It can be very tempting to go on the ketogenic diet, a diet that entails lots of fat, moderate amounts of protein and very little carbs, as many can attest to its effectiveness for getting rid of excess pounds in a short amount of time.
The ketogenic diet is also revered for its many other benefits such as increased energy levels, lowered anxiety and depression, and trouble-free regulation of the blood sugar levels.
Attaining ketosis is the ultimate goal of the ketogenic diet. This is a state in which the body employs fat cells for fuel instead of the usual sugar or glucose present in the bloodstream. In order to attain that, one must first train the body to utilize fat primarily by adding lots of it to the diet.
However, many are intimidated by the ketogenic diet due to the fact that it actually recommends 60 to 75 percent of a person’s daily intake of calories to come from fat. It’s exactly for this reason why lots and lots of steak, bacon, sausages and cheese should be added to one’s everyday diet.
For someone who is trying to limit his or her intake of meat and other foods that are extremely high in fat in order to minimize inflammation and dodge the many health-related issues associated with it, the ketogenic diet can seem like a truly nightmarish diet.
The good news is it’s very much possible for those who like to take advantage of the many different benefits associated with the ketogenic diet but are not happy with many of the foods recommended to be included on the diet on a regular basis to opt for an entirely new diet, but not quite. It’s a spin off with much-needed adjustments that are badly needed by a lot of people, and it’s referred to as the ketotarian diet.
Its name is the merging of ketogenic and vegetarian diets. Needless to say, the ketotarian diet is a version of the ketogenic diet that perfectly suits individuals who wish to adhere to a largely plant-based diet but still comes with the assortment of perks that the ketogenic diet is very famous for.
The macronutrient (a nutritional component that is needed by the body in large quantities) ratio for the ketotarian diet remains the same as the ratio for the ketogenic diet: 60 to 75 percent of calories should come from fat, 15 to 30 percent of calories should come from protein, and 5 to 10 percent of calories should come from carbohydrates.
However, there is no need for the individual to load up on all kinds of fatty food products such as meat and dairy products most especially if he or she is not fond of consuming lots of those due to all kinds of reasons, such as to keep inflammation from taking place inside the body.
The ketotarian diet entails obtaining one’s fat from food sources that yield healthy forms of fat and not the saturated kind that’s found in meat and meat products that are usually eaten under the ketogenic diet. Some sources of healthy fat are nuts, seeds and vegetable oils.
In order to keep inflammation at bay or simply limit one’s intake of meat, the ketotarian also encourages the consumption of fish (wild-caught is highly recommended), eggs and ghee, which is a form of clarified butter that is commonly employed for whipping up all kinds of Asian dishes.
Those who wish to stick to a strictly plant-based diet need not worry because they may in fact eliminate fish, eggs and ghee from their everyday diet and still enjoy the various health benefits the ketotarian diet can bring as they may simply obtain their supply of fat from non-animal food sources of it.
