I hope I've made clear by now that I don't totally buy into the keto diet, especially in its pure form. I'd rather call what I'm doing "low carb" because that's closer to where I am. In the video below, Adam Ragusea trashes the raw, paleo, and keto diets. The criticism of keto basically amounts to the idea that very few people on the diet are actually eating macronutrients in the proportions required for true ketosis to occur. With keto, you're not merely reducing your carbs—you're trying to persuade your body to burn fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. This means ingesting a scary amount of dietary fat. With no more than 20 grams of carbs per day, the rest of your macros come from protein and fat, with the percentage of fat at around 70-80%, and the rest (around 10% or so) coming from protein.
It's important to hear the skeptics on this point, I think. Diets are complicated things, and being aware of all sides of the issue can only help. Ragusea concludes his video by suggesting that the main thing is to cut out the processed carbohydrates in your diet. I'd go further and suggest that such a diet needs to be paired up with an exercise regimen that gets you moving, whether aerobically or anaerobically. Not that I'm in any position to give health advice to anyone, of course. Anyway, here's Ragusea's video:
I don't know if I've ever said this outright, but I've always been skeptical of the keto diet--and I will fully admit that this is part scientific skepticism and part an unwillingness to completely give up carbs. I think I am on the same wavelength as Ragusea, in that I agree that not all carbs are created equal, and that processed carbohydrates are the thing to watch. I could definitely be more diligent in the latter regard, but I have made changes to my diet over the years that have gotten me moving in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you about the need for an exercise regimen, although I think it should involve both anaerobic and aerobic components. Any exercise is certainly better than none, though.