The ketogenic diet was the most searched diet plan in 2022. In fact, here is a list of the top 10 most searched diets from last year.

1. Keto diet
2. Mediterranean diet
3. Diabetic diet
4. Carnivore diet
5. Military diet
6. Dash diet
7. 7-day diet plan for weight loss
8. Low carb diet
9. Atkins diet
10. Go lo diet

‘Keto’ Was Most Searched Diet Plan in 2022

Carbohydrate & Sugar Reduction Diets

A quick review of the top 10 searched diets from 2022 shows five of the top 10 are carbohydrate restricted diets. As often as the Dietary Guidelines, the American Heart Association, and countless food manufacturers try and dissuade consumers from following a low-carb diet, savvy consumers are becoming much more aware of how a diet high in carbs, inflammatory seed oils and processed foods are contributing to a relentless rise in metabolic disease. For decades we’ve been told a consistent narrative, which is the secret to weight management and metabolic health revolved around eating a high quantity of whole grains, fruits & vegetables, keeping fats very low, and ensuring your calories-in do not exceed your calories-out. This narrative has been an abject failure with one primary reason being the misguided assumption that calories are interchangeable, processed by the body similarly, and impact the critical systems & components of the body in a similar manner. In other words, calories are essentially “fungible,” and as long as your intake matches your expenditure, your weight should stay consistent. Consider the three macronutrients, and the fact we have essential amino acids (protein) and essential fatty acids (fats), which means they are not only essential for our lives to continue but we must consume them from foods & beverages as our bodies are unable to make enough to sustain. What about carbohydrates? There is not one carbohydrate that is considered essential…not one. In fact, the body is very well equipped to operate in a low carbohydrate environment by having the ability to create all the glucose required for survival through a process called gluconeogenesis.

Four Carbohydrate-Related Facts You May Not Know

1. The Hormone Link: The body’s hormones, especially the fat storage hormone called insulin, respond very differently to the three macronutrients. While fats (quality, healthy fats) trigger a very small insulin response (if any), carbohydrates trigger an extremely large insulin response. When insulin is triggered, the body shuts off any fat metabolism, and rushes insulin into the bloodstream to remove the sugar from the blood and shuttle it into cells for storage. So, the higher volume of carbohydrates consumed, and the more frequently they are consumed, the more insulin is secreted, and that constant production of insulin causes the body to develop a condition called insulin resistance where the cells no longer are responsive to insulin trying to shuttle glucose into the cells. This condition is also known as pre-diabetes.
2. Saturation: In an average human being of about 70kg or 154 lbs, there is approximately 5 liters of blood circulating. In a fasted state, there would be about 4 grams of sugar in the entire bloodstream of that person. The reason the body reacts so aggressively (ie, insulin response) to the ingestion of carbohydrates is the significant increase in blood sugar is seen as toxic, so the body’s insulin response is built to remove that sugar from the blood as quickly as possible. Consider a standard American breakfast: two pieces of toast or bagel; an 8oz glass of orange juice; and a fruit-sweetened yogurt. That meal would add up to 70+ grams of carbohydrates, or 17X the normal amount of sugar in the blood…in one meal. In a 2,000 calorie standard American diet, it would be commonplace for people to consume 300+ grams of carbohydrates per day.
3. Fatty Liver: A condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is driven by an over-consumption of calories, especially carbohydrates. When calories and carbohydrates are chronically high, the body struggles to store the converted glucose, so actually creates fat storage in/around the liver through a process called de novo lipogenesis. NAFLD is a silent killer because many don’t know they have it until cirrhosis kicks in, which, unfortunately, can be too late. A lifestyle change away from carbohydrates can actually reverse NAFLD, as demonstrated clinically by Virta Health.
4. Metabolic Ketosis vs. Ketoacidosis. Having just posted an article dismantling another fake news article about the dangers of a ketogenic diet, it is interesting to note how poor research is applied to try and discredit this diet. One example is complete confusion around a deadly condition called “ketoacidosis” vs. the metabolically healthy condition of “ketosis.” You can find a very good distinction here, but in a nutshell, ketoacidosis is a condition where your blood acidity is thrown off due to the presence of both sugar and ketones, at very high levels, found in the blood at the same time. This condition is primarily seen in people who are Type 1 diabetic, as it is directly related to your body’s ability to produce insulin. If insulin cannot function to remove sugar from the blood, and the body feels as though it is starving because the cells do not have fuel, the liver will begin creating ketones for the body to use. It is that combined presence of high levels of blood sugar & ketones that creates the condition of ketoacidosis.

Wrap-up

It’s easy to demonize carbohydrates because of the over-consumption and poor quality choices that drive our lifestyle, but all carbs are not bad and can definitely be a part of a metabolically healthy lifestyle. Do you absolutely need them? No. In fact, they should be the third priority of the three key macronutrients, so even making that lifestyle change is a good start.

If you are one of the millions who researched the ketogenic lifestyle in 2022, but have concerns, you’ve probably heard about how difficult it is to follow this lifestyle due to the restrictions on food groups that can be consumed. You’ve no doubt heard pundits continue the narrative that we must have copious amounts of carbohydrates in our diets to survive. You may have even heard from mis-informed “influencers” that ketosis could be dangerous. As shown above, none of those narratives are true. But, do your own research and ask poignant questions to your medical advisors. If you would like to learn more about the research and evidence of what health benefits a well-formulated ketogenic lifestyle can offer, I invite you to view a sampling of research here. At some point, people are going to ask the fundamental question of why they should continue to follow a narrative that has been such an abject failure, and the interest in a healthy, ketogenic lifestyle is a sign that perhaps we’re ready to transform this state of metabolic illness toward metabolic wellness.