What is keto ???

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leelee8433
leelee8433 Posts: 16 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Could someone please explain this to me and is it beneficial long term ??

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  • Trex5009
    Trex5009 Posts: 171 Member
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    It's a high fat, sufficient protein, low carb diet.
  • MinuitMinuet
    MinuitMinuet Posts: 156 Member
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    Beneficial? To me it is. To you, maybe not. It still uses CICO as its foundation. It can help with cravings for a lot of people who can't stop binging on carb loaded foods.. But if your self control is key, there is no reason for you to go keto unless you just want to give it a go. It does have some health benefits, but so does loosing weight.. Which should be the main focus.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    Trex5009 wrote: »
    It's a high fat, sufficient protein, low carb diet.

    That's basically it. It is a very low carbohydrate diet, usually under 20-50g of carbs a day although some go very low and some go a bit higher if fit and timing carbs around exercise. Your carbs are low enough that your body will come to use fat and ketones for the bulk of its energy needs, except for a few things like the brain and red blood cells, which still need some glucose (which can be consumed in carbs or made by the liver).

    There are no food specific items to the diet. Many do end up eating a whole foods diet of meat dairy, eggs, veggies and a bit of fruit, but it could be done in less healthful ways where your carbs candy, and the rest of the day is beef jerky, bacon or meat fried in soy oil.

    Some people like it for weight loss because it can often reduce the appetite and food cravings.

    It can be used to address many health issues too like epilepsy, diabetes, IR (NAFLD, PCOS, Alzheimer's), and to augment some other treatments like some cancer therapies.

  • sgtx81
    sgtx81 Posts: 466 Member
    edited October 2017
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    Keto is excellent. I have been on it since August, I have incredible mental clarity, elevated mood, sustained energy throughout the days, and I've lost over 50 pounds since August. There are no food cravings, and my sweet tooth is gone. High-fat, low-carb is the best.

    And, in response to russell, not that I'm suggesting becoming a hunter-gatherer or not eating but as far as evolution is concerned, we ate what we hunted or gathered. That likely comes out to meats, fats, nuts, berries.... at least that's what you read. Of course, there were root vegetables and some other fruits, but it is likely that we were surviving on something much closer to keto this whole time.

    And beyond that, it is unlikely that we even ate every day... and somehow we made it for hundreds of thousands of years. Agriculture is what, 5 or 6 thousand years old? Fast forward to today where we're eating multiple times a day and typically consuming a lot of carbs and we're the fattest and unhealthiest we likely have ever been, barring some vitamin or mineral deficiency that may have been common in the past.

    Luckily for us, there is an easy way to take care of micronutrients with a quick trip down the vitamin aisle. Keto seems to handle our macro needs outstandingly. You have heard of essential amino acids and essential fats, but you have not heard essential carbs because they don't exist. If you need to produce glucose, which is what carbs offer, there is glucogenesis that can convert some proteins into glucose to handle those needs.

    Speaking from experience, and having done plenty of research on keto, the NIH.gov website is an excellent source of info, by the way, there may not be much better of an option for people, particularly if they have issues with blood sugar or weight. The only caveat I would be able to mention as of now is if you have kidney problems, you should most definitely consult a doctor first.

    Also, you gotta test your ketones every morning before you eat to make sure you're not overdoing it or missing the mark altogether.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    Keto is a macro mix. A lot of people make specific claims about it that are so far unsupported and in fact have been falsified in controlled (see Hall et all) studies.

    However, for some people, it provides appetite suppression during dieting, though I personally tend to think they'd be just fine doing less restrictive low carb high fat which would allow for more vegetables. There are some active individuals who can keto on a higher level of carbs than is commonly seen among the average ketophile.

    For support, join The Low Carber Daily Forum.

    At the end of the day, keto is just another way of reaching a calorie deficit. Some people like the appetite suppression they experience relative to their previous diet, but this isn't unique to keto. Any person who finds a satisfactory macro mix experiences satiation. Keto is just very popular right now.
  • Gurliacci
    Gurliacci Posts: 10 Member
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    Keto diets are extremely helpful for people affected by epilepsy, you should read up on some of the research on that front! Incredibly interesting research has been done observing this connection.

    As for the rest of us non-epileptics, do what works best for you. But be warned- highly restrictive diets have their downsides. They can be difficult to maintain indefinitely, especially in social situations. Keto isn’t a magic solution to every ailment or a cure for cancer. You can achieve better health and weight loss through a variety of methods (for some that’s Keto, others paleo, vegan, mostly plant based, pescatarian you name it).

    My non-medical advice is to eat a variety a nutrient dense foods, control your portions, eat plenty of plants, limit your sodium intake, stay hydrated with water, limit added sugar.

    No need to get upset and judgy about the way other people eat guys!!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited October 2017
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    River_Goddess wrote: »
    There is low carb, lazy keto, and keto.

    Low carb takes the "eat whatever you like as long as it's under 100-150 carbs/day" approach.

    "Lazy Keto" is the "eat whatever you like as long as it's under 20-50 carbs/day" approach.

    Keto is:

    No sugar
    No grains
    No starchy carbs
    Select fruit only (ie. berries)
    20g carbs/day

    For keto, carbs are a max (20g)
    protein is a goal (0.6- 0.8g per lb of body weight) and the rest of your diet consists of healthy fats, but only as much as you need to stay satisfied.

    If you decide to give it a shot, there is a Low Carbers Daily Forum group that has lots of helpful people and info.

    This is an interesting definition -- I thought keto was "a diet that puts you consistently in ketosis." And I'm basing that in part on Volek & Phinney's book.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    sgtx81 wrote: »
    Keto is excellent.

    It can be, if you are someone who responds better to it than other ways of eating in our current food environment. I think that applies to a minority of people. For example, I think I am someone who responds well to low carbing, but when I tried keto I liked it fine but did not experience anything better than when I was eating 100-120 g of carbs, not to justify the additional restrictions. I am not saying this would be the case for everyone, but it's one of many reasons I think it's unwise to generalize as you are doing.
    I have been on it since August, I have incredible mental clarity, elevated mood, sustained energy throughout the days, and I've lost over 50 pounds since August. There are no food cravings, and my sweet tooth is gone. High-fat, low-carb is the best.

    I experienced all this just changing my diet to be more controlled (and a little better -- I ate reasonably well and lots of veg before dieting, but there were a variety of things that needed to improve). I was not high fat or keto at that time -- probably did around 35-35-30 (protein) on average.
    And, in response to russell, not that I'm suggesting becoming a hunter-gatherer or not eating but as far as evolution is concerned, we ate what we hunted or gathered. That likely comes out to meats, fats, nuts, berries.... at least that's what you read. Of course, there were root vegetables and some other fruits, but it is likely that we were surviving on something much closer to keto this whole time.

    That's not what the evidence indicates, not that it really matters.
    And beyond that, it is unlikely that we even ate every day... and somehow we made it for hundreds of thousands of years.

    Yeah, we probably didn't. Not sure what that has to do with ketosis. Did we go into ketosis when fasting? I'm sure, but keto is about consistently being in ketosis, not occasionally fasting and slipping in and out.
    Fast forward to today where we're eating multiple times a day and typically consuming a lot of carbs and we're the fattest and unhealthiest we likely have ever been, barring some vitamin or mineral deficiency that may have been common in the past.

    Blaming out fatness on agriculture is funny given how it mostly started in the 1970s and got extra bad in the 1990s. Many very healthy diets are much higher in carbs than the US diet (which is usually considered rather high fat and most forms of "junk food" are high in both fat and carbs). Cutting back on carbs (which requires one to cut back on lots of the common "junk foods" can be a good strategy, especially for someone eating a lot of that stuff and needing a structure to fix it, but that doesn't mean "carbs" are the problem with the US diet. In fact, too few vegetables is one of the majority issues with the US diet.)

    I personally find that I do better eating on a regular meal schedule, no snacking, and I think promoting snacking was a mistake, but whatever works for you the issue is that tempting food is extremely available, there are no particular restrictions (not even cultural) on how much we consume and how often, and, of course, we are too sedentary.
    Luckily for us, there is an easy way to take care of micronutrients with a quick trip down the vitamin aisle.

    Doesn't seem very much like hunters and gathers or, IMO, healthy, as while there are particular vitamins and minerals we have identified it is unlikely that is the only benefit of eating lots of plant foods, as we traditionally have.

    I'm not anti keto at all, but I do think it can be healthfully and not, and that it's unwise to ignore the benefits of plant foods.
    Also, you gotta test your ketones every morning before you eat to make sure you're not overdoing it or missing the mark altogether.

    This seems overkill.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    leelee8433 wrote: »
    Could someone please explain this to me and is it beneficial long term ??

    Anyway, to answer the specific question.

    It is one version of low carb eating, one that demands that carbs be sufficiently low that you go into ketosis. This normally means under 50 g (but carbs do not include fiber here, as they affect your body differently). People vary a bit in how easily they go into ketosis, so if you really care about that (I have yet to see any reason why most people should -- there are positives for epilepsy of ketone production, however).

    The benefit is similar to the benefits (for some) of low carb -- it may be that some need to be at a lower carb level for these benefits to kick in, so I'd suggest that if you are interested in low carbing maybe cut down in stages and see how you feel. Those benefits are: feeling more satisfied, less hungry, less cravings (if you struggle with them), more consistent energy, no up and down cycles, things like that.

    I personally find that most of that kicks in if I just eat a healthy, sensible, nutrient-dense and fiber rich diet, without lots of snacking or refined carbs. However, from experimenting I do find that for me personally having a bit higher fat diet helps with satisfaction (not satiety, fat alone isn't sating at all for me, but overall satisfaction and happiness with how I am eating).

    Are there long term benefits? I don't personally think so, apart from whether it helps you maintain or lose weight, but that's a big thing if you are someone it helps. The bigger question is whether there are negatives long term and we really don't know yet, but I suspect not, not for most people (watch blood tests, of course), at least not if the diet is otherwise a healthy one (keto can be healthy or not, like any diet). I'd recommend that anyone doing keto do the same things as I'd recommend to anyone: get in a decent amount of vegetables (probably a bit more than otherwise since you can't have grains or many legumes or fruit very often), and don't go nuts with the red meat or processed meat and if possible try to get some of the protein from plant sources (and of course eggs and fish).

    But that's my view, which I think is consistent with my reading about nutrition and health. As with any diet you can hear lots of different things.

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