Summer has arrived and the costume fitting can no longer be avoided. Achieving a healthy weight therefore becomes the immediate goal of many, both men and women. One of the most effective ways to get to the finish line quickly is to choose the keto diet.

What is the custom keto diet and how does it work?

The diet called custom ketogenic indicates a diet that involves a unique diet plan according to your body and drastic reduction of carbohydrates, increasing, on the contrary, the amount of proteins and fats. This causes the body itself to independently produce the glucose necessary for survival, increasing the energy consumption of the fats contained in the adipose tissue. The main purpose of this imbalance in the proportions of macronutrients in the diet, therefore, is to force the body to use fat as an energy source.

In fact, cells normally use carbohydrates to acquire energy and carry out various activities. But if these are reduced to a low enough level, they begin to use fat. This initiates a process called ketosis and the formation of ketone bodies, metabolic residues of energy production. The ketone bodies synthesized by the liver, such as acetone, acetoacetate, D-Beta-hydroxybutyrate, are used to “feed” the brain. In fact, all cells can draw energy from fats, except the neurons of the nervous system, which need ketone bodies.

Ketosis is generally reached after a couple of days with a daily intake of carbohydrates of about 20-50 grams. However, these quantities may vary on an individual basis. The essential characteristics that make up the ketogenic diet are therefore:

• low in calories (low calorie diet);
• low percentage and absolute content of carbohydrates (low carb diet);
• high percentage of protein;
• high percentage of lipids.

What foods can you eat on the ketogenic diet?

There is no single type of ketogenic diet. In fact, ketogenic are defined as all eating styles that provide a quantity of calories, carbohydrates and sometimes proteins lower than necessary. For a proper ketogenic diet, the body’s energy supply should derive

• 10% from carbohydrates;
• 15-25% from proteins;
• 70% or more from fat.

Therefore the foods that an individual should preferably consume are meat, fish and eggs, cheeses, vegetables, fats and seasoning oils. Instead the foods not recommended are cereals, potatoes, legumes, fruits, soft drinks, including beer. Finally, you should also avoid eating sweets and desserts.

Ketogenic diet: reviews and side effects

The success of the ketogenic diet is mainly linked to its effectiveness in reducing weight, but it is important to emphasize that it is not an easy regimen to follow. Taking even a small amount of carbohydrates immediately causes the body to block ketosis and to use its favorite energy source again: sugars.

Furthermore, the ketogenic diet is an unbalanced dietary strategy, which therefore requires constant monitoring by a specialist doctor or nutritionist. In fact, in the long run, avoiding glucose and forcing the body to use amino acids tends to unnecessarily strain the liver and kidneys and makes the nervous system and muscles less efficient. The ketogenic diet only works immediately but subjects the body to continuous and unhealthy stress, because it tends to provide almost always less energy than necessary.

However, those who have followed this diet for short periods claim to have great energy once they reach the state of ketosis. But the sacrifices are many and in the previous days nausea, constipation, fatigue and breathing difficulties may occur.

This approach is considered extremely valid especially in the case of severe obesity or for those suffering from diseases that cannot be effectively controlled only with pharmacological treatment, for example in the case of childhood epilepsy or type 2 diabetes.