The ketogenic, or keto, diet was one of the most talked about eating regimes of last year.
Think bacon for breakfast, dark chocolate to snack on and mountains of avocados at all times of the day.
Nutritionists and health gurus are abuzz about the high-fat, low-carb and moderate-protein regime where lashings of olive oil are encouraged, fatty fish is a recommended source of energy and you're allowed to eat real butter.
After all, the benefits of incorporating healthy fats into your diet are manifest: your skin is clearer, eyes are brighter and you have more energy.
Fancy giving the regime a go? It may feel like we've been here before, as keto is similar to other low-carb diets such as Paleo or Atkins. However, with the keto diet the spotlight is on the fats, which should make up between 60 and 80 per cent of your daily calories.
Plant-based fats such as avocados, olives and macadamia nuts are recommended, and protein should comprise a maximum of 20 per cent of your diet. The fewer the carbs, the more effective the diet for stoking the metabolism and chewing through (body) fat, says Martina Slajerova, author of four keto diet books and founder of the KetoDiet app.
The regime’s goal is to reach a natural state of “ketosis”, where the body kicks in to burn fat instead of sugar to survive. It sounds drastic but provided you are careful, it needn’t be dangerous. And there are many who swear by its weight loss, health and brain-boosting benefits. Gwyneth Paltrow’s totemic lifestyle website Goop recommends it “for people who can’t kick their sugar cravings”.
Sourcing the right ingredients can be time-consuming, though — Slajerova’s latest book, Quick Keto, focuses on recipes that are fast. Meals take a maximum of 30 minutes to make, and most are inspired by Mediterranean cuisine. Most, like the keto bun (a low-carb bread), pizza frittata or the beef fajitas, involve converting popular high-carb meals to low-carb versions. The seafood risotto replaces rice with cauli-rice, while the pork stroganoff replaces pasta with asparagus, broccoli, green beans or courgette noodles.
Slajerova calls it an “approach” rather than a restrictive diet. “It’s the first approach I’ve tried where I don’t feel like I’m missing anything,” she says. “Once you learn to follow the diet, it’s actually quiet natural.”
Others aren’t so sure. Laura Tilt, resident nutritionist at Innermost, says she gave up on the diet after a week. “I missed eating fruit and other foods like rye bread and pulses, and found it very hard to adapt,” she recalls. “I had no energy during the first few days. It was pretty miserable.” Other followers report “keto flu” for the first three to four weeks, involving fatigue, nausea, headaches and bad “keto breath”.
You should begin by discussing it with your doctor, says Tilt. Those with high cholesterol, diabetes or pre-existing conditions should be particularly cautious, and it’s not advised during pregnancy. Balance is the buzzword.
Tilt recommends as many green-leaf vegetables as possible, plus olive oil, nuts and fatty fish. Be cautious about eliminating whole food groups.
But cutting the carbs in the short term could pep up your metabolism and make you feel less sluggish: a major bonus as spring gets into full swing.
