The Ketogenic Diet

Butter and oil (Wikimedia Commons)

A ketogenic diet is, put simply, a low-carb diet. However, something that separates it from most other diets, low-carb included, is the fact that it is also high-fat. Most mainstream diets advocate low-fat foods under the false pretence that fat causes weight gain, high cholesterol and heart disease. The true culprit of these conditions is actually a diet high in carbohydrate. All carbohydrate are broken down into glucose, which your body will use for energy. When you ingest carbohydrate, your body secretes a hormone called insulin to regulate your blood sugar levels. To accomplish this, glucose is converted into fat. Insulin produces lipoproteins, which are responsible for storing the newly-converted fat cell in your body. The more carbohydrate you consume, the more insulin your body releases. This will eventually make your body insulin-resistant, which will then lead to type-2 diabetes. Restricting your carbohydrate intake prevents your body from storing fat, and instead of using glucose to fuel your brain, your body will convert the fat into fatty acids and ketones to be used as fuel. This is called ketosis and is the main goal of the ketogenic diet. Once you are in ketosis, your body starts to convert your fat cells into energy, which, of course, causes you to lose fat. To achieve ketosis, most people keep their carbohydrate intake below 50 grams per day, usually at around 20 grams. The average calorie percentage ratio between fat/protein/carbohydrate respectively is 60/35/5. However, some people may choose to increase their fat intake even higher to 70 or 80 percent of their daily calorie intake. Calorie-counting is not necessary for most people, due to the fact that fat tends to make you feel fuller much quicker and longer. Personally, I have been on a ketogenic diet for a few years and I have noticed steady weight loss when I stick to the diet and similarly steady weight gain when I go off the diet. Though keto requires you to 'give up' many of your previous beliefs about fat and dieting, which can be difficult for some people, I have never found an easier diet follow. Done properly, you are never hungry and you have much more energy with no sugar highs and crashes. This diet is based on solid scientific evidence, instead of the agenda of the food industries. It will work for nearly everyone and can be followed indefinitely. This diet is not just about weight loss; it has been proven to help people with seizures, diabetes and cancer, just to name a few conditions. If you are interested in starting a ketogenic diet, whether to lose weight, help manage a condition or just stay healthy, I encourage you to read up on it and discuss it with your doctor. I will provide some reading materiel here to get you started. I hope you can use these resources to feel better and accomplish your goals:

Reddit's Keto FAQ
Keto Calculator
Low Carb High Fat for Beginners
Joseph Arcita's Guide to Ketosis