Business Insider
Bacon became my new best friend on the ketogenic diet.
A viral diet that's been shown to burn 10 times more fat than a standard diet is gaining momentum among Silicon Valley tech workers. And it involves eating a lot of fat.
The ketogenic or "keto" diet - which first became popular in the 1920s as a treatment for epilepsy and diabetes - limits carbohydrates to no more than 50 grams a day, which is the rough equivalent of a plain bagel or a cup of white rice. By comparison, dietary guidelines from the US Department of Agriculture recommend between 225 and 325 grams of carbs a day.
On the keto diet, the body goes into starvation mode and taps its fat stores for fuel. Studies suggest the low-carb, high-fat diet may promote weight loss, improve focus, and stave off age-related diseases. More research is needed on its long-term effects, especially in healthy people.
A small study recently published in the journal Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome found that adults who had been diagnosed with metabolic syndrome (a precursor of diabetes) and ate a ketogenic diet had resting metabolic rates (a measure of how much energy your body burns when at rest) over 10 times higher than people who ate a standard diet.
Earlier this year, I spent two months eating bacon, butter, and avocados to see why the keto movement is so popular with tech workers. Here's what it was like.