New Healthy Keto diet plan includes calorie restriction according to individual profile
An on-going randomised controlled trial started by Dr Lim Su Lin, Chief Dietitian, Department of Dietetics, National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore, in mid-2021 has shown good outcomes. In the trial involving 80 participants from the National University Health System (NUHS), one group was assigned to the Healthy Keto diet, while the other group was assigned to a standard low-fat, calorie restricted diet.
Over a six-month period of following the respective diets, preliminary results showed that the
Healthy Keto group lost on average 7.4 kg, while the standard diet group lost only 4.2 kg.
Patients who followed the programme closely could lose up to 25kg in four months. With such
significant amount of weight loss, many participants were able to control diabetes, reduce their
blood pressure, reverse non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and other lifestyle diseases caused
by being overweight.
It is notable that none of the participants in the Healthy Keto group had increased cholesterol
at six months and one year. In fact, at six months and one year, there were reductions of
cholesterol.
The new Healthy Keto diet, on the other hand, emphasises healthy fats, such as those found
in nuts, seeds, avocados, fatty fish and unsaturated oils, which do not increase bad cholesterol
levels. In addition to healthy fats, the Healthy Keto diet includes adequate amounts of lean protein,
high fibre from non-starchy vegetables, and low-carbohydrate fruits. This combination helps
the body enter ketosis, a state where it burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates.
Image credit- shutterstock
