It is important to know the kinds of food you should avoid in order to remain in an optimal state of ketosis. The essence of reduce carbohydrates in a ketogenic diet is simply to induce the state of ketosis.
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Proteins and fat are therefore regulated as a way of stopping the body from adapting to these dietary modifications.
Fats
The ketogenic diet by nature encourages the consumption of healthy fats. This serves as the main energy for the body during the state of ketosis.
Most ketogenic diets consume about 60 to 80% of the daily calorie intake from fats. However, this value is dependent on the intended purpose of the diet. In treatment of epilepsy, 90% of the daily calorie intake comes exclusively from fats.
Below are a few tips on choosing the best type of fats to include in your ketogenic diet.
Polyunsaturated (PUFAs) Omega-6 Fats
When consumed in large amounts, omega-6 fatty acids can cause inflammation in the body. This can just be as damaging as the increase in sugar consumption.
Also, seed or nut-based oil should be avoided as they are also high in omega-6 that can have inflammatory effect.
Some of the polyunsaturated fatty acids and nut-based oil to avoid include:
Canola oil, Corn oil, Cottonseed oil, Flax oil, Grapeseed oil, Peanut oil, Safflower oil, Sesame oil, Soybean oil, Sunflower oil, Vegetable oil, Walnut oil
Hydrogenated and Trans Fats
Trans fat are the most inflammatory of all fats. Several studies have noted that foods containing trans fats increase the risk of developing heart disease and cancer.
Also, avoid mayonnaise and commercial salad dressing and if unavoidable, check their carbohydrate content and include in it your carbohydrate counts.
Proteins
The choice of your proteins in a ketogenic diet is very important. Your protein can affect the diet over the course of time. Animals that have been treated with steroids and antibiotics have the potential to cause health problems.
It is always best to purchase grass-fed, organic and free range humanely raised animals. Avoid the hormone-fed animals, especially with rBST.
Also, when buying processed meat products, you should check the carbohydrate content as they might have been added through the extenders and fillers used. You need to also avoid meats that have been cured with sugar or honey.
Carbohydrates
Reduction of carbohydrate food intake is the main focus of ketogenic diets. However, the level of restriction of carbohydrate intake is mostly based on the individual's activity level and metabolic rate.
Keeping your carbohydrate intake to less than 30 grams a day will help you to remain in ketosis. However, individuals that have healthy metabolism and those with higher metabolic rates (such as athletes) can afford to eat as much as 50 grams of carbohydrate daily.
Those with metabolic issues (such as Type 2 Diabetes) and sedentary persons need to stay at fewer than 20 grams of carbohydrate per day. Another factor might also be the purpose of the ketogenic diet.
Some of the common carbohydrates to avoid include the following grains and grain products:
Amaranth, Barley, Bread crumbs, Bread, Buckwheat, Bulgur, Cakes, Cookies, Corn chips, Cornbread, Cornmeal, Crackers, Grits, Kashi, Muffins, Oatmeal, Oats, Pancakes, Pasta, Pies, Polenta, Popcorn, Pretzels, Quinoa, Rice, Rolls, Rye, Sorghum, Spelt, Tarts, Tortillas, Tricale, Waffles, Wheat
Vegetables
Vegetables are the main carbohydrate sources in a ketogenic diet. Also, a lot of vegetables that grow underground are starchy and contain a lot of carbohydrates.
You should limit your consumption of Brussels sprout, green beans and pumpkin as the carbs can add up quickly.
However, you should avoid the following vegetables:
Carrots, Corn, Green peas, Leeks, Parsnips, Potatoes, Squash, Sweet potatoes, Yams, Yuca
Tropical Fruits
Avoid most tropical fruits including mango, papaya and pineapple as they are usually high carbohydrates. Also avoid 100 percent fresh juice since most of them are often high in sugars.
Sugars and Sweeteners
Sugar is a very rich source of glucose and must therefore be avoided. Also, sugar is known in forms like brown sugar, white, castor and icing sugar. Sugar can also be an ingredient in processed foods.
Barley malt, Beet sugar, Brown sugar, Cane juice, Cane syrup, Caramel, Carob syrup, Coconut sugar, Corn syrup, Date sugar, Fruit juice concentrate, Fruit syrups, Malt syrup, Maltose, Maple syrup, Molasses, Panela, Panocha, Rice syrup, Sorghum, Tapioca syrup, Treacle, Turbinado sugar, White sugar
You've probably heard plenty about the Atkins Diet over the years. You know, that incredibly popular and controversial diet that involves cutting right down on your carbohydrate intake. You may have also heard of "ketogenic diets" - it's a more scientific term so you may not recognise it. Did you realise that the Atkins Diet is a type of ketogenic diet? In this article we'll have a brief look at what the term means and my experience of this type of diet.
The Atkins Diet
The original Atkins Diet book, Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution, was released in 1972. Dr Robert Atkins was interested, among other things, in getting his own weight under control. Primarily using self-experimentation techniques he found that eating a diet very low in carbohydrates tended to make him lose weight quickly. His experimentation was based upon other research papers and, as a result of his own studies, he became confident that the science behind the diet was sound. The resulting book was a resounding success and, over the next 30 years up to his death in 2003, Robert Atkins continued to produce popular diet books based upon the low-carbohydrate principle.
Ketogenic Diets
Some would argue that only the first "phase" of the Atkins Diet is "ketogenic" but it's very clear that this element is central to the whole diet. There are many other diets of this type with different names and claims but, if they talk about severely restricting the intake of carbohydrates, then they're probably forms of ketogenic diet. The process of "ketosis" is quite complicated and would take some time to describe but, in essence, it works because cutting down on carbs restricts the amount of blood glucose available to trigger the "insulin response". Without a triggering of the glucose-insulin response some hormonal changes take place which cause the body to start burning its stores of fat as energy. This also has the interesting effect of causing your brain to be fuelled by what are known as "ketone bodies" (hence "ketogenic") rather than the usual glucose. The whole process is really quite fascinating and I recommend that you read up on it.
Controversy
All forms of ketogenic diet are controversial. Most of the debate surrounds the issue of cholesterol and whether ketogenic diets increase or decrease the levels HDL "good" cholesterol and/or increase or decrease LDL "bad" cholesterol. The number of scientific studies is increasing year on year and it is certainly possible to point to strong cases on both sides of the argument. My conclusion (and this is only my opinion) is that one could equally make the case that a carbohydrate-laden diet has negative effects on cholesterol and I think that, on balance, a ketogenic-type diet is more healthy than a carbohydrate-heavy one. Interestingly, there isn't so much controversy about whether ketogenic diets work or not (it's widely accepted that they do); it's mostly about how they work and whether that is good/bad/indifferent from a health perspective.
My Experience
I too am a bit of a self-experimenter. I know this approach isn't for everyone and it does carry an element of risk. I've experimented with a ketogenic diet for around eight years now. I sometimes lapse, mostly during holidays, but I always return to the diet as part of my day-to-day routine. I find that I can easily lose the several extra pounds that I put on during the holidays within around two weeks of starting up the keto diet again. I suppose it helps that I really enjoy the type of food I get to eat by following this regimen. Many of the foods I like are quite high in protein and fat. I do miss carbohydrate-rich foods such as pizza and pasta but I think that loss is outweighed (sic) by the benefit of being able to each rich food and still keep my weight under control. It goes without saying that I have to avoid sugary foods but I don't have much of a sweet tooth and I can still enjoy things like good dark chocolate, in moderation.
Conclusion
It's difficult, if you are just starting out looking for a diet that works for you, to know where the truth lies in this debate; if the scientists can't sort it out then how are you going to? The plain truth is that you'll need to educate yourself, weigh up the arguments, then follow your own best judgement. My experience has been largely positive but you will, no doubt, have heard of friends having problems on low carbohydrate diets keto diet for one reason or another. There is no such thing as a miracle diet and most of them are just variations on a theme but all ketogenic-type diets are based upon a very specific principle and that principle has been demonstrated to induce weight loss in many people. Perhaps you should try to base your opinion on the available evidence and not on anecdotes. It's your body and your health, after all.