Keto Diet Food List, Including the Best vs. Worst Keto Foods
Unlike many fad diets that come and go with very limited rates of long-term success, the ketogenic diet has been practiced for more than nine decades (since the 1920s) and is based upon a solid understanding of physiology and nutrition science.
The keto diet works for such a high percentage of people because it targets several key, underlying causes of weight gain — including hormonal imbalances, especially insulin resistance coupled with high blood sugar levels, and the cycle of restricting and “binging” on empty calories due to hunger that so many dieters struggle with. Yet that’s not a problem with what’s on the keto diet food list.
Rather than relying on counting calories, limiting portion sizes, resorting to extreme exercise or requiring lots of willpower (even in the face of drastically low energy levels), the ketogenic diet takes an entirely different approach to weight loss and health improvements. It works because it changes the very “fuel source” that the body uses to stay energized — namely, from burning glucose (or sugar) to dietary fat, courtesy of keto recipes and the keto diet food list items, including high fat low carb foods.
What Is the Keto Diet and Ketosis?
The ketogenic diet was originally designed in the 1920s to help patients with epilepsy control their seizures. It’s a very high-fat, low-carb diet. “Keto” is short for the state of ketosis, a metabolic state that occurs when most of the body’s energy comes from ketone bodies in the blood rather than from glucose obtained from eating foods with carbohydrates. Ketosis is able to occur only when fat provides most of the body’s daily calorie needs, which takes the place of glucose as the preferred source of bodily energy.
Both in terms of how it feels physically and mentally, along with the impact it has on the body, being in ketosis is a very different than a “glycolytic state,” where blood glucose (sugar) serves as the body’s energy source. Many consider burning ketones to be a much “cleaner” way to stay energized compared to running on carbs and sugar day in and day out. Another major benefit of the keto diet is that there’s no need to count calories, feel hungry or attempt to burn loads of calories through hours of intense exercise.
At the core of the ketogenic diet and keto diet food list is severely restricting intake of all or most foods with sugar and starch (carbohydrates). These foods are broken down into sugar (insulin and glucose) in our blood once we eat them, and if these levels become too high, extra calories are much more easily stored as body fat and results in unwanted weight gain. However, when glucose levels are cut off due to low-carb dieting, the body starts to burn fat instead and produces ketones that can be measured in the blood.
Based on many decades of research, some of the main benefits associated with following the ketogenic diet and keto diet food list include:
> Weight loss, which is often substantial and happens quickly (especially for those who start the diet very overweight or obese). (1) One 2013 study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that those following a keto diet “achieved better long-term body weight and cardiovascular risk factor management when compared with individuals assigned to a conventional low-fat diet (i.e. a restricted-energy diet with less than 30% of energy from fat).”
> Significant improvements in maintaining healthy blood sugar levels, as the ketogenic diet dramatically reduces the amount of sugar present in the blood. This offers benefits for diabetes prevention or management. In studies, low-carb diets have shown benefits for improving blood pressure, postprandial glycemia and insulin secretion.
> A reduced risk for markers associated with heart disease, including high cholesterol and triglycerides. (2) The keto diet is unlikely to negatively impact your cholesterol levels despite being so high in fat. In fact, it’s capable of lowering cardiovascular disease risk factors, especially in those who are obese. (3) One study, for example, found that adhering to the ketogenic diet and keto diet food list for 24 weeks resulted in decreased levels of triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and blood glucose in a significant percentage of patients, while at the same time increasing the level of HDL cholesterol. (4)
> Enhanced protection against cancer. Studies have found that the ketogenic diet may “starve” cancer cells and help prevent tumor growth. Experts believe that cancer cells cannot easily metabolically shift to using fat for fuel, cutting off their primary energy supply (glucose). It’s not a coincidence that some of the best cancer-fighting foods are on the keto diet food list.
> Over the past century, ketogenic diets have also been used to treat and even help reverse neurological disorders and cognitive impairments, including epilepsy and Alzheimer’s symptoms. (5)
What can you eat on a ketogenic diet? Here are some examples of high fat low carb foods on the keto diet food list you can expect to eat lots of if you’re following the ketogenic diet:
> High amounts of healthy fats (up to 80 percent of your total calories!), such as olive oil, coconut oil, grass-fed butter, palm oil, and some nuts and seeds. Fats are a critical part of every ketogenic recipe because fat is what provides energy and prevents hunger, weakness and fatigue.
> All sorts of non-starchy vegetables. What vegetables can you eat on a ketogenic diet without worrying about increasing your carb intake too much? Some of the most popular choices include broccoli and other cruciferous veggies, all types of leafy greens, asparagus, cucumber, and zucchini.
>In more moderate amounts, foods that are high in protein but low- or no-carb, including grass-fed meat, pasture-raised poultry, cage-free eggs, bone broth, wild-caught fish, organ meats and some full-fat (ideally raw) dairy products.
On the other hand, the types of foods you’ll avoid eating on the keto diet are likely the same ones you are, or previously were, accustomed to getting lots of your daily calories from before starting this way of eating. This includes things like fruit, processed foods or drinks high in sugar, those made with any grains or white/wheat flour, conventional dairy products, desserts, and many other high-carb foods (especially those that are sources of “empty calories”).
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Poster Comment:
Good diet is eat your cruciferous vegetables, that is anything in cabbage family.