What you should all know this before you start a ketogenic diet

Recently, a client told me she and her husband ate more than 1 kilo of bacon a week - usually 3 bars for breakfast and 2 for dinner, with a salad. I have been a dietitian for almost 20 years, so I do not look at most things anymore. But in this case I could not react any differently than with the question: why?

She explained that they had heard of a new diet on TV, the ketogenic diet, and decided to try it. A half-year and countless slices of bacon later, her husband had lost 10 kilos. He felt more energetic than ever, she said.

I hear more and more people talking about the benefits of a ketogenic diet: keto burns fat quickly, gives you energy and combats diseases, they say. And you could eat as much bacon as you want. But as is often the case with diets, you have to take those enthusiastic stories with a grain of salt and use your common sense.

Example of day of ketogenic diet

BREAKFAST 4 eggs, ½ avocado, 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil

LUNCH 125 g baked salmon with 1 tbsp olive oil, ½ bunch of asparagus with 1 to 2 tbsp butter

DINER Ribeye steak, 450 g spinach with coconut oil, 100 g macadamia nuts

What is ketosis?

Ketogenesis is as old as humanity. When you eat very few carbohydrates, you remember your brain's glucose, their main food. Your body still needs fuel to function, so your brain breaks down your reserve supply of ketones. This process is called ketogenesis. Compare it to a hybrid car that comes without petrol and therefore switches to pure electricity.

Good, but what are ketones? These are compounds that make your liver out of your fat supply if your blood sugar is low. "Your liver is constantly producing ketones, but the amount depends on your carbohydrate and protein intake," says Jeff Volek, dietitian, ketoneese expert and university lecturer at Ohio State University. A ketogenic diet requires 60 to 80% of your calorie intake from fat. Proteins cover 10 to 15%, and less than 10% you get from carbohydrates. Yep, less than 10%. Think: a little more than half a croissant.

Does this remind you of the Atkins diet? "Can be correct, but ketogenic diets are stricter in carbohydrate limitation and somewhat milder when it comes to protein restriction," says Spencer Nadolsky, doctor and author of The Fat Loss Prescription .

According to some theories your body would even use fat as fuel as soon as you lean much less on carbohydrates. This would improve your physical and mental performance, regulate your appetite, reduce your insulin levels and increase resistance.

The Health Council advises 40 to 70% of your calories from carbohydrates if you want to eat healthy. That makes the ketogenic diet a nice challenge: do you keep it long enough to reap the health benefits?

Look & compare: the composition of the ketogenic diet

Paleo meal

40% protein
40% fat
20% carbs

Low-carb meal

40% protein
50% fat
10% carbs

Ketogenic meal

20% protein
75% fat
5% carbs

Is a ketogenic diet something for you?

It sounds like a doer, but the best diet is one you stick to. For Volek, who has been following an ultra-low-carbohydrate diet for 20 years, it works. But does it work for you too?

Unfortunately, there are no long-term data on ketogenic diets versus other diets. A study with the name 'The A to Z Weight Loss Study' from 2007 comes closest to it. Weight loss was compared in the long term by the Atkins, Zone, LEARN and Ornish diet. The female subjects who followed the low-carb diet (20% carbohydrates) were found to eat 35% carbohydrates at the end of the 12 months research period. More than their diet allowed, and a percentage far removed from the 10% or less carbohydrate intake needed for ketosis.

Studies show that people lose weight during a ketogenic diet, but there is a catch. Participants in an Italian study in 2015 lost 12 kilos in 3 months due to a ketogenic diet. Approximately half of the participants were on the diet for 1 year, but lost little weight in the next 9 months. Participants in a Spanish study in 2014 that followed a very low-carb ketogenic diet lost an average of 20 kilos in a year, but a third stopped prematurely.

Although you can eat bacon during a ketogenic diet, the possibilities are rather limited. Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn and pumpkin have a too high carbohydrate content for this diet. This also applies to a lot of fruit. Enne, milk, beans, rice, pasta, bread: forget it.

Some experts label the diet as impractical. "Extreme diets, including the ketogenic diet, have no therapeutic or practical use for people without neurodegenerative disorders such as epilepsy," says MH food advisor Alan Aragon.

Are there no ketogenic supplements? No. It is possible to boost your ketone level by taking ketones, but that does not make any sense without the stimulation of low carbohydrates, says Volek. "Then there is no net increase in ketone production, no reduction in insulin levels and no net increase in fat oxidation." Therefore, do not trust trainers and 'body hackers' who claim that you can quickly boost ketosis without changing your diet.

Is keto something for you? Maybe if you are an endurance athlete who performs at a high level, thrives on structured diets and wants to try something new. If you are just a man who wants to lose 5 kilos and struggle with yo-yo, then not. But you can learn 3 things from the ketogenic diet:

1. Avoid empty carbohydrates

Do not count yourself rich with the total amount of carbohydrates that you take one day, but research what those carbohydrates you produce. Do most carbohydrates come from fruit, which is rich in fiber and anti-disease antioxidants? Awesome. Do you get them in the form of added sugars (cake, candy, cola) or white flour? Then you know what you have to do.

2. Do not fear fat

The ketogenic diet is right across the low-fat trend from the 90s. What to believe? According to most studies, for your general health it is best to keep a diet that is somewhere between these 2 extremes. Make it easy for yourself: eat 2 times fatty fish every day (salmon, mackerel, herring) and cook with varied fats (olive oil, rapeseed oil, avocado oil).

3. Choose green

Leaf vegetables are rich in nutrients. Eat as much as keto fans. Live with kale, spinach, bok choy, chard, watercress and / or arugula.

And how did it end with the bacon-eating couple? Their experiment worked radically until their lives changed. They had a child. They were moving. They stopped the diet. That proves that unlimited fat eating will eventually get bored.