Celebs like the Kardashians swear by the high-fat keto diet – but how does it work?
Switching to the keto diet takes careful planning – it’s not as easy as swapping your morning toast with a few bacon strips. Here’s what to eat and how to limit those carbs
Dieters from Silicon Valley to the Hollywood hills are convinced that the keto diet is a miracle for the body.
The high-fat regimen has become the go-to eating plan for celebrities like Halle Berry and the Kardashians, Silicon Valley tech workers, venture capitalists and sports stars like LeBron James. Fans of the diet believe it can help burn belly fat, tamp down on hunger, and increase energy, all while encouraging consumption of fatty and oily foods.
The keto diet is designed to get the body into a natural fat-burning state called ketosis. It's the same process that happens when people starve. In ketosis, the body switches from its default mode – burning carbs and sugars for fuel first – and begins breaking down fatty acids.
Entering ketosis usually takes at least a few days. Dr Priyanka Wali says most people use up leftover glycogen stores in about five days, and experts agree it takes at least one to three months to see and feel the benefits of the restrictive plan.
The keto diet wasn't originally developed for weight loss. Physicians started prescribing the diet in the 1920s to help with tough-to-control epileptic seizures that weren't responsive to other drugs. The diet can significantly reduce the instance of seizures in children, and in some cases, stops them completely. It can also help control blood glucose levels in adults with Type 2 diabetes.
Many keto fans who don't have epilepsy or diabetes report feeling sharper and more energetic on the diet. Some competitive athletes are also convinced that following a keto plan helps them perform. Ultra-marathoner Zach Bitter, the world record holder for the longest distance run in 12 hours, has said that going keto helped him achieve record-breaking athletic performances.
The US military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) also poured US$10 million into developing a ketone-ester drink that generates energy from ketones, with the intention of one day giving it to soldiers. The drink is on the market now for performance athletes. But research on the keto diet for athletes is still mixed: some studies suggest that relying on fat can hurt an athlete's performance. Large-scale studies are needed to know for sure.
Keto by the numbers
One of the trickiest things about the keto diet is the careful counting it requires.