Ellie Lauderdale The low – carb diets have become popular in recent times because they increase insulin sensitivity, improve lipid profile and help prevent diseases that today affect millions of people such as the alzheimer.
Also, diets such as ketogenic have become the favorite of athletes because they help improve oxidative metabolism, something that still has many detractors who claim that these plans that promise fat loss and muscle gain can accelerate diseases such as cancer.
Table of Contents
Low carb diets
The most controversial thing about low-carbohydrate diets is that for some specialists they are the best way to lose fat and gain muscle mass, while for others it is exactly the opposite.
When you go from a high or moderate carbohydrate diet to a ketogenic diet , there is a significant loss of glycogen that carries away a significant amount of water.
When a ketogenic diet is followed, a phenomenon occurs that causes cells to use less glucose and more fatty acids for energy. Thus, the liver reacts by synthesizing the so-called “ketone bodies” and enters the so-called state of ketosis.
Therefore when carbohydrate intake is reduced, blood glucose levels and therefore insulin levels decrease, hence a ketogenic diet works well for people with obesity or diabetes.
When people with a high percentage of fat follow a diet very low in calories or carbohydrates, this does not pose any danger to muscle mass, but if the percentage of fat is low, greater protein degradation occurs and muscle mass may be affected.
Ketogenic diet to lose weight and gain muscle mass
The idea of following a ketogenic diet is to consume proteins, fats and fibers but leaving carbohydrates aside, since in a weight loss with a traditional diet “eat fewer calories than are expended”, you lose both fat and muscle.
In the previous example, you can lose weight, have a slimmer but also more flaccid body. On the contrary, if you follow a ketogenic diet, you can lose weight while protecting your muscle mass.
The ketogenic diet allows you to consume proteins, fats and fibers as many times as you want and in the amount you want, therefore you can design menus with different very tasty options.
Fish, chicken, white cheeses, eggs, cream, ham, legumes, oil, chestnuts, and all types of meats including their fats, are allowed on the ketogenic diet, a weight loss plan that brings the body into a state of ketosis.
In a state of ketosis, the body, not having more carbohydrates to generate energy, begins to burn fat and ketones, this was applied by sports nutritionists with certain modifications to adapt the ketogenic diet to bodybuilding and achieve a greater volume of muscle mass.
conclusion
Ketosis generates muscle gain and fat loss, which is why low-carbohydrate diets are effective in weight loss programs, especially because they provide advantages in sedentary people but also in athletes.
Following a ketogenic diet step by step is recommended to achieve specific goals and in certain types of people, under certain circumstances. Therefore, it is possible to build muscle by following a ketogenic diet but as long as the protein consumption is sufficient, because only then will there be muscle glycogen production.
Now, if the goal is muscle hypertrophy, sports nutrition specialists agree that low-carbohydrate diets are not the best option, in addition to that they should not be carried out for more than a month because they can affect health with the appearance of problems , kidney, liver or also hypercholesterolemia or triglyceridemia.
