If, twenty or thirty years ago, someone would have placed all the products in two baskets, ranking them according to the principle of greater and lesser usefulness, then today you would have to carry out a thorough review of them. The strangest story happened during this fat time - humanity's recent chief enemy has not only been fully rehabilitated, but almost declared his savior. Is that so, nutritionist Chris More understands.
Recently, a patient admitted to me that she and her husband eat about a pound of bacon a week - three slices for breakfast, and then two more with salad for lunch. I have been working as a nutritionist for over twenty years, and it would seem that nothing would surprise me, but then I still could not resist and asked: why? The patient said that her husband watched a TV show about these diets, and they decided to try it. Six months with bacon - and now the husband has lost nine pounds and, according to his wife, is almost bursting with the energy that drowns him.
More and more, I hear from people about the miracles that diet does to them. They claim that it burns fat in the body, energizes and conquers disease and that from now on, not only is it possible, but it is also necessary to eat as much bacon as you want. But all their enthusiasm needs at least a serious test - is it really a good diet that does not limit the intake of animal fat?
The Ketogenic Diet is a low-fat, high-protein, moderate-protein diet. It was originally used to treat epilepsy in children by increasing the level of ketone bodies in the blood.
What is ketosis?
Let’s start with the name of diet: where did this "these" come from? When the body is desperately short of carbohydrates - for example, due to diabetes or prolonged starvation - it must break down its fat more actively than usual to get energy. Ketosis develops: metabolism is disrupted and more ketone bodies accumulate in the tissues than necessary. Ketone bodies are products of fat metabolism. They are produced by the liver when insulin levels fall into the bloodstream.
"The liver produces ketone bodies all the time, but their levels depend on the carbohydrates and proteins you eat - the body needs both, " explains Jeff Volek, a professor at Ohio State University.
The breakdown of fat in the body of a healthy person and the formation of ketone bodies is a normal process, called ketogenesis. Unlike ketosis, ketogenesis does not lead to dramatic weight loss. Ketosis is a pathology that, in addition to diabetes and prolonged fasting, can be caused by a keto diet, as it almost excludes carbohydrate foods from the diet. A person who has developed ketosis loses weight dramatically, as well as due to several other pathologies.
The ketogenic diet forces the body to use fat as the main source of energy. Usually, this role is played by carbohydrates, which, when taken with food, are processed into glucose, which is extremely important for nutrition and brain function. However, if the diet is low in carbohydrates, the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies. Ketone bodies enter the brain and are used as an energy source instead of glucose. An increase in the level of ketone bodies in the blood (ketosis) leads to a decrease in the frequency of epileptic seizures.
In these diets, the main part of the daily diet - from 60 to 80% - are fats, proteins - about 15%, and only the remaining 10% are carbohydrates (this is about half a small bun). At first glance, it looks like the Atkins diet, but these diets involve more severe carbohydrate restrictions, according to Spencer Nadolsky, author of the fat loss recipe. A number of theorists generally ensure that the less carbohydrates we eat, the more fat our body burns and therefore, metabolism improves, immunity increases - and in general, various miracles begin to happen to our bodies.
However, in normal life, we get about half of our calories, not one-tenth of them from carbs. So, basically, the question is: can your body be in ketosis until it reaches the promised nirvana without serious health consequences? Will you start literally with fat?
Is this diet right for you?
It may sound strange, but the best diet for you is the one you are used to following. For Volek, who has been in these for twenty years, that's good, but is it right for you? Unfortunately, there is no research into what happens to the body of a person who has been on a diet with these for a long time. In the study of weight loss A to Z, scientists studied the Atkins diet, Zone, LEARN and several other diets, but in the study, female subjects consumed 25 to 35% of carbohydrates - this is not even close to 10% that advises tolimit yourself to these diets.
The only thing that is known for sure: in the diet these will really lose weight. In Italy, in 2015, they studied the performance of people sitting on it, and on average over three months they lost about 10-12 kilograms. A year ago in Spain, it turned out that in one year this way you can lose about 20 pounds. True, over the next year, subjects often regained the weight they had before the experiment, once they came out of the rigid diet.
What will you eat if you decide to try it? First and second, that bacon. Of the other products, not many will suit you. Starchy vegetables - potatoes, squash, corn - are strictly forbidden, like most fruits. Milk, beans, rice and pasta will also have to be forgotten.
These diets are difficult to follow and can be dangerous for some. "Extreme diets, especially these diets, are strictly contraindicated in people with neurodegenerative diseases such as epilepsy, " says Dr. Alan Aragon.
The ketogenic diet is considered optimal in society for weight loss. However, according to scientific evidence, the effect of weight loss soon after switching to a ketogenic diet is caused by a decrease in the amount of water in the body and the amount of body fat is affected only by the energy balance. For weight loss, the energy supplied by food should be less than that expended in physical activity. One of the benefits of the ketogenic diet, like other low carb diets, is that the ketosis that occurs with low carb diets contributes to weight loss in overweight. The difference in calories eaten can be up to a thousand kilocalories per day compared to low fat diets. The effect of ketogenic diets is highly dependent on the protein content of the diet.
Can I take medications that cause an increase in ketone bodies? In no case. Do not listen to those "consultants" who will assure you that even without any diet, you can promote ketosis with the help of special medications.
So, is this diet suitable for you or not? If you are an extreme athlete who is ready to experiment with your body, if you like to take risks and fast results are important to you, then give it a try! If you just want to lose a few pounds and in the past have already encountered the "yo-yo" effect (when, after a strict diet, a person breaks down and gains more weight than he managed to lose), then perhaps you should nottake a risk. However, if you approach these diets wisely, there are three lessons you can learn from them that will undoubtedly help you.
- Reduce your intake of "empty" carbohydrates. Analyze which foods you get the most from your daily carbohydrate intake: if it comes from fruits that are rich in fiber and antioxidants, then that's okay, but if your sources of carbohydrates are candy, soda and any white flour meal, What to do: Feel free to send them in the trash.
- Do not avoid fat. The passion for low-fat foods that began in the 1990s can safely be left to the past. Nothing good about that. Often, to compensate for the lack of fat, manufacturers increase the amount of sugar in such products. Eat fatty fish like salmon, mackerel or sardines at least twice a week. And whatever you cook, do not skimp on vegetables, especially good olive oil.
- Eat lots of greens. All leafy vegetables and greens go well with fatty foods and protein - diet lovers eat a lot of them. And you do the same. Eat kale, spinach, bok choy, arugula and other types of salads without restrictions.
What happened to my bacon patients? Their experiments with nutrition continued exactly until the moment their baby was born. Of course, they immediately forgot about diet (there is no time to think about it, as the young mother explained). So remember: sooner or later you will get tired of regularly introducing bacon to yourself and will return to normal and familiar food.
Recipe
Salad with salmon and asparagus
Ingredients:
- 150 g salmon fillet;
- 80 g green asparagus;
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce;
- 2 eggs;
- 4 fillets of anchovies;
- 5 cherry tomatoes;
- 5 large capers (or 6-8 small ones) - take capers in salt, not brine, they should be washed before use;
- 1/2 medium red onion;
- 6-8 Art. lvaj ulliri;
- 1 tspmustardje dijon;
- half a lemon juice.
How to cook:
- If you have ever cooked nicoise, you can treat this salad as well. Practically repeats Nice main course, only fatty salmon is taken instead of tuna, and asparagus is used instead of green beans (however, you can also use beans).
- Salmon is best cooked not in a hot pan or hot oven, but on steam or in a slow cooker: 20-30 minutes at a temperature of 80-85 degrees, not higher (otherwise the protein will wrapand the fish will turn out tough). But you can also fry in a pan (just do not overdo it! ) - the fish should be soft and retain some transparency inside.
- Cook the asparagus. It should be fresh, so do not overcook it! Cooking time depends on its size, so we do not recommend leaving the stove - asparagus cooks quickly.
- Place the crushed iceberg on a plate (salad should be washed, dried and torn into medium pieces), asparagus, salmon disassembled into large pieces, half cherry tomatoes, anchovies, capers, onions chopped into rings and boiledhard egg (ideally, egg yolk should not remain liquid but soft). Top of the fields with olive oil sauce with mustard Dijon and lemon juice. You do not need to salt the dish - anchovies and capers are already quite salty.
The ketogenic diet is used by athletes involved in endurance sports, such as ultramarathons, triathlon, cycling, etc. The body of athletes who adhere to this diet uses fat more efficiently as an energy source and thus helps maintain glycogen stores during prolonged exertion.
Salad with bacon and lettuce
Ingredients:
- 2 palm-sized lettuce heads
- 100 g bacon;
- 8 mint branches;
- 1 egg yolk;
- 6 tbsp. olive oil and a little more for frying;
- 1 crushed tspmustard;
- 1 tbsp. luthull sheri
How to cook:
- For this salad, you will need to make a slightly more complex sauce: place the mint leaves and mustard in a tall glass, add the egg yolk, add the sherry vinegar. Stir with a blender while adding olive oil in a thin stream.
- Cut the lettuce in half lengthwise and quickly fry over high heat. It needs to be caramelized a bit, i. e. to acquire a golden brown color, remaining fresh and crunchy on the inside. Fry the bacon on high heat without oil or in the oven until crispy. Put lettuce, bacon and sauce on a plate. Garnish with mint leaves.