Ketogenic Diet (My Opinion)

Forty or more years ago, studies suggested that fat was the primary cause of obesity. As a result, low-fat diets were recommended, as fat consumption was believed to be linked to unfavorable lipid profiles.

Over the years, scientific advances have shown that healthy fats are not harmful to our body, but rather offer significant benefits for health and nutrition.

Now, from an impartial point of view, I will analyze my opinion on the fact.

Fats are involved in numerous physiological and biochemical processes in the body, which makes them essential. However, we need to take a broader view and see the big picture, not just the details.

I repeat again, they are essential, they are great, many of our hormones benefit from their adequate consumption, but this means that: Is consuming a greater amount of dietary fat even more beneficial for the body? Or are most people today simply overestimating the consumption of fat in their diet?

The ketogenic diet has become increasingly popular today, and in my view this has been a product of extremism, lack of context and individualization. This diet proposes that 70-80% of the total calories in the diet come from fat, 15% from protein and the rest from carbohydrates, although in some more extreme cases the carbohydrates are reduced to zero.

The basic premise of this diet is to force your body to stop using its energy substrate par excellence, glucose, which comes from carbohydrates.

This fact takes place for a simple reason, our body is an organism whose main objective is survival and this is achieved through obtaining energy, which comes from food (carbohydrates, proteins and fats). However, among them 3, two energy substrates stand out for obtaining usable energy, to carry out activities, carbohydrates and fats, carbohydrates being the most preferred by the body, due to availability and speed. If the body does not have sufficient availability of this macronutrient (carbohydrate), its preferred energy substrate, which after being metabolized is converted into glucose and later into glycogen to then be available in the form of energy (ATP), it will then look for other ways to generate energy and fulfill its survival.

Another anabolic pathway that our body uses to obtain energy when carbohydrate consumption is suppressed is gluconeogenesis (the process by which the body obtains glucose and glycogen from protein). That is why protein intake in this diet should also be relatively low, in order to completely deprive the body of the production of this type of energy.

PERSONAL NOTE: At this point I wonder, how healthy can it be to deliberately push our body to use an emergency route? Because basically that's what it is, you corner it on purpose and it has no other way out.

Now that we know what this process is like, I will talk about what is known about the ketogenic diet and I will try to do so in a timely manner.

1. It is healthier: Personally, my concept of healthy has been changing over the past 10 years or so and at this point in my life I consider it to be the simple fact of achieving a healthy body composition in a sustainable and lasting way. The true answer to why we have not managed to improve health parameters and body composition is the simple fact of constantly abandoning any strategy.

Curiously, today it has been proven to the point of exhaustion that health parameters are closely related to our body composition, physical activity, rest and emotional state.

In my opinion, encouraging your body to use an emergency energy source doesn't make much sense, except in specific situations. Even in those cases, the energy source itself would still be responsible for any improvements.

Also, if food sources are not your favorite, but you like other sources, chances are that this strategy, even if it were perfect (which it is not), simply would not work for you and any gains would be lost, because it would not be a sustainable plan in the long term.

2. You lose more weight: This is undoubtedly true, and there is an explanation for it. However, I want to remind you that losing weight is not the same as losing fat. Furthermore, losing weight at the expense of any mass does not improve your body composition or health parameters.

Now, when we eat carbohydrates which are later converted into glucose in the blood, each glucose molecule needs 3 to 4 water molecules to form glycogen inside the cell and these water molecules also weigh, here is the logical explanation of why if you stop consuming carbohydrates you automatically lose body weight, simply because your body stops absorbing these 3 or 4 water molecules that previously translated into greater weight on the scale, therefore, in reality you do not lose weight, you just stop absorbing an amount of liquid that you previously absorbed.

Despite this, it's highly likely that you'll experience a significant drop in your total body weight within the first two weeks of starting this diet. However, this doesn't necessarily mean you're losing fat. In fact, it's quite the opposite: muscles full of glycogen actually appear more defined than when they're depleted.  

Once you pass the initial transition phase where glycogen stores are depleted, the rate at which you lose weight and fat is similar to what you might experience on a higher-carbohydrate diet. However, the scale will likely show a few kilos less than during the first stage, as this initial weight loss is primarily due to water loss.

In some controlled studies, muscle mass preservation is slightly lower on a ketogenic diet compared to diets that include carbohydrates. This is because muscles have a high affinity for glycogen. However, this fact can only be confirmed in the same individual who has strictly followed both protocols under controlled conditions, which is unlikely for the general population, as few people can adequately control all the variables.

3. Suppresses appetite: Before talking about this I ask myself, why would anyone want to suppress their appetite? Appetite and satiety are the most interesting mechanisms that animals (including us) use to know when to eat and when to stop. Being able to master these properly represents a great evolution with respect to the relationship with food.

Now, the foods that incite or stimulate the desire to eat the most are hyperpalatable foods, that is, those that are highly tasty and are usually a combination of fats and carbohydrates, so if you take one of the two out of the equation, it is unlikely that you will tend to eat more, this explains why consuming fat in isolation suppresses the appetite, at this point it is important to clarify that a diet low in fat and higher in carbohydrates would also cause loss of appetite, of course there are some exceptions with carbohydrates, but mostly simple and refined ones.

I'll give you an example with an apple. How many apples could you eat in a single meal? Maybe 3 or 4 at most, which would be around 336 calories, which is pretty small. The point is that no one is going to binge on apples. What I mean by this is that eating only one macronutrient source, in this case carbohydrates, doesn't really encourage you to overeat, rather it creates the opposite, satiety, because psychologically you are limited in your choice, whereas if you were given free rein, believe me, first you would choose a hyperpalatable food and second it would be very easy for you to overeat.

4. Improves hormones: Before explaining this fact, I would like to ask another question: Why do people want to improve their hormones without even knowing if they are okay or without knowing if the values ​​they have are normal? Did someone say marketing?

The vast majority of people have their hormones in good order. If they are not functioning properly (assuming you have gone to the doctor), it is not because of carbohydrates or fats. Instead, it is due to bad eating habits, such as overeating, which can lead to poor body composition. Additionally, a sedentary lifestyle can contribute to hormonal imbalances.

Furthermore, assuming hormonal damage simply based on an Instagram checklist or social media claims is the most inaccurate approach. If you have concerns, I recommend consulting a specialist doctor and undergoing appropriate laboratory tests.

Assuming you've seen a doctor and been diagnosed with a hormone imbalance, I recommend focusing on improving your body composition, lifestyle, and food choices. Instead of restricting any macronutrient, remember that fats play a vital role in hormonal health. However, they're just one part of the bigger picture of body composition. By prioritizing overall body composition, you're more likely to optimize your hormonal balance, barring any specific underlying conditions.

Always remember that when you improve your muscle-to-fat ratio, your overall health, including your hormones, will also improve.

One of the most misunderstood hormones is insulin, and I'm going to discuss it in general terms in this article. Insulin is primarily stimulated by carbohydrate intake (though to a lesser extent by fat and protein), so it's clear that its secretion decreases on a ketogenic diet due to the very low or zero carbohydrate consumption.

But that, my dear readers, is not magic at all. In fact, it's logical that insulin production decreases when you remove its primary stimulant. But if insulin is problematic, what should be the focus of improvement: the insulin itself or the reduction of carbohydrates?

We are not solving anything by eliminating carbohydrate consumption. However, one of the primary goals of this type of ketogenic diet is to improve insulin levels

Is this a good approach? It depends. If you don't like carbohydrates and find this strategy sustainable, it may be a good option. Remember, this diet isn't a magic solution. You'll also need to make other lifestyle changes for best results.

Is there another option? Yes, this hormone, like all the others, continues to respond to energy balance and body composition. By planning a diet that aims for a good macronutrient profile and improved body composition, it is much more likely that the person will adhere, be consistent and in the long term improve both physically, mentally and hormonally.

5. It improves certain diseases: I am not going to go into much detail here, because it is not my area, I will simply say the following; some specific diseases benefit from the ketogenic diet, apparently because the bacteria or molecules that proliferate in these diseases feed on carbohydrates, which is why eliminating or drastically limiting them reduces the episodes.

In any case, I still recommend consulting a specialist doctor, particularly one experienced in ketogenic diets for these conditions.

Now that I have come to the end of my analysis regarding the ketogenic diet, I hope I have been as impartial, practical, and timely as possible.

If, after reading this article, you're still interested in following this type of diet, you'll just need to evaluate whether you're willing to adhere to its protocols. As I've mentioned before, I'm completely impartial when it comes to different eating styles or diets. As long as you meet the basic requirements, any diet is valid if it's sustainable for you in the long run.

That's why I also offer the ketogenic diet plan in my coaching programs, although I have to be honest, only about 3 people have tried it, and none of them have completed the first two weeks.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can write to me on any of my social networks, where you will find me as JulioValeroV.

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