I’ve been doing keto for three years now (approaching four years), to help with my PCOS. Low carb is a lifestyle that I will continue for overall health since it supports whole foods and no overly processed stuff. Low carb is a lifestyle that is good for everyone even if you don’t have a medical condition, since “bad carbs” such as bread, sugar, tortillas, most things made with flour, have no nutritional value. I’ve had my fair share of conversations with people that range from no understanding of keto to moderate understanding, and here are their most common questions.
Wait so you just don’t eat carbs? Is that what it is?
Almost! It’s supposed to be no carbs but high fat. Also no sugar, because sugar is carbs. You train your body to use fat as an energy source and enter ketosis. It’s great for weight loss and helps with mental clarity since your brain uses fat for energy.
Isn’t fat bad? How is this healthy?
Society has branded fat as “bad,” which is so unfortunate because the more you look into it that’s not true. Good fats keep you fuller, and there has never been any researched documentation that good fat contributes to heart disease, strokes, heart attacks, or blocking of arteries. If you read Dr. Fung’s book The Obesity Code, the generic labeling fats as bad was all a scheme to sell people more carbs which increases insulin resistance, and ultimately is what contributes to obesity. It comes down to that, carbs make people fat.
Ok so which are the good fats? As you journey into keto you learn more about which are good and which are bad fats. Palm oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, which are most of what restaurants use to cook with, are bad fats. These saturated and trans fats are the baddies, and increases LDL cholesterol. But good fats like avocado, nuts, olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, grass-fed cheeses, salmon, are the right fats you want.
Wait so, you don’t eat rice? How can you not eat rice or bread?
Yup, no rice or bread. But for keto you can buy substitutes of almost everything, you just have to be willing to pay more. We’re talking like 3x more. There is keto bread, keto donuts, keto bagels, keto pasta…
