What Is Keto Diet and What Are the Different Types

From A-list Hollywood celebrities to social media influencers, it appears that more and more people are talking about the benefits of the Keto diet. By eating food high in fat and minimizing carbohydrate content to 5% or less, the body becomes efficient in burning fat; hence, its effectiveness in weight loss. If like many, you are interested in trying the diet but do not know where to start, here is a quick breakdown of everything you need to know.

What a Keto diet does to your body is changing the process of converting food into energy. Eating more fat and reducing carbohydrate intake will put your body in ketosis, where instead of carbohydrate, your body will start burning fat as an energy source. This is ultimately going to lead to weight loss. Contrary to the assumption of many, the Keto diet is not new. It has been around since the 1920s and was used to treat epilepsy patients as a way to reduce seizure occurrence.

What can the Keto diet do for your body?

The positive feedback about the benefits of Keto is enough to convince anyone to try a Keto kickstart diet plan. It also helps that many celebrities are vouching on its effectiveness. But what can you expect if you go on a Keto diet?

1. Burn stored fat. Dropping weight fast is one of the primary benefits of Keto. This is why many overweight individuals go on a Keto diet. When your body reaches ketosis, the ketones will help suppress appetite, allowing your body to burn stored fat.
2. Another significant benefit of the Keto diet is that it helps reduce inflammation. That is why people who are at risk of developing diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s may reduce the risk by going on a Keto diet.
3. Limiting carbohydrate and sugar intake produces ketones from fat, which feeds and fuels your brain.
4. The Keto diet can help people with diabetes control their blood sugar. This diet stabilizes insulin and eventually lower blood sugar.

People on a Keto diet also have more energy because ketosis helps in mitochondrial production. The more energy you have on a cellular level, the more active you feel.

Different types of Keto diet

There are different types of Keto diet, and each one is suitable for various lifestyles and unique health conditions.

• Standard Keto diet

The standard Keto diet plan involves eating 70% fat, about 20% protein, and less than 5% carbohydrates.

• Targeted Keto diet

You will eat a standard Keto diet, but are allowed to consume extra carbohydrates before engaging in high-intensity physical activity or workout.

• Cyclical Keto diet

This type of Keto diet plan follows the standard diet five times to six times a week and allows for a carbohydrate refeed on the seventh day. This once a week increase in carbohydrates help minimize the adverse reaction of some people when they restrict carbs for a long time.

If you are going on a Keto diet for the first time, it is recommended to consult a dietician or your doctor to find out which plan best fits your health condition and current lifestyle.