Tampa Doctor Launches Keto Diet Study

According to search engine giant Google, no diet received more searches in 2018 than keto.¹ The diet’s popularity has exploded in the last few years as many consumers have questioned reliance on carbohydrate-heavy diets. Instead, they choose ways of eating that focus on consuming healthy fats, proteins, and nutritionally-dense vegetables. The keto diet uniquely appeals to consumers because it utilizes natural biological processes to burn fat more efficiently.

But as with anything popular, the diet has gained some detractors. Critics most often protest that restricting carbohydrates could produce an imbalanced diet. One Florida doctor, however, began a study to determine whether this is the case.

Studying a well-rounded approach to keto

Certainly, some people advocate a “eat what you want” keto diet. However, such an approach does not produce true overall wellness. Dr. Lisa Koche of Spectra Wellness Solutions in Tampa, Florida, plans to study the impact that a ketogenic diet can have when it is focused on overall health.

Participants begin with a full analysis of their health. A cornerstone of Dr. Koche’s plan is a powder mixed into water that aids the body in producing ketones. This powder is consumed twice per day in the mornings and evenings. She also places participants on a strict diet and measures their ketone levels weekly to ensure that they are staying in ketosis.

Participants must remain in this state of ketosis. When carbohydrate intake is severely reduced, ketosis begins as the body switches its primary fuel source from carbohydrates to fat. As a result, the begins producing more ketones as fuel (which it gets from fat) rather than glucose (which it gets from carbohydrates). These ketones can be measured to ensure that a dieter is maintaining ketosis–the body’s reliance on fat for energy.

Dr. Koche believes that ketosis can be easily maintained while eating a nutritionally-dense diet. In other words, you shouldn’t confuse binging on bacon and burgers with healthy eating. Dr. Koche says this of participants in her study: “You definitely cannot eat what you want. The diet needs to be based on healthy foods, not just healthy fats. You need lots of healthy green vegetables, and you need to be very cautious of where your lean meat comes from. Include more grass-fed chicken and beef. We need the food [to] be as clean as possible.”²

The ketogenic diet: a healthy approach to weight loss

Although Dr. Koche’s study is still in progress, it does show the continual growth of the popularity of this diet. As with anything popular, you can expect it to garner some critics. But as the diet has grown in popularity, increasing numbers of studies have affirmed that the diet can definitely be an effective, healthy approach to weight loss. If you believe that replacing carbs with deep-fried fast food is going to produce a healthier you, then you probably ought to spend more time studying basic nutrition. However, if you desire to change your overall level of health by replacing carbohydrates with healthy fats and nutritionally-dense vegetables while maintaining ketosis, then you have chosen a diet that is affirmed by numerous scientific studies.

Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD

This article has been medically reviewed by Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD.

Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD is an aesthetic medicine specialist whose work focuses on patients who are treated for obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other weight-related issues through nutritional analysis, keto diet programs, and supporting medications.

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Drew Dabbs

Drew is an avid writer with an interest in politics, economics, and philosophy. When he isn't capturing his thoughts on the keyboard, he's probably hanging out with his wife and son.

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