What is Keto diet and why is everybody on it?

Losing weight is perhaps the most popular New Year’s resolution on planet earth. Every January 1, gym memberships spike up, as do various diets.

On “Ang Pinaka”, Rovilson Fernandez listed 10 of the most popular diet programs among Filipinos. Topping the list is, unsurprisingly, the Keto diet.

Since 2017, Keto has been the buzz word among perennial dieters and health buffs, thanks to the program’s success rate. Short for Ketogenic Diet, Keto is a low-carb, high-fat diet that helps people lose weight and improve health.

“It was developed decades ago to treat or manage patients with epilepsy,” says Cheshire Que, a registered nutritionist and dietician. Recent studies show Keto could be beneficial especially for people undergoing chemotherapy, para matulungang maprotect yung kanilang healthy cells, and ma-weaken yung mga cancer cells.”

Chef and nutrionist Malou Caudal lumps Keto together with the likes of South Beach and Atkins diet programs: “They hit on carbohydrates, halos walang carbs pero high in fat, kasi ang fat…it delays the onset of hunger. Ang objective niyan ay hindi ka magugutom agad, mas matagal siyang [fats] magiging source ng energy, hindi ka manghihina.”

The drastic cut in carbs puts the body into a state of ‘ketosis’, wherein the body becomes more efficient in burning far for energy.

But while it helps the body become more efficient in burning energy, the low-carb, high-fat diet also puts the body at risk.

There’s what they call the “keto flu” where after just a day, you might be feeling dizzy or burdened with a pounding headache. This is just your body’s reaction to the low intake of carbohydrates, and could be combatted with a bit more salt and lots of water, advises Caudal.

Que notes that people doing the Keto diet usually eat “bacon, crispy pata, bulalo – these are all sources of saturated fats” and advises for them to take care of their cardiovascular health because “puwedeng mag-clog ng arteries. Yun yung medyo kailangan bantayan.”

But says Women’s Health Magazine, you can always choose to replace saturated fats (bacon, ham, etc) with unsaturated ones (nuts, fish, etc).

Many people attest not only to Keto’s success but to its swift effects. “Kung nagmamadali ka, ang dami naman testimonials na ang bilis-bilis maglose ng weight [sa keto] because you have fat as the energy source,” continues Caudal.

But Que has a good question for everybody to consider: How sustainable is it for you? — LA, GMA News