While health issues are intermittent, most people are constantly in the crutches of issues regarding their weight. Individuals preoccupied with losing weight often tend to get swayed by various diet trends popularized by celebrities or other social media influencers. Though these diets can help one lose weight, most of them are detrimental to a person’s health. So, it is essential that you follow a diet that helps you attain your weight loss goals in a healthy manner. One such diet that has become immensely popular due to its effectiveness is the ketogenic or keto diet.

The keto diet is a unique diet plan that is low-carb, and high in fat, helping you lose weight and improve overall health. Here are certain essential things you should know about the keto diet.

What is the keto diet?
The keto diet involves consuming fewer carbohydrates, more fats, and limited proteins. On a certain level, the keto diet is similar to the Atkins and other low-carb diets. It dramatically reduces your carb intake and replaces it with fats. Doing so puts the body into a metabolic state called ketosis. In the ketosis process, the body starts burning fat for energy, turning it into ketones in the liver, which supply energy for the brain.

The keto diet is known to cause massive reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels and promotes swift weight loss as well. There are several versions of the keto diet, and the major ones are the standard ketogenic diet (SKD), cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD), targeted ketogenic diet (TKD), and a high-protein ketogenic diet.

Benefits of the keto diet

• Weight loss: The primary purpose of the keto diet is to help people lose weight and lower the risk of potential diseases. The diet is incredibly filling and can help you lose weight without counting calories or tracking your food intake. In fact, the keto diet helps you lose weight 2.2 times more than other calorie-restricted low-fat diets. It even helps in improving the triglyceride and HDL cholesterol levels.
• Benefits people with diabetes and prediabetes: Diabetes is characterized by changes in the metabolism, blood sugar levels, and an impairment in the insulin’s functioning. The keto diet is beneficial for people in their prediabetes stage or those with diabetes as it helps them lose excess fat which is linked to type 2 diabetes. In fact, the keto diet even improves insulin sensitivity by 75 percent.
• Prevents heart disease: The keto diet aims to help you reduce weight by swapping the body’s fuel source from carbs to fats. This brings about a dramatic reduction of body fat, HDL cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar. This prevents the risk of developing heart disease in the future.
• Reduces acne: Acne usually stems from consuming processed foods and sugar. As the keto diet eliminates these foods from the diet, it lowers the insulin levels. This can help improve acne.
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome: Polycystic ovarian disorder is characterized by high insulin levels. The keto diet is known to bring insulin levels under control, and thereby plays a key role in treating polycystic ovary syndrome.