeal so beloved by those who are losing weight, fruits are also taboo, sweets and bread without comment.

I am not a sweet tooth, I practically do not eat fruit, I have given up sugar for a long time and easily.The only weakness is rolls and biscuits.

Having weighed everything on my internal scales, I decided what to try.

The transition was easy enough for me, there were no strong breaks. Love for buns has not passed, I still want to. A couple of times I even sinned and bought, but somehow I did not get the desired pleasure.

I have been on this system for about two months, the result, wow, did not happen to me. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I did not calculate the ratio of proteins to fats to carbohydrates by grams.

But what I would like to note is that the constant feeling of hunger has passed. This does not mean that I do not want to eat at all, I just take it calmly – I know that I will come, eat a cutlet with cucumber salad, cheese, coffee butter and I will be full.

There is no longer the need to buy vegetables in kilograms, and then stew them, cook them for hours and still be hungry.

At first, a lot of money was spent on a new diet, now everything is balanced, the budget is in order.

Weight stands still, + – 1 kg, but for me this is good, considering that I do not limit portions, and physical activity is zero.

A larger amount of fat on my body did not negatively affect, but on the contrary, I feel better – I do not grumble in my stomach, there is no heaviness after eating, I do not want to constantly chew something.

I know that the system has a lot of both fans and opponents. Whether or not to try such a radical way of eating is up to you.

In spite of everything, the system came up to me and for now I am not going to turn off it.

Krasnoyarsk:

The name of the Lchf diet stands for Low Carbs High Fat – Less carbohydrates, more fat – High fat low carbohydrate keto diet.

The whole essence of the diet is based on the fact that a person gains extra pounds only from sugars and carbohydrates, while consuming about 70% of the diet – fats, no more than 5% – carbohydrates and the rest are proteins, a person loses excess weight, his health and all indicators improve …

And then my sister and I decided to try this diet. I am a model, every kg counts, and it will never be superfluous to lose weight, she is a person who has been struggling with excess weight since childhood (small, or more precisely, with a craving for sweets.

And we decided to go on this diet.

As I said, 70% of the diet is fat. Products in which the percentage of carbohydrates is not more than 5 grams. This is butter, beef, chicken, pork, all meat, fish, bacon, brisket, heavy cream.

Vegetables and fruits with a carbohydrate content of more than 5 are not allowed, and this is a larger amount of vegetables and fruits, except for celery and cucumbers. Fruit is not allowed, because it contains fructose, and this, according to the adherents of this diet, is pure sugar, only natural, which causes insulin surges and excess weight in a person.

A very unusual diet, because recently we were sure that fats are cholesterol and are very harmful to the heart and blood vessels.

Personally, it was enough for me for exactly one week, I stopped because I was terribly dizzy, bad mood and the state of “restlessness of the whole organism.”

Sister 2 weeks later, when her liver began to ache terribly, but at the same time I want to note the advantages of this diet:

1. I absolutely do not want sweets. 2. Volumes are really gone – fats.3. I want to drink a lot of water.

Sample ration for the 1st day: Smoked chicken – leg, can of salmon butter, meat fried in butter, 2 boiled eggs, brisket. And, indeed, I want to drink a lot of water, about 2-3 liters a day, I have never drank so much.

Probably, the body wanted to wash out so much fat from itself, and it is not normal to eat like that. Although initially a man, getting himself a mammoth, ate only meat, but maybe this food is mainly for men.After all, a lighter diet is suitable for women – vegetables, fruits. And who knows, maybe poor health and pain in the liver were the very restructuring? But I decided that one should not refuse and limit oneself in something, because, firstly, the body wants it many times more, and, secondly, there should be balance, harmony and balance in the whole world. And you need to observe it.

I would also like to note that this food is much more expensive than usual, because meat, and even more so, good quality meat is much more expensive than cereals and biscuits, this is far from a budget option.

I read a lot of good reviews about this diet on their website, a lot of reviews from German doctors – how good this nutrition method is for humans. They argue that the modern food industry is dictating to us the rules of healthy eating and fast food, inspired by marketing and business, and who knows, this breeze of a high-fat diet may also portend an era of new sales and business.

I do not recommend this diet, it is better to eat everything, but in moderation.

Eagle:

Diet advantages: Diet reduces weight, increases physical activity, energy, improves memory, increases attention; the work of internal organs is getting better; unsaturated fats are perfectly absorbed by the body, and also contribute to the absorption of vitamins and microelements. Disadvantages: Not suitable for everyone, requires an individual approach and medical supervision: in case of nutritional errors, edema may occur; with an insufficient amount of fat consumed, there is a slight feeling of hunger.

I have never heard of such a direction of nutrition as LCHF or the keto diet. There is an opinion in society that fats are harmful, provoke cardiovascular diseases, increase cholesterol, and increase the risk of developing diabetes and oncology.

I faced this diet six months ago. The reason for my referral to a nutritionist was postpartum hormonal imbalance, vitamin deficiencies and, as a result, gastrointestinal problems.

The doctor proposed the following diet plan: – maximum restriction of carbohydrates (flour, cereals, legumes, fruits, sugar) – refusal of dairy products – consumption of vegetables (except for potatoes, tomatoes, peppers) – spices: cumin, turmeric, cloves – introduction in the diet of coconut products – and a lot of the right fats: butter, coconut, nut, pumpkin butter; fatty meats and fish; Salo; Cod liver; avocado; eggs.

I stayed on such a rigid scheme for 2 months. The first couple of weeks were tough. I can’t say that I was hungry, rather I even felt the heaviness from the unusually large amount of fat in the diet. I was very hungry for sweets, in the mornings there were states of falling blood sugar (tachycardia, weakness).

After 2 weeks, there were improvements, the general condition returned to normal, the gastrointestinal tract problems receded.

In the following months, the doctor allowed the addition of carbohydrates in the form of cereals (buckwheat, millet, quinoa, brown rice), but in a minimal amount.

The biggest disadvantage for me in this diet is weight loss. I must say that he was already below the norm. When switching to a keto diet, he inexorably continued to decline, even with my initial 53 kg, so people who say that they can not lose weight just want to say: “I do not believe!”.

As a result, in 4 months I lost 2.5 kg, which is a lot for a person with underweight. It turned out to be difficult to build muscle on such a diet; one cannot go far on one protein.

The keto diet promises to improve skin condition, but my skin is flabby. I think the reason is that the diet has reduced subcutaneous fat as much as possible.

Another drawback is the swelling of the eyelids. The structure of my face, of course, suggests small bags under the eyes, but against the background of the diet, they became much more pronounced.

Perhaps this is just a visual effect, as the face has noticeably lost weight, and the puffiness has simply become more noticeable. But this “bonus” did not please me either.

And the last minus – it is quite costly to sit on such a high-fat diet. Quality foods containing unsaturated fatty acids are expensive and you need a lot.

In general, it should be noted that the LCHF diet fulfilled its function and helped to cope with gastrointestinal problems. The body is light and energetic.

I wouldn’t make keto a lifestyle, it’s too tough for me, but for overweight people, a carbohydrate-free diet is a great way to get in shape, it really works.

The shortcomings that I encountered may be my own fault. Frightened by weight loss, I still sinned a little and added a little more carbohydrates to my diet.

In my example, I have experienced the benefits of LCHF. Not a single doctor could help me, and only by switching to the keto diet, I was able to re-adjust the entire body, so I would definitely recommend the keto diet, but an individual approach is important, in its pure form it does not suit everyone, adjustments are required.

Nizhny Novgorod:

I was planning to read the book “LCHF Diet without Hunger” for a long time and finally I read it.

I myself am not fond of diets. For a long time I had a quirk – I need to lose weight. With a height of 176 cm, she weighed 62 kg and still wanted to lose weight up to 60 kg. She went on a milk diet. Enough exactly until 16.00, when the head was spinning from hunger. She spat on all the diets and ate soup.

And then something else.

The problem with her husband is autoimmune thyroiditis, constant weight gain. We are trying to reduce the dose of the hormone l-thyroxine and trying all possible options

It was his sister who gave us this book.Her husband never mastered it, but I read it.

What can I say? Written by Andreas Enfeldt, a practicing therapist from Sweden.

The meaning of such a diet is to refuse food that our ancestors did not eat, that is, sugar, starch, margarine, beer, fruits.

Allowed: meat, fish, seafood, eggs, natural fats, fatty sauces, vegetables, dairy products (but there are restrictions about which it is written in the book), nuts, berries (within reasonable limits).

There are tips on what to eat and recipes for cooking from permitted foods.I myself did not put my husband on this diet, because I had to eat the same thing as he – I cook it! But for someone, perhaps she will help. For myself, I found another way – weight control using weights.

Time has passed. We suffered, suffered and returned to this option. The gynecologist advised me just fats, proteins, a minimum of carbohydrates. And the husband, naturally, also returned to the version of this book.

Moscow:

Diet advantages: Tasty, varied, no hunger, food addiction disappears.Disadvantages: Not for me.

This August I tried this diet as an experiment. I immediately realized that this is love forever. I easily threw off the extra couple of pounds gained on vacation. The craving for sweets has passed. Sometimes I pamper myself out of old memory, but less and less often – I don’t feel the same high from sugar.

There are tons of delicious low-carb recipes online, including sweets and baked goods.

Eat two or three times a day until you are full. I don’t count calories, I don’t weigh food.Sometimes I use the calorie calculator to figure out what I ate.

Without cereals, sweets and bread, carbohydrates are about 30-50 grams, with fruits about 80. If you eat less milk, there will be less carbohydrates, but I don’t need to lose weight anymore. Weight with such a diet is kept stable.

Comments

The Keto Diet: A Story of Oblivion and Rebirth

The ketone diet is only pretending to be a fashionable novelty. For the first time, a diet plan that restricts carbohydrates (carbohydrates) and gives the green light to fats was clinically tested in the 1920s.At that time, doctors who worked with patients suffering from diseases of the nervous system often prescribed courses of therapeutic fasting, which sharply and significantly limits the production of insulin and other hormones that affect the functioning of the central nervous system and the brain. This gave excellent results, which, however, could not be enjoyed for any length of time for an understandable reason: a person will not last long on water alone, and if we are talking about a child, things take an even more serious turn.

It was then that the prototype of what we now know as the ketogenic diet was developed.It was assumed that a diet that reshapes metabolism in such a way that carbohydrates cease to be the main source of energy, from a chemical point of view, is similar to giving up food. A diet low in carbohydrates and rich in fats has shown especially outstanding results with the example of epilepsy: the number of painful seizures in patients has come to naught.

A simple, original and not requiring significant material costs, the technique was used safely and widely, but, alas, not for long: the pharmaceutical industry proved the effectiveness of a new type of drugs – anticonvulsants, and doctors of the new generation preferred to prescribe pills to their patients rather than pork lard.Oblivion of the antiepileptic ketone diet also contributed to the growing dietary tendency to blame fat for all the troubles.

The revival of interest in the ketogenic diet happened in the late 90s – director Jim Abrahams (known for the most part for masterpieces of the thrash comedy genre, including “The Naked Gun” and “Scary Movie 4”) shot an unexpectedly shrill and frank the melodrama Do No Harm, based on his own experience.

Abrahams’ son Charlie suffered from severe epilepsy from birth and reacted extremely poorly to all types of medications, suffering from side effects.The toddler’s parents were desperate to find help before they discovered information about the ketone diet. With her help, they managed to take the disease under non-drug control. Jim Abrahams was so imbued with the effect of the keto diet that he organized a fund to help epileptic children and their families, whose work at the stage of formation was actively supported by Meryl Streep, who played the role of the mother of a small patient in the film Do No Harm.

By the way, this is why the ketone diet is often referred to as the “Meryl Streep diet” – and not at all because the world-famous star really abandoned carbohydrates in favor of fats.

The ketogenic diet: from epilepsy remedies to the arsenal of those who are losing weight

One of the most popular diets used for weight loss at the end of the 20th century, the Atkins diet, is related to the ketogenic diet. American cardiologist Robert Atkins popularized a proven method of effective weight loss by adapting the developments of scientists and doctors made during the period of the therapeutic use of the keto diet. He created his own concept of the four-phase diet, which heralded the present era of diet plans that limit carbohydrate intake.

As conceived by Atkins, it is necessary to find the very ratio of carbohydrate food to protein and fat, at which you can first lose weight to the desired weight, and then maintain it with relative comfort. Therefore, he suggests first reducing the consumption of carbohydrates to 20 grams per day for two weeks, and then gradually increasing their amount in search of an individual proportion.

Hollywood elite obsessed with Atkins; As a result of this popularity, low-carb diets have literally taken the throne as the most effective.The main trend has become a reduction in carbohydrates and fats in favor of protein foods: indeed, practice has shown and continues to show that such an approach to nutrition allows you to lose weight without losing muscle and, in addition, maintain the result for a long time.

The fundamental difference between most common protein diets and the ketone diet is in relation to fatty foods. The authors of protein-dominated meal plans tend to restrict not only carbohydrates, but also recommend that you carefully monitor the amount of lipids consumed, if you have a choice, preferring foods that are low-fat or at least devoid of visible fat layer.

However, the LCHF (low carbs high fat) diet, which is considered the most progressive type of ketone menu, is no coincidence that the virus spread among users of the social network Reddit, where a new young intelligentsia communicates, eager for any decision to bring evidence base. Scientific studies have shown that the best menu for freeing yourself from the sugar captivity and turning on ketosis is a menu based on the principle “high quality fat – adequate protein – optimal fiber – lots of water.”

Gary Taubes, columnist for The New York Times Magazine, has become a popularizer and talented interpreter of scientific research. With his publications proclaiming a new perspective on truly healthy eating, in which fats are allowed and carbohydrates are prohibited, he has become a cult figure among the followers of the ketone diet. Taubes consistently proved that people do not get fat because they eat a lot, but start to eat a lot because they get fat – and saw the only way out of this trap in curbing insulin spikes.(On Woman.ru you can read a fragment of the book by Gary Taubes “Why We Get Fat”, first published in Russian).

Ketogenic diet experts argue that it is correctly started and maintained ketosis that becomes the key to a trouble-free lifelong keto diet without a shadow of longing for carbohydrates and any harm to the body.

American and Swedish (Sweden is the birthplace of the LCHF diet) scientists have questioned the established dogma that the brain and nervous system cannot live without glucose, and have come to unexpected conclusions.

Experiments have shown that when carbohydrates are abandoned and glycogen reserves are depleted during the keto diet, the brain is able to switch to “eating” ketones and eat fat-processed foods, which in addition turn out to be more physiological fuel for it (brain tissue is mostly fat of “highest purity”). Today, the foreign medical press is literally replete with data that carbohydrates, offering the brain “cheap” available energy, provoke degenerative diseases in the long term, which undermines the already shaken reputation of carbohydrates.

Of course, not all aspects of the ketone diet have been sufficiently researched or researched at all – for obvious reasons there are no long-term observations of adherents of a high-fat diet. However, TIME magazine was quick to herald a new era of ketogenic nutrition – and to declare “the end of the world war on fat.”

The popularity and benefits of the LCHF diet

The name LCHF appeared in the mid-2000s in Sweden, the first country where official dietetics abandoned the idea that low-fat foods are healthy and fat is more dangerous than carbohydrates.

In much the same way, people ate for hundreds of thousands of years, until they began to grow bread, rice and potatoes and make sugar.

With each passing day, there is a growing body of rigorous scientific evidence that the harm of natural fats (yes, including animals) in recent decades has been greatly exaggerated, while the dangers of sugar and starch, on the contrary, have been underestimated.

Today, doctors and scientists, biochemists, physiologists and nutritionists around the world are rethinking what is good and what is bad in terms of food.

A huge and ever-increasing body of scientific evidence confirms that LCHF, which is a food rich in fat and low in carbohydrates, can help you lose and never gain excess weight, maintain normal blood sugar levels, keep your heart and blood vessels healthy, young and clean. skin.

Moreover, more and more scientific evidence refutes the old myth about the benefits of sugar for the brain.

There is evidence that added sugar is toxic to the brain and contributes to the development of senile dementia, and LCHF helps to maintain a clear mind.

Today, doctors are seriously studying the relationship between sugar and cancer and how low-carb diets contribute to cancer treatment.

The main idea is that the body begins to consume energy from the fat that we consume, and in addition helps to get rid of its own excess accumulated in our body.

Followers of this system strictly monitor the amount of carbohydrates consumed (a large slide of green salad and a pair of cucumber and tomato – this, perhaps, the whole carbohydrate diet for the day ends), but what you can eat without restrictions – fats, fats and again fats.

What sounds scary, in fact, means very appetizing products, those to which the hand involuntarily reaches in the supermarket and what the eye falls on in the restaurant menu – meat, fish, seafood, fresh farm cottage cheese with the maximum amount percent fat, nuts, eggs, sour cream, avocados, olives, mushrooms and more.

The LCHF nutrition system gained massive popularity after the stars began to confess their love for it, one after another: Kim Kardashian said that it was with her help that she dropped the extra 30 kilograms after giving birth, Halle Berry, Adriana Lima, Alicia Vikander and many other stars echoed her with their stories.

What and how much is there? Foods for the High Fat Ketone Diet

Various variations of the keto diet suggest that you eat no more than 50 grams of carbohydrate food per day. The LCHF diet suggests focusing not on the weight of food, but on its relative volume when composing the diet, making up a daily menu of 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbohydrates (with a long chain; special attention should be paid to water-soluble fiber and stable forms of starch, for example , made from raw potatoes or unripe bananas).

Here is a sample list of foods that can help promote and maintain ketosis. Unlimited use of:

• fatty dairy and sour milk products (except for whole milk and kefir)
• lard, bacon, ham, brisket, loin, bacon
• meat, poultry (with skin), seafood and fish
• eggs
• fatty cheeses with a minimum carbohydrate component (see the composition of a specific product)
• avocados
• green vegetables
• mushrooms
• tofu
• shirataki noodles
• butter and unrefined vegetable oils, including hardening nut oils (coconut, shea, etc. …e).

Allowed in minimum quantities:

• berries and nuts
• chocolate (darkest, with a minimum of sugar)
• unsweetened fruits
• root vegetables (can be used as a minor component of complex dishes and preferably raw).

With a keto diet, the following are completely excluded from the menu:

• sugar, honey, pastries, industrial drinks
• sauces with added sugar and thickeners
• bread, cereals, baked goods
• pasta (except for shirataki)
• dried fruits
• low fat foods
• margarine and vegetable spreads.

On a high-fat keto diet, you need to drink plenty of plain still water, tea and coffee (legal additives are lemon) and even light alcoholic beverages such as dry cider, dry wine and light beer.

Keto Diet Information for Newbies

The Keto Diet continues to skyrocket in popularity in Hollywood and beyond!

For breakfast – scrambled eggs, avocado, bacon and coffee with the fattest cream, for lunch – a portion of rich broth, for dinner – steak with garlic butter and a generous handful of green salad.

It might seem that this is the daily diet of a person who wanted to spit not only about his waist circumference, but also about his health. In fact, this is what a typical day on the keto diet looks like.

The ketogenic diet, or simply keto, as interested people call it, is a type of low-carbohydrate diet in which a high intake of fat is of great importance: up to 80 percent of the daily calories a person gets from them.

For untrained people, like most specialists brought up in the classical system of nutritional coordinates, these numbers cause genuine horror.

“You will die of a heart attack at 40”, “Your kidneys will tell you goodbye very soon”, “The brain will have nothing to eat, it needs sugar” – these and other “life-affirming” predictions are constantly poured into the address of those who decided to change a set of products for ketoration more familiar to most.

While some continue to be afraid and intimidated by the most terrible consequences of the keto diet, others successfully get rid of extra pounds, and with them a whole range of health problems: allergy and asthma attacks, heartburn and indigestion, eczema, acne and many others.

The principle of the keto diet is based on a natural mechanism inherent in the human body – ketosis. This is a way to obtain energy not from glucose, but from ketone bodies, which, in turn, are produced from fats, or rather, from fatty acids.

This mechanism allowed humans to survive in a time when food was a much greater luxury than it is today.

This is often forgotten by opponents of keto, who insist that the brain would die without sugar – if this were the case, humanity would have lost the chances of survival many millennia ago, when the caveman had at best rare seasonal berries and fruits at his disposal.

The brain really can not live without glucose, but the modest amount that it needs to function, the body gets not only from vegetables, nuts and other foods containing carbohydrates, but also from non-carbohydrate compounds, such as protein. This process is called gluconeogenesis.

Newborn babies who are breastfed are in ketosis all the time, and the body of an adult switches to it in a state of hunger, including during sleep or strict fasting.

In ketosis, the body gradually undergoes miraculous metamorphoses: cells are cleared of metabolic debris, and mitochondria, small “factories” for energy production, are restored.

A low level of insulin, which is maintained in the absence of carbohydrates, leads to the normalization of metabolism and the hormonal system, a gradual cessation of inflammatory processes, including hidden ones, and a decrease in bad cholesterol in the blood.

All this clearly affects the well-being and health – there are more than enough happy examples when people who switched to a ketogenic diet successfully refused to take a handful of pills every day.

There is an important nuance in the transition to the keto diet, which is often not taken into account by “recruits”: in this diet and, even more broadly, in this lifestyle, awareness and quality of what we consume is very important.

You can enter ketosis by eating margarine and sausage with an unknown composition, but you will not be able to improve your health. Those who decide to make such a transition gradually learn to choose really nutritious and wholesome foods, learn to cook tasty and favorite food for themselves, and not to “stuff” a slightly windy sandwich from a vending machine in the office.

The benefit of the diet is that the majority of those who switch to keto eat only a couple of times a day: this food saturates so much that there is enough energy and a comfortable feeling of satiety for the whole day.

Many, completely getting off the “sugar needle”, generally stop paying attention to sweets, pastries and fast food – they just don’t want these products anymore. How they do not want to return to lethargy, apathy, sleep disturbances and seemingly harmless sores, gradually leading to much more serious ones, which, alas, go hand in hand with the standard diet of a modern person.

More celebrities are joining the ketogenic movement, which is not surprising as this type of diet allows you to effortlessly maintain weight, look great and feel the same.Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow, sisters Kourtney and Kim Kardashian, basketball player James Le Bron, Megan Fox, Adriana Lima and many others are already seen among them

The basis of the diet is:

• high-quality fats: butter and ghee, coconut and olive oil , lard and other animal fat, avocado and oil from it can be added to food generously and without fear;
• fatty types of meat and fish, seafood, eggs, offal;
• all types of vegetables that grow above the surface of the earth;
• Unsweetened berries and fruits in moderation;
• quality nuts;
• fatty dairy products (cream, sour cream, sometimes cottage cheese and natural yoghurt), and, if desired, cream and coconut milk.
• The keto diet completely eliminates grains from the diet – no oatmeal for breakfast, no buckwheat, quinoa and rice, even the wildest.
• Sugar is also absolutely prohibited, including “healthy” natural substitutes – agave syrup, Jerusalem artichoke and others, honey and even more so fructose from the healthy food departments. Those who cannot live without sweets can eat stevia, erythritol, and a monk fruit substitute.
• Root vegetables are eaten with caution and moderation, and preferably cold – so the starch in their composition goes into a stable state, is practically not absorbed in the intestines and has little effect on glucose levels, but it feeds the bacteria we need.
• You won’t have to indulge in sweet fruits either, although from time to time keto adepts allow themselves, for example, a piece of watermelon in season or a handful of cherries.
• Seed oils – sunflower, sesame, pumpkin and others, as well as rapeseed, soybean, corn – are not welcome in keto due to their high processing and the ability to provoke inflammation. As well as all products, the composition of which is not immediately clear, are not welcome – if you do not know what is in it, do not eat.
• It is better for those who suffer from serious illnesses to switch to ketogenic nutrition under the supervision of a doctor.Everyone else can do it on their own – gradually eliminating high-carbohydrate foods from the diet.

Ketosis or ketoacidosis?

The dangers of ketosis are a major fear associated with a high-fat, low-carb diet. Someone is frightened by the changing smell of breath (ketone bodies are removed from the body in two ways – with exhalation and during urination, which is why it is important to drink as much water as possible in order to control their concentration), someone knows for sure that a large amount of fat and protein ” plants buds. “Also, there is often confusion between the concepts of ketosis (an increase in the level of ketone bodies) and ketoacidosis (a metabolic disorder associated with the inability to produce insulin in diabetes).

American doctor of medicine (and, which is typical for adherents of the ketone diet, blogger) Peter Attia explains that the body’s ability to organize nutrition of the brain using ketone bodies is its half-forgotten, but powerful evolutionary advantage that allowed human ancestors to survive and not only preserve, but and develop intelligence in those conditions when no one had ever heard of any sugar and white flour, and root crops, cereals and fruits were an exotic rarity.

Attia recalls that it is important to distinguish between keto adaptation (the time it takes for the body, whose carbohydrate diet is limited to 10-50 grams of carbohydrates per day, for glycogen consumption and “retraining” to use fat as fuel), ketosis itself (the process ketone bodies circulate with might and main through the circulatory system, helping to burn fat) and diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The first two states, according to the doctor, are a normal part of metabolic processes, and the body is able to regulate them independently; ketoacidosis is pathological and requires prompt medical attention.

According to an American physician, DKA cannot threaten a person whose body is able to produce insulin (even if its production is reduced to a minimum by a low-carbohydrate diet), but in case of disturbances in the production of this hormone, a decrease in carbohydrate nutrition and an increase in the specific mass of fat and protein in the diet can really turn into a problem.

As in the presence of other metabolic diseases, especially those that affect water-salt metabolism, as well as diseases of the excretory organs, the cardiovascular system and the gastrointestinal tract – in all these cases, you should be extremely careful about the idea of ​​a keto diet and be sure to consult with a doctor.However, the participation of a specialist will not be superfluous even if you can boast of good health. For all the seductiveness of the ketone diet and the compelling example of its supporters, this meal plan is significantly different from the menu still traditionally considered healthy.

history, menu, ketone diet features. Permitted foods and nutritionists’ opinion on the ketogenic diet

Mikhail Gavrilov: “You can lose weight for a while, but then the risks to weight and health will increase”

The ketogenic diet was originally a therapeutic diet that was prescribed to people for health reasons , to fight epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease and other ailments.And then marketers drew attention to it, who considered in it another informational occasion with the possibility of popularization. After all, in fact, the ketone diet is a dream, not a diet: eat your favorite proteins and fats, and at the same time lose weight. And the main enemies of harmony – carbohydrates – exclude or minimize.

When fat is the main source of energy, you can actually lose weight for a while. However, there are a number of risks, in connection with which it is still not recommended to go on a ketone diet for some reason other than medical indications.

A medical diet involves the elimination of any product from the diet in order to normalize the functioning of an organ. And fasting, a sharp restriction of calories or an imbalance in fats, proteins and carbohydrates slow down metabolic processes and in the future only provoke weight gain, even in greater quantities than before. Therefore, I do not recommend restrictive diets to my patients at all.

The keto diet involves a drastic reduction in the amount of carbohydrates. As you know, carbohydrates are a natural source of energy needed to maintain a healthy metabolism.The ketone diet involves eating a lot of fat and protein. It is strictly contraindicated for people with any abnormalities in the work of the liver and kidneys. These organs are simply not able to eliminate the breakdown products of proteins and fats in such quantities. Such a diet is not recommended for people with serious stages of atherosclerosis, cardiac problems and diabetes mellitus.

Diet on fat and protein is fraught with violation of purine bases, which often provokes salt deposition and gout.And also an increase in cholesterol levels, which leads not only to cardiovascular diseases, but also a decrease in testosterone levels, which in the future may cause excess weight.

Everything you need to know about high-fat nutrition

From contraindications and dangers to links to studies on why the keto diet is the best diet for weight loss, advice from doctors, reviews of those who have tried it and answers to questions about sore ones.

Apparently, all pp-bloggers and witnesses of Elena Motova get information about the keto diet from one source and use the same set of stamps.“Nutrition should be balanced”, “you just have to eat right”, “keto diet harms kidneys and liver”, “side effects are observed on the keto diet: body acetone odor, fatigue, decreased performance”, “restrictive nutrition is not useful”, “lack of vitamins” …

All of these claims are not supported by any research. So we decided to make the Keto Diet A to Z guide – with explanations, expert opinions and links to research, so that anyone who wants to know or talk about a high-fat, low-carb diet has a place to get information.

The basics of the keto diet

The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet. On a keto diet, carbohydrates are limited – up to 20-25 g per day, due to which the body enters ketosis – a metabolic state when ketones, not glucose, become the main source of energy. Ketones are formed from fats.

We say that on a keto diet, up to 80% of the daily calories come from fat, 15-20% are proteins, and 5% of the diet remains for carbohydrates. But the keto diet doesn’t count calories, so the math is a little different.

How to correctly calculate your norm of proteins, fats and carbohydrates on a keto diet:

• Determine your protein norm at the rate of 1.2-1.7 g per kg ideal weight .
• Limit carbohydrates to 20-25 g per day.
• Eat fat – until you are full (this amount will vary depending on how long you have been on the keto diet, whether you need to lose weight, whether you exercise).

Anti-grease dogma

The 20th century passed under the banner of anti-fat dogma.All over the world – from the USA to the USSR – the format of food has changed significantly, fast food and food surrogates have appeared. As a result, people increasingly began to suffer from cardiovascular diseases. Increased sugar and fat in the diet were cited as the main reasons for the increase in morbidity. In 2016, JAMA Internal Medicine published an article Sugar Industry and Coronary Heart Disease Research A Historical Analysis of Internal Industry Documents that exposed the sugar tycoons. The paper contains corporate correspondence, data on “grants” to scientists who, in their works, “proved” the safety of sugar and the harm of fats.Modern qualitative research shows that quality fats, including saturated animals, do not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, and avoiding fat has proven to be a huge mistake that has cost many lives and health.

See also “Inflammation”

Acetoacetate (Acetoacetic acid)

The first ketone (see below) is formed by the breakdown of fats. Can be converted to acetone and beta hydroxybutyrate.Measured by a urine test. Test strips are the most popular way (simple, affordable, but not accurate) to understand that the body is in ketosis (see below).

Acetone

Ketone, which scares those who switch to the keto diet. Normally, acetone is present in the blood of a person on any diet in an insignificant amount. It is neither dangerous nor toxic. When switching to a keto diet, the amount of acetone temporarily increases. The body and breath can smell – floral, many describe it as unpleasant.Disappears within a few days.

Acetone is measured with a breath test. This is another way to measure ketosis, but like a urine test, it is not very accurate.

Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BGB, BHB, Β-hydroxybutyrate )

Ketone number three, not technically ketone. Measured in blood. This is the most accurate way to tell if a person is in ketosis. In all studies, when it comes to optimal ketosis or life-threatening ketone levels (why ketoacidosis is extremely unlikely on a keto diet – lower), we are talking about ketones in the blood.

Ketones, especially beta-hydroxybutyrate, have anti-inflammatory effects, reduce oxidative stress, and have neuroprotective properties.

• BGB affects the production of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, and cholecystokinin, a neurotransmitter that signals satiety. Thanks to this, on the keto diet satiety comes from less food and lasts longer.
• Since excruciating hunger and gut disappears on the keto diet (besides the influence of BGB, it is also important that insulin returns to normal), it is easy and pleasant to lose weight on such a diet – precisely due to fat, not muscle.
• Ketosis is used as a therapy for children and adults with epilepsy and in some cases even avoids the use of anticonvulsants.

Proteins (proteins)

The main macronutrient in the keto diet. Ouch! On a keto diet, the main source of energy is fats. However, if we are not talking about a treatment protocol for cancer or neurological diseases, it is high-quality protein that should be the starting point for the formation of the diet.While the keto diet can be vegan, most people choose to follow the omnivorous keto diet and consume both animal and plant proteins.

Sources of protein in the keto diet are primarily meat, fish, poultry and eggs. High-protein plant foods, such as legumes, such as soy, are not eaten on a keto diet. And nuts and seeds are considered as a pleasure, a base for desserts, and not as a food base.

The keto diet places great emphasis on protein quality.Therefore, they strive to obtain it from whole, natural products, grown as naturally as possible, and try to avoid fast food and protein products like bars and shakes.

See also Free Chickens and Happy Cows and Dirty Keto.

Inflammation

Today, the approach to the causes of many diseases is changing. Scientists are increasingly talking about chronic inflammation, which provokes a wide range of problems – from obesity and diabetes to CVD, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and dementia.

In 2015, the European Society of Cardiology published a study according to which the majority of people with cardiovascular diseases have diabetes and prediabetes. “Back in the 70s of the last century, Dr. Joseph Kraft made a very bold and revolutionary assumption that all, absolutely all age-related cardiovascular diseases (CVD): strokes, heart attacks, arterial hypertension, etc. develop against the background of diabetes mellitus (DM) … And those patients who suffer from CVD, but do not have a diagnosis of diabetes, are simply not sufficiently examined, ”explains geneticist Karina Fomicheva.Alas, it took 50 years to admit this and stop blaming fats for all sins.

The causes of inflammation can be smoking, chronic stress and, of course, unhealthy diet. High-carbohydrate diets, processed foods, pome and nut oils in excess, trans fats and fast food, and the habit of eating small – and often small – all of which lead to a constant rise in insulin levels. An excess of which leads to inflammation, damage to blood vessels and nerves.

Glucose

As you know, it is needed for the brain.Popular nutritionists and even Rospotrebnadzor regularly tell us about this – it recommends children up to 6 tablespoons of sugar during brainstorming sessions.

Glucose is translated from Greek – sweet. It is a type of sugar that the body uses for energy. Normally, in a healthy person, about 4 g of glucose is dissolved in the blood – a teaspoon.

The brain really needs carbs to function. However, the body successfully synthesizes them from proteins and fats if glucose does not come from food.For many organs, such as the brain, and also the heart, ketones are the preferred source of energy.

A ketogenic diet increases the number of mitochondria, the “power plants” of cells, including the brain. A high-fat, low-carb diet increases the expression of genes encoding mitochondrial enzymes and energy metabolism in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for cognitive functions – memory and learning. In people with dementia, cells in the hippocampus are often damaged, and it is now increasingly said that neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are type 3 diabetes.And the keto diet can prevent them from developing, as well as improve cognitive function in those who already suffer from them.

There are several glucose-dependent organs, for example, the liver, which is responsible for the production of ketones, needs glucose as an energy source. But this does not mean at all that she needs carbohydrates from the outside – unlike fats and proteins, there are no irreplaceable carbohydrates. And even on the strictest ketogenic protocols, enough carbohydrates remain in the diet to meet the needs of carbohydrate-dependent organs.

Dirty Keto

Burger cutlet, store mayonnaise, sausage and bacon. Formal adherence to ketogenic proportions of macronutrients, but without an emphasis on product quality, is “dirty” keto. In the short term, it is quite effective for losing weight, but it will not help to cope with inflammation, it will not restore health to the cells. Over time, even with KBJU keto, it can lead to weight gain. For example, due to unhealthy oils such as rapeseed, soybean, corn, sunflower, which are used in the fast food industry.

Diet

In Russian, the word “diet” either means a diet for weight loss, or a nutritional strategy that is prescribed by a doctor. But “keto diet” is a tracing of the English “keto diet”, where diet is “diet”. The keto diet can be part of a treatment protocol for a variety of diseases, from neurological to cancer. In this case, the proportion of macronutrients and the level of ketones in the blood are strictly controlled. With rare exceptions (see contraindications), the modified keto diet is a natural diet that can be followed without the help of specialists.

Diabetes

A chronic illness in which the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot use the insulin it makes efficiently.

Type I, II and gestational diabetes are often referred to as contraindications to the keto diet. A diabetes diet is usually a low-fat diet with cereals and fruits. Russian dietary guidelines for diabetes – no more than 10% of animal fats

However, there are already official guidelines around the world for a low-carb diet to control blood sugar levels in any form of diabetes.And type 2 diabetes can be reversible with a high-fat, low-carb diet. For example, Tracy Brown, the head of the American Diabetes Association, did it.

Eat fat and lose weight

For anyone who has tried any other diet, it is very difficult to understand how you can eat fat, a lot of fat, and lose weight. Fat is known to be the most nutritious macronutrient at 9 calories per gram, while protein and carbohydrates each contain 4 calories. But our body does not perceive the body as units of energy.Everything is somewhat more complicated (see “Theory of calorie content”). A common mistake made by aspiring ketogenists is to limit both carbohydrates (like on a keto diet) and fats (like on any other diet). But to start losing weight on a keto diet, you really need to eat fat.

Fat

The main source of energy on the keto diet – it accounts for up to 80% of the daily calories. The exact amount depends on the goals and objectives. For example, if you are losing weight on a keto diet, you need less fat (but not a little), because the fat will come from your own reserves.

Sources of Fat on the Keto Diet:

• Animal fats (baked pork, beef, duck, goose fat, fat tail)
• butter and ghee
• olive oil
• avocado oil
• coconut oil
• cocoa butter
• macadamia butter
• natural palm oil

whole fatty foods: meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, seeds, avocados

• fatty dairy products

Constipation

“The ketogenic diet, also known as the keto diet, can cause constipation due to a lack of fiber in the menu,” writes vesti.ru.

In fact, the importance of fiber in the diet is somewhat overestimated. And even more so in the context of constipation. There are a huge number of people in the world who do not eat a single gram of fiber and go to the toilet several times a day. They are called babies.

“But the number of side effects like constipation, nausea, vomiting, kidney stones and changes in blood lipids make this diet dangerous to health,” scare buro24 / 7.

We will say further about the dangers and contraindications, but for now let us inform buro24 / 7 that constipation during the transition to the keto diet is indeed not excluded.It sometimes takes up to a couple of months to deal with them. Adequate drinking, magnesium and moderate physical activity facilitate the sensations. This side effect of switching to a keto diet cannot be called pleasant. On the other hand, people come to ketration because they are tired of suffering from indigestion, gas, and bloating. The keto diet solves these problems, but temporary constipation does not always occur and not for everyone.

Insulin

The most important hormone that is responsible for storing fat and ensuring that energy enters the cell.In many people who are overweight, the production of this hormone or the sensitivity of cells to it is impaired. Keto is a diet that effectively helps with insulin resistance.

Calories

See also Calorie Theory

On the keto diet, calories are not counted, but they are eaten out of hunger until satiety. The body is not a calorimeter, too many factors influence its decision to store or spend, in order to reduce everything to the numbers of calories in foods and the level of our activity.

Research shows that a high-fat, low-carb diet can eat more calories than a low-fat diet to maintain a healthy weight. Another confirmation that calories are not equal to calories.

Ketoacidosis

He is also metabolic acidosis – this is a dangerous condition that develops with a lack of insulin, but a high concentration of glucose and ketones in the blood.

Favorite horror story of ignoramuses who think that the same root in the words “ketosis” and “ketoacidosis” means that the phenomena are the same.

In both ketosis and ketoacidosis, ketones are present in the blood. However, with ketoacidosis, their number is much higher; it is impossible to achieve it on a keto diet and even during fasting. At the same time, a high concentration of glucose is invariably in the blood. Which, again, is impossible on a keto diet, in which only 20-25 g of carbohydrates are supplied from food.

Ketogenic diet

Or keto diet. This is the correct name for a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet in which the body gets most of its energy from fat.

The spelling of any roots with “keto” is continuous. Keto diet, ket food, ketomenu, ketobiohacking. “Keto diet” or “keto diet” is not according to the rules of the Russian language and is more like a tracing of the English keto diet. Although language is a plastic thing, it is possible that separate spelling will become the norm, since it is the most common one. I hope the dictionaries will not include “quito” and even “ketamine diet” (Artemy Lebedev’s version). The “ketone diet” is common, but the “ketogenic” diet is better.

Ketinfluenza

Condition during adaptation to a fatty, low-carbohydrate diet.It can manifest itself as aching, fatigue, headache, constipation, convulsions. Doesn’t cause temperature! It does not happen to everyone when switching to a keto diet, it usually goes away within 2-3 days, rarely drags on for more than a week.

A good drinking regimen, salt, electrolytes (see below), bone broth, and rest can help alleviate the symptoms of ketoflu.

Ketosis

The natural metabolic state of the body, when fats, not glucose, become the main source of energy.

Ketosis can be achieved not only with a keto diet, but also with fasting and intense physical activity.

In ketosis, the body breaks down fatty acids into acetoacetate, acetone and beta-hydroxybutyrate. Ketones are made by the liver and can be used by almost all organs (except the liver itself). It is believed that the brain needs 130 g of glucose per day to function, but this organ does not have its own reserves. In fact, the brain needs energy, and in ketosis it gets most of it from ketones (about 70%), and the body makes the glucose it needs.This process is called gluconeogenesis.

Food / Diet Ketosis helps regulate appetite, reduce weight, can be used to treat type 2 diabetes, improve cognitive function, reduce inflammation, and increase productivity.

There is no “more is better” rule in ketosis. In studies, ketosis levels greater than 3 mmol / L do not increase success, for example, in losing weight on a keto diet. And ketosis above these numbers can be felt as uncomfortable, for example, there is anxiety or excitement.

At the same time, the signs of ketosis – optimal – are an amazing feeling of high productivity, excellent mood and clarity of thoughts. It is impossible to confuse it with something. He is like a girl from VKontakte who is “hard to find, easy to lose and impossible to forget”.

Ketones

Formed on the keto diet from fats – both those that come from food and from our own reserves. Ketones can be measured.

• Acetoacetate measured by urine test
• Acetone determined by breath test
• Beta-hydroxybutyrate shows a blood test.

For those who seriously want to monitor ketosis (for medical reasons or for biohacking), it is necessary to measure BGB in the blood.

The liver produces acetoacetate, and then BGB is synthesized from it, or breaks down, resulting in acetone. Therefore, in the initial stages, when the body adapts to a new type of diet, there can be a frightening amount of acetoacetate in the urine. This is not a sign of ketoacidosis, but an indicator that acetoacetate does not have time to recover to BGB.Over time, there is little acetoacetate in the urine, the amount of acetone changes little, and ketosis in the absence of a ketometer by blood is easy to determine by the following signs: prolonged (more than 6 hours) lack of hunger and cravings for sweets / salty, thirst, activity, surges of energy, “enlightenment mind ”.

Lipid profile

An assay that shows the level of high density lipoproteins (HDL “good” cholesterol) and low density (LDL, “bad” cholesterol), atherogenic index and triglyceride levels.

When you switch to a keto diet, your total cholesterol, LDL and HDL numbers can rise and be quite high for the first couple of years. At the same time, all other indicators of health and, first of all, triglycerides and the coefficient of atherogenicity decrease. This is fine. See cholesterol.

Macronutrients

Proteins, fats and carbohydrates are three macronutrients that we get from food. Proteins and fats, more precisely amino acids and fatty acids, are irreplaceable – they must be supplied with food for the body to function properly.There are no irreplaceable carbohydrates in nature.

Keto menu

It is easy to create a menu on a keto diet. We eat whole, natural foods hunger and full. Usually this very satiety lasts so long that most people switch to two meals a day, or even eat once a day. Although three meals are completely normal. But they refuse fractional nutrition on a keto diet. An example menu for a day might look like this:

Breakfast: glass of bone broth, liver pancakes with sour cream, coffee.

Lunch / Dinner: chicken thighs baked with homemade mayonnaise and cheese, salad of fresh vegetables and herbs, seasoned with olive oil. A spoonful of nut butter for dessert with tea.

NUZhP

Low-carb, high-fat food. A group of diets where there are few carbohydrates and a lot of fats. Moreover, options are possible – there can be up to 20 g of carbohydrates per day, like on a keto diet, and up to 100. Another name is LCHF diet, low carb high fat.

Obesity

A disease that kills more than 4 million people every year, and the number of people who suffer from it is growing from year to year.Today, even babies who have not yet started to walk are diagnosed! The main factor is high-carbohydrate and fractional meals, fast food and sugary drinks. The keto diet has been proven to help reduce obesity.

Reviews

If you read the opinions of doctors, the keto diet is just some kind of horror flying on the wings of the night: it causes a breakdown, headache, constipation, and then problems with the kidneys, liver and more. But for some reason, the reviews of real people are exactly the opposite: “The keto diet saved my family from diabetes”, “I lost 10, 20, 30, 100 kg on the keto diet”, “The keto diet saved me from anorexia”.Fortunately, not all doctors have come to believe in the anti-fat dogma, and among specialists there are more and more people who do not stop studying even after graduating from medical school. They practice the keto diet themselves, prescribe to their patients, and are very happy with the results.

Slimming

The keto diet works effectively for weight loss due to a number of factors. Ketones affect hunger hormones, and cutting out carbohydrates reduces the surges in sugar and insulin. On the keto diet, people begin to eat less and more often in a natural way, without effort or agony.High-quality foods rich in micronutrients help to restore the body at the cellular level – hormones return to normal, enzymes work correctly, all the necessary neurotransmitters transmit the necessary signals.

But the main thing: losing weight on a keto diet is delicious. If all other diets are about enduring, gritting your teeth, putting on a dream dress, and then hitting a grocery binge again, then following the ketration is not difficult all the time. Few people suffer from the fact that they have to reduce weight on steaks, butter, parmesan and pâtés and moan: “We would rather return to chicken breasts and lean cottage cheese!” More precisely, no one.

Products

The list of foods for the keto diet is very simple: meat, fish, poultry, seafood, eggs, butter and ghee, animal fats, olive oil, herbs, vegetables growing above the ground, berries, nuts and fatty dairy products. The main principle: choose the most natural whole fatty foods and eat hunger until you are full. No special foods are needed for the keto diet.

Contraindications

You should not switch to a keto diet in an acute state – with acute acute respiratory viral infections, exacerbation of gastritis or immediately after a heart attack.For cancer and neurological diseases, a keto diet may be prescribed by a doctor. Pregnancy and lactation are not contraindications, but in a sense they are acute conditions.

Absolute contraindications to keto are a number of genetic abnormalities, porphyria, renal and liver failure (CRF and cirrhosis).

Ration

It is very easy to build a diet based on a keto diet. We follow a few simple rules:

• Eat When Hungry, Stay Full
• Eat Whole Natural Foods
• Avoid Snacks

Typically, a keto diet is eaten two to three times a day, with each meal containing protein, fat, and some carbohydrates.

Cardiovascular diseases

Natural animal fats fell into disgrace in the 20th century. Then scientists considered several versions of why the number of people suffering from cardiovascular diseases increased. Fat and sugar were cited as reasons, and the sugar lobby made lipid / cholesterol theory prevail. Qualitative research today does not support a link between high-quality fat consumption and an increase in heart disease. On the contrary, they show that the keto diet can improve indicators of heart health.

Free chickens and happy cows

The method of raising animals affects the composition of macro- and micronutrients in their meat and fats. Therefore, on the keto diet, preference is given to meat from animals of meadow grazing, grown in the most natural conditions. Oftentimes, the inability to buy such products for the keto diet seems like a barrier to newbies. But even store-bought chicken will be better than cereals and bread. And the budget for the keto diet is different. Yes, they need more expensive products, but they also eat keto less often.And you also get to save time – on cooking and actually eating food, which, as you know, is also money. Not to mention how much you can save on drugs thanks to a high-fat diet.

Trans fat

The most dangerous fats that really affect the health of the heart and blood vessels, provoke inflammation, integrate into cells, which is why they multiply with defects. Strictly excluded on the keto diet.

Triglycerides

Fat, actually.It is from triglycerides that cell membranes are composed, triglycerides are stored in reserve in fat cells. And it is precisely the high level of triglycerides in the blood that is a bright marker that not everything is in order with the body. An increase in blood triglyceride levels indicates cardiovascular and metabolic risks. And the best diet that brings this indicator back to normal, guess what? A high-fat, low-carb diet, of course.

Caloric theory

Calorie in – calorie out, calorie theory is the main concept that underlies most diets.According to her, we can control weight loss by eating less and spending more calories. “Move more and eat less.” But the body is more complicated, its decision to store or burn energy does not depend on the numbers in the calorie counting application, but on what hormones are released, what macronutrients are supplied, what deficiencies the body has. A classic of the “calorie theory” genre: to literally swell from hunger – to gain weight on a diet of 800 calories.

Today, the insulin theory comes to the fore, it is the normalization of the work of this hormone and the sensitivity of cells to it that leads to a healthy weight.The keto diet is one of the main strategies for normalizing insulin levels.

Carbohydrates

Macronutrient, which on a keto diet is limited to a figure of 20-25 g. On a keto diet, net carbs are considered, or digestible carbohydrates, that is, the amount of carbohydrates in the product minus fiber. Since the keto diet pays attention to the quality of products, the requirements for carbohydrates are increased. It should include micronutrients in addition. Therefore, the emphasis is on greens, green vegetables, berries and nuts.And all carbohydrates that are packed with sugar and anti-nutrients are excluded. Therefore, even fruits and cereals are not eaten on a keto diet.

Fasting

He’s also called intermittent fasting. A common practice among ketobiohackers. The key is to lengthen periods without food. The most popular intermittent fasting scheme is 16/8. 16 hours without food, and all meals fit into the 8-hour food window. Due to the fact that ketones reduce hunger, it is easy to endure many hours without food.However, intermittent fasting is not an essential part of the keto diet. You can eat a fatty diet without fasting.

Fruit

They are famous for sources of vitamins, but in fact they are inferior to herbs, vegetables and even meat. Modern fruits are the result of selection, they have little in common with ancient ancestors. Most of all they are valued for their sweetness, so that more and more sugar varieties are developed every year. As a result, fruits differ little from cakes. Therefore, on a keto diet, they are almost completely excluded.You can indulge yourself during the season with a homemade Antonovka or a handful of your favorite petiole – a few fruits over the summer, and not a bucket every day.

Cholesterol

An important building block of the body. Contrary to popular misconception, it is mainly synthesized in the body, not much of it comes from food. High blood cholesterol does not necessarily mean a risk of atherosclerosis, and scientists believe that the main cause of vascular changes is inflammation, which is caused by high-carbohydrate and fractional meals, low-quality foods, trans fats, stress, lack of sleep, smoking and lack of physical activity.

Striving for low cholesterol levels is stupid, pointless and downright dangerous.

Elevated keto cholesterol is a common story. In the first 6 months and even a couple of years, the numbers can be quite high. And even after ketoadaptation, stay at the upper limit of the norm or slightly beyond it. It is harmless and does not mean risk of CVD.

Krebs cycle

This is a sequence of chemical reactions that result in the largest number of ATP molecules (and this is the universal fuel that our cells use).It is believed that for the Krebs cycle to proceed, it is necessary to receive from food much more than 20 g of carbohydrates per day, because “fats are burned in the flame of carbohydrates.”

On a keto diet, the reactions of the Krebs cycle change. The body itself synthesizes glucose from oxaloacetate, as a result of which acetyl-CoA cannot enter the Krebs cycle. And then the processes of conversion of acetyl-CoA into ketone bodies are activated, which are then used as “fuel”. Thus, if carbohydrates (glucose, fructose, etc.) enter the body in small quantities, it is ketone bodies that become energy substrates.

Cyclic keto

Cyclic Keto Diet involves a carbohydrate load – once a week or a couple of weeks. This method is believed to replenish liver and muscle glycogen stores, and is suitable for those who practice intense training. On carbohydrate days, the amount of fat decreases as much as possible, and carbohydrates come from cereals or fruits; the amount of protein does not change.

There is no evidence that this approach actually improves the quality of training. For some, a small serving of carbs just before class works.

In any case, the cyclical keto diet can only be practiced after keto adaptation.

Cheat meal

A deliberate violation of the diet in order not to go crazy with restrictions. Practically not found on keto – it is difficult to call such a tasty and varied diet limited.

Dos and Don’ts

Aspiring ketogenic people have a lot of questions: what is allowed on the keto diet, and what foods are prohibited.There are keto adepts who call for the elimination of all controversial products – from tomatoes to flaxseeds, while others believe that even from store-bought mayonnaise, nothing terrible will happen. On a keto diet, you cannot eat frank poison, everything else can more or less be entered in the proportions of BJU. The question is expediency.

Chocolate

Approved on a keto diet – bitter or on safe sweeteners: erythritol, stevia, monke.

Alkaline balance

The theory of acidification of the body states that the use of certain foods can lead to a violation of the acid-base balance.From this point of view, the keto diet is horror-horror, sheer oxidation. From the point of view of biochemistry, the theory of acidification is sheer nonsense. The keto diet does not change the pH of the blood, in order to comply with it, special foods are not needed that will compensate for the diet and alkalize the body (whatever that means).

Electrolytes

Minerals that carry an electrical charge when dissolved in water. They allow muscles to contract, nerves to transmit signals, are necessary for the work of hormones and enzymes, and maintain the same acid-base balance.

On a keto diet, we bring the insulin level back to normal, but this means that at the initial stage we lose quite a lot of fluid (plus the fact that swelling and a few pounds go away right away), and with it electrolytes. As a result, headache, leg cramps, and fatigue may appear. Therefore, when switching to a keto diet, it is better to compensate for electrolytes – salt the food well (2.5 tsp salt per day should go away), drink bone broth, and, if necessary, take supplements. Over time, if the diet is based on healthy foods, you can do without dietary supplements.

Epilepsy

Serious disease that can be corrected by the keto diet. Nearly 100 years ago, doctors noted that those who were fasting had fewer epileptic seizures. And then experts, led by Russell Wilder, found out that it is not necessary to starve, it is enough to significantly reduce carbohydrates. This is how the therapeutic ketoprotocol appeared. The keto diet for healthy people, of course, differs from it: it is less strict and does not require precise control of the level of ketones in the blood.

YouTube

The most popular YouTuber who talks about the keto diet in Russian is Dr. Berg. An intelligent-looking man with a marker and a white board has won the hearts of hundreds of thousands, his videos are translated into different languages ​​and sold like hotcakes. Dr. Berg’s productivity seems to only confirm the effectiveness of the keto diet. The problem is that Dr. Berg is a chiropractor, never a doctor, and a lot of his advice is very controversial, not to mention that it is often dictated by his commercial interests.

Keto Diet Channels: Worth Subscribing:

Egg post

A popular practice to overcome plateaus on a keto diet. The essence of an egg fast is to eat only eggs and butter for a few days. Despite the fact that some do manage to shift weight, the technique is quite controversial, it can lead to constipation, deterioration of health and even an allergy to eggs – quite a shame, given how much tasty and healthy can be cooked on a keto diet with eggs.

Scientific research referred to in this article:

β-hydroxybutyrate: Much more than a metabolite. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice

Induced and Controlled Dietary Ketosis as a Regulator of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome Pathologies, Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews

Short-term and Long-Term Efficacy of Classical Ketogenic Diet and Modified Atkins Diet in Children and Adolescents With Epilepsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Sugar Industry and Coronary Heart Disease Research A Historical Analysis of Internal Industry Documents,

Screening for dysglycaemia in patients with coronary artery disease as reflected by fasting glucose, oral glucose tolerance test, and HbA1c: a report from EUROASPIRE IV — a survey from the European Society of Cardiology

Saturated fat does not clog the arteries: coronary heart disease is a chronic inflammatory condition, the risk of which can be effectively reduced from healthy lifestyle interventions, BMJ

A cDNA Microarray Analysis of Gene Expression Profiles in Rat Hippocampus Following a Ketogenic Diet, Molecular Brain Research

Study of the Ketogenic Agent AC-1202 in Mild to Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Trial

Polyunsaturated fatty acids for prevention and treatment of diseases of the heart and circulation

Effect of Dietary Carbohydrate Restriction on Glycemic Control in Adults With Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Systematic review and meta-analysis of dietary carbohydrate restriction in patients with type 2 diabetes

An Evidence-Based Approach to Developing Low-Carbohydrate Diets for Type 2 Diabetes Management: A Systematic Review of Interventions and Methods

Dietary Intervention for Overweight and Obese Adults: Comparison of Low-Carbohydrate and Low-Fat Diets.