The Keto Diet Trend and How Olive Oil Fits Into It

It seems there’s always a new diet trend that people are talking about. It’s no surprise since most people want to be healthy, and scientists, doctors and nutritionists are always learning more about how to fuel the human body in healthy and effective ways, so the latest health information is always changing and updating.

Right now, the Keto Diet is getting a lot of air time, especially in the USA and Canada. Books, magazines, podcasts, and expos are all making space to talk about and showcase all things Keto. 

So what is the Keto Diet?

First of all, ‘keto’ is short for ‘ketogenesis’. The basic idea behind the keto diet is that rather than using sugars (carbohydrates) to fuel and energize your body, you use fats to fuel your body. Most experts on the diet, like Leanne Vogel, suggest that ideally about 80% of food on keto diet be fat. Some protein is allowed, and only a very small amount of carbohydrates (grains, breads, fruits, sugars). It is essentially a high fat, low carb diet.

Since fats make up such a large portion of the keto diet, nutritionists and experts repeatedly make the same point: the choice and quality of the fats you consume are extremely important because they are the majority of what you eat. When looking into keto diets you will most often hear experts recommend olive oil and avocado oil as the best fats for nutrition and optimal weight management. There are a few reasons for this: olive and avocado oils are whole foods, they are versatile to use, they are tasty and they have optimum health benefits. 

While butter is frequently also part of keto diets, it is often not the first recommendation because it is much harder to source high quality butter. Keto diets ideally only include organic, grass-fed butter and dairy. In contrast, olive and avocado oil is always high quality nutrition. A keto diet also usually includes a lot of green leafy vegetables, eggs, seafood, nuts and many other common foods.

If you’re considering trying the Keto Diet, make sure to do your research and talk to your doctor, naturopath or nutritionist about it.

If you’re interested in learning about other food and diet trends, you should read our posts about Paleo Diet, Vegan Diet, Slow Food Movement, Meatless Mondays and Ugly Food.