A popular low-carb, high-fat diet for weight loss is the ketogenic diet. To enter ketosis, a metabolic state when your body primarily uses fat for energy instead of carbohydrates, you can reduce your carbohydrate intake while increasing your fat intake.
The high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet may be popular right now, but it isn’t always a good option for everyone.
The diet is quite strict and challenging to manage. The diet does come with some risks, though. Here are a few risks that come with the keto diet:
- It puts stress on the Kidney
One well-known potential side effect of the ketogenic diet is kidney stones. Since they don’t include carbs, high-fat animal products like eggs, pork, and cheese are essential to the keto diet. Kidney stones may be more likely to form if you consume large amounts of these foods.
As eating a lot of animal-based foods can increase the acidity of your blood and urine, you may excrete more calcium in your urine.
Additionally, persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD) should stay away from the ketogenic diet since their kidneys may be less able to flush out the acid buildup that these animal foods cause in your blood.
- A flu-like illness
You may experience flu-like symptoms. These include headaches, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and constipation — due in part to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances that happen as your body adjusts to ketos.
Carb intake on the keto diet is typically limited to fewer than 50 grams per day, which can come as a shock to your body and it then depletes its carb stores and switches to using ketones and fat for fuel at the start of this eating pattern.
- Bacterial changes in the gut and digestive issues
Since the keto diet eliminates carbohydrates, it can be difficult to meet your fiber requirements. High-carb fruits, starchy vegetables, whole grains, and beans, among of the richest sources of healthy fiber, are cut out of the diet because they contain too many carbohydrates. As a result, the ketogenic diet may cause constipation and digestive distress.
Fiber-deficient low-carb diets like the ketogenic diet may harm your gut bacteria. But fiber feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut. A healthy gut may help to increase immunity, enhance mental well-being, and reduce inflammation.
- Nutrient deficiencies
The keto diet may not offer the required amount of vitamins and minerals because it restricts several foods, including nutrient-dense fruits, whole grains, and legumes.
More nutrients are found in a diet rich in low-carb, nutritious foods like avocados, almonds, and non-starchy veggies than in processed meats and keto treats. This can eventually result in nutrient deficiencies.
- A regain of weight
Health professionals believe the keto diet is not a good long-term plan since it is so restricted. The issue with that, though, is that the large majority of individuals will gain back a lot of the weight they lost as soon as they start eating carbs again. While it’s a problem with any fad diet, it seems to be more prevalent with the keto diet. These kinds of quick weight changes might worsen an already unhealthy relationship with food or lead to disordered eating.
- Diabetic and heart disease risk increases
When followed correctly, the ketogenic diet calls for a significant amount of veggies and lean animal protein. This type of high-fat diet has been linked to sharp rises in LDL-C, the bad form of cholesterol, which may elevate cholesterol levels. The keto diet doesn’t just cause heart problems it also increases the risk of diabetes.
We have analyzed the above points to determine whether a short-term plan or a long-term plan keto diet is harmful to your body. Consult a registered nutritionist if you plan to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
The Vedique Diet Programme by Dr. Shikha Sharma provides a personalized diet plan that allows you to lose weight steadily with small steps to achieve long-term success.
