high fat foods with no carbs
” In addition, the diet was falsely
stated to be low in fiber and calcium. Counter: The keto diet is higher in fat-rich foods as the metabolic state of ketosis uses fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates which will help your body turn into a fat burning machine. While it could be higher in saturated fat based on how one employs the keto diet, it may not necessarily be the case. Even if one’s keto nutrition plan is higher in saturated fat, recent research shows
that mortality from cardiovascular disease does not decrease with the reduction of dietary saturated fat. [18] In fact, studies show that replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates is associated with an increase in cardiovascular disease risk. [19]The American Heart Association suggests that total dietary fiber intake should be 25 to 30 grams per day, while the average American consumes only 15 grams per day. While the keto diet typically allows for no more than 50 grams of total carbohydrates per day, most of the allotted carbohydrates come from fibrous carbohydrates. For example, one can consume a cup of cooked spinach, two cups of chopped romaine lettuce, two cups of cooked broccoli, and ½ cup of raspberries in one day to achieve a total of 46 grams of carbohydrates, and whopping 24 grams of fiber. More fiber is likely to be added by way of other keto-friendly foods such as nuts, seeds, avocado, and dark chocolate. Keto is certainly not limited in the calcium department either—this myopic statement was likely made only because milk is not allowed on the keto diet due to its sugar content. Other high-calcium foods such as sesame seeds, Chia seeds, cheese, plain yogurt, sardines, canned salmon, almonds, and leafy greens are part of the ketogenic diet.
A recent meta-analysis which included 20 years of published research studying the effects of a ketogenic diet on patients with type 2 diabetes. The review concluded that ketogenic diet is ‘superior’ in terms of glycemic control—the results were significant enough to recommend the keto diet as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. [15]Another recent study concludes that in addition to reduction in body weight and improving lipid profile, there was a significant improvement in HbA1c and reduction in the intake of insulin and oral antidiabetic drugs in patients with type 2 diabetes. [16] Not only does this research show how the keto diet can lead to weight loss and improved metabolic health, it’s also monetarily cost effective as it reduces the need for insulin and oral antidiabetic drugs. Lastly, our friends at Virta Health are doing incredible work reversing type 2 diabetes with their low carb protocols. One of their studies shows that this dietary monitoring protocol lowered glycemic control medication from 55. 7 to 26. 8% including insulin (-62%) and sulfonylureas (-100%). There was also resolution of diabetes (reversal, 53. 5%; remission, 17. 6%) in the intervention group but not in usual care group.