Muscle & Fitness UK – July 2019

NUTRITION

86 MUSCLE & FITNESS/JULY 2019

BY BEN NEWBOULD

T

he ketogenic diet is probably

one of the most written about

diets in recent history. If you only

listen to the surface history of the keto

diet, you’ll be bought into the idea that

you can burn fat whilst feasting on

bacon, ribs and cheese. Unfortunately

this isn’t the case to many people’s

dismay. So here we’re going to look

into the areas where the keto diet

excels and also where it falls short.

Firstly we will look into the origins

of the ketogenic diet, this kicks back all

the way to the 1920s. During this time,

doctors had been looking into changing

the main energy source for the body

through dieting. Their aim was to help

try and prevent or at least reduce

seizures in patients who were suffering

with epilepsy. At this time, the ketogenic

diet consisted of an extremely high fat

intake (up to 90%) and low

carbohydrates and protein intake.

Through reducing the carbohydrate

intake and increasing the fat intake, this

caused a metabolic shift in the body. This

is where the body is starved of glucose

(our main fuel) and then forced to find

another energy source in its absence.

When the body has already utilised its

glucose, the liver will begin to break

down fatty acids and convert them into

ketones to use for energy. You may of

heard of this process as ‘going into

The Keto diet

FANTASTIC OR FAD?

ketosis’- this can last anywhere from

three days to a week.

During the time after this diet was

initially looked at, we figured that

with a bit of manipulation, mainly

lowering the fat and increasing the

protein intake, it could be used for fat

loss. This conclusion was drawn to

the satiating effect (feeling full), that

the high protein and fat content of the

diet had on people. Over time and

leading up to the present day, many

variations of the ketogenic diet have

been created. One of these variations

is the widely known Modified Atkins

Diet (MAD) which is a low glycemic

index diet that although has a high

fat content, also has a higher protein

intake compared to its predecessor

in the 1920s.

PROS OF THE KETOGENIC DIET -

Body Composition

If you’re looking at the ketogenic diet

because you’re wanting to change your

body composition, you could be onto a

win! Although, this does depend on

whether your goal is weight loss or

muscle gain. It has been shown that the

ketogenic diet is one of the leading diets

in terms of fat loss. This is mainly due to

the satiating effect that eating a load of

meat and fat gives you. In fact a JISSN

meta-analysis was done on all the

popular diets that concluded that the

keto diet was the most optimal for fat

loss, but only marginally(1).

Metabolic Diseases

This is an area where the ketogenic

diet really excels. When your liver

begins to break down the fatty acids

cells into ketones, one of them is called

hydroxybuyterate (BHB). BHB has

been shown to have some really good

anti-inflammatory properties within the

body(2). This is a great benefit, especially

when the majority of diseases in the

human body can be in some way linked

to chronic inflammation.

Decreased Food Cravings

With the satiating effect the ketogenic

diet gives, you are very likely to eat fewer

overall calories and experience fewer

food cravings than you would eating a

non-ketogenic diet. This may be one of

the main reasons as to why people may

seem to lose fat easier when they go

keto- they’re actually consuming fewer

calories and not snacking so much. This

satiating effect really helps the dieter

stick to the plan a lot easier as they may

not get the usual regular sugar cravings. PHOTO CREDITS: ISTOCK