What is the Ketogenic Diet?

People value health and nutrition plays a vital role to their overall state of health. Among various diets around, the ketogenic diet is one of the popular diet styles that people to keep themselves in shape, fit, and healthy.

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According to Charlie Foundation, the ketogenic diet was found by Dr. Russel Wilder at the Mayo Clinic in 1924. It was revealed that the diet was effective in the management of epilepsy, but its popularity declined because of the rise of the new anti-seizure medications in the 1940s. In 1994, the family of Charlie Abraham established The Charlie Foundation, following his full recovery from daily seizures in spite of trying all available anti-seizure medications and dealing with brain surgery. Abraham reportedly began the diet when he was a toddler and sticked with it for five years. He goes now to college and stays free from seizure episodes

The ketogenic diet is described as a high fat, moderate protein, and low carbohydrate diet. Its goal is to force the body into a metabolic state, according to Ruled Me. However, this does not entail starvation of calories; it applies starvation of carbohydrates, as per the publication. In normal physiology of the body, the carbohydrates found in food are transformed into glucose, which is then carried around the body’s organs, especially the brain. The reduced carbohydrate content in the diet prompts the liver to convert fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies. This means that the ketone bodies will serve as the brain’s source of energy, instead of typical glucose. It is believed that the increased level of ketone bodies in the blood stream, which is known as ketosis, is responsible for the reduced frequency of epileptic seizures.

Since carbohydrates are restricted in a ketogenic diet, it is essential to meet the required intake in grams. As per Ruled Me, the person should follow a net carb computation in the diet. Net carb refers to the total dietary carbohydrates and it is obtained by subtracting the total fiber from the total amount of carbohydrates in one serving of food. For instance, if there are a total of eight grams of carbohydrates and two grams of fiber in one cup of a specific vegetable, the net carb is six grams, since it is the difference of the amount of carbohydrate and fiber.

According to Ketogenic Diet Resource, a ketogenic diet plan does not require special foods; it just needs “real, whole foods” that are near to their unchanged state. This suggests that highly processed foods, such as canned coods, are not included in the food choices for this kind of diet. As per the publication, a person under the ketogenic diet can eat artificial sweeteners, since they do not adversely affect human health as much as when compared to sweetened foods. Sugar alcohol sweeteners should not also be consumed, since some studies have revealed that they are not ketogenic and they inhibit the formation of ketone bodies.

Some vegetables that are helpful to the diet include spinach, bok choi, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, collard greens, steamed cale, and steamed green beans, as per Ruled Me. In addition, dark green and leafy vegetables are also the best choices, among other vegetables. According to The Guardian, nuts, butter, and cream are also encouraged while pasta, grains, sugar, and bread are forbidden, since they contain refined carbohydrates, which also affect the formation of ketone bodies. Chicken breast in olive oil and cheese are also preferred, in addition to steak topped with butter and spinach.

People should plan ahead if they want to start a ketogenic diet. This means that a person should have a feasible diet plan, which contains the food and nutrient breakdown.

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