We spoke with Ana Paula Carral, a consultant in functional nutrition, who told us all about the new ketogenic diet, how it works, why it is so successful, and how it differs from other diets.
Ana Paula is in constant preparation and always at the forefront in terms of nutrition, health, and well-being. He did his certification at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York, where he graduated as a Health Coach.
There she did not stop her desire to continue learning, so she later studied at Bauman College in California and at the Institute for Functional Medicine in Washington, to become certified as a Functional Nutritionist and Bulletproof Coach.
"It has been almost six years of studies and certifications just to be well prepared and to be able to help my patients in the best way," explains Ana Paula who, in addition to taking care of her diet, keeps in shape doing weight training.
With nutrition, you learned how diets work and how they serve certain stages and goals in life. In fact, she experienced the keto lifestyle for four years and underwent significant changes during that process. She says, “You don't have to go on a ketogenic diet forever unless determined by a medical condition. I think the main thing is to listen to our body and evaluate if with this diet we feel good, with energy, or if we feel more anxious and tired.
The body's great tool: ketosis
The ketogenic diet has been around since the 1920s to treat epilepsy. Ketosis is the ability of the body to use fat as energy when food is not received, changing from being a glucose burner to being a burner of the fat you consume and your body fat; This is how weight loss begins. The way to achieve this is to consume 90% fat, 15% protein, and 5% carbohydrates.
“Being in ketosis is a normal metabolic state, our ancestors subsisted thanks to this process when there was no food. Nutritional ketosis occurs when there are high levels of ketones in the blood, while sugar levels are low ”, details the health coach, who emphasizes that there is no perfect diet that is the same for everyone, but that it is necessary a personalized diet.
“All women react differently to this type of diet, since age, hormones, exercise, intolerances, etc. must be taken into account. That is why there are several analyzes that help you define this much faster, ” says Ana Paula, who relies on that information to better help her patients.
His recommendation is to go with someone specialized to help you achieve your goals: “You always have to check with your doctor before making any changes in your diet and you have to try to add more green vegetables to your day, either in green smoothies ( no fruit, of course), soups, salads, etc. "
Regarding the ideal patients to try the keto diet, Ana Paula says that we all have the ability to try it, evaluate if we like it, and do it if we feel good, although she considers that people with a weight problem or some health issue may be fixed or mitigated by a change in diet, they should seriously consider it.
Steps for a healthy life change
The first thing to do to start this lifestyle and achieve the desired health or aesthetic goals is to contact a nutrition professional since the ketogenic diet has to be adapted to your needs: “You have to know the symptoms that appear when we enter ketosis and know how to treat them. If you exercise, maybe the first two weeks you have to lower the intensity since your body is adapting and you may feel weaker ”, he clarifies.
Several studies have shown that the ketogenic diet helps in conditions such as epilepsy, type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and various syndromes, such as metabolic, polycystic ovary, and irritable bowel, for example, although, according to Ana Paula, "There are no bad or good diets, they all work as long as they are personalized in harmony with our needs, lifestyle, goals and physical status. "
These are some of the rules that must be followed in a Keto plan, which can also be successfully adapted to a vegan plan:
- The first two weeks, go down on dairy to reduce inflammation.
- Consume most green vegetables and bone broth.
- Consume proteins, which are found in fish, shellfish, chicken, turkey, and meat.
- Consume fats, which are found in avocado, coconut oil (MCT), olive oil, olives, walnuts, ghee (clarified butter), tahini, and mayonnaise.
- As you progress through the adaptation process, more foods can be added, such as cauliflower, strawberries, blueberries, etc.
Ana Paula exemplifies a day of the keto eating plan for this hot season. Be careful: this plan is determined depending on the phase in which the person is.
Morning:
- 1.5 cups of coffee or tea, which can be the Iced Keto Latte.
- 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds or 1 tablespoon of almond cream.
- 1 tablespoon of Brain Octane Oil or MCT C8.
- 1/4 teaspoon unsweetened vanilla extract (can also be Stevia vanilla flavor or monk fruit to sweeten).
- 1/4 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon.
- 1 pinch of Himalayan salt.
- Ice.
- Optional: 1 tablespoon of collagen peptides.
Food:
- Heart of palm ceviche with olive oil, lemon, chopped olives, green chili, capers, coriander, and a little onion.
- Spinach, cucumber, and celery salad with olive oil, accompanied by fish or seafood with fine herbs, with avocado and if desired, a little mayonnaise.
Snack:
- A square of sugar-free and dairy-free chocolate, with a little almond or macadamia cream. During the holidays always carry healthy snacks with you.
Dinner:
- Tuna salad or egg frittata with vegetables
