The most talked about and controversial diet today is the Ketogenic diet, better known as Keto. This often counterintuitive eating approach consists of you eating high amounts of fat and small amounts of carbs to enter a specific state called Ketosis. In Ketosis, the body burns transforms from burning glucose for fuel to Ketones. The burning of Ketones by the body has been discovered to provide numerous physiological benefits for the body. Many people have adopted this revolutionary diet and reported major health benefits in addition to losing lots of weight.
The amount of fat in a Keto diet is above 70% of your total diet intake which puts off many people based on what they have heard about high intake of fat. Conventional wisdom says that eating fat causes you to get fat, but according to Keto experts, this is not actually the case. In fact according to these same experts, if you eat the right amounts of fat, you will actually lose large amounts of weight.
The Keto diet has a rationale for its high consumption of fat over carbohydrates. When high amounts of carbohydrates are consumed, they convert to glucose in the liver. To move this glucose through the body, the body produces insulin. Over time we build up an insulin resistance and the body has a hard time burning fat because of this insulin resistance. Therefore it is very difficult to lose weight. If you can remove the carbohydrates from your diet, your body is forced to burn fat. When your body is in this state of Ketosis, you burn fat more efficiently and lose fat from your body.
The Keto Diet is Also Great for Health
Creating a state of Ketosis in the body has shown in addition to causing weight loss, that it also creates a host of health benefits and relief from chronic illnesses. There are cases where chronic illnesses have been cured or symptoms eased while on the Keto diet. The diet has also been shown to optimize performance. Lots of athletes swear by the Keto diet saying it gives them new levels of energy and better performance when they practice and play.
To understand perhaps why you need to know a little about what going into Ketosis does for the body. In this state, there is an enhancement of the ability of the mitochondria, which are the power plants of our cells. Ketosis allows the mitochondria to deliver the body’s energy needs in a way that reduces inflammation and oxidative stress. Energy use is optimized and the body gains the ability to fight off and even defeat certain illnesses. We also end up with much more usable energy daily. Many of those on the Keto diet say they have never had as much energy.
How to do the Keto Diet if You are a Vegan
Typically the Keto diet is a meat diet. In fact many people on the diet will not consume any vegetables at all. The diet is filled with recipes that are centered on bacon and butter and other high fat ingredients. Since Keto does not discern between healthy and non-healthy fats, the focus is simply on taste and of course bacon is probably the world’s tastiest food. This leaves a vegetarian interested in Keto shaking his head and thinking that the diet cannot be an option. However, there are many high fat low carb plants that fit easily into the Keto diet. And in fact there great Vegan Keto recipes that utilize these ingredients to help you reach ketosis.
The Keto diet is a revolutionary way to lose weight and attack chronic illnesses. And if you thought as a vegetarian the diet was off limits, the good news is that you can enjoy the diet and remain a vegan.
