Keto Diet

The ketogenic diet was originally introduced in the 1920’s as a diet to treat severe cases of epilepsy. When all sugar was removed from the diet, patients reported less seizures.

True keto is a high fat (75-80%), medium protein (15-20%), and extremely low carbohydrate (<10%) diet. The diet consists of eating meat, eggs, cheese, milk, nuts, seeds, oils, fats, non-starchy vegetables, and berries in moderation. It avoids all grains, starchy vegetables, and fruit. Many people are drawn to the diet for its success in short term, rapid weight loss. However, its long-term success is less documented, as its restrictive nature is hard to sustain.

Keto works by shifting the body’s normal metabolism from using ingested carbohydrates for fuel to using fat for energy.  When the body is starved of carbs, the body starts to break down fat into ketones in a process called ketogenesis. Aside from glucose (the broken-down form of carbohydrates), ketones are the only source of energy that can go through the blood/brain barrier and feed the brain. The reduction in calories after restricting food groups and the addition of increased fat burning promotes rapid weight loss. In addition, keto dieters lose water weight and are at risk of losing lean muscle mass as well. Intaking too much carbohydrate at any time (a “cheat” meal or snack) will put someone out of ketosis and require a few days of strict adherence to the diet to go back.

Cautions:

·      Not sustainable long term, extreme

·      May be low in fiber (eliminating whole grains, beans, legumes, and fruit)

·      Physical symptoms include: brain fog, sluggishness, dizziness, headache, fatigue, nausea, upset stomach, insomnia, bad breath, and GI issues (keto flu)

·      Muscle, fluid, and electrolyte loss

·      Tendency to overconsume saturated fats increasing risk for heart disease

Bottom Line:

Any diet that restricts entire food groups or in this case, an entire macronutrient is not recommended.