Top 10 Keto Diet Foods
The ketogenic, or keto, diet is an interesting approach to health and wellness. Its basic principle suggests that many of the high-fat and low-carb foods that many of us avoid aren’t actually harming us. They’re healthy for us. While there are still studies that indicate that high-fat foods are unhealthy for people with heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, more studies are beginning to prove the opposite.
Below are some of the best foods to eat if you are on a ketogenic diet.
Keto Diet Food #1: Eggs
While certainly not the best option for vegans or vegetarians, eggs are a great food for people on the ketogenic diet. Some people consider eggs to be one of the most powerful superfoods on the planet. This is because the yolk of an egg contains enough nutrients to create life. These nutrients include thirteen essential vitamins and minerals, powerful antioxidants, and a complete set of proteins.
They’re also a great source of choline, a precursor to a neurotransmitter responsible for mental health and cognitive ability. Egg yolks are also high in cholesterol. However, the cholesterol found in egg yolks has been proven to help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, thus reducing the chances of getting heart disease.
Keto Diet Food #2: Olive Oil
Olive oil is often touted as one of the healthiest oils that a person can consume, and there are many research studies that back up this claim. Olive oil is loaded with nutrients, particularly oleocanthal. Oleocanthal is a phenolic compound that has powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
The fats found in olive oil are also great for managing cholesterol levels, and its fats are important for maintaining your cognitive functions.
Keto Diet Food #3: Meat
The ketogenic diet suggests that you include meat in your diet quite often. Although factory-farmed meat is very unhealthy, the health benefits of meat are not without merit. Meat contains some nutrients that are difficult—though not impossible—to find in vegan diets.
Meat is often loaded with vitamin B12, and it contains a lot of iron. Meat is also a great source of potassium, selenium, and zinc. In addition, meat helps raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels, which, in turn, lowers the levels of LDL cholesterol in the body.
Keto Diet Food #4: Fish
Fish is another food that’s very important in the ketogenic diet. Fish hasn’t met with as much controversy as meat. It’s certainly healthier for you than factory-farmed meat, which is known to be loaded with preservatives and hormones.
Fish contains many of the same nutrients as meat. One thing that it contains in abundance that meat doesn’t always have is essential fatty acids. Fish, particularly salmon, herring, and sardines, is a great source of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that nourish your brain and your cardiovascular system.
Keto Diet Food #5: High-Fat Dairy Foods
Foods made from the milk of mammals contain casein, a protein that is necessary for the development of infants. Casein is metabolized into casomorphin, a compound that creates a feeling of contentedness. This compound is the reason that infants become so excited at nursing time and why it’s so difficult to stop eating cheese.
Dairy is a good source of protein, a number of minerals, and linoleic acid (one of the essential fatty acids). These nutrients help the body maintain strength and form. The fats in cheese, milk, and butter may also help lower cholesterol 1https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22030228. This is in stark contrast to mounting evidence that suggests that dairy is unhealthy for your cholesterol levels. However, it’s important to avoid eating a lot of high-fat dairy foods.
Keto Diet Food #6: Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is one of the few foods on the ketogenic diet that can and should be enjoyed by everyone for its nutritional benefits. It’s suitable for vegans and vegetarians and is one of the densest sources of antioxidants on the planet.
Some of the antioxidants and flavonols found in the cacao bean that dark chocolate is made from have been proven to fight blood pressure, lower heart disease, and improve insulin sensitivity. Make sure you look for organic dark chocolate with at least 72 percent cacao. Avoid other types of chocolate because they’re often heavily processed.
Keto Diet Food #7: Berries
A lot of fruits are too high in carbohydrates to include in the ketogenic diet. However, there are quite a few berries that pack a delicious punch without exceeding the allowed amount of carbohydrates. The common thread between these different types of berries is anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is a potent antioxidant compound that gives berries their color.
Blueberries, for example, contain anthocyanins that are important for maintaining brain function and fighting inflammation. Raspberries contain some that can help fight heart disease.
Keto Diet Food #8: Garlic
Garlic is a great food for people on the ketogenic diet. It has been used for many centuries as a prophylactic that can help fight a variety of diseases.
Garlic contains organosulfuric compounds that give it its disease-preventing properties (and its intense flavor). Allicin, the most powerful compound found in garlic, lowers inflammatory markers and fights oxidation throughout the body.
Keto Diet Food #9: Cruciferous Vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, kale, and cauliflower, are low in carbs and loaded with tons of essential minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins.
They also contain sulforaphane, a particularly powerful nutrient. Sulforaphane is released during the chewing process, and it activates a certain pathway in our body that creates a protective barrier that prevents oxidation. It also helps excrete toxins from the body. This compound is one of the reasons that broccoli works so well at fighting illness.
Keto Diet Food #10: Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is a fantastic food for people on the ketogenic diet. It’s one of the best sources of saturated fats. Saturated fats can certainly be unhealthy—even in the case of coconut oil, too much is a bad thing—but the fats found in coconut oil can be quite healthy if consumed in the right amounts.
In fact, coconut oil helps obese people manage their weight. Specifically, it keeps blood lipid levels under control and can also help manage cholesterol levels.
