Many followers of the ketogenic diet rely on the fad eating plan to lose weight, and it really is important to achieve a healthy weight. But what if, while you slim down your waist, dieting also increases your risk of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure?
Unfortunately, that could be the case if you choose the wrong fats on this high-fat, low-carb plan. Eating a lot of bacon and cheese can work for fat loss, but the real key to keto is eating fat from anti-inflammatory sources.
What is it like to be in ketosis?
The idea behind the keto diet is to severely restrict carbohydrates so that your body enters a state called ketosis, in which it avoids sugar and instead burns fatty acids for fuel (which are created when your digestive system breaks down fat in your food in tiny particles for energy).
But those fatty acids do more than just provide energy to starving cells. They also play a role in cell signaling and gut health, which affect inflammation. Inflammation is a complex buzzword, but think of it as fire in the body – less fire makes a human being healthier. This is why choosing the right fats to feed your body is so important.
Prioritize monounsaturated fats (MUFA)
The intake of monounsaturated fats has been linked to improving cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, and reducing overall body fat mass . In particular, consuming MUFA from plant sources provides the benefits of additional compounds, which also help reduce inflammation.
Good sources of monounsaturated fats include:
- Olive oil
- Avocado and avocado oil
- Canola oil
- Almonds
- Macadamia nuts
- Blue green algae
- Lard and beef tallow also contain a significant amount of monounsaturated fat in addition to saturated fat.
To incorporate more MUFAs into your ketogenic diet, try making salad dressings at home with olive oil, cooking with heat-stable avocado oil instead of corn or soybean oil, and adding macadamia nuts and almonds to salads or sandwiches.
Be strategic with polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs)
These fats are divided into two categories: Omega-6 and Omega-3. Both types play an important role in cell signaling and are essential for health, but the ratio is important. As a November 2018 paper in Open Heart notes, reducing your intake of omega-6 fats while increasing omega-3s creates a more favorable level of stress on the body. A little stress is fine, but a lot of stress is not!
Limit Omega-6 fatty acids
Omega-6 fats promote inflammation that has beneficial effects on the body, such as blood clotting , but can quickly become too good a thing. Omega-6s are broken down into arachidonic acid, a fatty acid believed to increase inflammatory markers in the body and contribute to plaque formation in the arteries, which can lead to heart disease.
Examples of foods rich in omega-6 include:
- Soy, corn and vegetable oil
- Non-grass-fed beef and dairy
Corn, soy, and vegetable oils are common ingredients in processed foods and are commonly used in restaurants, so it's easy to accidentally meet (or exceed) your body's Omega-6 requirements without even trying. That is why it is important to read the labels and avoid products that contain oils rich in this substance; never cook with corn, soy or vegetable oil (opt for olive or avocado oil); and choose grass-fed meat and dairy.
Get more Omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fats promote anti-inflammatory markers in the body and have been associated with protection against heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure, according to a January 2014 position paper from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Basically, the more Omega-3 you can get from your diet, the better.
Omega-3s exist in vegan food sources such as nuts and chia seeds, flax, and hemp, but this form of Omega-3 is less beneficial to the body. The really powerful are in:
- Fish
- Grass-fed meat or dairy
- Seaweed
Keto dieters should prioritize sourcing grass-fed meat and dairy. An April 2017 study of conventional versus organic and grass-fed dairy products showed that organic and grass-fed milk provided a healthier fatty acid profile with higher content of Omega-3 fatty acids.
It may be more expensive, but there are a few tricks to lower the cost: Invest in a deep freezer and buy a quarter of a whole cow from your local butcher, or visit wholesale chains like Costco to buy grass-fed meat. or bulk dairy.
Limit saturated fat
Saturated fat, found in fatty cuts of meat, coconut oil, palm oil, eggs, and milk fat, was once thought to be harmful because of its alleged effects on cholesterol. But an April 2016 review in the British Medical Journal concluded that while saturated fat can increase total cholesterol, it does not affect the risk of developing coronary heart disease. In fact, a small randomized trial of 54 participants published in an October 2017 issue showed that replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates actually damaged participants' markers of good cholesterol.
Although saturated fat has no ill effects, its potential health benefits pale in comparison to those of Omega-3 fats and monounsaturated fats. Saturated fats should not be avoided on a ketogenic diet, but they should not replace Omega-3 or monounsaturated fats.
