The benefits of any “healthy” diet sound tempting, especially with the “effective weight loss” claim. One type of diet is the keto diet.
Before starting the keto diet, I will explain various important facts about the complete keto diet, plus various ways the keto diet is actually wrong.
What is the keto diet?
The keto diet is a dietary arrangement with a very low intake of carbohydrate nutrients, which is less than 10 percent or less than 50 grams per day.
In a normal diet, daily carbohydrate intake ranges from 50-60 percent. While on the keto diet it is only about 5 to 10 percent and the rest is replaced with fat and protein intake.
The keto diet, also known as the ketogenic diet, comes from the word ketones. Ketones are chemical compounds produced from the breakdown of fat by the liver.
Usually, energy is taken from glucose which is sourced from carbohydrates. However, due to low carbohydrates, the body will lack glucose.
As a result, the body automatically uses energy reserves from other nutrients, namely fat.
Medically, the goal of this diet is actually to reduce the incidence of epilepsy in children. In addition, this diet is widely used to lose weight.
Even so, further research is still needed regarding the side effects of this diet if done for a long time.
Benefits of the keto diet
Just like other types of diets, ketogenic also has benefits that need to be known. I will review starting from the benefits. Here are the benefits of the keto diet for the body.
1. Controlling epilepsy
This diet is recommended diet for children with epilepsy.
Experts claim that ketones, which are produced when processing fat into energy, help normalize the electrical activity of the brain, which is disturbed in patients with epilepsy.
2. Lose weight
When you go on this diet, the body uses fat reserves to burn as energy.
This burning fat can ultimately help you lose weight.
3. Control blood sugar levels
This type of diet lowers your intake of carbohydrates. In the body, carbohydrates are processed into glucose (blood sugar).
The less carbohydrates consumed, the less glucose in the body so that blood sugar levels are more controlled.
The risks of the keto diet
People who follow this diet will experience a state of ketosis. Ketosis comes from ketones as a result of fat being processed in the body.
If enough fat is processed into energy, ketone levels will increase and the body will experience this condition.
Ketosis normally occurs in the body. However, it will be dangerous if the levels are too much.
High ketone levels can cause dehydration and unbalance the chemical compounds in the blood.
In addition, the complications caused are also quite serious if not supervised by experts. For example, disorders of kidney organs, liver organs, and blood fat.
The side effects or risks that are usually felt while on the keto diet are:
1. nauseous,
2. vomiting,
3. headache,
4. difficult defecation (CHAPTER),
5. mood swings, as well
6. high cholesterol levels in the blood.
Common keto diet mistakes
Broadly speaking, the main mistake in this diet is the selection of the type of fat consumed.
Even though this diet relies on consuming high-fat intakes, that doesn’t mean you can eat just any fat.
Generally, many people actually eat all kinds of fatty foods without considering whether the fat is good or not. In fact, the recommended fat intake is good and healthy fat.
Examples of good fats consumed are virgin coconut oil, pure olive oil, fatty fish, fat in avocados, and fat from nuts.
On the other hand, you need to avoid bad fats such as saturated fat and trans fat from fried foods, packaged meat, butter, or junk food.
Safe rules for beginners
Basically, this diet is a safe eating pattern and can be carried out as long as it is under the supervision of an expert.
The reason is, if you don’t supervise and do it carelessly, the side effects you get can be very serious.
In addition, there is a guide to the keto diet menu with a variety of food choices that are worth trying.
Keep in mind that the right diet method needs to be adjusted to each condition.
This is because the side effects and reactions that occur for everyone on this diet can be different. That’s why you need to consult a clinical nutritionist first.