If you follow the food or diet industry, you know it’s all about trends. Throughout the decades we’ve seen tons of fads like the Grapefruit Diet in the 70’s, the cabbage soup craze in the 80’s, Zone and Slim Fast in the 90’s, Atkins in the 2000’s, Paleo not too long ago…just like anything else, trends pop up and the masses follow suit. In this post we’re going to talk about one of the latest diet trends, the Keto Diet.
WHAT IS THE KETO DIET?
The ketogenic diet, keto for short, is a low-carb and high-fat diet. It involves significantly reducing your carb intake and replacing it with fat intake. This carb reduction puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When your body is in ketosis, it efficiently burns fat for energy. It also turns that fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain. Ketogenic diets can cause massive reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels. This, along with the increased ketones, has numerous health benefits.
WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS?
Harvard School of Medicine published in an article stating, “Weight loss is the primary reason my patients use the ketogenic diet. Previous research shows good evidence of a faster weight loss when patients go on a ketogenic or very low carbohydrate diet compared to participants on a more traditional low-fat diet, or even a Mediterranean diet.
A ketogenic diet also has been shown to improve blood sugar control for patients with type 2 diabetes, at least in the short term.
We have solid evidence showing that a ketogenic diet reduces seizures in children, sometimes as effectively as medication. Because of these neuroprotective effects, questions have been raised about the possible benefits for other brain disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, sleep disorders, autism, and even brain cancer. However, there are no human studies to support recommending ketosis to treat these conditions.”
There are quite a few positive health benefits, however there are health experts that believe the keto diet is very controversial and could potentially have some dangers.
WHAT CAN YOU EAT ON THE KETO DIET?
Typical foods to eat on the keto diet include natural fats, fish and seafood, meat, eggs, cheese, and vegetables (that are grown above ground). These foods are all low in carbs (carb intake should be under 50 grams of net carbs per day).
Foods to avoid include anything with high carbs, like bananas, potatoes, beer, pasta, rice, bread, donuts, candy…you get the drift.
WHAT SWEETENERS ARE KETO-FRIENDLY?
When dieting or trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, desserts should be consumed in moderation. But we’re all human, and if you have a sweet tooth, you know the struggle is real!
The good news is, there are options to sweeten your food by using low-calorie sweeteners such as stevia, erythritol and xylitol. For a full description on what these sweeteners are, check out our blog post on sugar substitutes. These sweeteners can be used in keto-friendly desserts such as chocolate cake, cheesecake, and brownies…YUM!
For questions about keto-friendly ingredients that Gillco provides, contact our team of product specialists.