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What Are Keto Snacks and How Effective Are They in Your Diet

November 12, 2022

The keto diet is probably one of the trendiest and most talked-about diets at the moment. It’s basically a low-carb diet based on a drastic reduction of carbohydrates, replacing them with mostly fat and protein. The main surprise is precisely how counterintuitive the low-carb high-fat combination is. And yet that’s precisely what gets your metabolism in a ketosis state, which leads to weight loss.

No wonder the keto diet has become viral. As of today, millions of people around the world have reached their ideal weight thanks to it. That’s why we are going to tell you all about keto snacks and their surprising benefits against some of the worst diseases in the world!

Keto Diet: Its Origins

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The ketogenic diet was first tested in the 1920s, but experimentation only started seriously growing in the 90s, when it was tested on 51 children with incredible results. These kids, mostly suffering from epilepsy, managed to avoid up to 90% of their crisis right after adopting the diet. In the same year, the keto diet was tested on children who had up to 400 epileptic crises per month (or about 33 per day). One year after they began using the ketogenic diet, almost 30% of the children had reduced the crises by up to 90%.

Nowadays, the keto diet is still widely used to treat epilepsy, but its usage has evolved and is used for many other reasons.

How does the Keto diet work?

A ketogenic diet is characterized by a 75% daily consumption of fats and a 20% consumption of proteins. This represents a massive reduction of carbohydrate intake, which usually makes up to 65% of our daily energy.

How can such a diet make me lose weight?

What usually happens is that the body gets most of its energy from the carbohydrates eaten during the day.

While on the keto diet, the body realizes that its glucidic reserves have been depleted, and starts burning body fat as an alternative source of energy.

Body fat, usually located between the muscles, is a storage of energy only used by the body in times of need. Which explains why it is difficult to eliminate.

This energy, reserved as a back-up, is put to use when glucidic supplies are eliminated. As soon as this happens, the body’s metabolism enters a ketosis state. This usually happens in 2 to 4 weeks.

Once in the ketosis state, people start experiencing a significant loss of appetite, which leads to weight loss. On the negative side, it can also lead to nausea and fatigue.

Benefits of the Keto diet

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The keto diet presents a series of undeniable benefits:

1.  Weight loss

We have more than enough evidence backing up the claim that the keto diet is a proven way of losing weight. Not only that, but people on a ketogenic diet have lost as much as 1 extra kilogram per month as those on the typical fat-free diets.

These are the main reasons behind it:

  • A major percentage of protein intake will increase the feeling of fullness, while proteins have a very low caloric value.
  • Hormonal changes and changes in metabolism allow for a greater fat burning
  • Cutting the supply of carbohydrates leads to the usage of fat storage to supply the body with energy

People on the ketogenic diet should nevertheless be cautious not to reduce their caloric intake beyond a certain point, as that may change their metabolism in a negative way, making weight loss more difficult.

Against such cases, other diets may be considered, or different strategies such as fat reduction surgery, currently available for patients willing to travel overseas considering how much is liposuction in Turkey.

2.   The keto diet helps diabetics

There’s a catch: the ketogenic diet can only help with type 2 diabetes, as type 1 diabetics must necessarily continue eating carbohydrates. The keto diet would be terrible for them, but it works wonderfully for type 2 diabetics. This is due to the reduction of insulin levels it leads to. Several studies have shown extraordinary results, so you might want to check this out in detail.

3.   Keto diet and cancer

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The keto diet is being used at the moment to treat several types of cancer. Certain studies have already demonstrated that it can slow down tumor development, or to completely halt it and even eradicate the cancer.

The diet is mostly being tested combined with chemotherapy, the biggest results have been seen in brain cancer, prostate, colon, pancreas and lung cancer.

This doesn’t mean that all cancers can improve following a keto diet. This will depend entirely on the individual, the type of cancer and its stage. Thankfully enough, preliminary results are very promising and more investigation can lead to amazing news in the near future.

4.   Keto diet and Parkinson

Parkinson’s is a degenerative disease affecting the brain. Several investigations are taking place at the moment to discern whether the keto diet can mitigate its effects or even lead to a considerable improvement.

This being said, the potentially beneficial effects of the diet have to be weighed in comparison with the potential malnutrition it may lead to.

5.   Keto diet to fight Alzheimer

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The keto diet is being used for experimental, groundbreaking research to fight Alzheimer. Results in this field are far from conclusive, but some initial results have made scientists hopeful.

Ketogenic cells may indeed work as a neuroprotector and prevent brain cell degeneration. Not only that, but the diet has shown surprising cognitive improvements in terms of speed and clarity of thought in elderly people suffering from the sickness.

It is important to consider, however, that this is not completely riskless, as the keto diet can lead to malnutrition and can negatively affect elderly people in several ways.

Risks of the Keto Diet

We have discussed the potential benefits of the keto diet to fight certain diseases. But the keto diet can also have negative effects which must always be considered.

1.   Cholesterol increase

Studies have shown that bad cholesterol can greatly increase due to the keto diet.

2.   Hypovitaminosis

The keto diet can lead to a lack of vitamins, minerals and nutrients.

3.   Intestinal problems

With the elimination of carbohydrates, the stomach is made to work harder. This can lead to intestinal problems.

4.   Mood swing and attention deficit disorder

Not just the body, the brain also uses sugar and carbohydrates as an important energy source. The deprivation of it can cause great irritability and lack of focus.

Conclusion

The keto diet has already proven its incredible benefits in terms of weight loss. Even more importantly, it is being tested on thousands of people to prove even more amazing benefits in tackling some of the worst diseases currently affecting millions of people around the world.

Whether for one reason or another, it might be worth trying it to see if it works for you. We recommend consulting a trusted doctor, and wish you all the best!

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