In recent times, there has been no other diet that has gained more traction, hype, and support than the ketogenic diet. Its proponents fashion the diet as a cure-all for all sorts of ailments, including weight loss and correcting metabolic and cardiovascular health. Some even claim that eating any other way is detrimental to the overall health and functioning of the human body. Usually, they pinpoint carbs and sugar as the evil bogeyman that is going to give them all sorts of painful ailments like metabolic syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. But what is the truth?
The truth is that there is really not anything special about keto. Sure, the keto diet is fantastic for those that suffer from epilepsy. And sure, it is a great tool for obese patients that want to shed weight fast. But although studies show that keto diets are superior for weight loss than high carb diets, this is only true for the first 6 months. At 12 months, the weight loss experienced on high carbs will match up with keto. This points to keto being a great, but temporary diet for those with obesity, after which they should introduce more plant food sources.
Some say that a keto diet allows you to eat unlimited calories and still lose weight. This is not true. Your body takes in calories, which it then converts to energy, and this energy is expended as you move and rest throughout the day, whether this is exercising or sitting down reading a book. Once you begin to consume calories above your body's expenditure rate, you will gain weight because there is a limit to how much energy your body can expend. If you eat less calories than your body needs, fat will be tapped into for this energy, which results in weight loss.
The reason why people might think that they can eat as much as they want on a keto diet is because eating high amounts of fat is appetite suppressing. Meaning, you think you are eating more than what you actually are because the high fat content of the diet is more filling and satiating. But if you were to track your calories, you would find out that you are actually at a calories deficit, not a surplus. A ketogenic diet is also very restrictive since carb intake is severely low. As diet adherents eat the same foods each day, they will tire of it, getting bored with eating. This leads to an even bigger calorie deficit and more weight loss.
But fat isn't the only satiating food. In fact, studies have shown that a diet with plenty of carbs, protein, fiber, and some fat is as satiating as a keto diet. Fiber and protein makes you feel full because of what they call the bulking effect, and you would know what this feels like after eating a bowl of oatmeal with some peanut butter thrown in, or eating a plate of beans.
And what about the amazing health transformations people have experienced on a keto diet? From reduction in diabetes, to reduction in negative blood markers. This has a very simple explanation. If you are obese, and you begin to lose fat on a keto diet that puts you in a calorie deficit, then of course your health will improve! Losing body fat will improve your health, no matter the diet. Excess fat on the body and a sedentary lifestyle is the reason why people suffer from these crippling diseases. If you lose the fat, your body will begin functioning more optimally.
And what about carbs and sugar, which supposedly cause weight gain and health issues like diabetes? The one thing to know is that carbs and sugar do not cause diabetes or obesity. Studies have shown that in a mixed American diet of carbs and fat, the body will store the fat, not the carbs. In fact, even if someone exceeds their calorie maintenance levels through an excess of carb intake, studies have shown that fat gain through de novo lipogenesis is negligible, only a few grams. Fat is actually stored first in a mixed diet.
Additionally, carbs and sugar provide the body with glucose, which is the energy you need to fuel yourself throughout the day. It also provides glycogen stores in the muscles and liver, which allows you to perform better on weightlifting and high intensity exercises. Not surprisingly, athletes, studies have shown, cannot exercise well on keto and need carbs for good performance.
On the issue of diabetes, it is actually a sedentary lifestyle and obesity issue, not a carb or sugar issue. If you exercise and are active, starchy carbs and even isolated refined sugars (like lemonade or Gatorade) won't harm you as long as your diet is biased toward fiber rich plant foods. But obviously, if you are obese, then drinking soda and other high sugar drinks can cause problems. But this is because of the inherent debilitated state in an obese person; in an active person that exercises regularly, sugar and carbs will be used as fuel by the body. This doesn't mean sugar is a health food, because it isn't, but starchy carbs with plenty of protein and fiber are the way to go. But interestingly, if you look at Dr. Kempner's sugar and rice diet, he successfully reversed obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular ailments by giving his patients a calorie deficient diet of rice, fruit juice, and fruit.
But what about diet adherence? How many people will follow a strict keto diet? Not many, since there isn't much you can eat on it. You can have meat and eggs, but dairy, carbs, and even some nuts are off the table. Also, the amount of high saturated fat intake poses an LDL cholesterol and cardiovascular health issue. How do you expect such a diet to be adopted by the majority of people? Especially with the appeal to nature that many keto proponents claim, saying that keto is the way the body was "meant to function in nature". Really? So adding butter to your coffee, shoveling MCT oil and bacon into your mouth and regularly checking your ketone levels with measuring strips is how they did it in nature? Nonsense.
So the moral of this story is: eat a balanced diet biased toward high protein, high fiber, plant based foods and healthy unsaturated fats. There is no reason to follow the keto hype, which is just a food industry scam which is making certain people who peddle keto supplements, diet books, and websites subscriptions very, very rich.
Well said, @kinglouis. This diet, just like most other diets, is all about the marketing. You are right when you say, "So the moral of this story is: eat a balanced diet biased toward high protein, high fiber, plant based foods and healthy unsaturated fats." No need for fancy diets. Just eat more whole-foods and plant-based foods.
Definitely, diet is not complicated, it is quite simple.
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