WHAT IS A KETOGENIC DIET

What does science say about the ketogenic diet and why don’t they help it dry out much?

There are many eating habits, many of which even have nice names, such as the South Beach diet, weight watchers, the Atkins diet, the HCG diet, the volumetric diet, the paleo diet, IIFYM (literally, “If it fits your macro” - “if it fits your KBJU”), reverse carbohydrate loading (carbohydrate refilling), the ketogenic diet that will be discussed today.

One of the most widely used diets is ketogen. Despite being used by many to burn fat, this diet is surrounded by a lot of misinformation.

Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of a ketogenic diet is how it affects athletic performance as well as the ability to build muscle and increase strength.

The ketogenic diet - from the word "ketosis"

Ketosis is a metabolic condition that occurs when the amount of carbohydrates in the diet is so low that the body simply needs to use fatty acids and the metabolism of ketone bodies for energy. Everything seems simple, but let’s understand this process to understand why our bodies get into a state of ketosis.

Our body needs enough energy in the form of ATP to function.

ATP is a universal energy source for all biochemical processes in living systems.

A person needs an average of 1, 800 calories a day (you can calculate your personal ratio on the fitness calculator) to produce enough ATP and stay viable. However, the midbrain requires about 400 kcal per day and uses almost exclusively glucose as energy. This means that a personneeds to consume 100 g of glucose a day just to maintain normal brain function.

What has this got to do with ketosis? With a ketogenic diet, we remove almost all carbohydrates from our diet, which means we deprive our brains of glucose. But we need our brains to work somehow. Fortunately, the liver stores glucose in the form of glycogen and can donate small amounts to our brains to stay functional. Our liver can store an average of 100-120 grams of glucose. Due to the critical lack of brain function, the liver allows us to function normally during the day. In the end, however, the liver’s glucose supply cannot be replenished quickly, and carbohydrates are not just needed by the brain, so we have problems.

Our muscles also have huge glucose stores - they contain 400-500 grams of glucose in the form of glycogen stores.

However, glycogen stores are not primarily designed to feed the brain. Unfortunately, our muscles are unable to break down glycogen and get into the bloodstream to eventually feed our brains because there is no enzyme in the muscles that breaks down glycogen (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase).

In the absence of carbohydrates, the liver begins to produce ketone bodies that travel through the bloodstream to our brains and other tissues that do not use fat for energy.

Let’s take a quick look at the biochemistry of these processes. When you “burn fat, ” the fatty acid molecules in your body are converted to acetyl-CoA, which in turn combines with oxaloacetate to start the Krebs cycle.

During ketosis, our liver uses so much fat and energy that excess acetyl-CoA begins to produce ketone bodies (beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetoacetic acid, and acetone).

Gradually, with regular carbohydrate deficiency,the body becomes in a state where this process occurs continuously and the level of ketone bodies in the blood increases noticeably, then we can say that we are officially in a state of ketosis.

What is a ketogenic diet and how is it different from a "low carb" diet

A low carb diet and a ketogenic diet are not the same.

A low carb diet uses fats and carbs for our daily energy needs. Our bodies do not store ketone bodies in the blood and our tissues do not use ketones for energy.

With a ketogenic diet, our bodies get to the point where ketone bodies are produced in large quantities and used as fuel. During ketosis induced by such a diet, the level of beta-hydroxybutyrate can be between 0, 5 and 3. 0 mM / L. You can even buy blood ketone test strips and measure your own.

A low-carbohydrate diet limits the amount of carbohydrates in the diet (often less than 100 grams per day), but beta-hydroxybutyrate levels do not reach 0, 5, and 3. 0 mM / L.

How to eat with a ketogenic diet

As discussed above, a ketogenic diet should be high in fat and carbohydrates.

With a traditional and strict ketogenic diet, 70-75% of your daily calories should come from fat and only 5% from carbohydrates. The amount of carbohydrates you can consume during your stay in ketosis varies from person to person, but you can usually consume 12% of your calories from carbohydrates and stay in ketosis.

Protein intake is also very important. Most bodybuilders have come to mind that they need to consume large amounts of protein, perhaps this is one factor in a failed ketogenic diet.

As discussed earlier, theprotein can be broken down into glucose when consumed in high doses (during gluconeogenesis) and thus cannot enter ketosis.Basically, if you consume more than 1. 8 kg of protein per kg of body weight, this amount will be enough to get out of ketosis.

Ideally, your diet should be about 75% fat, 5% carbs, and 20% protein to improve ketogenic status and maintain lean muscle mass.

"Adaptation" phase on a ketogenic diet

If you read the ketosis literature, you will see a general trend. There is a wide variety of “adaptation” stages in which people experience a cloudy state of mind, feel slow, and lose energy. Basically, people feel very bad in the first few weeks of a ketogenic diet. This is probably due to the lack of essential enzymes in our body that are needed for the effective oxidation of certain elements.

In order to survive, our bodies try to reconnect to other energy sources and learn to rely only on fat and ketone bodies. Generally, after 4-6 weeks of adaptation to a ketogenic diet, these symptoms disappear.

Ketosis and Athletic Performance: An Overview of Scientific Research

Take a look at some studies that may answer this question.

Study 1

The first study involved 12 people (7 men and 5 women, aged 24 to 60 years) who had been taking a self-prescribed ketogenic diet for an average of about 38 days. . Subjects underwent moderate to intense training, measuring their blood counts, body composition, and maximal oxygen consumption.

The authors of the study themselves conclude: “Radical carbohydrate reduction had no statistically significant effect on running performance as judged by the onset of subject fatigue and the level of maximal oxygen consumption, but body weight composition improved, with participants 3Lost 4 kg of fat and gained 1, 3 kg of lean muscle mass. "

Thus, study participants lost weight but showed no noticeable change in sports performance. In addition, the subjects reduced the body's ability to heal.

Study 2

Another study involved 8 men, about 30 years old, with at least 5 years of training. Subjects sat on a 4-week mixed + ketogenic cross-style diet and maintained prolonged movement on a stationary bicycle with varying intensity.

The ketogenic diet also had a positive effect on body weight compositionas in the first study.

Interestingly, the relative values ​​of maximal oxygen consumption and oxygen consumption at the anaerobic threshold were significantly increased on the ketogenic diet. The increase in maximal oxygen consumption can be explained by a decrease in body weight. However, at themaximum load and the anaerobic threshold, the load was lower after the ketogenic diet.

This means that theketogenic diet has resulted in weight loss, but has also resulted in a significant reduction in explosive power and high-intensity training ability. Do you want to be stronger and train harder? Then don’t assume that a ketogenic diet is a good choice for this.

Study 3

The third study looked at how a 30-day ketogenic diet (4. 5% of calories from carbohydrates) affects the performance of the following exercises: hanging legs, floor recliner, parallel bar recliner, pull-up, squat and 30-second jump. The scientists also measured the body composition of the participants.

Here are the conclusions:

1. The ketogenic diet "spontaneously reduced caloric intake" compared to the usual diet.
2. No loss of performance was found during the exercise of the tested ketogenic diet, however, no improvement in performance was found.

As in other studies, there was a noticeable difference in body weight composition after the ketogenic diet: participants were able to lose weight. It should be borne in mind that the participants selected for this study were already quite “dry” (approximately 7% body fat).

It is also important to mention that in none of these studies did the process of glycolysis be considered a source of energy, but rather tests that tested explosive power, the phosphagen system, and muscle fatigue.

Study 4

In this study, 5 experienced cyclists performed the maximal oxygen consumption test and the time to exhaustion (TEE) before and after a 4-week ketogenic diet.

Because this is a fairly lengthy study, I just want to focus on performance and muscle glycogen levels. The TEE test showed a huge difference between the participants. One subject improved TEE scores by 84 minutes over 4 weeks, the second showed an increase of 30 minutes, while two subjects decreased by a total of 50 minutes, and one subject remained unchanged:

With respect to muscle glycogen stores, muscle biopsy showed thatglycogen stores were almost half of their normal value after the ketogenic diet. That fact is enough to establish that great performance can be said goodbye.

Results of Ketogenic Diet Research

Let’s explore what these 4 studies have in common:

• Improved body composition.All studies resulted in quality improvements in body composition. However, it is a controversial fact that this is a wonderful effect of a ketogenic diet, not a spontaneous calorie restriction. Because if you do any research on any diet and body composition, any diet that limits calories will improve your body composition.

  In the third study, subjects consumed an average of 10, 000 kcal less in 30 days (minus 333 kcal per day! ) than with a normal diet, and lost weight, of course.

  It is likely that a ketogenic diet can still offer additional benefits in terms of changes in body composition, but research has not yet proven this.

  It should also be said that there is no literature to support the idea that a ketogenic diet can help build muscle. It only helps you lose weight.

• Deteriorated performance in high intensity workouts. The first two studies showed a decrease in the subjects' ability to exercise with high intensity. This is possible for two reasons: on the one hand, a decrease in intramuscular glycogen, and on the other hand, a decrease in liver glycogen stores during high-intensity training.
• Decreased intramuscular glycogen stores. Studies have shown that a decrease in sports performance during high-intensity training is a sign of decreased intramuscular glycogen levels. This can also negatively affect the healing of coaching athletes and the ability of muscles to grow in size.

Human mistakes in a ketogenic diet

While there is no clear advantage over traditional calorie restriction, a ketogenic diet can be a good tool for weight loss. If you want to lose weight (maybe even through muscle mass), you might have to try it. Now let’s look at the mistakes that people on a ketogenic diet often make so you don’t make them.

1. Lack of proper adaptation phase

   It is very difficult for some people to switch to a ketogenic diet. Very often, people stop dieting in the adaptation phase without fulfilling it. The adaptation phase can take several weeks, during which you feel weak, your consciousness is blurred, but after 2-3 weeks your energy levels return to normal.

   If you want to try a ketogenic diet, allow plenty of time to adjust.

2. Eating too much protein

   As we have learned, too much protein can prevent ketosis. People on a ketogenic diet often replace low carbs with high protein - this is a mistake.

3. Ketogenic diet with high intensity activity

   For high-intensity anaerobic exercise, our body relies primarily on blood sugar stores, liver and muscle glycogen, and gluconeogenesis.

   Because ketogenic diets reduce muscle glycogen levels, it is very difficult to train with a high load.

   If you want to train at a high intensity, try switching to a carbohydrate instead of a ketogenic diet.

4. Ketogenic diets prevent muscle growth

   ketogenic diets can help you lose weight, but they can’t increase muscle mass.

   The

   CD prevents high-intensity workouts and lean muscle mass, so if these are the goals you achieve during your workout, it’s better to give up the idea of ​​practicing the CD.

Consumption of both protein and carbohydrates together results in a greater anabolic effect than consumption of these nutrients alone. They reduce the amount of carbohydrates in a ketogenic diet. And because it needs carbs and protein for optimal muscle growth, it lacks one or both of the most important nutrients.

Bottom Line: Ketogenic diets are neither optimal nor effective for increasing muscle mass and improving athletic performance. However, they help you lose weight - just like any other calorie restriction that is below your personal daily value.