The ketogenic diet or keto diet is an eating pattern that limits or even does not consume carbohydrates at all. The ketogenic diet is believed to provide many benefits for the body, from reducing weight to lowering the risk of certain diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.
A ketogenic diet that limits carbohydrate intake will make the body go into a state of ketosis, namely the accumulation of residual ketones in the blood.
This happens because the lack of carbohydrates will make the body use fat tissue as an alternative energy source. Burning fat is what will produce ketones and put the body in a state of ketosis.
Benefits of the Ketogenic Diet
By following a ketogenic diet, your intake of sugar and simple carbohydrates will be reduced, but your body will get energy and nutrients from fat and protein. This is what makes the ketogenic diet believed to provide many benefits for the body.
Following are some of the benefits of the ketogenic diet:
1. Lose weight
Reducing carbohydrates is one simple way to lose weight. Low-carb diets, such as the ketogenic diet, can help trim excess fat tissue in the body for use as an energy source. In addition, this diet also makes energy intake more stable.
Unfortunately, the benefits of the ketogenic diet for weight loss seem to last only a short time. The effectiveness of the ketogenic diet to maintain a stable body weight in the long term still needs to be studied further.
2. Reducing seizures in people with epilepsy
The ketogenic diet has been used to prevent or reduce seizures in children and adults with epilepsy. Some health research shows that the ketogenic diet has been shown to help reduce the recurrence of epilepsy symptoms, especially in epilepsy that is difficult to control with medication.
However, the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet as a form of treating epilepsy still requires further evidence and studies.
3. Prevents insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
Reducing your intake of carbohydrates and sugar is one of the best ways to prevent spikes in blood sugar levels and help control blood sugar. In addition, the ketogenic diet can also help prevent insulin resistance and reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
However, if you are taking blood sugar-lowering drugs and want to adopt a ketogenic diet, please consult your doctor first to prevent hypoglycemia.
4. Reduce cholesterol and triglyceride levels
People on a ketogenic diet will consume more healthy fats, protein, and fiber. This diet in the long term can help reduce levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) and triglycerides, and increase good cholesterol (HDL).
5. Maintain heart health
Excess levels of bad LDL cholesterol is one of the causes of plaque formation in blood vessels (atherosclerosis). Therefore, a ketogenic diet that can reduce bad cholesterol levels is one way to prevent this.
In addition, the ketogenic diet can also help lower or maintain stable blood pressure. Because of these benefits, the ketogenic diet is considered good for heart health.
6. Maintain brain performance and function
According to research, the ketogenic diet is thought to improve memory function, concentration power, and delay brain aging. This is thought to prevent the occurrence of senile dementia, and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. However, this claim still requires further evidence and study.
Although considered good for health, please note that the ketogenic diet can cause various side effects, such as hunger, nausea, constipation, headaches, fatigue, kidney stones, lack of energy, to vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
In addition, the ketogenic diet is also not recommended for people who suffer from certain diseases, such as eating disorders, biliary disorders, and type 1 diabetes. Therefore, before you adopt this diet, consult your doctor first if you have a disease or medical condition. certain.
