WHAT IS A KETOGENIC ESSAY

What science says about ketogenic diets and why they don't help you "dry out" much.

There are many different eating patterns, many of which have nice names, such as south beach diet, weight watchers, Atkins diet, HCG diet, volumetric diet, paleo diet, IIFYM (literally “If It Fits Your Macros” - “if it fits your KBJU”), reverse carbohydrate loading (reloading carbs), ketogenic diet, discussed today.

One of the most widely used diets is ketogenic. Despite the fact that many people use it to burn fat, this diet is surrounded by a lot of misinformation.

Perhaps the most well-understood aspect of the ketogenic diet is how it affects athletic performance and your ability to gain muscle mass and increase strength.

The ketogenic diet - from the word “ketosis” Ketosis is a metabolic condition that occurs when the amount of carbohydrates in your diet is so low that the body only has 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 body goes into a state of ketosis.

Our bodies need a lot of energy in the form of ATP to function.

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

An average person needs 1, 800 kcal per day (you can calculate your personal rate on a fitness calculator) in order to produce enough ATP and maintain vitality. At the same time, the diet requires about 400 kcal per day and uses only glucose almost as energy. This means that a person has to consume100 g of glucose per day to maintain normal brain function.

What does this have to do with ketosis? With a ketogenic diet, we remove almost all carbohydrates from our diet, which means we are removing glucose from our brain. But we have to work our brains in some way. Fortunately, the liver stores glucose in the form of glycogen and can donate a small amount of it to our brain to keep it working. Our liver can store an average of 100-120 grams of glucose. With a critical lack of carbohydrates for the brain to function, the liver allows us to function normally during the day. In the end, though, the liver’s glucose reserves can’t be replenished quickly, and not only does the brain need carbohydrates, so we have problems.

Our muscles are also a huge store of glucose - 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 cannot break down glycogen and put it into the bloodstream to eventually feed our brain, due to a lack of an enzyme in muscles that breaks down glycogen (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase).

In the absence of carbohydrates, the liver begins to produce bodily ketones that are carried through the bloodstream to our brain and other tissues that do not use fat for energy.

Let's quickly go beyond the biochemistry of these processes. When fat is “burned, ” the fatty acid molecules in your body are converted to acetyl-CoA, which combines with oxaloacetate to initiate the Krebs cycle.

During ketosis, our liver uses so much fat and energy that an excess of acetyl-CoA begins the body's production of ketones (beta-hydroxybutrate, acetic acid, and acetone).

Gradually,with regular deficiency of carbohydrates, the body reaches such a state that this process constantly begins to occur and the level of ketone bodies in the blood increases significantly, then we can saythat we are officially in a state of ketosis.

What is a ketone diet and how does it differ from a "low carb" diet?

A low-carb diet is not the same as a ketone diet.

The low-carb diet uses fats and carbohydrates for our daily energy needs. Our body does not store ketones in the blood and our tissues do not use ketones for energy.

With a ketone diet, our body reaches the point where bodies produce ketones in large quantities and are used as fuel. During such a diet-induced ketosis, beta-hydroxybutase levels can range from 0. 5 to 3. 0 mM / L. You can even buy blood ketone test strips and measure them yourself.

A low-carbon diet restricts the amount of carbohydrates in the diet (often just under 100 grams per day), but beta-hydroxybutase levels do not reach 0. 5 and 3. 0 mM / L.

How to eat on a ketogenic diet

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

For traditional and strict ketogenic diets, 70-75% of daily calories should come from fat and only 5% from carbohydrates. The amount of carbs you can eat while staying in ketosis varies from person to person, but you can usually eat up to 12% of your calories from carbs and stay in ketosis.

Protein intake

is ​​also very important. Most trainees have been told that they need to eat a lot of protein, which may be one of the factors of unsuccessful ketogenic diets.

As we discussed earlier, proteinwhen consumed in high doses can be broken down into glucose (during gluconeogenesis) and therefore you cannot enter ketosis.Basically, if you eat more than 1. 8 grams of protein per 1 kg of body weight, then this amount is enough to get rid of ketosis.

Ideally, in order to improve ketogenic status and maintain lean muscle mass, your diet should consist of about 75% fat, 5% carbohydrates, and 20% protein.

Ketonic diet "Adaptation" step

If you read the ketosis literature, you will see one general trend. The most specific stage of “adaptation” is where people get a cloudy mind, feel viscous, and lose energy. Basically, people feel bad in the first few weeks of a ketogenic diet. This is probably due to the lack of essential enzymes in our body, which are needed to effectively oxidize certain elements.

In order to survive, our body tries to re-use other energy resources and learn to rely only on body fat and ketones. Usually, after 4-6 weeks of adapting to the ketogenic diet, all of these symptoms disappear.

Ketosis and Athletic Performance: A Review of Scientific Research

Let's look at a few studies that could answer this question.

Study # 1

The first study consisted of 12 people (7 males and 5 females, aged 24-60 years) who were on a self-prescribed ketogenic dietfor an average of 38 days. The subjects underwent moderate to rigorous training, their blood count, body composition and maximum oxygen consumption were measured.

The study authors themselves conclude: “Carbohydrate radical reduction did not have a statistically significant effect on current performance, judging by the time the subjects started to fatigue and maximum oxygen consumption level, but body weight composition did improve. , participants lost 3. 4 kg of fat. and gained 1. 3 kg of lean muscle mass. "

Thus, study participants lost weight, but showed no significant change in athletic performance. Also, the materials reduced the body’s ability to recover.

Study # 2

In another study, 8 men were about 30 years old and had at least 5 years of training experience. The subjects sat on a mixed + ketogenic cross-style diet for 4 weeks and did extended stationary bike exercises at varying intensities.

The ketone diet also had a positive effect on body mass composition, as in the first study.

Interestingly, the relative values ​​of maximum oxygen consumption and oxygen consumption at the anaerobic threshold increased significantly on the ketone diet. The increase in maximum oxygen consumption can be explained by a decrease in body weight. However, the lower anaerobic threshold after the ketogenic diethad the maximum workload and maximum workload.

This means that the ketonic dietresulted in weight loss, but also a significant reduction in explosive strength and the ability to train at high intensity. Do you want to be stronger and train harder? Then don’t assume that the ketogenic diet is a good option.

Study # 3

A third study examined the effects of a 30-day ketogenic diet (calories 4. 5% from carbohydrates) on performance in the following exercises: hanging leg lifts, floor push-ups, parallel bar push-ups, pull-ups, squat jumps, and 30 -second jumpers. The scientists also measured the body composition of the participants.

Here are the conclusions:

1. The ketogenic diet caused a "spontaneous decrease in calorie intake" compared to the regular diet.
2. No performance loss was found with the exercise on a ketogenic diet tested, however, no performance improvement was found.

Like other studies, there was a significant difference in body weight composition after the ketogenic diet: participants were able to lose weight. It should be remembered, however, that the participants selected for this study were already quite dry (about 7% body fat).

It is also important to note that none of these tests looked at the glycolysis process as an energy source, they were larger tests that tested for explosive strength, phosphate system, and muscle fatigue tests.

Study # 4

In this study, 5 experienced cyclists performed the maximum oxygen consumption test and the time to perform a depletion test (TEE) beforeand after a 4 week ketogenic diet.

Since this research is long enough, I only want to focus on the performance aspect and muscle glycogen levels. The TEE test showed a significant difference between the participants. One subject improved TEE scores by 84 minutes in 4 weeks, the second showed a 30-minute increase, and two subjects fell by a total of 50 minutes, while one subject remained unchanged:

For muscle glycogen stores, a muscle biopsy showed that glycogen storesfollowing the ketogenic diet were almost half of their normal values ​​. This fact is already enough to confirm that high performance can say goodbye.

Research results on ketogenic diets

Let's take a look at what the 4 studies have in common:

• Improved body composition.All studies improved the quality of body composition. It is a controversial fact, however, that this is a miraculous effect of the ketogenic diet, rather than a spontaneous caloric restriction. Because if you do any research on any type of diet and body composition, then any diet that restricts calories improves body composition.

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

  It is likely that the ketone diet may still offer additional benefits in terms of changes in body composition, but research has not yet shown 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 to lose weight.

• Deteriorated performance at high-intensity workouts. The first two studies showed a decrease in the ability of subjects to exercise high. This is possible for two reasons: first, a decrease in intramuscular glycogen and second, a decrease in liver glycogen stores during high-intensity training.
• Decrease in intramuscular glycogen stores. Decreased athletic performance during high-intensity training is a sign of reduced intramuscular glycogen levels, studies have shown. It can also negatively impact the rehabilitation of fitness athletes and the ability of muscles to grow in size.

Mistakes Made by People on Ketogenic Diets

While there is no obvious benefit to normal calorie restriction, ketogenic diets can be a good weight loss tool. If you are trying to lose weight (maybe through muscle mass), then maybe you should give it a try. Now let’s look at the mistakes people often make on a ketone diet so you don’t make them.

1. Lack of adequate adaptation step

   Some people can switch to a ketone diet. Often, people quit the diet during the adaptation phase without completing it. The adaptation phase can last for several weeks, after which weakness is felt, the consciousness is clouded, but after 2-3 weeks the energy levels return to normal.

   If you want to try a ketone diet, allow yourself plenty of time to adapt.

2. Eating too much protein

   As we have already learned, too much protein can prevent ketosis. High protein people often substitute a high-carbohydrate diet for low-carbohydrates - this is a mistake.

3. Using a high-intensity ketone diet

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

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

   Try a carbohydrate alternative diet instead of a ketogenic diet if you want to train at high intensity.

4. Ketogenic diets prevent muscle gain

   Ketogenic diets can help you lose weight, but not gain muscle mass.

   CD

   will prevent you from training to high intensity and gain lean muscle mass, so if these are the goals you are pursuing in your training, then it is best to give up the practice of CD practice. .

Eating protein and carbohydrates together has a greater anabolic effect than eating these nutrients alone. On a ketogenic diet, you cut back on carbohydrates. And since you need carbohydrates and protein to achieve optimal muscle growth, you lack one or both of those key nutrients.

Conclusion: ketogenic diets are neither optimal nor effective for building muscle and improving athletic performance. However, they can help you lose weight - just like any other calorie restriction that is below your personal daily value.