What Is The Ketogenic System?

The ketogenic diet is a diet that focuses on gaining calories from foods that are rich in protein and fats. Therefore, you should reduce on the intake of foods that are rich in easily digestive carbohydrates. For instance; soda, pastries, sugar and white bread.

For the body to reach the ketogenic state, a person should eat less that 50g of carbohydrates in a day. This will help you lose weight fast and leads to a depletion of the body’s energy. This helps burn blood sugar quickly which then pushes the body to break down protein and fat.

Ketogenic diet food

When following the ketogenic diet, the following foods are allowed to be eaten:

• Meat – Turkey, chicken and Red meat.
• Fish – Salmon and tuna.
• Cheese – Any unprocessed cheese; such as Mozzarella and goat cheese.
• Nuts and seeds – Chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, flax seeds and Almonds.
• Healthy oils – Coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil.
• Low carb vegetables – Vegetables such as; tomatoes, onions and peppers.
• Condiments – Salt, pepper and herbs.
• Eggs, butter and cream.

Foods that are forbidden in the ketogenic diet

Some types of foods are prohibited when following the ketogenic diet, including the following:

• Sugars – soda, fruit juices, cakes and sweets.
• Grains or starches – wheat, rice and pasta.
• Fruit – All except strawberries
• Beans or legumes – peas, lentils, and chickpeas.
• Root tubers – potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots.

Benefits of the ketogenic diet

There are many benefits of the ketogenic diet including the following:

Weight loss

The ketogenic diet is good because it helps reduce weight. Basically, the body needs to burn more energy when converting fats into energy, as when converting carbohydrates into energy. So, the body needs to burn less energy. In addition to the fact that it helps to feel full for a long time, due to its reliance on eating protein-rich foods.

Reducing acne

Some pimples appear due to eating sugars and foods rich in carbohydrates. So following a low-carbohydrate diet helps reduce some cases of acne.

Reducing the risk of cancer

Some studies have shown that the ketogenic diet is an appropriate complementary treatment for chemotherapy and radiation in people with cancer. This system causes more oxidative stress in cancer cells than the stress that occurs in normal cells. The ketogenic diet reduces blood sugar, which leads to less problems with insulin changes associated with some types of cancer.

Improve heart health

The ketogenic diet helps reduce harmful cholesterol in the blood. It also increases the level of beneficial cholesterol, which leads to improved heart health.

Reducing epileptic attacks

The presence of fats and protein in the body changes the way the body uses energy. As the accumulation of ketones increases In the blood, it enters the body into ketosis, which leads to a reduction in the severity of epileptic seizures in affected persons.

The disadvantages and risks of the ketogenic diet

There are some drawbacks and health risks when following the ketogenic diet in the long term, and these risks include:

• The formation of kidney stones.
• High levels of acidity in the blood.
• Severe weight loss.
• The occurrence of constipation.
• Feeling tired.
• Low blood sugar.