The use of a keto diet, which involves high fat and low carbohydrate levels, is controversial and not usually recommended during pregnancy.

A ketogenic diet is a high fat, low carbohydrate, and adequate protein diet. It is a popular lifestyle diet for weight maintenance and body building. In addition to weight loss, the keto diet can help regulate blood sugar levels and normalise menstrual periods.

It is more difficult for the body to use fats as fuel in comparison to carbohydrates. For this reason, people who are on the keto diet are advised to eat less than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day, whilst increasing the fat requirement. The reasoning for this is to obtain most of your daily calories from fats in order to stimulate the natural burning of body fat.

Doctors sometimes recommend the keto diet for people with medical conditions, including diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and epilepsy. However, choosing to remain on a keto diet during pregnancy is controversial since it involves burning fat through ketosis. Ketosis is when fats are used to burn energy rather than carbohydrates. This causes the liver to produce ketones, which replaces glucose as an energy source.

Here we provide an overview of the potential benefits and risks of a keto diet during pregnancy:

There is some suggestion that a keto diet can be beneficial during pregnancy, particularly for women who are overweight or obese.  

Eating a low carbohydrate, high fat diet, including foods such as celery, cauliflower, eggs, fish, meats, avocado, and cheese, has been associated with a reduced frequency of morning sickness, nausea, miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, and gestational diabetes.

There is some evidence to suggest that a keto diet may help manage seizures in pregnant women who suffer from epilepsy. A study published in Seizure found that symptoms of epilepsy were able to be controlled using keto therapy in two pregnant women. These women had normal, healthy pregnancies with reduced seizure frequency. Mild side effects included lowered vitamin levels and raised cholesterol levels. However, more investigation is required to evaluate the benefits and risks, as well as long term side effects, of using the keto diet in the management of epilepsy.

Risks of a keto diet during pregnancy

Although the keto diet is normally used to lose weight, a diet during pregnancy is not advised. Eating a balanced diet becomes even more important during pregnancy as the growing baby requires foods that are rich in vitamins, nutrients, minerals, iron, and folate. Since fruits and vegetables are high in carbs and natural sugars, their consumption has to be limited in the keto diet. An inadequate level of nutrient intake can lead to problems in the baby’s growth and development.

Eating carbohydrates during pregnancy is important since grains like wheat flour, rice, and pasta are rich in folic acid, which is critical for fetal development. Since protein is part of the keto diet, it can cause people to eat foods that are higher in saturated fat. Although healthy fats are vital for pregnant women and the growing baby, excessive saturated fat can lead to health problems, including higher cholesterol levels.

Animal studies have found that a keto diet during gestation can lead to changes in embryonic organ growth, such as a larger heart and a smaller brain. This may be associated with organ dysfunction and behavioural changes. A study published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth found that a low carbohydrate diet in pregnant mice caused smaller brain development and neurobehavioural changes in offspring. Another study published in Brain and Behavior discovered that pregnant mice on a keto diet had babies that were more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression in adulthood.

The keto diet can cause side effects, known as the ‘keto flu’. This can consist of fatigue, dizziness, nausea, headaches, and muscle cramps. This adds to the side effects that already exist in pregnancy.

A keto diet increases the risk of starvation ketoacidosis, which is a metabolic issue caused by a dangerously high level of ketones. This usually occurs after the body is deprived of glucose as the primary source of energy for a sustained period of time and leads to acidity in the blood. Since ketones can pass freely through the placenta to the baby, a keto diet is generally not advised during pregnancy.

There is evidence that a low carbohydrate can aid the management, treatment, or prevention of gestational diabetes, which is a type of high blood sugar that occurs during pregnancy. A study published in International Journal of Case Reports and Clinical Images found that a low carbohydrate diet lowers the need for insulin. However, it may not be necessary to completely adhere to a keto diet to reduce your risk of gestational diabetes.

It is essential that pregnant women eat a balanced diet with a combination of fats, protein, and carbohydrates. Eating a low carbohydrate diet that has an adequate level of healthy fats, protein, fibre, fruits, and vegetables may be more suitable than a keto diet during pregnancy. The health and development of the fetus should always be the priority. Please consult a doctor if you are planning on following a keto diet or other eating plan during pregnancy.

Written by Albina Babu, MSc

References:

Is low carb and keto safe during pregnancy? (2019). Diet Doctor. Retrieved from: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto

van der Louw, E.J., et al. (2017). Ketogenic diet therapy for epilepsy during pregnancy: a case series. Seizure, 45, pp.198-201.

Sussman, D., et al. (2013). Effects of a ketogenic diet during pregnancy on embryonic growth in the mouse. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 13(1), pp.109-120.

Sussman, D., Germann, J. and Henkelman, M. (2015). Gestational ketogenic diet programs brain structure and susceptibility to depression & anxiety in the adult mouse offspring. Brain and Behavior, 5(2).

Tóth, C. and Clemens, Z. (2014). Type 1 diabetes mellitus successfully managed with the paleolithic ketogenic diet. Int J Case Rep Images, 5(10), pp.699-703.

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Washington: A ketogenic diet — which provides 99 per cent of calories from fat and protein, and only one per cent from carbohydrates — may produce health benefits in the short term, but negative effects after about a week, according to a study conducted in mice.

The study, published in the journal Nature Metabolism, suggests that the keto diet could, over limited time periods, improve human health by lowering diabetes risk and inflammation.

The keto diet has become increasingly popular as celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kim Kardashian, have touted it as a weight-loss regimen, the researchers noted.

The diet tricks the body into burning fat, said lead author Vishwa Deep Dixit from the Yale University in the US.

When the body’s glucose level is reduced due to the diet’s low carbohydrate content, the body acts as if it is in a starvation state — although it is not — and begins burning fats instead of carbohydrates.

This process in turn yields chemicals called ketone bodies as an alternative source of fuel.

When the body burns ketone bodies, tissue-protective gamma delta T-cells expand throughout the body.

This reduces diabetes risk and inflammation, and improves the body’s metabolism, said Dixit.

After a week on the keto diet, mice show a reduction in blood sugar levels and inflammation, he said.

However, when the body is in this “starving-not-starving” mode, fat storage is also happening simultaneously with fat breakdown, the researchers said.

When mice continue to eat the high-fat, low-carb diet beyond one week, they consume more fat than they can burn, and develop diabetes and obesity, the researchers said.

“They lose the protective gamma delta T-cells in the fat,” Dixit said. Long-term clinical studies in humans are still necessary to validate the anecdotal claims of keto’s health benefits, the researchers noted.

“Before such a diet can be prescribed, a large clinical trial in controlled conditions is necessary to understand the mechanism behind metabolic and immunological benefits or any potential harm to individuals who are overweight and pre-diabetic,” Dixit said.

“Obesity and type 2 diabetes are lifestyle diseases. Diet allows people a way to be in control,” he said.

With the latest findings, researchers now better understand the mechanisms at work in bodies sustained on the keto diet, and why the diet may bring health benefits over limited time periods.

“Our findings highlight the interplay between metabolism and the immune system, and how it coordinates maintenance of healthy tissue function,” said Emily Goldberg, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale.

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A ketogenic diet — which provides 99% of calories from fat and protein and only 1% from carbohydrates — produces health benefits in the short term, but negative effects after about a week, Yale researchers found in a study of mice.

The results offer early indications that the keto diet could, over limited time periods, improve human health by lowering diabetes risk and inflammation. They also represent an important first step toward possible clinical trials in humans.

The keto diet has become increasingly popular as celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Lebron James, and Kim Kardashian, have touted it as a weight-loss regimen.

In the Yale study, published in the Jan. 20 issue of Nature Metabolism, researchers found that the positive and negative effects of the diet both relate to immune cells called gamma delta T-cells, tissue-protective cells that lower diabetes risk and inflammation.

A keto diet tricks the body into burning fat, said lead author Vishwa Deep Dixit of the Yale School of Medicine. When the body’s glucose level is reduced due to the diet’s low carbohydrate content, the body acts as if it is in a starvation state — although it is not — and begins burning fats instead of carbohydrates. This process in turn yields chemicals called ketone bodies as an alternative source of fuel. When the body burns ketone bodies, tissue-protective gamma delta T-cells expand throughout the body.

This reduces diabetes risk and inflammation, and improves the body’s metabolism, said Dixit, the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Comparative Medicine and of Immunobiology. After a week on the keto diet, he said, mice show a reduction in blood sugar levels and inflammation.

But when the body is in this “starving-not-starving” mode, fat storage is also happening simultaneously with fat breakdown, the researchers found. When mice continue to eat the high-fat, low-carb diet beyond one week, Dixit said, they consume more fat than they can burn, and develop diabetes and obesity.

“They lose the protective gamma delta T-cells in the fat,” he said.

Long-term clinical studies in humans are still necessary to validate the anecdotal claims of keto’s health benefits.

“Before such a diet can be prescribed, a large clinical trial in controlled conditions is necessary to understand the mechanism behind metabolic and immunological benefits or any potential harm to individuals who are overweight and pre-diabetic,” Dixit said.

There are good reasons to pursue further study: According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 84 million American adults — or more than one out of three — have prediabetes (increased blood sugar levels), putting them at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. More than 90% of people with this condition don’t know they have it.

“Obesity and type 2 diabetes are lifestyle diseases,” Dixit said. “Diet allows people a way to be in control.”

With the latest findings, researchers now better understand the mechanisms at work in bodies sustained on the keto diet, and why the diet may bring health benefits over limited time periods.

“Our findings highlight the interplay between metabolism and the immune system, and how it coordinates maintenance of healthy tissue function,” said Emily Goldberg, the postdoctoral fellow in comparative medicine who discovered that the keto diet expands gamma-delta T cells in mice.

If the ideal length of the diet for health benefits in humans is a subject for later studies, Dixit said, discovering that keto is better in small doses is good news, he said: “Who wants to be on a diet forever?”

The research was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

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Every year, US News & World Report ranks trending diets for the year ahead. Despite its overwhelming popularity, the report ranked the ketogenic diet as the worst for healthy eating and the second to last overall.

For those who don’t know, the ketogenic diet is a very rigid regimen for rapid weight loss. The plan essentially tricks your body by depriving it of carbohydrates. Eventually, this lack of carbohydrates triggers a metabolic state called ketosis, which causes your body to burn fat for energy instead of storing it.

Proponents of the diet say that it has evidence of success, plus it allows you to eat high-fat foods like red meats, fatty fish, butter, and cheese while still helping you lose weight. Furthermore, the diet can help people with Type 2 diabetes improve their blood sugar levels and help people with epilepsy reduce the frequency of their seizures.

However, the diet also requires that you consume no more than 50 grams of carbohydrates per day, and if you mess up, your body will simply start storing fat again. This can have dangerous results since the diet suggests that you consume fat for upwards of 80 percent of your daily caloric intake.

For its evaluation, US News & World Report evaluated 35 of the most popular diets based on seven categories. These categories included nutritional completeness, ease of dietary plan, weight loss potential, and likelihood of disease prevention. Not surprisingly, the high-fat, low-carb trendy diet plan performed low in nearly every category.

Because the keto diet heavily relies on saturated fats, it can enhance a person’s risk of heart disease. Therefore, it scored poorly in the area of disease prevention. Because of the aforementioned potential for errors that undo the diet just from eating things like fruits and whole grains, it also scored poorly in the area of ease and sustainability.

In fact, the keto diet only excelled in one area: rapid weight loss potential. In this category, it tied with Atkins, Weight Watchers, and Jenny Craig for third place.

However, experts caution that a diet’s ability to help you rapidly lose weight doesn’t make it healthy. Nutrition specialists affirm that nutritionally unbalanced diets like keto and Atkins almost guarantee short-term losses but the very nature of their restrictive plans make long-term adherence all but impossible.

In addition to the long-term disbenefits, the keto diet’s rapid weight loss technique can pose numerous other consequences as well. Quick, significant jumps in weight can cause stretch marks, changes in taste perception, interruptions in your menstrual cycle, and even depression. Furthermore, most experts still advise that slow and steady weight loss is the best method for overall health and long-term maintenance.

If you’re looking for a regimented weight loss plan that cuts out some of the negative aspects of the keto diet, some health advocates recommend a hybrid version of the keto diet with either vegan meals prepared at home or Mediterranean diet aspects.

This diet cuts out high-calorie, processed foods for more nutrient-dense items. These vitamin-rich foods provide nutrients that help prevent diabetes, cancer, and other diseases.

What’s more, US News & World Report awarded this easy-to-follow diet as the top choice for a third year in a row.

While fad diets tempt us all, it’s important to research any diet and consult your doctor before jumping on the bandwagon. A medical professional or experienced dietitian can help you plan eating habits that will provide the best results and health benefits for your body without major negative side effects. The biggest lesson we can take from US News & World Report’s study is this: Just because plans like the keto diet have massive followings and promise rapid weight loss, that doesn’t mean they’re safe or even remotely beneficial in the long term.

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Many people try to avoid carbohydrates as they’re often looked at as the “enemy”.

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The ketogenic diet is notoriously tough to stick with and, as a result, many people who were once all-in with the low-carb eating plan have stopped following it. But not everyone who was once big into keto wants to completely cut ties with it—they just want something that’s a little more approachable. Enter keto 2.0.

It’s hard to say where, exactly, the term keto 2.0 came from, but it seems to be a growing movement—and many keto fans are now tagging their Instagram posts with #keto2.0.

So what is keto 2.0 and why are so many people into it? And is it even keto if the diet is tweaked? We asked dietitians to weigh in.

What is keto 2.0—and how is it different from the original keto diet?

To understand keto 2.0, let’s quickly refresh your understanding of the original ketogenic diet plan. Keto is an ultra low-carb diet that focuses on increasing your fat intake to the point where your body uses fat for energy, explains Scott Keatley, R.D., of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy.

Everyone’s body and approach to the diet is slightly different, but that usually means you strive to get 60 to 75% of your calories from fat, 15 to 30% of your calories from protein, and 5 to 10% of your calories from carbohydrates.

As a result, using a 2,000-calorie diet as an example, keto fans usually try to have no more than 50 grams of carbs a day, with some aiming for an even lower amount. (To put that in perspective, a medium-sized apple has 25 grams of carbs.)

The goal of all of this is to go into a state of ketosis, where your body doesn’t have enough carbs to use as energy, Keatley says, so it starts burning through fat instead. At this point, that breakdown of fat also produces compounds called ketones (which is ultimately where the diet got its name from). This high fat intake is also highly satiating, so people who follow keto to lose weight are able to do so without feeling hungry.

But keto 2.0 takes a more laidback approach.

There are no “rules” with this modified version of keto, but one dietitian points out that keto 2.0 followers would generally try to get 50% of their calories from fat, 30% of their calories from protein, and 20% of their calories from carbs. As a result, you could have 100 grams of carbs daily on a 2,000 calorie keto 2.0 diet, Keatley says, or double the amount.

There’s another huge aspect of keto 2.0 that needs mentioning: If you increase your carb intake to 20% of your calories, it would no longer be considered a ketogenic diet, because “it’s impossible to reach ketosis anymore,” says Karen Ansel, R.D.N., co-author of Healthy in a Hurry.

What kind of foods can you eat on keto 2.0?

As with regular keto, you can technically eat anything you like within the parameters of the diet, but things like sugar, fruits, beans, legumes, and grains are typically severely limited.

A huge issue many nutrition pros have with keto is that it tends to pack in a lot of saturated fats or, at least, many people fall into the trap of eating lots of foods loaded with saturated fats, like bacon and butter. While these foods can ~technically~ help you lose weight on keto when you stay within your macros, they’re not exactly great for your heart health or overall well-being.

But keto 2.0 seems to be big on achieving a well-rounded diet, with more fruits, vegetables, and leaner proteins thrown into the mix. Sure, you can have these in limited quantities on regular keto, but keto 2.0 gives you more wiggle room for them, along with healthier, complex carbs like beans and oats.

Another big perk, per Ansel: You’ll get more fiber in your diet on keto 2.0 (compared to regular keto, which has not much at all)—and that can help keep you satiated, lower your disease risk, and improve overall digestion.

So, is keto 2.0 healthy?

It’s definitely healthier than traditional keto, given that it focuses on eating more heart-healthy unsaturated fats, leaner proteins, and more plant-based foods high in nutrients, Ansel says.

Ultimately, keto 2.0 is “really a low carbohydrate diet,” Keatley says. “It is much more similar to the traditional Mediterranean diet than a keto diet and that’s a good thing,” he says, since experts agree that the Mediterranean way of eating can improve overall health. “By incorporating more lean proteins, especially fish and shellfish, as well as more fruits and vegetables, you’re increasing nutrient diversity which is the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.”

Keatley warns that the approach matters here—it’s easy to just add pasta to the mix to get more carbs in keto 2.0 but “this will not be as good of a change as it could be,” he says. Instead, he recommends getting your carbs from fiber-rich sources like beans, legumes, fruits, and whole grains.

…but can keto 2.0 still help you lose weight?

If you do it right, yes. “It’s not that carbs are bad, it’s that we as Americans are consuming too many high-calorie carbs such as potatoes, bananas, rice, pasta, and other refined grains,” Keatley says. “Shifting the keto diet away from fat and towards non-starchy fruits and vegetables is a great way to improve fiber intake, which can help you feel fuller longer, improve gut health, and help prevent some cancers.”

Add naturally lean meats like fish and shellfish to the diet and “you’ve got a recipe for healthy weight loss,” Keatley says.

Just keep in mind that you might not drop weight as drastically as you would on the original keto diet, given that you’re not going into ketosis with a higher carb intake, Ansel says. But, if you weren’t on the healthiest of diets before trying keto 2.0, it can definitely make a difference in the number on the scale.

Should you try keto 2.0, even if you hated regular keto?

It’s ultimately up to you, but experts don’t hate these modifications. If regular keto wasn’t for you, it’s definitely worth trying this approach if you think it might work for you, Keatley says.

There are still healthier, more sustainable diets out there, though, Ansel says. “The Mediterranean or flexitarian diets are much better bets,” she says.

Ultimately, the best diet for you is the one you will actually enjoy and stick with consistently—that way, you make a lifestyle change that is actually sustainable.

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The ketogenic diet or “keto diet” is quite confusing to follow — even for those who have been on it for a long time can fall into the trap of common mistakes.

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LOS ANGELES — Adherence to a ketogenic eating plan, with proper medical support, could yield diabetes remission and sustained cardiometabolic improvements in a person with type 2 diabetes, according to a speaker at the World Congress of Insulin Resistance, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease.

“Carbohydrate restriction is a viable patient choice for type 2 diabetes,” Sarah Hallberg, DO, MS, ACSM–CEP, FNLA, FOMA, medical director and founder of Medically Supervised Weight Loss Indiana and medical director of Virta Health, said during a presentation. “Nutritional ketosis supports diabetes reversal by reducing insulin resistance while providing alternative fuel to glucose with favoring signaling properties.”

A low-carbohydrate diet is often referred to as a “fad diet” in the popular press, despite the fact that it has been around for more than a century, Hallberg said. Before the discovery of insulin, people with diabetes could expect to live several years with what was then a uniformly fatal disease if they adhered to a strict low-carbohydrate diet.

Today, Hallberg said, a low-carb or ketogenic eating plan is sometimes presented incorrectly.

“One of my biggest frustrations is when we hear about low-carbohydrate and people are talking about something that is less than 40% [carbohydrates],” she said. “If [the diet is] somewhere around 40%, it is really a high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. A low-carb diet is much lower than that.”

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By now you’ve no doubt heard about the Keto Diet, a diet that is high in fat and protein and low in carbs. While many people are reporting drastic weight loss and health improvements from being on the diet there seems there may be another perk to being Keto. It seems that being on the Ket diet may help you fight the flu bug.

For many, getting their flu shot is how they help prevent themselves from getting the flu, but new research is showing that the Keto Diet can actually add further protection. In a study done by Yale University, it found that mice who were fed a Keto diet were better able to fight off the flu virus than mice who were fed a diet that was high in carbs. According to Yale News, the high protein, high fat and low carb diet activate a subset of t-cells in the lungs which can effectively help trap the flu virus.

“This was a totally unexpected finding,” noted co-senior author Akiko Iwasaki, the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The study came about when one of Iwasaki’s trainees along with a trainee of senior co-author Vishwa Deep Dixit wondered if a specific diet could impact how one’s body reacted to certain viruses such as the flu. Not only did the mice who were fed a keto diet have a higher survival rate than mice who were fed a high carb diet but they found that the keto diet actually caused the body to release gamma delta T cells, which Yale News describes as “immune system cells that produce mucus in the cell linings of the lung.” The high carb diet didn’t have the same effect.

“This study shows that the way the body burns fat to produce ketone bodies from the food we eat can fuel the immune system to fight flu infection,” Dixit said. So if you’ve been contemplating giving the Keto Diet a try, it just may give you an extra bit of protection from the flu virus this busy holiday season. However, as with any diet or lifestyle change, you should consult your doctor before fully jumping into the Keto Diet.

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It’s December and Christmas is right around the corner. For many, and most especially kids, this means lots of food and eating in between spending time with the family and joining the holiday rush to get some gifts. However, for others, this means planning their current diet around the holiday and how their lifestyle can help them safely navigate the Christmas season.

The Keto Diet

The diet in question is called the Keto diet, which is one of, if not the most famous diet strategy that people are jumping aboard onto these days. As an ultra-high fat, low-carb diet, it will have you eating steak, vegetables, eggs, bacons and avocados while making sure you avoid pizza, birthday cake, fruits, bread and pasta.

And for what reason? To achieve ketosis of course, which is more or less the holy grail of fat-burning states that people following the diet hope to reach. A natural metabolic state, ketosis involves the body producing ketone bodies out of fat, and then proceeding to use them for energy instead of the usual carbohydrates. As a result, people can easily lose weight while in ketosis. In addition, it  has also other possible health benefits, such as lowering the risk of heart disease, acne, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, cancer, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s, although all of these are still being studied.

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Keto has been proven to be one of the most effective weight reduction diets there is by restricting carbs and simple sugars. If you jumped on the keto bandwagon, lost some significant pounds and taken back control of your life, can you reintroduce carbs and sweets into your life?

With keto, transitioning is very tricky and should be done carefully. This is because the sudden introduction of carbs and sugar into your meal plan can lead to some unwanted results like weight gain, bloat, blood sugar fluctuations, sugar addiction, and lastly, increased hunger. You have to do things slowly and keep an eye out on any body fluctuations.

Go slow

Rather than ingesting vast amounts of carb-rich foods, start with gradual increments. Foods like whole-grain bread, seeded crackers, more avocados, or bean pasta are a great start as opposed to donuts and chips. These carbs digest slower and won’t leave you feeling hungry almost immediately. However, even with this slow introduction, you’re likely to notice about one or two-pound gains just because of their water content.

Go fiberous

Fiber-rich foods like grains, nuts, fruit, and seeds have a fair amount of carbohydrates in them, and they don’t leave you with the pang of hunger so fast. So incorporate everything from dark veggies to beans, legumes to wheat bread in your diet.

Avoid sugars

Keto is a natural sugar reducing diet that reduces one’s craving for sugar. So, to prevent restoring to default settings, go easy on the sugar. Beware of natural sugars too like that in honey and certain fruits.

If you achieved your dream weight with the keto diet, it’s essential to be cautious when transitioning off it.

These precautionary measures and pointers will keep you from losing all you’ve gained and gaining all you’ve lost with respect to weight and general fitness during your keto diet.

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Have you ever wanted to lose weight without losing the pleasure of food? The ketogenic diet is the one for you.

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What is ketosis
The keto diet has become one of the most followed diet fads, and the discipline is being adopted by more and more people with the passing of each day. The notion that it quickens the process of weight loss seems to have resonated well in the minds of people, and results do seem to show a positive impact. The keto diet is based on the state of ketosis, which is a metabolic state wherein the body converts fat reserves into energy instead of carbohydrates, thus burning fat more efficiently and at a faster rate.

The keto diet
The ketogenic diet consists of foods in which 75% of the calories are derived from fats, 20% from protein, and 5% from carbohydrates. Since most of the calories are obtained from fats, the body will enter a state of ketosis and end up burning more calories. There are many kinds of food that are included in a keto diet, such as animal products like eggs and chicken, dairy products like cottage cheese, and fruits like avocado. Today, we will look at 5 vegetables that you must include as a part of your keto diet.
Broccoli
Half a cup of broccoli has just 2 grams of net carbs, and a majority of the calories comes from protein and fats. It is loaded with nutrients and contains fiber, which helps you lose weight by keeping you full for longer.

Cauliflower
With just 1.5 grams of carbs in half a cup of cauliflower, it makes for an excellent low-carb addition to your keto diet. Moreover, it is rich in vitamin C and folic acid, so you get an extra boost of nutrients.

Mushrooms

One serving of mushrooms has 20 calories, and just 2 grams of net carbs and 3 grams of protein. The rest is all fat, so it works well to provide your body with the fat needed to be used as energy. It also packs a healthy dose of nutrients and even boosts immunity.

Spinach

Apart from containing just 4 grams of net carbs per cup of fresh leaves, spinach is loaded with 6 grams of fiber, something that helps in increasing satiety. Spinach is also packed with vitamins and minerals, making for a healthy and keto-friendly vegetable.

Tomato

Tomato makes for an easy addition to not just to for a keto diet, but for most diets in general. Used as a taste enhancer in salads, as a part of vegetables and in gravies, tomatoes are everywhere. A medium sized tomato contains just 20 calories and 4 grams of net carbs.

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Ditching carbohydrates and eating lots of fat may give some protection against the flu. Feeding mice the so-called keto diet seems to boost certain immune cells, which may be responsible for the effect.

The keto diet forces the body to burn fat for energy, which can help with weight loss, and people may get flu-like symptoms known as the “keto flu” as their body adapts to so little carbohydrate. The keto diet has also been linked to improved heart health and control of blood sugar in diabetes, but much of the evidence is conflicting.

Akiko Iwasaki at Yale School of Medicine and colleagues previously found that the keto diet reduced inflammation in mice with gout. Because inflammation is common to both gout and flu, the team thought the keto diet could similarly deal with flu-related inflammation, which can severely damage the lungs.

To put this theory to the test, the team fed mice infected with influenza A – the most serious type of the virus – either a keto or standard diet for a week before infection. After four days, all seven of the mice fed a standard diet succumbed to the infection, compared to only five out of the 10 mice on the keto diet. These keto diet mice also didn’t lose as much weight, which is usually a clear sign of flu infection in animals.

The team found that the keto diet amped up the numbers of a specific type of T cell – key players in the body’s immune response – found in the lungs. Boosting these T cells dampened the sensitivity of cells lining the lungs to infection and increased mucus production.

It seems that this extra mucus is important for protecting the mice, says Iwasaki, because it traps the flu virus to stop it spreading. It still isn’t clear what these T cells do outside of this study though, she says.

Although mouse and human metabolisms differ, the finding could mean that people get a similar protection from influenza when on the keto diet.

“We already knew of a link between diet and immunity,” says John Tregoning at Imperial College London, who wasn’t involved in the work. Eating foods rich in vitamin C, for example, is known to strengthen our immune system. Switching to a keto diet may help boost the immune system so that it is better programmed to fight off the infection, says Tregoning.

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Low carb and keto are the two popular and trending weight loss diets these days. More and more people are opting for these diets to lose weight efficiently. As both limit the carbohydrate intake and claim quick weight loss, it is pretty difficult to differentiate between them. So, here we will review both these diet trends and reveal which is better than the other.

What’s a low carb diet?

Low carb restricts intake of dietary carbohydrates, which mainly comes from grains, sugar-sweetened beverages, and bread. There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to a low-carb diet. It is generally a diet in which only 25 to 45 percent of your daily calorie intake is obtained from carbohydrates, the rest is balanced by protein and other micro-nutrients. So, in simplified terms, if carbs make up 45 to 65 percent of your total daily calories, then you have to bring it down to 10 to 30 percent.

At the same time, you have to increase your intake of protein, healthy fats, and vegetables to stay full. Just by restricting carbs intake, you reduce your overall calorie intake, which ultimately helps you lose weight. This diet trend is considered excellent for people suffering from diabetes, cardiovascular issues and obesity.
Overall there is no harmful effect of following this diet but in the beginning, it may make you feel constipated and weak.

What’s a Keto diet?
Even in a keto diet, you have to restrict your carb intake, but with this, you also have to consume lot more fat. The basic aim is to consume the right amount of fat, carbs, and protein, to force your body to change its source of energy or to reach ketosis. Ketosis is a state in which our body starts to produce ketones from fat deposited in your liver and uses fat as the chief source of energy instead of carbs.

So, basically in this diet, you have to consume less than 50 grams of carbs daily, keeping your protein intake moderate and increase fat consumption drastically. When the body starts to use fat for energy you automatically start to lose weight.

Although, Keto diet is good for weight loss, but there is also a risk of keto flu, which may include headaches and weakness.

Which is better?

Both are good for weight loss, but if you have to choose one out for the two, then there are several factors to consider. They have their own set of pros and cons. So, before following any diet trend consult your nutritionist as there is no one diet that fits all.

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