Who’s heard of Keto? At this point almost everyone, even if they aren’t completely sure what it is and how it works. Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Tim Tebow and Lebron James didn’t start the ketogenic, or keto diet trend, but they’ve certainly added fuel to the already-hot fire. Keto is taking the world by storm, becoming mainstream and growing in popularity for good reason.

A brief history. Keto was developed in 1921 by Russel Wilder, MD of the Mayo Clinic as a treatment for epilepsy in children.² Doctors and researchers at the clinic noted that their pediatric epileptic patients were having fewer seizures when they fasted which prompted them to create a diet that mimicked that mode but could be safely sustained on a long-term basis.

Today, keto has become a very popular topic as increasing studies have positively supported the diet’s therapeutic health benefits-including healthy weight loss.¹According to a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there’s evidence that keto can also reduce the risk and/or severity of type 2 diabetes, neurological diseases, cardiovascular risk factors, acne, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).³

What is the keto diet? In simplistic terms, it’s a low-carbohydrate (5 percent), moderate protein (25 percent) and high healthy fat diet (70 percent) that decreases insulin and allows you to reach a state called ketosis. Achieving ketosis allows the body to become fat-adapted and metabolize fat for fuel. Why is being a fat burner important? Fat-adapted is the metabolic state your body is in once you’ve been in ketosis long enough that your body has efficiently transitioned from burning carbs and sugar for energy to burning fats from your food, body-generated fats, and stored body-fat reserves for energy. When your body becomes fat adapted is when all the benefits mentioned above kick in resulting in weight loss and improved health.⁴

What foods do you eat on the keto diet? This is a common question and there seems to be a perception that keto is all bacon and butter all the time. A balanced keto diet is full of rich, nutrient-dense whole foods including:

Fat (avocado, macadamia nuts, olives, coconut products, nut butters, etc.)
Non-starchy vegetables (kale, spinach, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, celery, etc.)
Low-carb fruits (blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, lemons, etc.)
Meat and fish (lamb, chicken, turkey, salmon, beef, bison, pork, liver, etc.)
Eggs and dairy (eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, whole-fat yogurt, cream, etc.)

Keto isn’t for everyone, but it’s worth looking into and exploring the options to see if it’s a fit for you in reaching your health and weight loss goals.

Michelle Borthwick is a keto lifestyle coach teaching women how to fall in love with keto by tailoring sustainable programs to meet individual needs. She can be reached at (760) 285.1241 or [email protected]. For more information visit www.Ketoiseasycoach.com.

References: 1) Keto Therapies, charliefoundation.org;
2) https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/verylowcarbohydrate-ketogenic-diet-v-lowfat-diet-for-longterm-weight-loss-a-metaanalysis-of-randomised-controlled-trials/6FD9F975BAFF1D46F84C8BA9CE860783;
3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3826507/;
4) Article on perfectketo.com/fat-adapted, August 27, 2018 by Devan Ciccarelli