The ketogenic diet, also popularly known as the keto diet, gained popularity in medicine when it was found to help treat epileptic patients. The keto diet mimics the metabolism of fasting. Although it was initially introduced by physicians of the last generation as a treatment for epilepsy, over the years, it uses declined. Still, in the last decade, the use of the keto diet had witnessed another bloom when it was found out to possess many health benefits apart from treating epileptic patients.
The ketogenic diet also helps in weight loss as it helps to burn fat in the body without the user having to go through a rigorous workout session or a very strict diet to lose weight. It also helps protect the body from diseases and generally gives you a healthy body and disease-free health.
What is a ketogenic diet?
The keto diet is a high-fat diet with an adequate protein plan in it. Most importantly, it is a low carbohydrate food developed for the primary purpose of treating people with epilepsy, most especially people who are not responding positively to the use of drugs. The keto diet is majorly advisable for people like this. The keto diet functions to force the body to burn fats to convert to energy than burn protein. The fats burned in this process are referred to as ketones, and the process of burning this fat is known as ketosis.
Reading more:
Ketosis, the Definition
Ketosis is a process that occurs whereby the body is low on carbohydrates, or the body does not have enough carbohydrate to burn and convert to energy for the running of body metabolism. Hence, the body burns fat instead of giving rise to ketones, which can be substituted as fuel in the body. This process of converting fats to fuel to perform body metabolism is known as ketosis, and it’s a common word when researching weight loss.
Benefits of the Keto Diet
The keto diet is a nutritional diet packed with adequate minerals that give you good health. It is a diet with so many nutritional benefits to the body and, at the same time, helps to keep diseases away from the body. The keto diet has an immense amount of nutritional value to the body making many people go into the ketogenic diet for various reasons. The main reason the keto diet was invented and the primary assignments it performs in the body is to reduce the rate at which epileptic patients have fits and seizures.
However, it has been found to help reduce weight in overweight people, which is another major reason people go into the keto diet. It also helps reduce the risk of having diseases like heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, and some certain types of cancer. It is also useful for diabetes patients and also reduces the risk of having it. In this segment, the discussion will be based on the keto diet’s benefits for your health. The benefits are listed below
- It is ideal for you to get yourself acquainted with the ketogenic diet for people going on a weight loss journey. Hunger is one of the worst effects of a dieting plan, but with the keto diet, that is not the case as the diet helps you reduce your weight considerably, and at the same time, it helps lower the rate of Hunger in the body. Research as shown that eating low carbohydrate food can help reduce your appetite, ultimately reducing Hunger, and also it helps with reducing your calories level, which subsequently makes people lose weight.
- The keto diet is useful in reducing the abdominal fat level. The two major types of fat in the body are the subcutaneous fat under your skin and the visceral fat that stores itself in the abdominal cavity that the stomach and its surroundings are typical for most overweight people. The abdominal fat tends to Accumulate itself around the body’s organs, which may drive the level of metabolic dysfunction in the body. A low carb diet helps reduce this dangerous abdominal muscle, as time goes on, it should lead to a reduced risk of heart disease. A large percentage of fats loss tends to be dangerous abdominal fat.
- The keto diet helps increase the level of good HDL cholesterol in the body; High-density lipoprotein cholesterol, also known as good cholesterol, increases in the body. The higher your body level of HDL to LDL, the lower you Are of heart diseases, and one of the best ways to increase your HDL is by eating low carbohydrate food, which includes a lot of fat.
- The keto diet also reduces blood sugar and insulin level in the body, and it is very helpful to people with diabetes or insulin resistance. Research has shown that reducing your carbohydrate consumption can lower the blood sugar level and help lower insulin levels simultaneously and drastically. So cutting carbohydrate intake is one of the best ways to lower blood sugar levels and insulin levels as it can help to possibly treat and even cure type 2 diabetes in a body.
- The keto diet is very healthy for the heart, muscles, and arteries, as it also helps lower blood pressure in the body. High blood pressure can cause many diseases in the body ranging from heart disease to stroke and kidney failure. However, the keto diet helps to reduce the blood pressure, which will, in turn, lower the risk of a body having all the disease mentioned above. Cutting carbohydrate consumption helps to significantly reduce blood pressure in the body, which leads to the reduction of all heart-related diseases in the body.
Are Artichokes Allowed On a Keto Diet?
The artichoke belongs to the plant family of genus Cynara. It is a thistle plant. The most common variations include the globe or French artichoke. It is mostly grown in Italy, Spain, California, and France. The artichoke can be canned, but the canned artichoke can never be compared to the fresh one as the fresh consist of nutrients and more useful to the body.
There are varieties of ways to prepare the artichokes by either steaming, boiling, baking, or grilling it. It is a thorny vegetable with its meaty heart as the ultimate price. The artichoke is a vegetable that is ideal for a keto diet because of its low carb content, and it is a high source of nutrition for the body.
Nutritional composition of the Artichokes
The Artichokes is a vegetable that is made up of a high amount of nutritional components. The following are the nutritional component of the artichokes:
The artichokes consist of total fat of 0.2g, saturated fat 0g, polyunsaturated fat 0.1g, Monounsaturated fat 0 g, cholesterol 0mg, sodium 94mg potassium 370mg total carbohydrate level of 11g dietary fiber is 5g sugar 1g, the artichokes are also high in vitamins as it consists 195 of vitamin C, calcium 4%, Iron 7%, Vitamin B-6 5%, Magnesium 15%.
Benefits of Artichokes
The artichokes are considered vegetables, but they are also a type of thistle plant that originated from the Mediterranean. It has been around for centuries for its medicinal purpose. The artichoke is a vegetable, rich in different nutrients, and also it helps to reduce the blood sugar level. It also contains a high concentration of compounds found in plants. The artichokes consist of various benefits, which will be highlighted below;
- The artichokes are loaded with nutrients as it consists of protein, vitamins, phosphorous, calcium, and that helps build the body. Although the artichoke is a bit low in fat, it consists of fibers and antioxidants that help the body metabolism.
- Artichokes help to lower bad LDL cholesterol and increase the good one. When the ratio of bad cholesterol level is higher than good cholesterol, it increases the risk of heart diseases and vice versa.
- The artichoke is useful in helping to reduce blood pressure in the body. It is found that the artichoke helps promote enzymes in the body that plays a role in the widening of blood vessels in the body. Also, it is rich in potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure; subsequently, the artichoke is useful in reducing blood pressure.
- The artichoke is also very useful to the liver as it helps protect the liver from damage and helps relieve symptoms of non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases.
- It also improves your digestive health as it consists of fibers, which helps to promote digestive friendly bacteria in the body.
Related:
Keto Recipe Including Artichokes
Keto Stuffed Artichokes
This meal is a bit tasking to prepare for unfamiliar people, but after the cooking process, the result is worth it. A must-taste yummy meal for everybody on keto diet out there
Ingredients
- 2 medium artichokes
- ½ cup of almond flour
- 2 tablespoon of mayonnaise
- 2 medium cloves of garlic (crushed)
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
Procedures
- Set up a large pot with water to boil, preheat oven to 350°C coat baking sheet with non-stick spray, and place aside.
- Rinse artichokes well with water, with the aid of a sharp knife, cut off the top of the artichokes in other to expose the purple core or center, Trim the point from the outer leaves, and cut down the stem to enable artichoke to sit on a flat base
- Immerse and boil artichokes in water, reduce heat to medium and boil for about 15mins
- Remove after boiling and drain by turning upside down.
- Pull the purple leaves from the center to reveal the tough fibers of artichokes.
- Slice in half and remove choke with a spoon
- In a mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, mayonnaise, garlic, and parmesan cheese to create artichoke filling.
- Drizzle each artichoke half with olive oil stuff center of the half with the prepared filling
- Place neatly in the baking sheet.
- Bake for 15mins until it turns golden brown.
Keto cheesy Baked Artichokes Hearts
This a tasty and nutritious, this meal is filling and easy to prepare.
Ingredients
- Artichokes heart canned in oil mixture (10 ounces)
- 1tbsp of olive oil
- 1clove of garlic
- ½ tbsp of salt
- 1/8 tbsp of black pepper
- 2tbsp of lemon juice
- ¼ cup of grated cheese
- 1/3 cup of mayonnaise
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Procedure
- Preheat oven to 380°f
- Slice artichokes heart in half and mix in a bowl along with side salt, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper
- Add mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, and parmesan to bowl and stir
- Bake mixture for about 15 mins till it turns golden brown.
Source: Wirybody.com
