The Keto Zone eating plan and lifestyle has many fans and gets great results for weight loss, improved health, improved brain functions and clarity, better energy, and more.
But, keto diets also have some detractors. There are keto myths, misinformation, and criticism.
In Keto Myths Busted, Part 1, we tackled these 3 common myths:
- Keto Eliminates Most Fruit. While keto plans only allow for a small portion of fruit to stay at a very low carbohydrate level, the myth here is that you need fruits to be healthy. Read more about what you really need here.
- Keto is A Low Fiber Diet. Since keto actually replaces many refined grains and low fiber flours with nuts, coconut, seeds, vegetables, and other higher fiber foods, this simply isn’t true.
- Keto Promotes Full-Fat Dairy. This myth has many problems. First, many keto eaters don’t eat dairy at all. Second, of those who do, it’s usually full-fat as this myth describes. But, what’s not often stated is that many studies show full-fat to be the healthier choice.
For a full explanation of these myths and our rebuttal to bust them, read Keto Myths Busted, Part 1 (Myths #1-#3).
In this post, we’ll tackle 2 more common myths. Once you simply take the time to think and research untruths that abound online like this, it’s easy to see their fallacy. Here are More Keto Zone Myths, Busted, Part 2 (Myths #4-#5).
More Keto Myths, Busted, Part 2
Myth #4: Keto Promotes Unhealthy Fats
There are two parts to this myth.
First, depending on the keto plan used, keto eaters are using a variety of fats. Most plans are 75% or more calories from fat, but these come from Medium Chain Triglycerides, monounsaturated fats like olive oil and avocados, omega-3s, and saturated fats from coconut, cocoa butter, and more.
Similar to the variety in a vegetarian or any other diet, you can choose health-promoting foods or unhealthy foods within the plan. To say Keto promotes unhealthy fats is simplistic and untrue.
Secondly, and maybe more importantly, coconut oil, MCTs oils, and cocoa butter are health-promoting fats. In fact:
- MCTs have been shown to improve cholesterol profiles, brain health, inflammation and more (see below).
- Coconut Oil has been found to be a healthy choice in study after study, even promoting an increase in natural calorie expenditure by the body (1) and improved HDL (2), and more.
- While saturated fats often promote an increase in total cholesterol, it’s often due to a rise in healthy HDL. What’s more, LDL has subsets, some which are harmful and some which are not. LDL is not actually a great predictor of cardiovascular risk (3).
Another problem is that many critics lump all saturated fats into one category. In reality, the various carbon chain lengths make a big difference in how saturated fats act in the body. Similar to unsaturated fats, in which some are inflammatory (omega-6s, transfats, etc), and some are anti-inflammatory (omega-3s), not all saturated fats are equal.
Myth #5: It Advocates Lots of Coconut Oil
Again, this is a 2-part myth.
First, different Keto plans use different amounts of different fats. Anytime an article makes sweeping generalizations like this, it’s a red flag that the author or “expert” hasn’t actually spent much time researching and supporting their statement.
Coconut oil is used, along with MCT Oil, avocados, olive oil, grass-fed butter and more within Keto Zone eating.
Second, within Keto circles, more and more people are using MCT oil in place of coconut oil.
Why?
One of the main purposed of keto eating is to produce ketones in the body for fuel. The 2 main fatty acids in MCT oil and MCT oil powder are C8 and C10. These are readily converted to ketones and produce many beneficial health effects.
MCT Oil has been studied at length. Studies show it supports:
- Heart Health. The amazing MCTs in MCT Oil Powder have been shown to improve cholesterol profiles by decreasing LDL cholesterol while increasing HDL cholesterol (4).
- Reduced Inflammation. After a diet with MCTs, researchers have found significantly reduced C-Reactive protein, a marker for inflammation (5).
- Brain Health. Ketones produced from MCTs can reduce brain degradation from aging and improve brain function (6).
- Weight Loss. Consumption of MCTs has been correlated with reduced weight, body fat, and BMI in studies. What’s more, you won’t go hungry since they also increase satiety (7, 8).
- Blood Sugar Balance. MCTs can improve blood sugars and decease insulin output, thereby improving health and fat breakdown (9).
- Healthy Digestion. Amazingly, MCTs can fight unhealthy yeasts while supporting an increase in healthy bacteria and absorption in the digestive tract (10).
- Energy and Athletic Performance. MCTs increase the energy output of the mitochondria in the cells in your body, significantly improving overall energy (11, 12).
So, while MCT oil is derived from coconut oil, it is actually a better choice that is being used more and more.
Keto Myths Busted, Parts 1, 3, & 4:
Want to learn about all the myths we’ve busted? Read:
Keto Myths Busted, Part 1: Fruits, Fiber, and Digestion (Don’t worry, Keto vegetables, seeds, and nuts work well, too!)
Keto Myths Busted, Part 3: Keto is A Terrible Idea for a Million Reasons (Jillian Michaels’ Myths)
Keto Myths Busted, Part 4: Energy, Fatigue, and Athletes
Bottom Line
In Keto Myths Busted, Part 2, we easily dismantled 2 more myths about keto zone eating.
- While Keto Zone eating promotes eating a lot of fat, the amount of saturated vs. mono-unsaturated vs. omega-3 fats varies. What’s more, studies show saturated fats are not the health-villain many people think.
- Yes, many Keto eaters include coconut oil, but to varying degrees. Coconut oil is healthy, but more and more, keto zone eaters are including a variety of fats in the diet, and even replacing some coconut oil with MCT oil to increase C8 and C10 fatty acid intake.
There’s still more Keto Myths to bust. We’ll keep providing the truth about keto and its benefits, and busting any myths we see.
