What is a Ketogenic Diet

There seems to be some confusion and debate over the term ketogenic diet and what the actual definition of that is.

Some people get really caught up in it being described as a the actual macro nutrient breakdown, as  I am sure most of you have heard something similar, that a ketogenic diet is supposed to be 5% carbs, 20-25% protein somewhere around  70-75% fat or even more… back to that in a moment…

So I just simply googled what is a ketogenic diet and here were the top three entries that I found….

The diet is high in fat, supplies adequate protein and is low in carbohydrates. This combination changes the way energy is used in the body. Fat is converted in the liver into fatty acids and ketone bodies. Another effect of the diet is that it lowers glucose levels and improves insulin resistance. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the blood, a state known as ketosis, leads to a reduction in the occurrence of epileptic seizures. –that was from the Charlie foundation website, this is obviously referring to the ketogenic diet used to treat epilepsy.

The next one I found was…

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that in medicine is used primarily to treat difficult-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. – that was Wikipedias definition, again referring to the ketogenic diet used to treat epilepsy…

The third one…

A keto diet is well known for being a low carb diet, where the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy. It’s referred to as many different names – ketogenic diet, low carb diet, low carb high fat (LCHF), etc – that was the definition I found on Ruled me

Ok so now I understand where the confusion comes from… It seems like they all agree on the low carb part….But I still haven’t seen where these percentages come from…

So I decided to ask some really smart people… and here’s what I got ….

A diet low enough in non-fiber carbs and glucogenic protein that leads to reduced insulin and blood glucose levels and measurable ketones in the blood. – a very scientific explanation from Marty Kendall over at Optimising Nutriton, no surprise there… However I think it’s a very accurate definition, though a bit sciencey. If you haven’t already, you definitely need to check out Marty’s work on insulin index and the most ketogenic foods.

But I was looking for something a bit simpler. And then I got this gem…

A ketogenic diet is one in which the diet is sufficiently low in carbohydrates as to cause the body to produce ketones. – Wow that was simple. It makes sense. It’s concise.  I got this originally from Mike Julian a valued contributor in many groups and has a knack for explaining the real sciencey stuff so regular guys like me can understand it. However, he told me this is the definition was originally created by the guys at Ketogains group and is credited to Luis Villasenor and Tyler Cartwright. If it was good enough for Mike to use, its good enough for me.  Well done fellas. If you want to see a group that stretches the conventional definition of Keto or think you can’t build muscle on Keto, go check those guys out…

One that allows FAT to be FUEL to the extent that allows the liver to make ketones.. The ever brilliant Raymund Edwards of Optimal Ketogenic Living, in my opinion Raymund is one our leading forces in the ways of keto and fasting… you definitely need to check them out too

Me personally, I have always described is as this…

A ketogenic diet is one that is absent of or very low in carbohydrates allowing the balance of glucagon and insulin to shift toward the production of ketones rather than glucose in the liver. ie being in ketosis. Not to be confused with ketoacidosis, which we will talk about the difference later… So as long at the diet induces ketosis, its ketogenic, pretty simple right. So why all the hub bub, and confusion and arguing.

Well it’s because ketogenic is and adjective with medical origin that means, forming or able to stimulate the production of ketone bodies. Ketosis can be induced by fasting or diet. Thus a ketogenic diet became the medical diet used to treat epilepsy, diabetes and a myriad of other health issues, as a result from lowering blood glucose and insulin..  It is a diet that is as close to fasting as you can get without fasting. Fasting, a medical treatment used for well over 2 millennia perhaps much, much longer.

So let’s talk about where this 70% fat comes from. Most people would agree that Phinney and volek are two of the most recognized sources when it comes to low carb or ketogenic diets and they describe the diet as being low in carbohydrates, moderate protein and high fat, about 70-75% of calories from fat. Hard to argue with those guys! However, when you listen carefully and pay attention they say things like, of expenditure not intake. That in the beginning much of the fat you’re eating is coming from the body, that what the mouth see and the body sees are different.  That your expenditure might be let’s say 2000, 2400 calories and you’re only eating 1400 calories, the rest is coming from body fat….

So the more fat you eat the less bod fat you burn!

I personally don’t think they mean that you should be eating 70% dietary fat in the beginning.  And I dont believe that there are magic macros!  I contest  that percentages are meaningless, I think that Instead you should eat at much protein as tolerated, as little carbs necessary for nutrient density from fibrous veggies and as much fat as needed to cook, for flavor and to satiety. That’s it. Ketosis is not some magic weight loss tool. You can be in ketosis and not lose and fat and you can lose fat without being in ketosis…

Thanks for joining me today, all the links to the groups and sites I mentioned are below … if you have any topics you would like to discuss let me know and remember….

Keto saved me and it can save you too!

We are all individual as such our journey. Thanks for reading and be well!​