Why you shouldn’t try a keto diet.
Tags: Diet, Health, Food, Keto, Lifestyle

Photo by Vitalii Pavlyshynets on Unsplash

Why you shouldn’t try a keto diet.

Firstly, let me explain what is a keto diet in short words. It’s a type of diet when you minimalize the number of carbs you eat to the absolute minimum. It simply means no bread, sugar, fruits, rice…

There’s a lot of quoting in this story as I don’t want to rephrase someone’s words so if you’re not interested in this and want to check all by yourself — there are references at the end of the story.

Now let’s get into the mentioned article and answer the question in the title.

Here’s the first point made by the author.

1. Weight Loss

ref. [1]

Author point:

(…) The keto diet is very effective for weight loss. When you’re in ketosis, your body burns stored fat for energy instead of carbs, so it rapidly sheds pounds. A ketogenic diet can also suppress appetite by making you feel less hungry. Weight loss is not the only benefit of keto, but it’s one of the main reasons people adopt this way of eating.

It is true but the author didn't mention an important part that wasn’t skipped by clinical nutritionists and medics.

Quoting Lisa Cimperman, R.D.N., a clinical dietitian at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

For starters, most of the lost weight is water weight. “Once your body enters ketosis, you also begin to lose muscle, become extremely fatigued, and eventually enter starvation mode. Then it actually becomes even harder to lose weight.” Cimperman told Healthline.

Here are the words from Francine Blinten, R.D., a certified clinical nutritionist and public health consultant in Old Greenwich, Connecticut.

“Keto diets should only be used under clinical supervision and only for brief periods.” “They have worked successfully on some cancer patients in conjunction with chemotherapy to shrink tumors and to reduce seizures among people suffering from epilepsy.”



“It can do more harm than good. It can damage the heart, which is also a muscle.”

Here Lisa Cimperman explains why keto is used in diabetes treatment.

“Anyone with type 2 diabetes can benefit from weight loss and a reduced-carb diet because it will improve insulin sensitivity”

And some closing words from Francine Blinten about health and weight.

“People will do anything to get the weight off.” However, a keto diet will do more harm than good for the majority of patients, especially if they have any underlying kidney or liver issues. “People are using this for cosmetic reasons, but it’s so extreme that it’s dangerous.”

2. Mental Clarity & 3. Reduced Inflammations

ref. [3], [4]

Here’s the author point about mental clarity and reduced inflammations (first and second paragraph accordingly).

(…) Some people experience improved mental clarity on the keto diet. This may be due to the fact that ketosis causes an increase in BDNF, a brain-derived neurotrophic factor that promotes neuronal growth and protects against neurodegenerative diseases. (…) The keto diet is also anti-inflammatory, which can be beneficial for people with autoimmune diseases or other chronic inflammatory conditions.

And here’s the answer from John Limansky, Medical Doctor.

Mental clarity comes from the brain having a constant fuel source. Take a person with a typical western diet who has wide fluctuations in brain glucose from lows (causing brain fog, lightheadedness, etc) to highs (causing inflammation, etc). Once that person switches to a ketogenic lifestyle, there is a constant source of energy for the brain with the ketones not dependent on food consumption. Add in there the chronic inflammation from fluctuating and high levels of glucose is now gone with being in ketosis and the mental clarity is the result.

Simply said, the keto diet doesn’t get rid of Inflammations and doesn’t make your mind clearer. A balanced diet and lifestyle do. (But keto-specific, works only for a short period of time according to previously mentioned Lisa Cimperman).

If you’re not convinced yet, here you can find a few products which “boost” your mental clarity and what a coincidence, 7 of 11 products are often used in keto diets. Why? Because the amount of fat in them is high.

4. Increased Energy

ref. [1]

Author point:

(…) Many people find that they have more energy on the keto diet. This may be due to the fact that when you’re in ketosis, your body is using stored fat for energy, so you have more energy available.

And here’s a simple answer from Rudy Mawer, a sports nutritionist.

“The [keto] diet also makes people feel full despite having fewer calories and it gives them more energy. That’s because people are giving up their sluggish diet of processed foods. The keto diet keeps blood sugar levels stable, which produces a more stable flow of energy.”

Again. It’s not about the keto diet itself. It’s the characteristics of any meaningful diet type.

5. Better Digestion

ref. [2]

Author point:

The keto diet can also be beneficial for digestive health. Indigestible fiber from low-carb veggies is a key component of the keto diet, and studies have shown that it may help reduce constipation and diverticulitis.

Here’s what healthline.com thinks about it:

(check the whole article for more information)

Cons:

- May be lower in fibre

- May alter your gut microbiome

Pros:

- May reduce inflammation (I covered this already)

- May benefit some digestive disorders

Closing words

There are cases when keto-type diets are used with success (e.g. lowering the number of seizures for people with epilepsy or shrinking the size of the tumour) but as you can see (and I hope I convinced you), a keto-type diet is more dangerous than it’s worth.

Is a keto diet really worth it?

That’s the question you need to answer by yourself.

References:

[1] keto diet vs health

[2] keto and gut health

[3] mental clarity on a keto diet

[4] foods boosting your brain