What does it mean to be obese?
Medically speaking, the most common way to classify weight is to use the BMI body mass index, which is calculated by dividing the weight (in kilograms) by the square of the height (in meters), taking adults under the age of 70 as an example. , the normal weight is 18.5 to 25, but because the Chinese are relatively Caucasians, the physique is relatively small, so, for Asians, try to use the range of 18 to 23, if it exceeds this range, it is overweight, more than 25, even if it is Asian is obese.
In addition to body weight, waist circumference is also an important reference value for cardiovascular disease. For Chinese, the waist circumference of men should be controlled within 90 cm, and the waist circumference of women should be within 80 cm, as a disease prevention effect.
What is a ketogenic diet?
The Australian diet recommends an approximate ratio of our macronutrients, 50% carbohydrate, 30% fat, and 20% protein.
The ketogenic diet is about 70-80% fat, 10-20% protein, and only 5-10% carbohydrates.
The weight loss diet that has been popular for a long time, among which the low-carb and high-protein diet is more popular, including the atkins diet, which is often classified as the keto diet.
Clinically, our true ketogenic diet is very different from low-carb and high-protein. In clinical applications, the fat in the ketogenic diet provides up to 80% of our daily calorie needs. In the 1920s, the ketogenic diet began to be used. Clinical nutritional management of intractable epilepsy. Its weight loss effect has only been widely publicized in recent years, and the long-term research results of the ketogenic diet in the scientific research field are still relatively scarce, so the safety of long-term ketogenic diet is not guaranteed.
How does the ketogenic diet work?
A short-term ketogenic diet has been proven to have weight loss effects. Yancy Junior’s 2005 study, a 16-week dietary intervention for patients with type 2 diabetes, limited carbohydrates to less than 20 grams per day, decreased glycosylated hemoglobin by 16%, and lost weight. 6.6%, most notably triglyceride levels, which dropped 42%.
A systematic review published by Prof. Santos’ team mentioned that a low-carb diet can improve body weight, blood pressure, and blood lipids.
Different research reports, the most mentioned is the effect of weight loss, and weight loss, especially fat loss, brings one after another health benefits, including disease prevention and disease improvement.
But there are still no long-term studies to confirm safety.
What are some common misconceptions about the ketogenic diet?
Clinically, the ketogenic diet is used in the management of refractory typical patients.
For most healthy people, as long as you are not eating carbohydrates, you can maintain a normal physiological state and metabolism without affecting your normal physical training; or you need to reduce body fat for some strength training; or Just don’t want to exercise.
The ketogenic diet is a diet that requires self-discipline. Otherwise, those who try the intermittent or short-term ketogenic diet will gain weight and fat, and will also bring great pressure on the cardiovascular system.
The ketogenic diet itself is an unbalanced diet because it restricts the intake of vegetables, fruits and grains, which is likely to result in an unbalanced nutrient intake.
The ketogenic diet requires a lot of work by the liver to break down fat, and if you have liver disease, it may worsen the condition.
High protein intake can also increase the pressure on the kidneys.
The ketogenic diet is low in dietary fiber and can easily cause constipation.
In addition, our brain is dependent on glucose as a source, restricting carbohydrates, common side effects are unclear thinking and emotional instability.
Another common problem with the ketogenic diet is ketoacidosis. In healthy people, or if you are someone who has been evaluated to try a ketogenic diet, we ourselves secrete insulin to prevent ketoacid levels from rising to dangerous levels.
What to do if you want to go on a ketogenic diet?
The most critical aspect of the ketogenic diet is the ratio of the three major nutrients, and a professional nutritionist can help you calculate your daily energy, protein and fat requirements.
The ketogenic diet is about 70-80% fat, 10-20% protein, and only 5-10% carbohydrates.
If your own nutritional needs are low, after calculating, you may find that eating protein as usual is enough, and you don’t need to eat meat at all.
The high fat intake promoted by the ketogenic diet is not divided into fat types, and the intake of unsaturated fat and saturated fat is usually large. Unsaturated fats from nuts, seeds, avocados, and olive oil are relatively high-quality, but a large number of recommended animal fats, coconut oil, palm oil, and cocoa butter are rich in saturated fats, which bring cardiovascular risks to us. Study shows ketogenic diet increases LDL cholesterol levels
For non-starchy vegetables, they are low-carb and have a low insulin index. You can increase the intake in moderation to relieve and prevent constipation caused by the ketogenic diet.
In a state of ketosis, water metabolism will speed up, help eliminate edema, replenish water, and prevent the occurrence of insufficient water in the body and intestinal tract.
Simply put, our body is most adapted to take carbohydrates as our energy source, and the ketogenic diet stimulates another mechanism in our body to break down stored fat through the liver to produce ketone bodies as our energy source. .
For our liver to do this, the daily carbohydrate intake should be less than 20-50 grams, which is determined by each person’s daily nutritional needs; in addition, the total protein intake should be limited so as not to interfere with the overall Process; it usually takes a few days for the body to fully enter a state of ketosis.
Blood ketones and urine ketones are relatively common and convenient tests to help understand whether you are in ketosis. You can usually buy test strips at pharmacies, and you can also test at home. In other countries, gas ketones are also more commonly used tests. Generally, the body level of healthy people is less than 0.6mmol/L. If you are trying a ketogenic diet, the ketone body level should be controlled within 3.0mmol/L. Too high is not suitable for weight loss, but will increase the risk of unbalanced diet. If you buy a self-test kit from the main point, you should also have a small difference according to the reference value of different brands.
Patients with diabetes, such as those with type 1 diabetes and end-stage type 2 diabetes, especially those taking antidiabetic drugs, namely sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, should be especially careful of ketoacidosis DKA (common Examples of symptoms include confusion, extreme fatigue, fruity breath, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, difficulty breathing, etc.), and especially EDKA, which is normal blood sugar but high ketoacid symptoms. Both are life-threatening.
In addition, for the crowd, pregnant women and children are not recommended, and people with chronic diseases are really not suitable for you, or you should consult your doctor and nutritionist first, and then decide to try it after evaluation.
Article Source – Contents of SBS Radio Interview with Dietitian Katherine Lin
