within the multiple nutritional strategies that exist for fat loss, the ketogenic diet (KD) has become very popular.
By definition, the ketogenic diet or keto diet is characterized by being a high fat diet (above 50% of total energy expenditure), with moderate protein and low carbohydrates (some authors indicate below 10%), in such a way that a state of ketosis in our organization.
What is the state of ketosis? It consists of obtaining the energy we need from ketone bodies (come from fatty acids) instead of using glucose.
Its operation has been extensively studied in pathologies such as epilepsy, cancer and even diabetes, with satisfactory therapeutic results.
who is it suitable for
It is not a type of diet to be carried out as a regular eating pattern, for imbalances that it can generate in the lipid profile, especially in the LDL (LDL stands for low-density lipoproteins in English. It is sometimes called ‘bad’ cholesterol because a high level of LDL leads to a accumulation of cholesterol in the arteries).
The ketogenic diet may be one more strategy to use in certain cases with cardiometabolic pathologiess, for a certain period of time and always supervised by a dietician-nutritionist.
Can promote fat loss significantly, as long as there is a caloric deficit. They tend to work well in people who may have metabolic dysfunctions, such as insulin resistance, compared to a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet.
How does it influence if you train strength
On the other hand, in relation to the impact that it may have on people who perform strength trainingscientific evidence tells us that they do not usually present a loss in force production, since this type of effort will depend directly on the phosphocreatine stores (phosphagen system).
Some studies confirm this aspect and show that athletes who carried out this diet together with strength training, not only did not see their strength-generating abilities diminished, but also lost more fat compared to those who followed a diet with carbohydrates of carbon. However, this aspect is sustained for a short period of time with a ketogenic diet, where no significant loss of strength occurs. To determine its longer-term effects, more studies of longer duration must be carried out.
As a summary of this type of diet, we must take into account the following aspects:
If what is intended is to gain muscle mass, in view of current scientific evidence, a ketogenic strategy will not be the best option, being a high-carbohydrate diet a better way to achieve this goal.
About the author:
Raquel Capel (R.C) is a sports and clinical dietitian-nutritionist, responsible for Team Nutrition
Vikika TeamIn addition to being a personal trainer.