Low carb diets have been all the rage for quite a while. One of these low carb diets is the keto diet, which many people follow in order to achieve a number of health benefits.
The keto diet consists of high amounts of fat, moderate amounts of protein, and a limited amount of carbs (often in a 75, 20, 5 percent split of your daily calories respectively)
Let’s go through the top five benefits to the keto diet, and why this diet might work well for you.
- It Can Support Weight Loss
The number one reason most people undergo a diet nowadays is for weight loss. By reducing your carbohydrate intake, you will naturally cut out a lot of the simple, refined sugars that are found in high carb foods. This can result in weight loss, and may help to keep the weight off in the long term.
Due to fats being a satiating macronutrient, taking on a keto diet can help suppress appetite. This helps people to control their hunger, making it easier to lose weight.
- It May Reduce Risk of Certain Cancers
Research suggests that the keto diet can help to prevent or treat certain cancers. Alongside traditional cancer therapies, the keto diet may increase the oxidative stress in cancer cells, causing them to die. High blood sugar levels have also been linked to cancer, which further enhances the benefits of the keto diet in cancer treatment and prevention.
- It Can Improve Heart Health
When people cut down on their carb intake, it causes a reduction in their blood triglyceride levels. Triglycerides are fat molecules that circulate the body in the bloodstream, and their presence in large amounts can increase risk of heart disease.
The keto diet can also increase levels of HDL, the ‘good’ cholesterol, and decreases amounts of LDL, the ‘bad’ cholesterol. In turn, this lowers risk of heart disease.
- It May Help to Balance Blood Sugar Levels
Blood sugar levels dramatically increase when we eat carbohydrate-rich foods, in particular those that contain a lot of simple sugars. Studies show that the keto diet can help balance out blood sugar and insulin levels. Therefore, following this low-carb diet may help those with type two diabetes or metabolic syndrome, but make sure to seek medical advice before making drastic changes to your diet.
- It Can Enhance Brain Function
The brain uses ketones as an energy source, particularly when carbohydrate available is low. There are a number of brain disorders whose symptoms can be reduced by the keto diet. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease may experience less severe symptoms when placed on a keto diet.
The keto diet has been used as part of treatment for epilepsy, as it may reduce symptoms and rate of seizures. One study showed that 16% of children placed on a ketogenic diet became completely seizure-free. still, nothing is foolproof, so families with children suffering from seizure disorders should learn appropriate seizure first aid techniques
The ketogenic diet has many more benefits than those listed above. It can help to prevent, treat, or manage a number of disorders, as well as improving the lives of healthy individuals. If you wish to try out the keto diet, make sure to consult a healthcare professional before making drastic changes to your diet.