With the modern days pouring in, long-held beliefs have also changed that a diet should be low on fats. Instead, a whole new concept has surfaced that suggests limiting the carbohydrate content of your diet.
Yes, we are surely talking about the whole new trendy KETO DIET.
We will also be getting our hands on the relationship between keto and heart disease.
Table of Contents
Overview
Before going into the main discussion of whether keto is suitable for your heart or not, let us just discover what the keto diet is. The new keto diet is the total reverse of what we have heard so far.
Keto is generally a popular trend where the food intake is primarily based on fat.
Caloric Content
The caloric content of the keto diet can be best summarized as
The fat content is around 50 to 60 % of the diet
The second component that makes the major part of your keto diet is protein and last but not least the third component is carbohydrates.
In one line it can be best described as Keto is a low-carb and high-fat diet.
Understanding the Reason for Keto Diet
Reducing the carb content in your diet means that you are actually forcing your body to utilize the stored fats to produce ketones that will be then used as a source of energy(also called ketosis).
And yes you guessed it right that’s where the word keto comes from. You are making your lifestyle dependent on ketones that will supply the necessary energy.
Types of Keto Diet
So now that you are aware of the term keto diet, let us find out its major types and also discover the one which is perfect for you.
Let us delve into a bit more explanation as to what sort of keto diets should be administered or what are different types of keto diets are? Well there are
3 major categories of keto-centric diets
1- The Standard Keto Diet
This is the simplest type of all where you have to just take a start with a keto diet. This includes the traditional high-fat content in your diet whereas the carb content is reduced to almost zero level.
The daily intake of carb content should not exceed the maximum of 20 to 30 grams.
This is the type of keto diet that is considered to be the safe one while you are a beginner.
The foods that you can consume during this keto diet may include the following:
- low carbohydrate vegetables
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Boiled eggs
- Fish
2- The Cyclical Keto Diet
This type of diet is deemed perfect for those individuals who want to enhance their muscle growth or weight lifting strengths.
For powerlifting or focused training, you need instant energy which can only be supplied by carbohydrates or technically speaking glucose. If you consume a keto diet that means your glucose level is already reduced to a very low level.
So for supplying yourself with much-needed glucose, you have to add a meal or a cheat day to your regular keto diet which would be full of carbohydrates.
It is important to not overdo the caloric content so you need to switch the fat content with the carbs in your diet.
To keep it simple it means to consume 70 to 80% of carbs and just 5% of fats on the cheat day.
3- The Targeted Keto Diet
This sort of keto diet mostly aims at keeping a balance between glucose levels and fat contents in your diet.
This helps to keep your body balanced and also helps you not to feel energy deficient.
This targeted type of keto diet can be a bit tricky to maintain so it is always advisable to seek the best advice from the doctor.
Side Note: Read about these high cholesterol foods that should be avoided.
The Final Truth About Keto and Heart disease!
As we have studied the types of keto diets and are now well aware of the types, let us jump to the next part.
How are the keto diet and heart health interconnected? What sort of issues can be produced if you are taking a keto diet for a longer duration of time? What are the possible diseases that have ever been linked with a keto diet?
The bright side observed so far
There are many short-term goals that have proven the fact that the keto diet may help you with weight loss and conversely speaking can help you with heart health as well.
But all of these results are short term and everyone is lacking the data on the long-term effects of the keto diet.
If you want to lose weight then there are some other alternatives available. Instead of starving you should try to maintain a balanced lifestyle.
Portion control is the next big thing and this is by far the easiest approach to get the desired weight loss results. Here is the ultimate guide for you to understand the bits and pieces of portion control.
Our final take on it
Here’s our take on the possible long-term effects of the keto diet on the heart after analyzing the diet makeup and human physiology.
Keto and heart disease can be easily linked with each.
There are studies done on the effects of ketogenic diets on cardiovascular risk factors by the National Library of medicine.
A Keto diet can be disastrous for the blood vessels as well as you are consuming only the fat content which not only makes you more susceptible to heart diseases but can also put you on the verge of having extremely high levels of cholesterol in the blood.
When not to Consider Keto Diet?
You should not opt for the keto diet in the following cases;
It is being observed that the keto diet is not a good match for
- Patients suffering from diabetes and hypertension
- Also if you are suffering from liver impairment
- Or If you have recently got your gallbladder removed then it cannot be for you and can pose more health defects than bringing any benefits.
By consuming fat contents in your diet for a longer period of time you are filling every inch of your soul with fats that will also accumulate in your blood vessels.
Consuming a fat-centric diet and that too for a much longer duration will do nothing good rather it will increase your chance of getting LDL cholesterol.
This will ultimately put you on the verge of cardiovascular disorders. And when we say blood vessels we mean every minutest of them. Blood capillaries and arteries can be soon locked up with cholesterols that can lead to obstruction and can also be the reason for arteriosclerosis and heart attack.
Takeaway Note
The Keto diet is a short-term plan with short-term goals. If you want to get rid of those extra pounds or you want the right posture, the keto diet is there for you but to maintain this diet on a longer basis is extremely difficult.
You have to go against the norms and have to maintain a diet that is significantly lower in carbs which honestly speaking is nothing short of a gimmick task.
Managing Keto and heart disease is altogether big trouble. If you want to manage your diet for weight control purposes then it is advisable to get advice from our best nutritionists.
