From pescatarian to vegan to raw foods to so much more, there always seems to be something new in diet trends. Each trend or fad claims impressive health transformations that state how incorporating certain restrictions will help train your body to be healthier and feel better.
One such diet trend that has grown in popularity in recent years has been the Keto diet. The keto, or Ketogenic, diet focuses on fat over carbs. It’s low in carbohydrates and high in healthy fats, designed to keep blood sugar at healthy levels and enhance metabolism. It gets its name from turning fat into ketones in improving your body’s metabolism, a metabolic process called ketosis.
Before starting on a keto diet plan, be sure you talk with your doctor to see if it’s the right diet for you and your health goals. These types of extreme plans aren’t intended for everyone and certainly has important risks to consider.
About the Keto Diet
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While there are several types of the keto diet, including cyclical and targeted, the standard diet breaks down your food intake into about 75% fat, 20% protein and just 5% of your diet for carbohydrates. Variations flex those numbers slightly but still are founded on high fat and protein with low carbohydrates. While a keto diet isn’t right for everyone, it does come with great health benefits like weight loss and helping diabetes. It has also been linked to reducing symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, improving acne, improve risk factors for heart disease and even reduce the effects of epilepsy.
When pursuing a keto diet lifestyle, for either short long term, there are key foods that you avoid in order to follow the 75% fat, 20% protein and 5% carbs. Most obviously, sugary foods like sodas, cakes, ice cream, candy and others are to be cut out or limited. With a low level of carbohydrates, grains and starches like pasta, rice, cereals and more are limited.
An interesting feature of the keto diet includes the limitation of most fruits and root vegetables, as these are high in healthy carbohydrates. While these food groups are obviously important to keep in your diet in order to get the necessary vitamins and nutrients, a keto diet puts a limit on such carbohydrates. Be sure you are careful to still get all those important vitamins and nutrients you need to live well.
This type of diet also highlights healthy fats, such as monounsaturated. Therefore, it’s important to limit your intake of unhealthy fats. Additionally, products that are low-fat and sugar-free are highly processed and should be limited or excluded when following a ketogenic diet.
Although the percentages of food intake may seem tricky, there are some great and easy ways you can make it happen, especially in using oils and vinegars in your dishes. In fact, we’ve even hosted a cooking class highlighting this latest health craze.
EVOO and Keto
We already know that extra virgin olive oil comes with its own impressive list of health benefits. In addition to providing essential antioxidants, serving as an anti-bacterial, preventing gallstones and serving your skin, EVOO also is high in monounsaturated fats. These fats are an important part of your diet and rightly fits well within the keto diet.
Incorporating more EVOO into your keto diet can add both flavor and elevated health benefits.
Vinegar and Keto
Apple cider vinegar has grown in its own craze of popularity for its dramatic health benefits. Not only apple cider varieties, but all balsamic vinegars come with important health benefits that can help you feel at your best, whether you’re on the keto diet or not.
Vinegar helps to improve your sugar balance and can help curb your cravings for carbs when you want them most. That regulation of sugars is important in the ketogenic diet, so incorporating vinegar into your regular diet can have elevated benefits.
Use Them in Your Keto Cooking
Perhaps one of the easiest ways to incorporate EVOO and vinegar into your keto diet is through a vinaigrette. This combination of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar comes with endless possibilities and be catered to exactly what you like. It’s as easy as two great flavors that pair well together, such as Cinnamon Pear balsamic and Blood Orange olive oil, Black Truffle balsamic with Garlic olive oil or Sicilian Lemon balsamic and Basil olive oil.
In addition to using them in a vinaigrette for your low-carb salads, you can incorporate them into so many more of your favorite keto dishes. Roast asparagus, zucchini or broccoli in an infused olive oil. Add a sweet balsamic to your bowl of strawberries for dessert for an extra metabolic boost. Sauté your chicken in EVOO and a deglaze the pan with a balsamic like Sicilian Lemon for an added pop of flavor. Drizzle a fruity balsamic to your bowl of greek yogurt to start your day off with flavor and protein. With the health benefits of both EVOO, incorporating them into your regular Keto dishes is quick and easy, and can amp up those sometimes dull dishes.
Thinking about the keto diet? Be sure to talk with your doctor before starting the plan. But once you do, discover how you can add increased health benefits by incorporating EVOO and balsamic into your regular routine.