Rey BelenFor people concern about their diet for the summer, or just wanting to have a fitter, healthier lifestyle, Keto Diet must be one on the list of things to know to get into shape.
With the much hype on Ketogenic Diet, it is only fitting to get to know about it. One event recently that I attended was about the Keto Diet. Hosted by Minola Cooking Oil, many people from local online groups on the diet sensation converged to learn more about it in person.
Ketogenic Diet is a very low-carb diet, high fat diet that triggers your liver to more ketones that acts as fat burner in the body as it achieves “Ketosis” or the act that the body uses stored fats as energy.
“Keto,” as most people know the diet, good fats from foods and not just any type of fats found across all food. This is what most people get to misunderstood. Thinking that the “FAT” diet means eating all the fatty foods you wish for. But it isn’t.
Dr. Fabian Dayrit, an Ateneo de Manila University Chemistry Professor, has broken down the chemical reaction of ketogenic diet and its proponents to the human body.
He explained that with the Keto Diet (low carb high fat), timing and supplementation, the body can achieve different health benefits for it. Dr. Dayrit expounded that Keto Diet
- Medium Chain Fats
- Choose Your Carbs
- Fasting
- Supplementation
Medium Chain Triglyceride
Not all fats are equal.
Since Keto Diet is based on taking in fats, getting to know which fats are good is your best choice.
According to Dr. Dayrit, those on a diet needs to consider the Medium Chain Triglyceride (MCT) over the widely-used Long Chain Triglyceride (LCT).
Consumption of MCT than LCT can help improve fat profile of the body. Some can achieve weight loss as an effect of which.
Compared to Long chain Triglyceride, MCTs are good fatty acids that the body can metabolize easily as energy. While the LCTs are absorbed by the lympathic system of the body.
Good sources of MCTs include coconut oil, rich in lauric acid, extra virgin olive oil, milk, butter (strictly for grass-fed cows). Coconut oil is studied to have 15% MCTs.
For cooking, coconut oil is a practical choice for its cost and MCT contents. Plus its lauric acid has antibacterial and antifungal properties, without comprising the taste that most Filipinos have come accustomed to.
Choose Your Carbs
The Keto Diet is a very low carb diet, but it doesn’t mean not consuming carbs at all. Our body still need carbohydrates to keep it in balance. But the ketogenic diet is about choosing the right carbohydrates, which is the complex carbohydrates, over simple carbs.
Simple carbs are usually sweetened baked products, sodas, fruit juice concentrates, candies and the likes. While the complex carbs are found in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and beans.
Complex carbs takes longer to digest and has more fiber making it good for managing weight.
Fasting
Fasting makes the body work on more producing ketones from the liver. Thus, the right timing for your body is needed to maximize potential of the ketogenic diet. Some do 16 hour fasting, while others can take 1 to 2 days of fasting.
Best to know what works for your body and do it gradually to have your body adjust fully to the fasting.
Supplementation
Taking supplements can also help in making sure a balance diet and healthier body, especially for the first phases of the ketogenic diet shift as the body would react differently to the change. Different physiological reactions that can include cramps and constipation.
But all of which are just during the initial change. As soon as your body adjusts, the good effects for your health, such as added mental focus, better weight management, outweighs the short-term body reactions.
Even Mae Paner, widely-known as Juana Change, shifted to Keto Diet and has proven to be a good ambassador of the method as she has dropped weight to more than 100lbs.
She attributed the success to starting and keeping a good mindset on her health, and used Ketogenic diet in the process. She confessed that there are huge differences on the way she looks at herself and feel for herself after the weight loss.
Now, she is keeping the Keto Diet as part of her everyday lifestyle and opened up enjoying it.
Rey Belen
