Diet plays a major role in helping people stay fit and healthy in the long run. Many people that are conscious about the foods they eat tend to follow a diet that suits their unique needs. This has led to emergence of several “fad” diets over the years.
However, one diet in particular has persisted in popularity over the decades. The keto diet (also known as the low-carb diet) has been touted as an effective way to lose weight, improve blood pressure, and regulate cholesterol levels. The diet is believed to offer numerous other benefits, but some health experts have cast doubts over the many claims surrounding Keto.
Let’s take the look at these claims and separate the facts from the myths.
Claim #1: Keto lets you eat all the fatty foods you want.
The Keto diet is based on the idea that eating a high percentage of fats can switch the body’s energy pathway so that it draws energy from fats, instead of from glucose.
Some keto diet adopters use this as an excuse to gorge on all the fatty foods that are available to them. However, the notion that you can eat any fatty foods you want on keto is a MYTH. People who are using a keto diet as a way to lose weight could actually end up gaining weight and fat deposits by eating the wrong types of fat.
Keto users should consume healthy foods that are high in unsaturated fats such as salmon, avocados, and peanut butter, while limiting their intake of saturated fats from foods such as lard, pork, and dairy products.
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Claim #2: The keto diet can help protect the brain.
Studies have found that people with epilepsy suffered fewer seizures after switching to the keto diet. So the claim that keto can help protect the brain is a verified FACT.
Experts haven’t figured out the exact reason why keto diets reduce the frequency of seizures, but they believe it may be related to keto’s metabolism altering properties, given that epilepsy is a metabolic disease.
Claim #3: Following a keto diet means you should avoid eating fruits and vegetables.
One of the fundamental principles of the keto diet is to limit your intake of carbs. Some people take this advice as an indicator that they should not consume fruits and vegetables due to their carb content. This belief is a MYTH.
Certain fruits and vegetables contain a moderate amount of carbs, but they also contain vitamins and minerals that your body needs to remain healthy. The keto diet does permit a small quantity of carbs, so followers should include some fruits and vegetables in their daily diet as their primary source of healthy carbs.
Claim #4: Keto helps you burn fat
The main driver of the keto diet fad has been the belief that it can help you burn fat. This claim is a verified FACT.
Adopting a high fat, moderate protein, and low carb diet forces your body to switch away from deriving its energy from carb-based glucose sources and towards deriving energy from fat sources. The net result of this switch is fat loss.
