There are more than one million searches on Google every month about the keto diet.

Is the Ketogenic diet safe?

Would you recommend it to someone else?

Is it healthy? What are the risks associated with this diet?

The high protein, low carbohydrate diet has been widely promoted as an effective way of losing weight. People are happy with the outcomes they’re having.

Even though the Keto diet has been existed for over three decades ago, it stills reaps a lot of controversy on its benefits until now;

Keto-Diet Benefits include;
  • Helps regulate Diabetes- The ketogenic diet could help people suffering from type 2 diabetes. The diet helps in improving the HbA1c levels, which help to control the blood sugar in the body.
  • Studies show that people with diabetes who are on keto diet start to reduce their insulin dosage by almost 50%.
  • Eating a Ketogenic diet may lower your risk of cancer and other chronic diseases like heart disease. It is also known to help the brain heal quicker after an injury. Low carb diets help slow the brain aging, and this is why adults are advised to eat low carb foods for better memory.
  • Keto diet reduces your appetite thus helping you manage or lose weight. Eating more proteins and cutting down on the carbohydrate intake helps you lose a few calories. This is because the Keto diet gets rid of excess water in your body thus lowering your insulin levels leading to fast weight loss.
  • The diet is also known to be effective at reducing stubborn abdominal fat.

The Risk Associated with Keto Diet
  • Keto Breath

one side effect of entering into ketosis is bad breath. The excess fat in your body is converted to small ketone bodies. These ketones circulate in your body and diffuse into your lungs where they are exhaled to avoid build up in your blood stream.

  •  Increased Loss of Muscles

The longer you’re in ketosis, the more fat you burn. Unfortunately, you may notice that you are losing your muscles too. Your muscles need carbohydrates for great formation and maintenance. When on keto-diet, your diet mainly consists of proteins which helps in bodybuilding, but since you are on ketosis, your body starts to eat away your muscles which may end up damaging your muscles and heart.

  •  Leads to constipation and Bowel Problems

Eliminating fruits and vegetables from the diet has negative consequences like having trouble during a bowel movement. These foods are rich in fiber, which help in digestion. To beat the bowel issue, try to consume fibrous vegetables like cabbages, broccoli, and asparagus.

  • Nutritional Deficiency

The keto diet eliminates certain types of food meaning it is not balanced. Many of these foods rejected carry minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients, which are only found from those foods. Studies show that a diet without fruits and vegetables leads to micronutrients deficiency.

Other risks associated with keto diet include; Kidney stones, hair loss, nausea, low blood sugar, keto flu, loss of electrolytes and dehydration.

Keto diet is not a great long-term plan, use it for short-term weight and fat loss.