5 People Who Can Really Benefit From The Keto Diet

As a registered dietitian, patients frequently ask me what the best diet is for them, based on their individual health issues and nutrition goals. With so many different diets to choose from—and plenty of fad diets that rage and then disappear—it's understandably difficult to sort through all the information and make an informed choice about what to eat.

The ketogenic diet is known as a high-fat, moderate-protein and low-carbohydrate diet. In the clinic, this translates to at least 80 percent of total calories coming from fats. For someone who's eating 2000 calories a day, that is 1,600 calories coming from fats alone. To accomplish this, you must avoid foods like fruit, bread, pasta, crackers, cookies, sugar, tomatoes, milk, yogurt, and potatoes (just to name a few) and focus instead of eating avocados, olive oil, olives, salmon, butter, chia and flaxseeds, cruciferous vegetables, and nuts like walnuts, almonds, and macadamia.

Put simply, an effective ketogenic diet is classified by low serum blood glucose and high circulating blood ketones. The diet works by decreasing circulating glucose, which has several downstream effects, including decreased inflammation, increased energy, increased cognition and weight loss.

While personal and professional opinions on the keto diet vary greatly, one thing is clear: It's not the best fit for everyone. Compliance is a huge limiting factor, this diet can be a bit socially isolating, and for some people it can be hard to tolerate due to individualized GI side effects. Also despite the diet being around for almost a century, very little long-term research has been done on it.

Originally, the main purpose of the diet was to help children who had uncontrolled seizure activity, despite being treated with anti-seizure medication. And people who are on anti-epileptic drugs can still benefit by going on the diet; they could even potentially reduce their dose of anti-seizure medications with the addition of the ketogenic diet.

The newest topic regarding the ketogenic diet is in cancer and cancer therapies, especially in the case of brain tumors. This is due to one scientist's theory that cancer cells consume a large portion of glucose to supply the cells with the energy they need to grow. And we do know that cancer cells have an affinity for using glucose, which results in a dependence on glucose as an energy source. When eating a ketogenic diet, you end up decreasing the amount of blood glucose in the body, using ketones instead. This can help stop or decrease cancer cell growth and movement.

Most people think that they must consume carbohydrates to be a competitive athletes, but I'm here to turn your world upside down by telling you they're not necessary! When you're eating mostly carbohydrates (which means 50 percent of your total calories or more coming from grains, fruits, and veggies), you are considered a "glucose burner." But if you are lean, you have fewer glucose reserves to tap into when food intake is sparse. That means that to participate in a physical activity, you must always have a steady source of fuel in order to maintain optimal performance and keep up with energy demands. A high-carbohydrate diet ensures that glucose and carbs are the dominant fuel source for the exercise. When your reserve tank decreases, so does performance.

When you are in a state of ketosis, however, your body is not dependent on carbs or glucose for your cells to make and sustain energy. When you're following a ketogenic diet and are fat-adapted (meaning you have been in ketosis and maintaining that state for quite some time), you can use your ketones as fuel instead or glucose. Two top researchers in the field of low-carb and performance, Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Stephen Phinney, have shown4 that when fuel is scant, the body can tap into its own adipose, or fat tissue, to keep the engine going for longer and steadier periods of time. After this transition, your body can train harder, recover faster, and stay active for longer. Their studies have also shown that muscle proteins are the last to be broken down, which means the ketogenic diets will spare your muscles and still be able to sustain you.