Diets come and go. Though some people still follow their chosen diets to this day, one or two become so popular every few years or so that everyone just has to give it a try. We’ve had Paleo, Atkins, South Beach, Beverly Hills, Low-Fat, and even the Subway Diet to name a few, but this time around, the Keto Diet is making a comeback. Yes, comeback – because Keto existed way before it became today’s weight loss trend. Its humble beginnings began in the 1920s and 30s not as a diet but as a treatment for epilepsy.  

 

But what is it exactly?  

Short for Ketogenic, Keto is a low carb, high-fat diet similar to the Atkins diet. It relies on reducing intake of carbohydrates and replacing it with fat, forcing the body into the metabolic state called ketosis – a state which then helps facilitate weight loss.  

 Typically, the body uses glucose as its primary source of energy, which is obtained from carbohydrates (including starchy food and sugars). When the body breaks down glucose, one of two things happen: it’s used as fuel to keep us going, or is stored in the liver and muscles. But when there’s no glucose for the body to break down or use for energy, it then resorts to using up stored fats instead. The body then creates ketones by breaking down the fats we have stored in our bodies, and this is when the weight loss begins.  

 Whether you’re about to jump into Keto dieting headfirst or just want to find out more about this infamous diet, we want to look at some important lessons we can learn from such a popular weight loss trend.  

 

Cutting down on carbs has its benefits.  

Being more mindful of the food you eat – especially the type of carbohydrates you include in meals – will actually help your overall health greatly. We already know that carbs is the primary energy source of the body, but even then, overdoing it what with the sedentary lifestyle most of us live, can cause unhealthy weight loss or weight gain, fatigue, and a sluggish brain. The carbs to glucose process can also cause your blood sugar levels to skyrocket, eventually leading to diabetes.  

 

Here come the healthy fats! 

When Keto says fats, it doesn’t mean the bad ones! It’s your choice of course, but you’re already on the road to better health: why compromise it with fats that aren’t good for you? You can never go wrong with healthy fats from the following food: avocados and avocado oil, olives and olive oil, fatty fish, full-fat Greek yogurt, butter, whole eggs, and cheese. Meanwhile, here’s what to avoid for the sake of your heart health: artificial trans fat, fried foods, and processed meat.  

 

Telling apart the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ 

A restrictive diet enforces a more selective mindset: you become more aware of what your food options are and which of them are beneficial to your health. With technology readily available to us, a little Google search about the food we’re buying can tell us if it’s good for the body as well as how much of it we should consume. If we’re willing to look into the best types of workouts and exercises to become physically fit, then we should be as mindful when selecting our food too.  

 

At the end of the day and even without any dieting involved, it’s our responsibility to find out and know what is best for our bodies. If you want to live long and enjoy life to its fullest, then it’s the perfect time to consider what exactly you put on your plate on a daily basis. It only takes a simple change in food consumption – before you know it, you’re not only healthier but happier too!