Is The Keto Diet Healthy Or Dangerous

Feb. 11, 2020

Maybe you’re considering eating a ketogenic diet. Or, maybe you’ve already started the diet. Here is everything you need to know about the ketogenic diet!

Maybe you’re considering eating a ketogenic diet. Or, maybe you’ve already started the diet and are experiencing those icky early side effects of the diet call the keto flu. You may want to use the diet to lose weight or manage a health condition, but are worried about whether the diet is healthy or not.

The ketogenic diet is highly debated amongst nutritionists, doctors, and scientists. So, it’s easy to see why the general public is confused about whether the diet is safe.

Here’s a list of the benefits and possible dangers of eating a ketogenic diet:

Helps manage seizures for those with epilepsy
Promotes fast and easy weight loss
Increases cognitive abilities
Lasting, Sustainable energy
Decreases inflammation, blood sugar, and triglyceride levels
Research is contradictory
The long-term effects of the diet have not been studied extensively
Deficiencies in vitamins and minerals happen easily
Unstable and sometimes irritable mood changes
Increased risk of heart disease and kidney damage

WHAT IS THE KETOGENIC DIET?

The Ketogenic diet was first established by Dr. Russel Wilder in 1921 as a way to manage epilepsy and seizures. Previously, fasting was a way that patients who suffered from epilepsy could manage their symptoms. The ketogenic diet proved to be an excellent way that these people could still receive nutrition from food and lower their seizure rate.

It wasn’t popular as a method for weight loss until the most recent 3–5 years though. Today, many people use the diet solely for weight loss, but some also use the diet for a variety of other reported benefits such as lower triglycerides and blood sugar levels for those with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

The diet may seem similar to some other fad low-carb diets that are popular for weight loss such as Atkins or Paleo. But, this diet varies because instead of recommending high intakes of lean meats, keto focuses on increasing your fat consumption.

It is recommended when following the ketogenic diet that you should allocate 75% of your calories for fat, 20% for protein, and 5% for carbs.

If you eat meat, that means you should put down those grilled chicken strips on top of the bed of greens. For this diet, you need to eat fatty cuts of meat with the skin still on. Instead of eating egg whites, you need to eat the full-fat egg yolks.

It may seem counterintuitive. For so many years you’ve probably heard that fat will make you fat. Or, you’ve been told to consume low-fat dairy products because high levels of fat are bad for you. So, it’s probably confusing that a diet consisting almost solely of fat can help you shed the pounds.

Before we talk about whether keto is healthy or not, let’s first delve into how the diet works.

Why Is It Called the Ketogenic Diet and How Does It Work?

The diet’s name comes from the metabolic state called ketosis. By eating the way the keto diet suggests, your body stops using carbs for energy and begins to use fat for energy instead. Basically, when you starve your body of carbs and your body no longer has any available sugar to burn, your liver starts converting your fat stores into energy molecules called ketones.

The repetitive state of using ketones for energy is called ketosis. That’s why we call the diet the ketogenic diet or keto for short.

BENEFITS OF THE KETOGENIC DIET

You probably only recognize the keto diet for its ability to help you lose weight. But as I mentioned earlier, the ketogenic diet was initially used for treatment for those with epilepsy. In more recent years, scientists have discovered and are still researching a host of other benefits that the keto diet could provide.

Increased Memory and Concentration

Recently, scientists have found a connection between increased cognitive function and the ketogenic diet. According to a study from 2004, as you age, your brain’s ability to use glucose decreases. A more recent study from 2012 also agreed that an increase in ketones was directly related to memory retention. By changing to a ketogenic diet, you can improve your memory and concentration.

For those with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease, the ketogenic diet could significantly help symptoms. For others, the ketogenic diet will help mental clarity and focus.

Decreased Inflammation

This effect can be profound for a variety of people. Whether you have acne, arthritis, psoriasis, eczema, IBS or an old injury that keeps acting up, you know how frustrating it is to have inflammation continually in your system.

Though the research is new, the findings have prompted researchers to continue studying the anti-inflammatory benefits of the ketogenic diet. So far, current research states that BHB, the main ketone produced by the ketogenic diet, blocks the inflammatory response of NLRP3 inflammasome.

Sustained Energy Levels

Because your body’s main source of energy, glucose, is replaced by fat on the keto diet, you will experience a sustained energy supply. Your body goes through sugar rushes and crashes on a daily basis from sugar. But ketones keep you going for longer.

That means your insulin levels will be stable, and you won’t need the extra cup of coffee at 3PM to get you over the afternoon slump.

Stabilization of Hormones

This effect is especially true for women who suffer from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). A study from 2016 found that the ketogenic diet possibly helped reduce the symptoms of PCOS such as weight gain, acne, and irregular or extended menstrual cramps. The study concluded that more research needed to be done to understand more about the correlation.

Diabetes

If you’re a diabetic, you know that high blood sugar damages blood vessels and can lead to cardiovascular diseases. The ketogenic diet significantly lowers your blood sugar levels because your diet consists of only 5% carbs.

By using ketones for energy instead of sugar, your blood glucose and triglycerides should decrease. A study in 2005 from Duke University reported that most of their subjects reduced or discontinued their diabetes medication by the end of the study.

Weight Loss

This benefit is probably the primary use of the ketogenic diet today. But why is the process of eating a diet primarily of fat so effective for losing weight?

Through this process of ketosis, your body becomes a fat burning machine rather than running off of glucose. You’ll be burning fat constantly even while you sleep. Ketosis also lowers your hunger levels and reduces cravings with time.

The diet leaves you satiated. Fats are filling. Consequently, you’ll eat less overall and lose weight. Exercise won’t be required for weight loss because your body will continually burn fat. But, if you want to lose weight faster, exercise is recommended.

IS KETO SAFE LONG TERM?

Though studies show that the ketogenic diet can help you lose weight, the long-term effects of the diet have not been studied extensively. There are actually only a few studies currently in scientific literature that attempt to show how this diet affects you in the long run.

Those few studies have looked at mice rather than people, and the studies only evaluated the mice for a period of less than two years. These studies did not find that the mice’s health changed, but it’s difficult to say this study would hold true for humans. Also, the length of the study was relatively short-term.

Even the Harvard School of Public Health believes that the available research on the ketogenic diet focuses almost solely on short-term benefits. They worry about the safety of the diet specifically for higher risk individuals such as the elderly and those with chronic health problems.

Websites that exclusively promote the ketogenic diet as a healthy way of eating also warn against the potentially hazardous health concerns that can arise from the diet. These risks include high cholesterol, osteoporosis, and kidney problems.

The long-term effects of this diet are not fully researched. You can’t make lifelong decisions based off of short-term studies. The best way to use this diet in your life is for short periods or even cycling.

4 DANGERS OF THE KETOGENIC DIET

Yes, the studies on the ketogenic diet show that the diet can benefit you especially if your goal is weight loss. But, other studies on the ketogenic diet provide evidence on the dangers of this diet. Moreover, more research needs to be done on both sides of the argument about the long-term effects.