The ketogenic, or keto, diet is among the most popular diets for weight loss. This low-carb, high-fat diet forces the body to use fat instead of glucose as its primary source of energy, effectively reducing body fat, which allows a person to lose weight.

But before you adopt the keto diet, you need to understand its pros and cons and how it can affect your health first. Here’s what you need to know about the keto diet.

What the ketogenic diet is all about

The goal of the keto diet is to maintain ketosis, a state in which your body metabolizes fats for fuel instead of glucose. For this to happen, your body should not have enough of the latter, since glucose is your cells’ primary source of energy. In the absence of glucose, your body will start to burn fat stores in the liver so it can use glucose from triglycerides.

The keto diet requires you to cut back on carbohydrates and increase your fat intake. The diet does not distinguish between “good carbs” and “bad carbs,” meaning that you might have to give up some healthy foods like grains, legumes, tubers and most types of fruit. However, this does not mean you should get rid of all the carbs in your diet. You can still eat around 25 to 50 grams of carbs per day and maintain ketosis, but it’s important to plan your meals.

As for the foods you can eat, you can rely on a wide assortment of meats and fatty fish to give you enough protein and healthy fats. You can also eat low-carb vegetables like lettuce and zucchini, provided that you stay within the limits of your carb consumption. Nuts and seeds also make fantastic plant-based fat sources if eating meat is not to your liking.

Keto pros and cons

As with any diet, there are pros and cons that you need to consider. One of the main drawbacks of the ketogenic diet is what people call the “keto flu.” This refers to a group of symptoms experienced by beginners to the keto diet.

People develop keto flu early on as a consequence of the body adapting to having significantly fewer carbs than usual. The symptoms of keto flu are quite similar to the actual flu and include nausea and vomiting, constipation, headache, fatigue and weakness. These usually last for about a week or until the body completely adapts to the lack of carbohydrates.

Another downside of adopting a ketogenic diet is the high probability of having a nutrient deficiency. Being on a keto diet entails limiting the kinds of food that you eat, so you’ll have to give up certain foods and nutrients. Fiber, for instance, is rarely found in animal products that people on the keto diet typically consume. If you don’t eat plant-based foods that are rich in fiber but low in carbs, you might develop a nutrient deficiency while on the keto diet.

However, the pros of the keto diet definitely outweigh the cons. Here’s a list of the fantastic benefits offered by the ketogenic diet:

1. Weight loss. Researchers from Bethel University in Minnesota found that the keto diet can effectively reduce weight, body fat and body mass index in obese individuals. Obesity, of course, has been a growing problem in recent years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 93.3 million American adults are obese. Being overweight can increase the risk of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and stroke.
2. Blood sugar balance. Lifestyle choices can improve how sensitive people are to insulin. Insulin resistance can put a toll on your health, especially if you have diabetes. However, studies have shown that the ketogenic diet can improve blood sugar levels by simply lowering glucose exposure while also improving insulin sensitivity.
3. Boosts brain health. The ketones produced as a by-product of fat breakdown can do wonders for your brain. According to a study in Behavioural Pharmacology, the ketogenic diet can protect neurons by helping them resist metabolic challenges that could lead to their death. This neuroprotection can also help lower your risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s or dementia.

The keto diet comes with plenty of unique benefits and risks. If you’re planning to switch to a keto diet, consult with your healthcare provider first so you can receive proper instructions on how best to do it.

Learn more about the keto diet and other dieting strategies at Fasting.news.

Sources:

FoodRevolutionNetwork.org

MedicalNewsToday.com

MindBodyGreen.com 1

MindBodyGreen.com 2

PerfectKeto.com

MensJournal.com

CDC.gov

Annals.org

NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov