Many people have tried conventional medical and physical fitness approaches to improving their health, well-being and body shape. Jogging, gym memberships, stints on the treadmill, different sports, potions and pills, prescriptions and creams.
Did they get the expected results?
Not always!!
Did they get any results?
Sometimes.
And the time goes by. Conditions stay the same …. or even get worse.
One of the hottest health trends is the keto way of eating.
What is it?
Does it work? Is it for me?
The keto way of eating is very simple. It is low on carbs, moderate on protein and high on fat.
Many of use are used to eating a good portion of carbohydrates and sugar daily: we get it from bread, pastries, cakes, wraps, rice, potatoes, wine and beer, soft drinks and sodas, the sugar in our tea and coffee; the sweets, crisps, bars and chocolates we snack on, give as gifts and give our children to take to school.
Despite how used to carbs that we have become, carbohydrate is not essential in the same way that certain proteins and fats are for the good health of our bodies. We need the proteins and fats to build cells, nerves, muscles, to make our nails strong and our skin soft and our hair
When we skip the carbohydrate, the body uses up the supplies of sugar it has stored and then it switches to an alternate fuel made from fat. When that change takes place, our bodies start burning our fat reserves.This state is called ketosis and the fate fuel are refered to as ketones.
When a body starts producing ketones and using up its fat reserves, we lose weight. Depending on where that fat is stored, it can have some very amazing health benefits. For example when it is stored in the liver or the pancreas. Excess fat stored in these organs can produce many bad side effects and appears to contribute to diabetes.
How low to go on the carbs is an individual choice. Some people restrict carbs to simply skipping the bread, potatoes, rice, cereals, waffles, pancakes, biscuits, cakes, sweets and sugar. The white stuff!! They also skip the low-fat versions of things like yoghourt, “lite” cheeses, and lean cuts of meat. Instead, they enjoy full fat milk, thick double cream, crispy skin on their chicken, the fat on their bacon and good oil dressings on their salads, real mayonnaise
They feel better for it, have more energy, maintain their weight or lose both weight and inches as well as other unwanted conditions.
Some people limit their carbs much more strictly from 50-100 grams per day, or lower from 20-50 grams per day or even lower to less than 20 grams per day. It depends how healthy you are and how much weight you might want to lose.
The simple rule of thumb if you want to have a maximum of 20 grams per day of carbs is to eat your proteins and fats which are usually very low on carbs, and restrict your vegetables to those that grow above the ground. As fruit has sugar in it, it’s only an occasional treat of low carb berries. There are a lot of options left to make delicious meals from a wide variety of plants and vegetables, including kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, avocado, celery, turnip, celeriac, fennel, cavolo nero, courgettes, cucumber, peppers, radishes, lettuce, various leafy greens and salad stuffs like spinach, rocket, water cress, beet leaves, savoury, lambs lettuce. Most herbs and spices also have very few carbs and can transform a dish. Herbs like dill, parsley, coriander, and spices like chilli, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon can make the same dish different each day.
As most fish, meat and cheese have no or very few carbs, there is a lot of choice and these can be eaten freely within moderate amounts!
People have followed these principles and found they reversed conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood sugar issues, dry skin, eczema, skin tags to mention some of them.
So, is it for me?
You can research for yourself and find out more about the amazing transformations following a ketogenic diet has made in thousands of peoples lives. It becomes a way of life, more than a diet.