Is the keto diet good for you?

The body breaks down fat for energy when the body runs out of sugar due to the keto diet. Among its many advantages are possible weight loss, acne management, and heart health improvement. However, there could be some dangers.
Foods high in beneficial fats, sufficient protein, and low in carbs are the mainstays of the ketogenic diet. Being higher in fat than in nutrients is the aim.
The way the diet functions is by causing the body to lose its sugar reserves. As a result, it will begin to break down fat to produce energy. Ketones, which the body uses as fuel, are produced as a result of this. Loss of weight can also result from the body burning fat.
The Standard Ketogenic Diet and the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet are two kinds of keto diets.
We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the keto food plan in this post.

Advantages of the Keto Diet 

Helps in Weight Loss

More weight loss can be achieved with a ketogenic diet than with certain other diets in the first three to six months. This might be the case because burning fat requires more calories than burning carbs does. It’s also possible that a high-fat, high-protein diet satisfies you more, causing you to eat less, but this has yet to be proven.

Reduce Cancer Risk

The hormone insulin enables your body to either store or use sugar as fuel. You don’t need to store this fuel because a ketogenic diet causes you to burn through it quickly. Your body will therefore produce less insulin and need less of it. These decreased levels might even inhibit the growth of cancer cells, helping to protect you against some types of cancer. However, more investigation is required into this.

Clears up acne

There are numerous reasons for acne, and for some individuals, there may be a connection between blood sugar and food.
Consuming a diet heavy in refined and processed carbs can disrupt the normal balance of gut bacteria and create sharp fluctuations in blood sugar, both of which can hurt the health of your skin.
As per a 2012 research study according to a reliable source, a ketogenic diet may alleviate acne symptoms in some people by lowering carbohydrate intake.

Brain function may be protected

The ketones produced during the ketogenic diet may have neuroprotective effects, meaning they can fortify and shield the brain and nerve cells, according to some research, including this 2019  Source.
Because of this, a ketogenic diet could help in the management or prevention of diseases like Alzheimer’s.
However additional investigation is needed to fully understand how a ketogenic diet affects the brain.

May Reduce Heart Disease

Ketogenic diets have been associated with higher levels of “good” cholesterol and lower levels of “bad” cholesterol, which may seem paradoxical for a diet that emphasizes fat intake. It could be because the decreased insulin levels caused by these diets can prevent your body from producing more cholesterol. This implies a lower risk of hypertension, artery hardening, heart failure, and other cardiac disorders. The duration of these effects is unknown, though.

Helpful in Exercise

A ketogenic diet may benefit endurance athletes throughout their training, such as bikers and runners. It gradually improves your body’s ability to utilize more oxygen during periods of high activity and increases the ratio of muscle to fat. It might not be as effective as other diets for achieving peak performance, even though it might be helpful in training.

Disadvantages of the keto Diet 

The drawbacks of a ketogenic diet are numerous. First and foremost, it has a lot of saturated fat. Because of the connection to heart disease, McManus advises limiting your intake of saturated fats to no more than 7% of your daily calories. Indeed, a rise in “bad” LDL cholesterol—which is also connected to heart disease—is a result of the ketogenic diet.
The following are other possible keto risks:

Constipation Problem

The more popular ones are typically not dangerous: You may have indigestion, slight hypoglycemia, or constipation. Low-carb diets are much less likely to cause kidney stones acidosis, or elevated acidity in the body. Extra negative consequences might comprise the “keto flu,” characterized by symptoms like exhaustion, headache, irritability, and weakness.

Shortage of nutrients

“If you’re not eating a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, and grains, you may be at risk for deficiencies in micronutrients, including selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins B and C,” adds McManus.

Liver issues

With so much fat to process, the diet can worsen any existing liver issues.

Kidney problems

According to McManus, the keto diet may overburden the kidneys, which aid in the metabolism of protein. (An average of 46 grams of protein for women and 56 grams for men should be consumed daily.)

Weak thinking and emotional swings

“Sugar from wholesome carbs is necessary for brain function. “Low-carb diets can cause confusion and irritability,” McManus warns.

Is the keto Diet for you?

Many people still find that they prefer the low-carb, high-fat keto diet and the benefits it offers. The diet is still very popular. But not everyone could be a good fit for it.
In comparison with other diets, the ketogenic diet is incredibly restrictive, which may lead to stress in certain individuals.
Furthermore, adverse effects are possible with the keto diet, particularly in the beginning. Among the adverse consequences that could occur are

• feeling lightheaded exhaustion
• stomach changes
• higher levels of cholesterol

Try some alternative healthy eating habits if keto isn’t for you.

What kinds of foods are allowed on the ketogenic diet?

The majority of your meals have to focus on these foods:

• Meat includes turkey, ham, sausage, bacon, chicken, and red meat.
• Omega-3 whole eggs or pastured fish such as salmon, trout, tuna, and mackerel are good sources of fat.
• heavy cream cheese (such as mozzarella, blue, cheddar, or goat cheese) and butter: grass-fed butter with heavy cream cheese
• Nuts and seeds: almonds, walnuts, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and so on.
• Good oils include avocado oil and extra virgin olive oil.
• The fruit: either raw or freshly prepared mayonnaise
• low-carb veggies: green veggies, tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc.
• sauces include spices, herbs, salt, and pepper.
• It is advisable to high-fiberimarily whole foods made of one ingredient.

Quick Review

Although there are many possible health advantages to a ketogenic diet, there are drawbacks as well, such as constipation.
People can prevent this by carefully switching to a ketogenic diet, which includes high-fiber foods, drinking plenty of water, and gradually cutting back on carbohydrates.
Consult medical professionals if constipation or other negative keto diet side effects don’t go away.