Diets Decoded: The Ketogenic Diet
Is the ketogenic diet healthy? We’re going to let you in on a little secret. Most popular healthy diets that are touted for weight loss—from Paleo to Mediterranean and vegetarian—share many of the same basic principles. All involve eating whole foods (as opposed to packaged and processed) and filling your plate with quality sources of protein, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and vitamin-, mineral-, and fiber-rich vegetables. (Again, we’re talking about the ones that fall somewhere on the healthy spectrum, not unhealthy fad diets like, ahem, the Grapefruit Diet.) However, each proposes a slightly different path that leads to fulfilling those principles. In this column, we’ll be breaking them down for you one by one so you can figure out which (if any!) is right for you. We’ll quickly explain the facts and then provide quick, actionable tips on how to follow the diet as part of a Nutritious Life. The Ketogenic Diet: What It Is The ketogenic diet is like Atkins amplified. Instead of just low-carb, it’s “almost no carb” and lots of fat. It’s been around for a long time but has recently gotten a lot of attention. Originally developed to treat children with epilepsy, the ketogenic diet restricts carb intake to as low as two to four percent of calories, with a 4:1 ratio of fat to carbs and protein combined. (For comparison, standard diets contain about 45 to 65 percent of calories from carbs; we generally recommend sticking to the lower end of that spectrum and avoiding refined carbs.) The goal of eating this way is to move the body into a state called ketosis. During ketosis, instead of breaking down carbs (there are none!) into glucose for fuel, the liver converts fat into ketone bodies, which become the body’s primary source of energy. Advocates s Continue reading >>
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Keto Diet Food List: 221 Foods To Boost Energy (+ Printable Cheat Sheet)
In some studies, only 38% of people can stick to a keto diet. (1) In other words, if you’re not prepared, a keto diet can be HARD. However, if you want to boost your energy and burn fat, there is no better way. Bottom line… If you want to transform your body, you need to be prepared. So in the keto diet food list below, I’ll show you 221 foods that will help you burn fat and boost your energy. Most of these foods are common and easy-to-find so that you can create thousands of different meals that you’ll love. I’ll also show you some of the best benefits of a keto diet and how to make sure that you reach your goals. If you want to find out more in general about keto, check out our comprehensive article on the ketogenic diet here. If you want more recipes, check out all of our keto recipes here. KETO DIET FOOD LIST “CHEAT SHEET” (PRINTABLE) To make things easy for you at the grocery store and in the kitchen, we also put together a printable “cheat sheet” of foods you can eat on a keto diet. To get our cheat sheet, just click the button below: Remember, there are a TON of foods you can eat on a keto diet. And that’s great, because you want to keep your meals interesting. But you also need to keep things as simple as possible, because if your meals and recipes get too overwhelming or take too long, then you won’t stick with it. So use this list to find a few dishes that you really love, and then try to stick to those dishes as much as possible. THE ‘SHORT’ LIST OF KETO FOODS… If you’re looking for a short list of keto diet foods, then here it is. (Remember, all 221 foods are listed below.) Basically, you can eat most meats, most vegetables, most seafood, and healthy fats. More specifically, you can eat these foods… Non-Starchy Vegetables Berr Continue reading >>
Keto Diet Food List – What To Eat
Are you not sure what to eat on a keto diet? Here you’ll find a quick food list and visual guide, showing you what to eat and avoid on keto. Let’s start with a basic overview: In summary, eat real low-carb foods like meat, fish, eggs, vegetables and natural fats like butter or olive oil. As a basic beginner’s rule, stick to foods with fewer than 5% carbs (numbers above 1 ). Avoid Here’s what you should not eat on a keto diet – foods full of sugar and starch. As you can see, these foods are much higher in carbs. Drinks Drink water, coffee, tea or the occasional glass of wine. More Full keto diet food list Eat Meat – Unprocessed meats are low carb and keto-friendly, and organic and grass-fed meat is the most healthy of all. But remember that keto is a high-fat diet, not high protein, so you don’t need huge amounts of meat. Excess protein (more than your body needs) is converted to glucose, making it harder to get into ketosis. A normal amount of meat is enough. Note that processed meats, like sausages, cold cuts and meat balls often contain added carbs. When in doubt look at the ingredients, aim for under 5% carbs. Top recipes Fish and seafood – These are all good, excellent even, especially fatty fish like salmon. However, avoid breading, as it contains carbs. If you can find wild-caught fish that’s the very best. Top recipes Try to buy organic for the most healthy option. How many eggs can you eat, considering cholesterol? Our advice is no more than 36 eggs, per day. But feel free to eat fewer if you prefer. Natural fat, high-fat sauces – Most of the calories on a keto diet should come from fat. You’ll likely get much of it from natural sources like meat, fish, eggs etc. But also use fat in cooking, like butter or coconut fat, and add plenty of oli Continue reading >>
Low Carb Fruit
Use these low carb fruit suggestions to add flavor to muffins and smoothies, or add to heavy cream for a great dessert or side to a meal. Caution, though. Some people are sensitive the even the sugar in fruit, and in that respect, fruit is just like candy when it comes to what happens to sugar and insulin levels in the blood. Fruit with Less Than 5 Net Carbs These serving sizes of fruit have only 5 grams of net carbs (carb minus the fiber). 1/2 cup of raw strawberries (3.3 net carbs) 1/2 cup of raw raspberries (4.2 net carbs) 1/2 of a medium peach (4.3 net carbs) 5 whole sweet cherries (5.1 net carbs) 1/2 of a kiwi fruit (4.3 net carbs) 1 medium apricot (3.2 net carbs) 1/2 medium Haas avocado (3.7 net carbs) Fruit with less than 10 Net Carbs These serving sizes of fruit have less than 10 grams of net carbs (carb minus the fiber). 1 cup of raw strawberries (6.6 net carbs) 1 cup of raw raspberries (8.4 net carbs) 1/2 cup of raw blueberries (8.6 net carbs) 1/2 cup of raw boysenberries (8.0 net carbs) 1/2 cup of blackberries (5.9 net carbs) 1/2 cup raw grapes (7.1 net carbs) 1/2 cup raw pineapple (8.7 net carbs) 1 raw plum (8.6 net carbs) 1 medium tangerine (9.4 net carbs) 1 raw lime (7.1 net carbs) 1/2 medium apple (9.0 net carbs) 1/2 Valencia orange (5.2 net carbs) 1/2 cup raw honeydew melon (7.8 net carbs) 1/2 cup raw cantaloupe (5.7 net carbs) All of my books are available in electronic PDF, and now in paperback on Amazon! Done with Low Carb Fruit, back to Low Carb Recipes Continue reading >>
Keto Foods List: What To Eat On The Keto Diet
This keto foods list was developed for all the people who are struggling to figure out what foods they can eat on the keto diet. When people started noticing my weight loss, the conversations usually went a little something like this: Them: Wow! You look so good, what have you been doing?! Me: Oh, I just cut the carbs from my diet. Them: So… WHAT THE HELL DO YOU EAT?! It’s the same question again and again. Keto is so different than the Standard American Diet, just figuring out what to eat really trips people up. For those first getting started, it can be a little tricky identifying which foods are keto and which ones to avoid. If you’re struggling to figure out what you can and can’t eat, this guide will give you a great starting point to determine which foods are keto friendly! All foods listed here are low in carbohydrates and can easily be incorporated into a ketogenic diet. Think of these as your go-to foods! It’s a long list of keto foods and I’m sure there are things that could be added… but this just goes to show the keto diet isn’t restrictive! If you’re on the run and want to read this as a nice little ebook, be sure to download the free guide of keto foods below. Just about all meats are keto! If it used to cluck, moo, or oink… you can eat it! Red meat, poultry, pork, and seafood are all great for a ketogenic diet. The organ meats of each are fantastic as well. Alligator Bacon Bear Beef Beef Jerky (watch the sugar counts on these) Bison Bison Jerky Bison Ribeye Bison Sirloin Bison Steaks Boar Chicken Breast Chicken Leg Chicken Thigh Chicken Wings Chuck Steak Clams Crab Duck Eggs (chicken, duck, goose) Elk Emu Goat Goose Ground Beef Ground lamb Ham Hot dogs Kangaroo Kielbasa Lamb Chops Lamb rack Lobster Mussel New York Steak Ostrich Oyster Continue reading >>
A Beginner’s Guide To The Ketogenic Diet: An Effective Way Of Optimizing Your Health
Many Americans suffer from various chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, and the main culprit is usually the food they eat. The standard American diet contains excessive amounts of protein and carbohydrates, neither of which is good for your health because it eventually causes you to develop insulin and leptin resistance. As a result, you gain excess weight, develop inflammation and become prone to cellular damage. To avoid this problem, significant changes in your diet are necessary, and the best way is inducing your body into a state of nutritional ketosis, a condition where your body burns fat as its primary fuel instead of sugar. In order to reach nutritional ketosis, you must follow a ketogenic diet. But what exactly is a ketogenic diet? This guide will tell you everything you need to know about a ketogenic diet – how you can apply it to your lifestyle and what positives you can reap from it. The Various Benefits of the Ketogenic Diet A ketogenic diet is a dietary approach that focuses on minimal carbohydrates, moderate amounts of protein and high healthy fat consumption — the three keys to achieving nutritional ketosis. In fact, it’s what I recommend for most people who would like to optimize their health. There are many reasons why you should try a ketogenic diet. It can be very beneficial for people suffering from chronic conditions, or for people who would simply like to be healthier than their current state. You’ll be excited to know that a ketogenic diet can help with the following: • Weight loss If you’re trying to lose weight, then a ketogenic diet is one of the best ways to do it, because it helps access your body fat so that it can be shed. Obese people in particular can benefit from this method. In one study, obese test subjects were Continue reading >>
Can You Eat Fruit On The Keto Diet?
Written by: Kat Gal Fruits are delicious and nutritious. But can these sweet candies of nature be part of a proper keto diet? The short answer is: yes, they can (you can calm down now)! Fruits are abundant in vitamins and minerals that your body needs to stay healthy. They are also packed with fiber, keeping your digestive system happy too. But fruits are also naturally high in carbs, so you may question if they mix well with the low-carb, high-fat keto diet. The truth is that as long as you eat them in moderation and keep your overall carb count down, you can enjoy them while on a keto diet. Berries are the best choice for keto-lovers. Berries are some of the best fruits out there, even if you are not on the keto diet. However, if you are following this low-carb, high-fat plan, you definitely want to make berries your fruity staple. If you are trying to keep your carbs low, berries are a no brainer. Berries tend to have a low GI and they are much lower in sugar than most fruits. With so many varieties – blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, mulberries, elderberries, etc. – you will never even get bored. Strawberries only have 1.8 grams of net carbs, blackberries have 2.1 and blueberries have 4.1 grams per ¼ cup. You can eat them fresh or use them frozen. Eat them as they are or add them to your salads, smoothies and dishes. They make excellent desserts and pancake toppings. Other good fruit choices on a keto diet include coconut (1.3 g net carbs per ¼ cup), pineapple (3.8 g net carbs per ¼ cup), watermelon (2.6 g net carbs per ¼ cup) and cherries (4.2 net carbs per cup). Besides picking the right fruits and keeping your carbs low, you should also make sure to eat your fruits with some fat or protein. Eating fruits with fats or protein can help to keep their i Continue reading >>
8 Ketogenic Foods That Can Help You Lose Weight
If you're looking for the most hard core low-carb diet of all the low-carb diets, the ketogenic diet is it. The trendy ketogenic diet, which reportedly has fans like Lebron James and Kim Kardashian, reduces your daily carb intake to 35 grams or less, depending on the plan you follow. That's about the amount in one large apple for the whole day. The theory behind the ketogenic plan is that when your body doesn't have any carbs to use as energy, your liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketones. Then those ketones are used as a primary energy source by your body (meaning you burn more fat each day), says Jim White, R.D., spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and owner of Jim White Fitness & Nutrition Studios in Virginia. That whole process is called ketosis. While, in a pinch, ketones can replace carbs as your body’s primary energy source, it often comes at a price. Ketosis can cause side effects like constipation, fatigue, brain fog, and possible nutritional deficiencies, White says. Obviously, we don't recommend any unsustainable eating plan that seriously restricts important nutrients like carbs. However, incorporating certain keto-friendly foods that are rich in protein and healthy fats into a well-rounded diet can get you to your pounds-dropping goals faster. That's because these eats help you build more lean muscle, prevent blood sugar highs and lows, and keep cravings at bay. "Salmon is rich in polyunsaturated omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which you can only get through the food you eat," White says. "Increasing your intake of polyunsaturated fats can help reduce inflammation and therefore improve your ability to lose weight." Plus, salmon is brimming with vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant that can help slash your inflammation levels even Continue reading >>
Ketogenic Diet: Is The Ultimate Low-carb Diet Good For You?
Recently, many of my patients have been asking about a ketogenic diet. Is it safe? Would you recommend it? Despite the recent hype, a ketogenic diet is not something new. In medicine, we have been using it for almost 100 years to treat drug-resistant epilepsy, especially in children. In the 1970s, Dr. Atkins popularized his very-low-carbohydrate diet for weight loss that began with a very strict two-week ketogenic phase. Over the years, other fad diets incorporated a similar approach for weight loss. What is a ketogenic diet? In essence, it is a diet that causes the body to release ketones into the bloodstream. Most cells prefer to use blood sugar, which comes from carbohydrates, as the body’s main source of energy. In the absence of circulating blood sugar from food, we start breaking down stored fat into molecules called ketone bodies (the process is called ketosis). Once you reach ketosis, most cells will use ketone bodies to generate energy until we start eating carbohydrates again. The shift, from using circulating glucose to breaking down stored fat as a source of energy, usually happens over two to four days of eating fewer than 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. Keep in mind that this is a highly individualized process, and some people need a more restricted diet to start producing enough ketones. Because it lacks carbohydrates, a ketogenic diet is rich in proteins and fats. It typically includes plenty of meats, eggs, processed meats, sausages, cheeses, fish, nuts, butter, oils, seeds, and fibrous vegetables. Because it is so restrictive, it is really hard to follow over the long run. Carbohydrates normally account for at least 50% of the typical American diet. One of the main criticisms of this diet is that many people tend to eat too much protein and Continue reading >>
Ketogenic Diet Foods To Avoid: 108 Foods That’ll Slow Your Fat Loss
There are 108 ketogenic diet foods to avoid that will slow down (or shut down) your body’s fat burning capability. Remember that carbs must be kept very low to remain in ketosis. Most people need to stay within 20-30 grams of net carbs per day, and protein shouldn’t make up more than 20-25% of total calories. Too many carb or protein-centric foods can very quickly bring you out of ketosis and slow down your body’s fat burning capabilities. This is why the foods below should be avoided on a ketogenic diet. Not to worry, though. We’ve made it easy for you with this cheat sheet covering the biggest keto foods to avoid and why. We chunked it down by macronutrient: Want a quick and easy meal plan that doesn’t include any of these keto-unfriendly foods? We’ve created one for you. Click here to get the FREE downloadable meal plan now. Carbs to Avoid on a Ketogenic Diet Grains All grains—and foods made from grains (yup, even whole grains)—should be avoided. Grains contain too many carbs and will interfere with ketosis, slowing weight loss. That includes*: Beans and Legumes Beans provide nutrition for those on a regular diet, but they’re not fit for the ketogenic diet due to their high starch (carb) content. Avoid legumes including*: Fruit is healthy, right? Sure, but that doesn’t mean they’re keto-compliant. Fruit is high in sugar and carbs, so is usually a no-go on the keto diet. That includes tropical fruits, fruit juices, dried fruits, and fruit smoothies (for the most part). If you do have fruit, choose lower-sugar options like blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, and eat them sparingly. Starchy Vegetables Avoid any vegetables that grow beneath the ground and focus on more on the leafy greens. The high starch content of some vegetables (like tho Continue reading >>
The 'eat This Not That' Guide To The Keto Diet
The ketogenic diet can be dizzyingly complicated. You want to load up on fats and protein, and keep your carb intake low—but all fats and proteins aren’t alike, and there are some veggies higher in carbohydrates than others. Oh, and fruit is pretty much banned. But don’t worry: We’ve put together the best and worst of each category so you can go keto with confidence. Fats Eat this: Play Video Play Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% Remaining Time -0:00 This is a modal window. Foreground --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi-Opaque Background --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window --- White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan --- Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Default Monospace Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Sans-Serif Casual Script Small Caps Defaults Done Saturated fats including coconut oil, ghee, grass-fed butter, duck fat, tallow, and lard—all essential for a healthy immune system, dense bones, and proper testosterone levels. Monounsaturated fats like olive, avocado, macadamia, and almond oils, which boost heart health and provide vitamin E—important for vision and a strong immune system. Polyunsaturated omega-3s such as wild-caught salmon, sardines, and sustainably harvested seafood—to prevent heart disease and stroke and reduce blood pressure. Medium-chain triglycerides, fatty acids that are easily absorbed and used for energy. Linked to weight loss, MCTs increase satiety and rev-up metabolism. Not that: Refined fats and oils like sunflower, canola, soybean, grapeseed, and corn oils, which have been processed at high Continue reading >>
A Keto Diet For Beginners
A keto or ketogenic diet is a very low-carb diet, which turns the body into a fat-burning machine. It has many proven benefits for weight loss, health and performance, as millions of people have experienced already. 1 Here you’ll learn how to eat a keto diet based on real foods. You’ll find visual guides, recipes, meal plans and a simple 2-week get started program, all you need to succeed on keto. Get even more, custom meal plans, ask the experts and low-carb TV, with a free trial. 1. Introduction: What is ketosis? The “keto” in a ketogenic diet comes from the fact that it makes the body produce small fuel molecules called “ketones”. 2 This is an alternative fuel for the body, used when blood sugar (glucose) is in short supply. Ketones are produced if you eat very few carbs (that are quickly broken down into blood sugar) and only moderate amounts of protein (excess protein can also be converted to blood sugar). Ketones are produced in the liver, from fat. They are then used as fuel throughout the body, including the brain. The brain is a hungry organ that consumes lots of energy every day, 3 and it can’t run on fat directly. It can only run on glucose… or ketones. On a ketogenic diet, your entire body switches its fuel supply to run almost entirely on fat. Insulin levels become very low, and fat burning increases dramatically. It becomes easy to access your fat stores to burn them off. This is obviously great if you’re trying to lose weight, but there are also other less obvious benefits, such as less hunger and a steady supply of energy. When the body produces ketones, it’s said to be in ketosis. The fastest way to get there is by fasting – not eating anything – but nobody can fast forever. A keto diet, on the other hand, can be eaten indefinite Continue reading >>
Low-carb Fruits And Berries – The Best And The Worst
What are the best and the worst fruits and berries to eat on a low-carb diet? Here’s the short version: most berries are OK low-carb foods in moderate amounts, but fruits are candy from nature (and full of sugar). For more details, check out this guide, with the lower-carb options to the left. Berries The numbers above are the percentages of digestible carbohydrates i.e. net carbs (fiber is not counted). So 100 grams of berries (3½ ounces or about three handfuls) – will contain that number of grams of carbs. Raspberries, blackberries and strawberries can be eaten in small amounts on a strict low-carb diet, and you can have pretty much all you want if you’re on a more moderate low-carb diet. Blueberries contain a bit more carbs, so don’t overdo them – on a strict low-carb diet eat them only occasionally, in small amounts. Fruits So how about fruit? As you can see, all fruits contain quite a few carbs (mostly in the form of sugar). That’s why fruits are sweet! Fruit is candy from nature. For easy comparison all numbers are still grams of digestible carbs per 100 grams (3½ ounces) of the fruits. A medium-sized apple (150 grams) may contain about 18 grams of carbs. How much fruit can you have? This means that on a keto low-carb diet (<20 grams per day) you're probably better off having some berries instead. Or perhaps a small fruit like a plum or a couple of cherries, once in a while. You can eat plenty of vegetables instead. You can easily get any nutrient in fruit from vegetables – without all the sugar. So there’s no need for fruit. Even on a more moderate low-carb diet (20-50 grams per day) you’ll have to be careful with fruit – probably no more than about one a day. On a liberal low-carb diet (50-100 grams per day) you may be able to squeeze in tw Continue reading >>
Everything You Should Know About The Ketogenic Diet
Recently I had a client tell me that she and her husband were eating more than 2 pounds of bacon a week—usually three strips for breakfast and one or two with a salad for dinner. I’ve been a dietitian for almost 20 years. Few things surprise me. But I had to ask: “Why?” She told me that her husband had heard about a new diet on TV, the keto diet, and they decided to try it. Six months and countless packages of bacon later, her husband had lost 20 pounds and said he felt more energetic. I’m beginning to hear more and more people lecture me about the benefits of the ketogenic diet. “Keto burns fat fast! It turbo-charges your energy! It fights disease! You can eat all the bacon you want!” But as is so often the case with diets, underneath all the initial excitement, there’s a gut check. Here’s everything you should know about the ketogenic diet and whether or not you should try it for yourself. Ketogenesis has existed as long as humans have. If you eat a very low amount of carbohydrates, you starve your brain of glucose, its main fuel source. Your body still needs fuel to function, so your brain signals it to tap its reserve of ketones. It’s like a hybrid car that runs out of gas and reverts to pure electricity. Okay, but what are ketones? They’re compounds created by your liver from your fat stores when blood insulin is low. “Your liver produces ketones all the time, but the rate depends on carbohydrate and protein intake,” says Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D., a professor of human sciences at Ohio State University. Eat a normal amount of carbs and protein, and ketogenesis idles. Cut carbs and protein back, and you push to half throttle. This takes about three days to induce. A ketogenic diet requires that fat comprise 60 to 80 percent of your total calo Continue reading >>
Is The Ketogenic Diet Right For You? Nutritionists Weigh In
You may be hearing a lot about the ketogenic diet as a way to slim down while noshing on butter and heavy cream. This way of eating is suddenly hot among venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, who believe it will help them live longer and healthier, CNBC reports. Some praise the high-fat/ultra low-carb plan for helping them to lose weight and have energy all day long. Other advocates say it finally helped them to get control of their body. How does it work and could it help you? We asked Bonnie Taub-Dix, a registered dietitian nutritionist and author of “Read It Before You Eat It”; and Keri Glassman, nutritionist, registered dietitian and TODAY Tastemaker. To start with, both said they would never advise the ketogenic diet for weight loss. “Cutting out carbs is usually an invitation to overeat them at another point,” Taub-Dix said. “For a diet where you’re looking to lose weight, look good and feel good… I would not recommend a diet like this.” “For safe and effective weight loss, the carb reduction is too extreme,” Glassman added. RELATED: Read inspiring stories of ordinary people slimming down in TODAY's My Weight-Loss Journey Here’s what you need to know: What is the ketogenic diet? It’s a diet fine-tuned in the 1920s to help treat epilepsy. It does help to control seizures in some children, but it’s not recommended for adults “mostly because the restricted food choices make it hard to follow,” the Epilepsy Foundation says. The diet has just recently begun to be touted as a weight loss plan, Glassman noted. She described it as eating “mostly fat with a teeny bit of protein and carbs.” How does it work? Your body normally relies on carbohydrates for energy. It breaks them down into glucose, which is your main source of fuel. If that� Continue reading >>
