Ketogenic diet, which is one of the popular diet types in recent years, has been used for the purpose of supporting only the treatment of some diseases, but now it has started to be applied for the purpose of slimming.
Basically, the distribution of dietary energy to nutrients differs from other diets in ketogenic diets, with low carbohydrate content, medium protein content, and high fat content. In this context, ketogenic diets, a nutritional program consisting of bans generally included in diets, have increased its popularity for this reason.
Ketogenic nutrition, which has been the subject of numerous studies and is still under investigation, has proven effects in reducing the symptoms of some diseases.
In addition, this diet, which is preferred as a slimming diet, is known to have some damages on the body and it is a form of nutrition that is not sustainable and cannot be sustained for a long time.
It is very difficult to apply and people who follow this diet should be under constant medical follow-up because of possible harm to the body.
What is a ketogenic diet?
Ketogenic diet can be defined as diets, where carbohydrate and protein sources are very limited and a large part of the diet content is made up of fat. Many types of food avoided in normal healthy diet plans are preferred as the main energy source in these diets.
These diets are difficult to follow because of their high fat content, low carbohydrate and protein content, and their long-term maintenance can be both challenging and risky for health. Carbohydrate sources such as bread, cereals, all kinds of flour and sugar are among the strict prohibitions in this diet, which is particularly strict in carbohydrates.
A large part of the diet consists of fat sources, cream, mayonnaise and similar foods. Since it is effective in reducing epileptic seizures in patients with epilepsy, ketogenic diet applications can be performed in these patients during periods of seizure.
In addition, ketogenic diets can be applied to assist the treatment process in some metabolic diseases, Parkinson, Alzheimer’s, brain and nervous system diseases, autism, and some mental and mitochondrial diseases.
The preference of ketogenic diets to be preferred for slimming has emerged due to its popularity in the past few years and the effects of ketogenic nutrition on slimming and health have been the subject of many researches.
Due to the health risks, it has not been proven whether it is safe to choose this diet for weight loss. For this reason, the ketogenic diet should be applied for a short period of time, provided that the health checks are performed regularly and regularly, when recommended by the physician.
The main purpose of the diet; is to put the body into ketosis mode with low carbohydrate intake and to start burning the fat in the body stores.
The fact that the diet is quite limited in terms of carbohydrates causes not only the most known carbohydrate sources, such as bread, cereals, pastries, but also many food types such as fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy products, oil seeds, dried legumes.
How are ketogenic diets planned?
While calculating the content in ketogenic diets, the ratio of nutrients to be included in the diet is determined. At this stage, one of the ratios such as 5/1, 4/1, 3/1, 2/1, 1/1 is used. These rates show the ratio of the total amount of fat contained in the diet to the sum of carbohydrates and proteins.
The numerator represents the amount of fat, and the denominator represents the amount of nutrients (protein and carbohydrates) except fat. Ketogenic nutrition programs prepared with the ratio of 4/1 are the highest in ketogenic diets with the highest fat content and accordingly.
What should be the rate is determined by a team of doctors and dieticians, taking into account the person’s blood findings, the amount of ketone bodies in the blood and urine. Ketogenic diets are a type of diet that can not be applied to everyone, but can be applied in patients who are not considered to be in a ketogenic diet after certain medical analyzes and examinations.
Since it is a difficult and risky diet, no individual should follow this diet without consulting a health institution. Deciding whether the diet can be made, planning the diet, any examinations and examinations to be carried out in this process should be done under the control of the doctor and dietitian.
The body in the normal diet; it uses carbohydrates as the first priority to obtain energy, fats and proteins when carbohydrates are insufficient. Since the carbohydrate and protein content is kept at a very low level in ketogenic diets, the body meets almost all the amount of energy it needs from fats.
Ketone bodies are released when energized from sources other than carbohydrates in the body. Ketogenic diets also get their name from here. Urine and blood ketone levels should be constantly checked in people who follow this diet, as excessive increase of ketone bodies in the blood can cause the development of a shock picture called ketosis.
What are the risks of the ketogenic diet?
Ketogenic diets, which have quite different nutritional content than the order they need for a healthy and balanced diet, can cause many health effects. These can be listed as follows.
- As mentioned above, there is a possibility that ketosis may occur due to increased ketone bodies in the blood.
- In people who follow ketogenic diets where the fasting table is developed, the body tends to slow down the metabolic rate in order to adapt itself to hunger. This may result in a slowed metabolic rate at the end of the diet and, consequently, a complete recovery of the weight lost following the diet.
- In ketogenic diet plans, which consists of a large part of fat, fibrous foods are almost non-existent. This situation brings many intestinal problems, especially constipation.
- Cholesterol and other blood lipids increase due to high fat diet, increased amount of free fatty acids circulating in the blood due to the energy obtained from fats and insufficient pulp intake, and this poses a great risk for cardiovascular diseases.
- Ketogenic diets create a heavy burden on the liver. For this reason, these diets should never be continued for a long time and people with any disease in their liver should not follow a ketogenic diet in order to avoid risks such as developing liver failure. Before starting the diet, it should be checked whether liver enzymes are within normal limits.
- The main energy source of the brain is glucose. For this reason, in people who are on a ketogenic diet, cognitive functions may be slowed and delayed due to indirectly obtaining glucose from non-carbohydrate sources.
- In some scientific studies, it has been concluded that people who follow any of the low-carb diet programs, including ketogenic diets, are more likely to develop heart rhythm disorders than those who normally eat.
For these reasons, the ketogenic diet should only be applied to patients who can be kept under control if it is deemed appropriate by the physician and there is no other option.
What does the ketogenic diet list include?
The content of the ketogenic diet list varies according to the diet’s fat and carbohydrate-protein content ratio. The most common preferred diet rates are 4/1 and 3/1. The protein right determined in the diet can be met from eggs, red and white meat or fish.
Due to the fact that it is a sample protein and its balanced structure, it is beneficial to choose the egg in ketogenic diets. Essential carbohydrates, such as bread and cereals, and bakery products, are never included in the diet.
The limited amount given for carbohydrates is already overwhelmed with dairy products such as vegetables, oilseeds and yogurt. The remaining part is covered by oil sources such as cream, cream, mayonnaise, olive oil, butter and oil seeds such as nuts, peanuts, almonds and walnuts.
In the main meals, besides salads flavored with sauces prepared using cream, mayonnaise and olive oil, protein sources such as meat, chicken and fish can be preferred. If the right of yogurt and carbohydrates is sufficient in snacks, it may be preferable to have some oatmeal that can help reduce the risks of the diet due to its cholesterol-lowering effect.
Since the diet content is quite low, in addition to 3 main meals, 1 snack is made and usually the day is divided into 4 different meals. On the basis of the ketogenic diet sample obtained, changes between the diet can be made on the condition that the daily carbohydrate, protein and fat rights are not exceeded.
If you want to follow a ketogenic diet, you must first apply to a health institution. If you do not encounter any obstacle in front of this diet after your doctor and dietitian control, you can start to follow the diet that will be prepared for you in a planned and controlled manner, provided that your examinations are not interrupted.
