Ketogenic Diet: This Is What The Low-Carb Diet Is All About

Carbohydrates are the most readily available source of energy for the body. If they are reduced to a minimum, the organism changes its metabolism and gets its energy from fatty acids. You can find out here what consequences the high-fat low-carb diet has.

Hunger metabolism with ketogenic diet

Low-carb diets are trending. The idea of ​​low carb: Whoever consumes little of the energy suppliers that the body can easily utilize draws on – to put it simply – on the body’s fat reserves and loses weight. There are many forms of the ketogenic diet, ranging from consuming fewer carbohydrates to almost no carbohydrates at all. The latter form is hidden behind the ketogenic diet. The proportion of carbohydrates in food is only four percent, but it can consist of 90 percent fat. Protein provides the remaining six percent. Since it is deprived of the fast source of energy, after a few days the body switches to starvation metabolism, so-called ketosis. The liver breaks down fatty acids into ketone bodies, which then supply the body with energy.

These foods come on the table on the ketogenic diet

The ketogenic diet is used therapeutically for certain diseases, but athletes and overweight people have also discovered it for themselves. A well-known concept here is the Atkins diet, which runs in several phases. Initially, only foods that contain few carbohydrates are allowed, especially lettuce and vegetables. The main part of the diet consists of protein and fat-rich foods such as meat, fish, soy, eggs, cheese and other dairy products. Bread, pasta, sugar, rice, potatoes and fruit, on the other hand, have been eliminated from the plan. According to Atkins, the amount of carbohydrates is increased slightly from week to week until it finally makes up a maximum of 20 percent in the diet – and that for life. When it comes to fat intake, MCT fats are considered to be of higher quality because they form more ketone bodies. They are found naturally in coconut and palm kernel oil, as well as in milk fat.

This is what the ketogenic diet does

In fact, a low-carb, high-fat diet can actually lead to weight loss, but there are downsides too. In the course of the change in metabolism, by-products such as acetone are formed, which the body evaporates. Bad breath and body odor are therefore a common side effect of a ketogenic diet. Ketosis can also cause fatigue and constipation. The latter results from the low proportion of roughage, which is mainly found in food with carbohydrates. Nutrition experts are critical of the ketogenic diet because the kidneys are under a lot of strain and the animal fats can increase cholesterol levels. The consumer advice center also points out that the diet is difficult to maintain in practice in the long term. This also applies to other starvation diets that rely on severe calorie reduction, such as the Hollywood diet.