Keto diet is helpful for losing weight

The best part about being a culinary professional is that you get to meet so many different people and share their experiences with different diets and get feedback directly about their eating trends. Recently I met a foodie, who was on a ketogenic diet and that inspired me to write about this relatively new diet, unknown to many people.Ketogenic diet also known as ‘Keto’ diet is a low carb, high fat, diet that offers many health benefits. In recent studies, this diet has been proven to help you lose weight and improve your overall health. Keto diet has also been proved to be beneficial against diabetes, cancer, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease.This diet involved drastically reducing carbohydrates and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ‘Ketosis’, during that your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy.      It also turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain. Ketogenic diets can cause massive reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels. This along with increased ketones has numerous health benefits.With any diet plan you must stick to list of foods – to avoid any food that is high in carbs.Here is a list of foods that need to be reduced or eliminated on a ketogenic diet.Sugary foods: Soda, fruit juice, smoothies, cake, ice cream, and candy.Grains or starches: Wheat-based products, rice, pasta, and cereal.Fruit: All fruit, except small portions of berries like strawberries, and blueberries.Beans or legumes: Peas, kidney beans, lentils, and chickpeas.Root vegetables and tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots.Low-fat or diet products: These are highly processed and often high in carbs.Some condiments or sauces: These often contain sugar and unhealthy fat.Unhealthy fats: Limit your intake of processed vegetable oils and mayonnaise.Sugar-free diet foods: These are often high in sugar alcohols, which can affect ketone levels in some cases. These foods also tend to be highly processed.Now what you are allowed to eat in keto diet. You should base most of your meals around these foods.Meat: Red meat, steak, sausage, chicken and turkey.Fatty fish: Such as salmon, trout, tuna and mackerel, king fish.Eggs: Look for pastured or omega-3 whole eggs.Butter and cream: Look for grass-fed when possible.Cheese: Unprocessed cheese (cheddar, goat, cream, blue or mozzarella).Nuts and seeds: Almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds.Healthy oils: Primarily extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil and avocado oil.Avocados: Whole avocados or freshly made guacamole.Low-carb veggies: Most green veggies, tomatoes, onions, and peppers.Condiments: You can use salt, pepper and various healthy herbs and spices.It is best to base your diet mostly on whole, single-ingredient foods. Whatever diet plan you would follow, there will always be negatives along with the positives. It is important to understand them and minimise the side effects to gain maximum benefits. Mainly the side effects are observed during the initial phase. ‘Keto flu’ is often observed during the initial weeks of staring this keto diet. Keto flu includes poor energy and mental function, increased hunger, sleep issues, nausea, digestive discomfort and decreased exercise performance. To minimise this, you can try a regular low carb diet for the first few weeks, to teach your body to burn more fat before you eliminate carbs. Keto diet also changes the water and mineral balance of your body, so adding extra salt to your meals or taking mineral supplements can help.Note: One most important thing to note is to consult your doctor before you indulge in any diet plan to carefully analyses if the plan is suitable for you without any drastic side effects.Skillet chicken with goat cheeseIngredientsChicken breast 500 gmGoat cheese 4 tbspOlive oil 1 tbspBroccoli, florets ½ cupAsparagus 3-4 stalksGarlic 2-3 clovesTomato, chopped 1 cupMilk ¼ cupSalt to tasteBlack pepper to tasteMethod:Wash and cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes and sprinkle salt and pepper and keep aside.In a heavy bottom skillet heat oil over medium heat, sauté chicken to light brown colour, stir to cook evenly.Add some moisture to cook the chicken until no longer pink.Remove from skillet and keep aside covered with aluminium foil to keep aside.Add small broccoli florets and asparagus spears to the skillet and cook over medium high heat for about a minute.Add chopped garlic and stir in tomatoes, milk and cheese, cook covered over medium heat until cheese begins to melt.Stir in chicken and stir well to combine all the ingredients.Adjust the seasoning and serve hot, with some additional cheese on top.