Keto Mythbusting – 5 Biggest Ketosis Myths
The concept of keto has become very popular in the past two years. This rather very old concept has gained its popularity thanks to the interest and promotion from many popular athletes and celebrities. Therefore, keto has become a “fad” diet as the people’s interest in it has resulted in overwhelming information on the subject, most of which is contradictory and unreliable.
Keto, also known as ketogenic diet, is named after the process that occurs in the body when you are following this diet concept. The concept, however, is the good old low-carbohydrate diet that has been around for decades. Moreover, the low-carbohydrate diets result in production of so-called ketones in the body, from which(where) the name derives.
The havoc around this dieting concept resulted in referring to it as a “trend” a “dangerous diet” and “a diet that comes with serious risks”. On the other hand, many articles, doctors and athletes promote this diet as a healthy and efficient weight loss concept. However, a low-carbohydrate diet has been successfully used to treat many diseases and therefore, should not be falsely represented as a dangerous fad.
The ketogenic diet has been used in medicine to treat and control epilepsy in children. The absence of carbs that are normally converted into glucose as a body fuel, results in converting body fat into ketone bodies. Moreover, these ketone bodies are released in the blood and used as an energy source. This state is known as ketosis and is proven to help in reduction in the frequency of epileptic seizures.
The truth is, keto can be a harmful diet as much as any dieting concept can be for specific individuals. We must take in consideration that every person is different and every organism has different needs. One diet cannot be suitable for all. Therefore, you need to be very familiar with your body’s specific needs and what diet would be a best match. You need to take in consideration your overall health, illnesses and conditions.
If you are still very confused about keto and its effects, here we’ll address five most common keto myths found in the media.
The Keto Flu
The major change your body is undergoing upon the starting of the diet, may result in headaches, weakness and muscle pain. However, these symptoms are the transition stage and a good sign that the diet is working well for you. In fact, any major change that is presented to your body results with specific body reactions.
The “keto-flu” is an over exaggerating reference to what seems to be a normal transition process. Moreover, these symptoms may persist for 3 weeks maximum and after they are gone, you’ll see how worth the “flu” was.
In this critical stage of the diet it is recommended to try using keto shakes. They may be very helpful in easing the symptoms by providing all the nutrients you may lack at this point.
Keto is not a good Concept for a long-term Weight Management
Very often, you can read an article that explains how keto diet results in yo-yo effect. This claims relay on the fact that a keto diet may show weight loss effects in a short period of time and many people instantly choose to end the diet. Discipline is the key to long-term weight loss, in contrary every diet will show the yo-yo effects.
Furthermore, studies show that individuals following low-carbohydrate keto diets lost more weight in one year than those on low-fat diets. In fact, a keto diet may in fact be ideal for long term weight management.
A Keto Diet is hard to maintain
A ketogenic diet among all popular diets is the only one that does not restrict calories. As long as you don’t consume food that is high in carbs you are allowed to eat as much as you need. Moreover, this means that you don’t have to endure long periods of feeling hungry. In fact, this makes the keto diet very sustainable for everyone.
The fact that this diet does not restrict you from eating whenever you want helps in lowering cravings, which are, the main cause people cannot endure a diet.
Keto is not suitable for Athletes
Many athletes refuse to switch to keto diet because of the fear of losing gains. This is a very reasonable fear considering the fact that they also will undergo the symptoms of the transition. Therefore, their performance may suffer in the start but well, this will be temporary and worth the sacrifice.
Many studies and examples have shown that ketogenic diet helps athletes gain better performance and strength. Moreover, it’s an efficient way of promoting muscle growth, brain health and stamina.
One study has actually found that athletes on ketogenic diet performed better in overall on a critical power test compared to athletes on high-carb diets.
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Keto is dangerous if you have Diabetes
This is a great misconception since it is well known for decades, how the ketogenic diet is the most promising diet for people with diabetes.
Many scientific studies are approving the idea that carbs restriction works well for managing blood sugar level in patients with diabetes. Moreover, a diet that implements items that are high in carbohydrates such as sugars, bread and white rice can be associated with the increased risk of diabetes.