Is the Keto Diet Healthy?
Keto Diet
The keto diet has become popular over the last few years because of its endless benefits. This diet involves the consumption of huge amounts of fats and very low amounts of carbohydrates. The number of carbohydrates consumed in a day should not surpass 25 grams and should be above 20 grams. Protein can also be consumed but not on high amounts because they can quickly add up and digested into glucose in the body. The main concentration is on fat, and one should eat foods like avocado, avocado oil, olive oil, butter, cheese, fish, eggs and olive oil. Foods like sugars and fruits are highly frowned upon on the keto diet because they add up the amount of starch in the body.
Keto withdrawals
If the body is used to a high amount of carb intake each day and this is greatly reduced, one will suffer from keto withdrawals. Keto withdrawals can be defined as having carb withdrawals which take a toll on one’s immune system. It is the changes that the body goes through as it tries to switch from burning carbs to burning fats. Remember the body burns carbohydrates as a source of fuel. Once the body is deprived of this because of the keto diet, the body has to look for another fuel source. Through this process, one will experience withdrawal symptoms such as dizziness, stomach cramps, headaches, nausea, and irritability. There is a great guide that can help with that, the 14 days keto challenge – go check it out.
In some cases, some people vomit while trying to maintain a ketogenic diet. Vomiting may be a sign that one needs to stop the diet or reduce the number of carbs slowly instead of drastically. Staying on the keto diet is therefore hard especially if one was used to consuming carbs daily. Carbohydrates are filling and ensure that one is satisfied for long periods while a keto diet is not as filling. At first, people take time to adjust to the diet because it does not fill them as carbs do. One finds themselves looking for snacks in between to satisfy their hunger. It is easy to stray back to carbs at this point because one feels hungry quickly.
Maintaining a keto diet
It is possible to avoid keto withdrawals while on the keto diet. While it is difficult to maintain a keto diet, it is still possible to achieve it with the following guidelines. First, do not reduce the number of carbs drastically. Begin with small amounts and continue increasing the amounts as the weeks go by. Second, drink a lot of water as it helps with the keto withdrawals. Being dehydrated will only make the symptoms worse. Third, ensure the calorie intake does not reduce by eating more healthy fats and avoiding processed or refined fats. Fourth, get enough electrolytes from salt, magnesium, and sodium. Lastly, exercise gently to help in metabolism. If the above steps are followed transitioning to the keto diet will not be as hard and maintain it will be easy. Ask for advice from a professional if the keto diet is difficult to maintain.
