Is the keto diet for women over 40 right to follow? If yes, then what are the things we need to consider while following this diet? Let’s find out. 

Keto diet, with its effectiveness, has become one of the trendiest diets to follow – there’s no health and fitness expert on social media who wouldn’t discuss this diet in some way or the other. 

This speedy, “miracle” diet works through a complex mechanism in which your fats become your primary energy source instead of carbohydrates. 

This calls for an intensive shift in the body’s standard metabolic path due to which aged people, especially women who have special nutritional requirements (increased calcium need), have some reservations regarding this diet.

What is a Ketogenic Diet? 

The ketogenic diet is primarily based on taking foods with high fat and high protein content to burn fat from our adipose tissues (1). The Acceptable Macronutrient Dietary Range for keto diet becomes as under: 

165 grams of fat (70 to 80 percent) a day of the total daily calories 

75 grams of protein (10 to 20 percent) a day of the total daily calories 

40 grams of carbohydrates (5 to 10 percent) a day of the total daily calories

Note

• · This distribution is based on a diet based on 2000 kCal a day. 
• · Consult a dietitian for redistributing the grams on a personalized basis. Foods Allowed
• · Saturated fats 
• · Polyunsaturated fats like plant oils
• · Nuts and seeds 
• · Butter 
• · Fatty fish 
• · Dairy products like cheese 
• · Non-starchy vegetables 
• · Proteins – eggs, meat 

Foods Not Allowed 

• · Whole wheat grains 
• · Refined flour products 
• · Refined sugar products 
• · Fruits (especially starchy and sugary fruits) 
• · Starchy vegetables 
• · Pasta and cereals 
• · Rice 

Supplements for Women Over 40 Following the Diet 

Omega-three fatty acids from fish liver oil and related supplements, evening primrose oils, vitamin B6, zinc, calcium, and vitamin C are some of the nutrients that women can take over 40 and older ages who want to follow the keto diet.

Calcium and vitamin C supplementation are of high importance in women as the post-menopausal stage affects calcium absorption in the bones. 

How Does the Ketogenic Diet Work? 

In normal physiology, our body releases glucose from the liver after digesting food, which goes into the bloodstream, delivering the energy-producing ATP molecules that are important to carry different functions in the body. This glucose comes from taking carbohydrates from the diet.

In general, we take more carbohydrates than are essential for our body, which then gets deposited in fatty tissues by converting them into fat. What you get is a fat body that makes you feel uncomfortable in your own skin and gives you obesity in the long run. 

Keto diet advocates believe that to avoid this weight gain, it is crucial to limit carb intake significantly. The question arises: What to eat if you can’t consume carbohydrates in an average amount? You might think protein will do the job as consuming fat will only make you fatter – this is where you are wrong.

It is now strongly supported that the fat you consume becomes a primary energy source of your body and can help you lose weight. The question arises: How does it happen? 

In the keto diet, you need to initiate the process of ketosis in your body – make your fat the primary source of energy. The glucose deficiency in the body will make the excess fat stored in your body to become metabolized by the liver and enter into the bloodstream as free fatty acids, releasing ketone bodies.

When accumulating to a considerable level, these ketone bodies work as ATP producing or energy-releasing compounds, carrying out different functions in your body. The incoming fats that come into your body from the diet are consumed become a part of this metabolic process and continue the ketosis in your body.

So, essentially, there remains no source from your diet that gets stored in your body as excessive fat anymore, giving you the quick weight loss results you want. 

Is the Keto Diet for Women Over 60 Safe? 

You might be searching for facts on the keto diet for women over 40 and onwards, and one of the first questions you would come up with will be the safety relating to the keto diet for such a population. 

The answers can be evident from a 2016 study that concluded the keto diet’s safety in the essence of its ability to prevent non-communicable and chronic diseases such as cancer and heart diseases. The researchers ran a trial on patients with cancer to find the efficacy of the low carb diet.

The results were beyond their expectations and suggested that the ketogenic diet plays a beneficial role in cancer patients by increasing their quality of life. Four of the patients in the trial were over the age of 80, which comes as strong evidence that the keto diet is, in fact, not harmful for women in their old age. 

Several scientific studies have suggested the keto diet to play a preventative role against heart attacks and stroke. As you consume more HDL cholesterol in your diet, your body becomes better able to fight the inflammation going on in the body. 

The Essentials to Know About Keto Diet? 

Keto diet for women over 60 can come off as a point for concern for many – the process of menopause, which deprives the body of the necessary calcium and debilitates the normal reproductive cycle of the body, might come in the way to get maximum results from the diet and make women more lethargic than ever.

However, there is no such evidence that the process of dietary ketosis limits the group’s ability to function normally in any way. Instead, ketosis is known to amplify better body agility and mental clarity. Let’s see some of the benefits to see how keto diet for women over 40 can be positive in improving their health: 

1) It Decreases Body Weight 

This is the primary advantage that comes with following this diet. As it is common to see women in this age group getting obese and overweight quickly, following such a diet will help

them get quick and effective weight loss results. The body breaks down the stored fat to get energy, which will help them feel better about themselves and have better physical health and fitness levels. 

2) Blood Glucose Level Control 

Losing weight is not the only perk you get from getting on a keto diet. When you take a diet low in carbohydrates, your body automatically learns to regulate blood glucose and insulin release, thus alleviating the probability of glucose imbalance in your bloodstream.

Ultimately, you get protected from diabetes, another chronic illness that becomes a significant concern for people at this age. What’s more, problems like insulin resistance are also well-handled as you follow this diet. 

3) Prevention from Breast and Ovarian Cancer 

Many women in their late 40s and 50s develop cancers of the breast, uterus, and ovary. Following a keto diet can help these women shield themselves from developing tumors by preventing the cancer gene from getting activated. Therefore, the keto diet for women over 60 plays a preventative role against several different types of cancer (2). 

4) Prevention from Cardiovascular Diseases 

It has been found that more women than men, especially more women in their late 40s and above, get heart-related diseases like heart attacks. Following a keto diet can decrease their chance of getting these illnesses because it is a diet high in HDL cholesterol. This good cholesterol helps the body remove the bad cholesterol from the body, the LDL cholesterol. 

5) Prevention from Post-Menopausal Depression 

Keto diet for women over 60 helps prevent post-menopausal depression, a common condition in women during the menopausal stage. Beat the blues by following a diet rich in healthy fatty acids to improve overall brain function.

This is because the brain cells need a high amount of DHA and EPA fatty acids to function properly (3). As the keto diet is rich in anti-inflammatory ingredients, the diet can reduce conditions that affect brain function, such as depression and memory loss (4). 

Final Word 

It must now be evident how the keto diet for women over 60 is beneficial in numerous ways as it helps prevent many problems faced by women of this age group. You get a more revitalized body with better mental enthusiasm and a general enhancement in physical activeness.

Don’t worry about the loss in calcium during your 40s as you go through the keto diet. Just follow the tips we have shared so you can get the best of the nutrients without getting malnourished.

References 

1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2716748

2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6375425/ 

3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6356942/ 

4) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891988720901785