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The ketogenic diet (keto for short) has become a hot nutrition trend in the last few years. Although its long-term weight loss benefits are still controversial among dietitians, doctors, and other nutrition experts, there is some scientific research to back up this diet’s success in terms of shedding pounds. A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that following a ketogenic diet can help control hunger levels and improve metabolic rate. If you want in on these weight-loss benefits, it’s important to make sure you are adhering to the diet’s key principles, which you can begin by stocking up on the best keto diet foods.
First and foremost, the keto diet is all about ratios—you want to make sure that carbohydrates make up 10% or less of your total caloric intake, with 15-25% from protein, and the remainder from healthy fats. Eating in this manner will help your body achieve ketosis, a metabolic process that occurs when the body resorts to burning fat for fuel, which only happens when glucose reserves are depleted. In basic terms, successfully following the keto diet means cutting out all sources of sugar and most carbohydrates and loading up on foods with a high fat content.
The key to sticking to keto guidelines is focusing on what you can eat, not what you’re cutting out. If you’re unsure about what’s safe to snack on, you are in luck. We have picked out the best keto foods that will make eating a fat-centric diet easy and, dare we say it, enjoyable.
Read on for our ultimate keto diet food list of all the foods you’ll need to successfully take the ketogenic plunge. And for more inspiration, check out these 43 Healthy Keto Snack Recipes for Weight Loss.
1. Sardines
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Nutrition (Per 1 can serving<a rel=”noopener noreferrer external nofollow” title=”FoodData Central. (n.d.-cu). https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/175139/nutrients” href=”https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/175139/nutrients” target=”_blank” data-citation=”true”>):
Calories: 191
Fat: 10.5 g (Saturated Fat: 1.4 g)
Sodium: 282 mg
Carbs: 0 g (Fiber: 0 g, Sugar: 0…