Ketogenic, the name may sound fancy to you, but the diet is really basic. It doesn’t require you to over consume a specific food element or any of that stuff. This diet, in fact, promotes a low-carb, high-fat diet, which may sound unusual at the first go. Low-carb and high fat seems like two extremes, but it is the magic formula that can balance out the fat levels in your body and also help you lose weight.
So, what exactly is the meaning of the word “ketogenic?” When you up your fat intake while reducing the carbohydrates in your meals, your body switches into a state called, “ketosis,” meaning instead of burning glucose, your body is burning fats.
Now this is exactly what you need in order to shed off those excess pounds.
The ketogenic diet has been used for about a century to treat seizures.
Although it’s unclear as to how the ketogenic diet exactly helps in curing the seizure, but it is known to work wonders for epilepsy patients.
3 major benefits of Ketogenic diet
1. Helps in weight loss
When our meals are rich in carbohydrates, our body releases insulin owing to elevated levels of glucose in the blood.
Now the job of insulin is to signal the cells for storing as much energy as they can.
The energy is first stored in the form of glycogen and then converted to fats.
The ketogenic diet eliminates the carbohydrate from your meals, which helps in preventing excessive insulin from releasing in the body.
When the body’s insulin levels are low, it starts burning down the fats much faster, eventually resulting in a good amount of weight loss.
Now this could mean that your body will also continue burning fat even while you are asleep.
This way, the fat burning process can go on 24/7.
Keep in mind that the type of fat you consume while on a ketogenic diet is extremely important.
Consume food items that are higher in fatty acids but help to burn your fats faster as well.
Following are some of the recommended food items you can eat while on a ketogenic diet.
Grass fed meat
Seafood and wild caught fish
Pastured poultry and pork
Gelatin, ghee and butter
Monosaturated fats (olive oil and avocados), polysaturated, and saturated fats
Non-starchy veggies like spinach, broccoli, kale, chives, chard, bok choy etc.
Beverages such as black coffee, tea.
Condiments like mayonnaise, mustard sauce, sauerkraut, Kombucha, pickles and fermented foods.
All kinds of spices and herbs
All veggies that are non-starchy, mushrooms and all fruits.
Macadamia nuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, chia seeds etc.