KETO
“SHOULD I GO KETO?”
We’ve all heard the buzz about the ketogenic diet. Maybe you want to shed some pounds or have friends who did it and had great results.
Before we all go keto, let’s walk through some basics.
What really is “keto”?
The basic premise of keto/ketogenic diets is becoming fat-adapted.
A common misconception is that keto just means a lower carbohydrate diet.
In order for a ketogenic diet to work, your body must utilize ketones by the brain opposed to glucose. This is achieved through lipolysis (breaking down of fat).
Keto induced lipolysis happens once gluconeogenesis occurs (creation of glucose from sources other than glycogen). Gluconeogenesis occurs due to glycogen and glucose stores being depleted.
Keto is partially a reaction to our over reliance on carbohydrates, specifically simple sugars.
Additionally, we have a genetic predisposition to prefer sweet, salty, and savory foods. Modern food capitalizes on these preferences, making regulating our intake difficult.
Much of the keto diet’s success could be attributed to the moderation and innate changes that come with more disciplined eating.
That being said, there benefits to being ketogenic.
benefits of the ketogenic diet
Let’s cover two of the main benefits the ketogenic diet offers.
1.improved Cognitive function and brain health
Positive changes in cognitive function and brain health are connected with lower-carbohydrate intake.
The negative effects of excessive carbs is due to a process called glycation, which essentially crystallizes nervous tissue. This has been connected with degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Overeating simple sugars also leads to metabolic disease, which is the classification for diabetes and issues of elevated triglycerides and low-density lipoproteins (LDL), the consensus cause of cardiovascular disease.
2.performance benefits, specifically in endurance sports.
Utilization of fatty acids is just flat out more efficient. You have a lot more storage of adipose tissue than you do glycogen (the storage form of glucose).
Additionally, the net energy is over double for one gram of fatty acids compared to one gram of glucose. This combined effect of larger stores and higher energy yield is an incredible asset if you are an endurance athlete.
In light of these benefits, why is keto not for everyone?
drawbacks of the ketogenic diet
We will cover 3 main drawbacks:
Difficult to execute consistently
Hard to effectively build muscle
Limited performance with strength and anaerobic training.
1. Keto is really hard to execute consistently and effectively.
Some history is worth mentioning
Keto was first used as a metabolic diet to help manage the frequency of seizures in patients with epilepsy.
For the average person though, it is hard to implement. Take a walk through a 7-11 or any gas station. Your options are sparse in regards to staying on a truly fat-adapted diet.
There is also a massive contextual problem by making this wholesale change to your lifestyle and eating habits.
A massive push here should become more engaged with preparing and eating proper food. If it is the same convenience-based strategy that you have become accustomed to, you possibly might cause more harm than good (eg: still eating fast-food or low-quality foods/fats, but just changing carb intake).
You are omitting a macronutrient or entire food groups from your diet.
This means being more strategic with what you eat. You need conscientious about getting in sodium, water soluble vitamins, more fiber from insoluble sources with low starch content that will not impact the pancreas directly.
2. Muscle-building on keto.
mTOR is the pathway that initiates protein synthesis, and this occurs most efficiently, in a glucose + amino acid rich environment. You need to have glucose and subsequently insulin to adequately and efficiently resupply glycogen.
You simply are not going to build muscle optimally when your body perceives it is in an energy deficit.
3. improving strength on keto
Strength training is primarily anaerobic which works in the presence of ATP and PCR (creatine).
ATP is from the breaking down of glucose into specific energy substrates, heavily restraining glucose will limit performance in this context.
So what should you do?
Start with the end goal
Ask where you are in relation to that goal, and choose a strategy that will help you get there.
Keto is not for everyone.
Applying something like a ketogenic diet when you want to build muscle, could actually be counterproductive.
a main point of this post is that blindly throwing in some diet is setting yourself up to fail. You need to truly understand the origin, chemistry, mechanics, and logistics of the diet.
Ketogenic diets are not bad, they can be powerful and effective. But whether it is specific to your situation and goals is what you need to really evaluate.