What is a carbohydrate? Carbohydrates, or ‘carbs’, are an important nutrient. They are an excellent source of energy for the body and brain. Most foods that contain carbohydrates also provide vitamins, minerals and fibre for good bowel health. What is the ketogenic diet? People on a ketogenic diet eat a very small amount of carbohydrates, a moderate amount of protein and a high amount of fat per day. This means that the body burns fat for fuel, as its main source of fuel and breaks it down into ‘ketone bodies’ (or ‘ketones’) in a process called ketosis. People on a ketogenic diet usually eat only 20 to 50g of carbohydrates per day. As an example, 50g of carbohydrate is equivalent to 2 slices of bread and a banana. Carbs make up about one tenth of daily kilojoule intake in a ketogenic diet (a kilojoule is a measure of how much energy we get from food). This means the person’s body stays in a constant state of ketosis.
Evidence shows that the diet may be suitable for some people with certain medical conditions, but there is very limited evidence that healthy people should use it as a long-term diet. Evidence suggests that a ketogenic diet, under the supervision of a doctor or dietitian, is useful for children with epilepsy who continue to have seizures while on antiepileptic drugs. There is growing interest in its use in cancer, particularly in brain cancer, although more studies are needed on humans before this can be recommended. For people who have type 2 diabetes, a ketogenic diet may improve blood sugar control in the short term. However, the long-term effects are not known, particularly on cholesterol levels, which increased in some studies. A typical ketogenic diet significantly reduces a person’s intake of rice, pasta, fruit, grains, bread, beans and starchy vegetables such as peas and potatoes. For example, the Dietitians Association of Australia says that this could restrict you to the carbohydrate levels of only a small tub of yoghurt, a medium-sized potato and one apple a day. Many Australians find it hard to meet the recommended daily intakes of wholegrains, vegetables and fruit a day.
The Australian Dietitians Association says that being on a ketogenic diet can make it harder to reach these targets without supplements. A ketogenic diet should always be followed in consultation with your doctor or an accredited practising dietitian, to ensure that you get the right amount and types of fats, fibre and vitamins, as well as minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium. The ketogenic diet is often promoted for weight loss in healthy people. There have been only limited and small studies on the ketogenic diet for weight loss. These studies have shown that the diet has short-term benefits in some people including weight loss and improvements in total cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure, but at one year these effects are about the same as those of conventional weight loss diets. While a ketogenic diet can be fast and effective in the short term, it can be hard to maintain because it’s very limiting. This means a large number of people tend to drop out of the diet, contributing to unhealthy, ‘yo-yo’ dieting behaviour. The key to maintaining a healthy weight in the long-term is an eating pattern that you can sustain over time. It is important to remember that people have different needs, and that no single weight-loss diet suits everyone. A ketogenic diet may be an option for some people who have had difficulty losing weight with other methods, but if you choose to go on a ketogenic diet, it’s best to be under the supervision of a doctor and an accredited practising dietitian. What are the effects of a ketogenic diet? Talk to your doctor.
By now, if you haven’t heard of the keto diet, we’re going to guess you’ve been living under a rock or you’re actually one of the first people to live on Mars and you’re under some sort of NDA to not discuss it. But what is the keto diet? And more importantly, what do you eat when on it, does it work, and how ripped can it help us get? The Manual is here to give you the simple down and dirty on this diet trend. What Is the Keto Diet? The keto diet basically asks you to eat almost no carbohydrates, lots of protein, and tons of fats. And we mean a ton of fats, replacing almost all your carb calories with avocados, butter, etc. (To answer Regina George’s age-old question, no, butter is not a carb.) It can be compared to the Mediterranean diet of fish and olives or the Whole 30 trend of zero sugar and zero carbs.
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