The ketogenic “keto” diet is all the rage right now. I am not a fan of the fad diets in general, but I thought it important to dive in a bit deeper to see what- if anything- it has to offer.
The keto diet is based on the premise that if you do not consume carbohydrates your body will be forced to burn fat as fuel. Instead of using glucose (carbohydrate based fuel) the body will use ketones (fat based fuel). This state is known as ketosis.
Unlike the Atkins diet from many moons ago, the ketogenic diet does encourage healthy sources of fat for fuel, and does keep some healthy carbohydrates in the mix. In general, the goal of the keto diet is get your net carbohydrate intake down to 20-30 grams/day. “Net carbs” are found by subtracting the amount of fiber in a food from the total carbohydrates. On average, those on the keto diet are looking to consume 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% net carbs throughout the day.
The keto diet loves things like avocado, olive oil, ghee, grass-fed butter and meat, but thankfully accounts for the inclusion of many non-starchy vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, leafy greens, asparagus and zucchini. Unfortunately it holds no real place for fruit, which is where I question its value as a long term plan. The one thing the keto diet and I agree on fully is that sugar and processed food are not really “food” and are never part of a healthy meal plan.
If you want to read more about the keto diet, Dr. Josh Axe has a wonderful explanation, complete with keto diet guidelines and comprehensive food lists: https://draxe.com/keto-diet-food-list/