Low Carb High Fat or Ketogenic: which diet should you choose?

Should you decide to start a low-fat diet carbohydratesand rich in lipidsthe question that comes to mind is: What to choose between the "soft" version, i.e. Low Carb High Fat, or the "hard" version, i.e. the diet ketogenic ? That's what we're going to look at together.

First of all, you'll have understood from the Blooness guide what is the difference between the LCHF planand the ketogenic diet. But choosing between the two versions can be a headache.

Beyond the definitions we've already seen together in previous articles in this guide, let's clarify a few points together about the differences between these two power supplies.

Keto is a LCHF diet, but LCHF is not keto!

A few reminders for those at the back of the class who haven't kept up.

Feeding Low Carb High Fat is characterized by a LOW intake of carbohydratesand RICH in lipids. But as to what constitutes WEAK in this context, it's all a matter of choice.

Some will adjust their carbohydrate intake to 10%, others to 20 or 30%. But the most important thing is the majority of the intake in this diet comes from lipidsthen in a second plan via the proteins. Visit carbohydrates are never in first place, unlike the classic regimes of the Western world.

To do this, simply look at the list of ingredients richest in lipids and give them priority. And to look at the labels of foods sold in supermarkets, in order to choose those whose intake of lipids is in the majority, far behind proteinsthen the carbohydrates in last position.

In the food Low Carb High Fatyou'll find a whole host of variants, more or less low-carb (Mediterranean dietAtkins remige, etc...), defined by their advocates or by empiricism. But above all, you'll find the most extreme version of the ketogenic diet (Ketogenic in English, Keto for those in the know).

The ketogenic diet is the strictest version of the Low Carb High Fat. It requires a carbohydrates maximum of 30 to 50g per day, and an intake of lipids which represents at least 70% of your macros. It is a special diet, in that it puts the body in a state of ketosis. Energy now only comes from ketonesmolecules produced by the liver, and no longer of the glucose.

Most sedentary people looking to lose weight and rebalance their diet generally turn to the Low Carb High Fat "soft", without going as far as the ketosis. It's a good step towards a healthy, tasty diet that still retains some of its original flavour. carbohydratesbut with a focus on good fats, long sidelined by the agri-food industry, wrongly.

However, some daredevils try the ketosisfor a variety of reasons. Indeed, we saw in the previous chapters that a new movement in the nutritional, sporting and medical world was extolling the effects of the ketogenic diet for weight loss, energy, but also against certain metabolic diseases.

One of them is Dr Laurent Schwartz, one of the French doctors who, against the general advice of his profession, popularized the ketogenic diet to delay the proliferation of cancer cells as much as possible.This was based on the idea that cancer was a metabolic disease, linked to the combustion of energy by cells and poor digestion of sugar (slow or fast). However, the man himself is now questioning the effectiveness of this dietThe tumor could do without glucose to grow.

We'll come back to this later.

Other personalities praise the positive effects of the ketogenic diet for a host of reasons (illness, excess weight, energy). These include dietician-nutritionist Magali Walkowicz, to name but one, who is a specialist in this diet, as well as a number of top athletes.

So to clarify as much as possible, the ketogenic diet is a strict version of the low-carb high fat. Therefore, all ketogenic diets are LCHF, but not all LCHF diets are keto.

Keto VS Low Carb High Fat: which is better for me?

Assuming you've given up eating carbohydrates, and particularly sugars - good for you - you still have to choose between these two diets.

Since Keto is contained in LCHFwe can already see the benefits LCHF can provide in general terms, before turning to its strictest version.

Based on the scientific literature on the subject, we can conclude that the LCHF could be useful in the following cases:

• Type 1 diabetes
• Type 2 diabetes
• Hypertension
• Heart disease
• Stein-Leventhal syndrome
• Obesity and overweight
• Acne

The ketogenic diet would also be effective against the diseases or health problems mentioned above - who can do more, can do less - but according to a number of studies, it could be all the more effective in the following cases:

• Alzheimer
• Parkinson
• Epilepsy: this is the disease for which the ketogenic diet was invented
• Certain cancers

In other words, more and more people are embracing the ketogenic diet to combat the ailments listed above, and for many of them, this diet seems to be working for them, allowing at least a better tolerance of disease symptoms.

However, some people whose metabolism has great difficulty adapting to the ketosis state have failed to adopt the ketogenic diet, and this has caused more damage than anything else. That's why it's important to be careful, and to be monitored when embarking on this kind of adventure.

Beyond illness, some people in relatively good health embark on the ketogenic diet in order to regain an ideal body weight, better energy, and a healthier diet, with more vegetables and fewer carbohydrate-laden industrial products.

Finally, some athletes use it to improve their insulin sensitivity, and during their lean periods, with very good results, both in terms of energy and on the scale. We'll come back to this in the chapter on fat loss on the low-carb diet..

Should I follow the ketogenic diet?

In response to this question, many nutritionists recommend trying it out, but measuring the effects in order to stop if it takes a wrong turn. By taking regular blood tests and checking all biomarkers (cholesterol, thyroid, etc.), we can make the decision to continue or stop if the markers are not good.

If Keto is not for you, a simply low-carb diet, coupled with the paleo and ingredients for blue zones - the Blooness diet - should be your best ally.

Keto is obviously not incompatible with the general diet touted in the Blooness guidesince it only depends on the amount of carbohydrateswhich becomes a simple adjustment variable. If it's less than 50 grams, if you enter ketosis, and if it works for you in the medium and long term, coupling it with natural and "blue" ingredients can only do you good.

Finally, some athletes suggest trying the ketogenic diet during certain dry periods, over 3, 4 or even 6 months, in order to "reset" insulin sensitivity, and to bring about a rapid destocking of fatty substances. fats. It's a practice that has proved its worth with some athletes, provided they get through the sometimes stormy keto-adaptation phase, characterized by general fatigue, and which can last from several days to several weeks.

If you want to try out the ketogenic diet, you'll need to give your body time to adapt and change fuel. This is a difficult period, but we'll give you some tips on how to get through it.

As a reminder, when you're on a classic low-carb diet, the majority of your energy is metabolized by your body from carbohydrates, even in small quantities. The trick is to provide the body with the right amount of carbohydrates, and the right carbohydrates at that, so that it stops storing the surplus.

In the ketogenic diet, most of your energy is metabolized from lipids, via the ketones released by the liver. It's an alternative fuel. It's important to understand this, because depending on the diet you choose, your energy will come from a different source. In the ketogenic diet, each time you deviate from the ketogenic diet, you'll switch back to classic low-carb for a given period of time, i.e. you'll come out of ketosis. This is what's known as carb rebound, and it's a phenomenon to which we'll return later in more detail.

Ketogenic or Low Carb: which is better overall?

What diet should you choose if you want to boost your immune system, life expectancy, energy and figure?

The obvious answer to this question is "it depends". It depends on your keto-reception, your goals and your health problems.

But overall, we have identified certain trends thanks to the many testimonials gleaned from scientific studies on the subject.

Here are some profiles for which the ketogenic diet could provide answers, over a longer or shorter period of time:

• If you tend to get fatter without necessarily eating more carbohydrates (rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, sugar), it's because your metabolism doesn't oxidize carbohydrates very well.
• If you can't slim down as much as you'd like, and you are - objectively - a little overweight.
• If you have a particular area of the body that stores more than others (men's breasts, hips, buttocks, face, etc.).
• If for years, or even throughout your adolescence and young adulthood, your diet consisted mainly of carbohydrates, and bad carbohydrates at that (milk..., cereals sweet foods, chocolate bars, industrial pasta, industrial rice, alcohol, etc.), which has probably put a strain on your insulin sensitivity.
• If you have allergies, acne that won't go away, or a more or less serious chronic illness (cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis), and you want to reduce the inflammatory soil as a precaution.
• Finally, if you practice a sport and want to perform in terms of endurance and smooth out your energy over a longer period.

And here are some profiles suitable for the "soft" Low Carb diet:

• If you are sedentary and do some sport, on an occasional basis.
• If you're having a nose dive after lunch at work and lack energy in meetings or in front of your computer screen.
• If you're starting to put on weight and want to reverse it.
• If you practice a sport (swimming, fitness, crossfit, etc.) but want to slim down visually in addition to building muscle.
• If you want to eat a healthy diet to improve your general health and life expectancy, eating just green salad, tomatoes, a few vegetables and a few croutons of bread every lunchtime is not nutritious enough, and can have the opposite effect to the one you're looking for (frustration, nutrient storage due to lack of calories ingested, cravings, yo-yo effects, etc.).

Conclusion

Overall, by integrating a low-carb diet, you'll restore your body's natural lipids he needs (fish, olive oil, avocados, etc...) and you will also give him what he needs to eat. carbohydrates - This is to avoid "shocking" it with too much glucose, which it doesn't really need, and which it will end up storing in adipose tissue if the intake is too high.

Whether or not you should go to extremes depends on you and your goals. The ketogenic diet is best suited to the most adventurous individuals who, for the reasons outlined above, wish to adopt it for a shorter or longer period of time.

I hope I've given you a few pointers to help you make the best possible choice, which isn't set in stone. You can switch from one diet to another, try it out, and see the results on your energy level and your figure.

Next chapter: What to eat on the ketogenic diet
Previous chapter: Understanding the ketogenic diet