Wellness: Understanding the Keto Diet

As you may know, for over a year now “The Keto Diet” has been hugely popular.

Basically, healthy fats are substituted in one’s diet for sugary foods (simple carbohydrates). The goal is to have these healthy fats comprise between 60 and 70 percent of the daily caloric intake. Avoidance of all simple sugars like those found in soda pop, fruit juices, pastries, and breads, is replaced with “colorful carbohydrates” like vegetables and fruits (especially berries).

Nuts and nut butters are favored for their healthy fats, as is butter, mayonnaise, sour cream, whole milk, fatty cheese, etc…… Especially from “grass fed” dairy animals.

Coconut, Avocado, and Olive Oils are all favored over vegetable oils like corn, sunflower, safflower, and canola, because of a greater proportion of medium and shorter chain fatty acids, that the body can more readily convert into energy.

While it is possible to “Go Keto” while being a vegetarian, most folks eat some combination of eggs, meat, and fish, along with the healthy fat and colorful carbohydrate portions. It is generally best to choose meats that have been “grass fed”, and eggs/dairy that are “pasture raised”. These contain higher levels of omega 3 and other healthy fats. Wild fish is generally a better choice than the farm raised varieties.

About 25% of human beings appear to have the genetic ability to metabolize as many carbohydrates as they can eat (at least it seems that way), while the rest of us struggle with an excess of simple sugars in our diets.

Here in late December of 2019, it is safe to say that “The Food Pyramid” taught 20-30 years ago has been quite dramatically turned upside-down and rearranged! We have learned that too many carbohydrates are generally pro-inflammatory, and inflammation is a root cause of disease. It is also felt by many authorities that cancer cells feed on sugar.

Ketones are now considered to be a superior source of energy for both our brain and heart cells. Our brains are predominately comprised of fat, and medium chain triglycerides (MCT) provide instant high octane fuel for the heart!

Another important factor in ketogenesis is fasting. It has been found that intermittent fasting of generally 16 hours during a 24 hour day greatly improves health, energy levels, and results while following a ketogenic diet. That means any and all eating takes place within an 8 hour window during the day…… Many people find the best results with just one meal per day…..it may have a couple of different courses, and take a couple of hours to eat from start to finish, but it is still considered to be one meal.

As most folks know, there is a difference between a diet and a lifestyle. A diet which is very strict may initially be very helpful in regaining our health and ideal body composition. A lifestyle, is what we do 80% of the time to enable us to live in health for a lifetime! I believe in the 80% ketogenic lifestyle, and the short term ketogenic diet when needed.

I hope this article has made it simpler for you to understand “The Keto Diet”

Peace