A ketogenic or keto diet is gaining popularity in diet-conscious individuals. It helps eliminate carbohydrates from your plate. Instead, it focuses on healthy fats and proteins to get your body into a ketosis state. When it happens, the body stops using sugar and carbohydrates as energy resources and starts breaking healthy fats to get the most energy. This stimulates weight loss and makes you slim and trim.
To achieve ketosis, you need to reduce starchy and sugary foods while supplementing the diet with healthy fats. There are many keto products available in the market. Understanding what keto products to incorporate into one’s diet needs prior knowledge. Here are keto-approved foods to adjust to your specific tastes and meal plans.
CBD
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CBD and the keto diet complement each other. Athletes and health fanatics are approving the combination of cannabidiol and keto to improve the quality of their lives. Users report that CBD and keto foods help to improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar levels. The double act may also prove beneficial in other health conditions such as heart conditions, cancer, PCOS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, to name a few.
Certain products like CBD oil and CBD gummies do not contain carbs or sugar. This allows you to enjoy the CBD benefits while on a keto diet.
Nuts And Seeds
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Almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, macadamia nuts are significant sources of healthy fats. They also have a fair balance of fiber and carbohydrates. If you are eager to track net carbs without thread, you can get yourself to eat a few crunchy snacks in a day. But if you are keen on carbs only, do not exceed a quarter cup.
Irrespective of how you wish to count carbs on a keto diet, try to include nuts (almonds, walnuts) and pumpkin seeds as snacks salads in your diet. You can even blend them into smoothies. Nuts are a good fiber source and will keep you fuller for a longer time.
Lards
The keto diet focuses heavily on eating healthy fats. However, not all fats get served equally. Focus on the following cooking oils:
MCT oil: Medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) oil derived from coconut and palm kernel oils get converted into ketones, boosting your fat-burning capabilities. Add MCT oil to your bulletproof coffee, or consume it as salad dressings, healthy dips, or smoothies.
Cooking oils: Avocado oil sunflower oil have high smoke points. So, use them for stir-frying, sauteing, or roasting purposes. They are suitable for baking too.
Non-cooking oil: Some oils like walnut oil flaxseed oils are not heat-compatible. But they are delicious in soups, salads, or avocado toast.
Clarified Butter
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Butter may throw off your diet plans, but it is keto-friendly. Toss asparagus to shrimp in some butter to get a hint of delicious saltiness. However, ghee or clarified butter has a rich nuttiness, which you won’t get from regular butter. Ghee is an excellent aid in pan-frying meats or vegetables. It is so delicious; you can eat it as a spoonful.
Some keto eaters also prefer beef tallow and lard in their diet, but ghee and other cooking oils are ready for the average to beginner keto eaters.
Olives
Green and black olives have heart-healthy fats and are ideal for getting the required fats in a day. Eat olives as snacks, add them to salads, or serve them over zucchini noodles. Some companies offer this keto-friendly food in snack-size packs you can keep in your bag and munch on the go.
Look for an olive counter at your local grocery store. Explore marinated and flavored olives to add variety to your snacks. Try small quantities until you find flavors and olive types of your choice.
Berries
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Berries are fruits. Most fruits are rich in carbs. However, berries are an exception and are high in ketogenic diets. This is because berries have high fiber and lower carbohydrates than other fruits. Hence, they keep you feeling full for a longer time. Berries are also an excellent source of antioxidants that help prevent oxidative stress and cell damage.
Prepare unusual dishes like berry omelet or berry yogurt pot to get the most of keto value and fulfill your hunger pangs between meals.
Eggs
Eggs are a universal breakfast recipe. They are the best sources of protein you can have and are low in carbohydrates, too. They keep you feeling fuller for longer, keep blood sugar levels steady, and also aid weight loss.
Eating two large eggs gives you 14.1 g protein, 9.6 g fat, and trivial carbohydrates. Try keto-friendly egg recipes like green eggs or scrambled eggs with basil, tomatoes, and spinach.
Avocados
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Although avocados are a vegetable, biologically, it is a fruit. Avocados are high in heart-healthy fats and make a great supplement to a ketogenic diet. They are also low in net carbs and high in fiber.
Avocados have other significant nutrients as well, such as potassium, folate, vitamin K and vitamin C.
Watermelon
Watermelon is a delicious summer fruit. It is flavorful and easy to add to a keto diet. This hydrating fruit has relatively lesser net carbs in a one-cup serving. Depending on your daily carbohydrate dietary intake, you need to adjust the watermelon portion sizes in your meal plan.
Never skip a watermelon, as it contains a plant compound lycopene that acts as an antioxidant to decrease cellular damage.
Condiments
Most condiments added to food impart a specific flavor to a keto diet. Mayonnaise, mustard, full-fat salad dressings get the keto thumbs up. Look for no-sugar-tomato ketchup, or else use regular ketchup sparingly. Avoid light salad dressings as they typically remove fat and replace it with sugar.
Read the condiment bottle label and avoid picking unnecessary ingredients or added sugar containers.
The Bottom Line
Keto products are low-carb substitutes for staples and snacks. Though the keto diet may assist you in weight loss efforts and offer health benefits, it may have negative effects.
