Are you considering following the ketogenic diet? Before you start filling your shopping cart with grass-fed butter and bacon, know this: While you’ve probably heard of this high-fat, very-low-carb diet, and probably even have a friend or two who like it, tried, there is still a lot of confusion about what it really takes to follow the ketogenic diet.
“In general, people say they’re on a ketogenic diet, but they’re not really; a lot of times they’re just on a low-carb plan,” says ginger hultin, rdn, a spokeswoman for the academy of nutrition and dietetics and a seattle dietician.
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The reason for this, Hultin says, is that the diet itself is difficult to follow. “Because 80 percent or more of your calories should come from fat, if you’re dieting correctly, you need to calculate, weigh, and measure what you’re eating,” she says.
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Ketogenic Health Risks You Should Know
Furthermore, the diet is not without risk. “People often don’t know it’s a medically prescribed diet for epilepsy patients,” Hultin says. People with epilepsy, usually children, have regular blood tests and lab tests, and are under medical supervision so doctors and dietitians can confirm they’re getting the vitamins and minerals they need to stay healthy, she says. keto beginners can follow the diet incorrectly and miss out on potassium, calcium, magnesium and fiber, essential nutrients commonly found in whole grains, certain vegetables and fruits, foods that are limited on a keto menu. “So when people decide to try dieting for weight loss, they often do so without the medical specialists they would otherwise need,” she explains.
another risk? the diet can stress the kidneys if they are already damaged. “If you already have kidney problems, the diet won’t be right for you,” Hultin says. Beyond that, people at risk for heart disease will probably want to avoid the diet or consult their doctor before trying it, because many foods on a ketogenic diet are high in saturated fat. The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fats because they raise LDL or “bad” cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart disease. People with type 1 diabetes, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, people with a history of eating disorders, and those who have had their gallbladders removed are among the other people dietitians advise to avoid the ketogenic diet .
Furthermore, a review published in the September-October 2019 issue of the journal of clinical lipidology found that a low-carbohydrate diet (such as the ketogenic diet) can help lower blood sugar, but at the same time could increase that ldl cholesterol. (Overall, however, the research on keto’s effect on cholesterol is mixed.)
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more studies on keto are needed.
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keto can help you lose weight in the short term
Despite the potential dangers of the ketogenic diet, the craze surrounding the approach continues, with more and more people embracing this philosophy for weight loss and other purported health benefits. “I think people are drawn to dieting because you often lose a lot of weight at first, but it’s really water weight at first,” says Pegah Jalali, RDN, a registered dietitian in New York City and an associate professor at new York. university.
“Also, if people are successful at losing weight on the diet, which is very restrictive, many people don’t have a plan for what comes after that phase,” Jalali says. “And when you start adding carbs back in and go back to how you ate in the past, you’re likely to start putting on weight,” she says. Studies show that so-called yo-yo dieting can be harmful to your health, including increasing your risk of a heart attack, according to a study published in April 2017 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
While there is extensive research on the benefits of the ketogenic diet for epilepsy, there is limited human research on other touted health benefits, Jalali says. Trials haven’t covered long periods of time, and people are often in the same place, weight loss-wise, as people on other diets after six months, Jalali says.
For example, a short-term study published in August 2020 in the journal nutrition and metabolism found that obese older adults who ate a very low-carbohydrate diet (which included large amounts of fat) lost more weight and fat overall than the control group. cluster. Although the results look promising, the study lasted only eight weeks.
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an article published in July 2019 in jama internal medicine explained that “enthusiasm for its potential benefits outweighs current evidence supporting its use for these conditions,” such as the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
So, Jalali says, it’s an effective diet for people with epilepsy who can reap the health benefits and have medical supervision and lifelong motivation to follow the plan. But people who don’t have a medical reason to follow the ketogenic diet may want to reconsider.
“I believe there is a more sustainable way to lose weight, even for people who have a lot to lose, such as plant-based diets, the Mediterranean diet, and the Dash diet,” Hultin says. “I do not recommend the ketogenic diet to anyone unless it is medically necessary.”
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ketogenic diet books to consider
Regardless, the popularity of low-carb living isn’t going anywhere, with the ever-growing crop of keto bloggers and instagramers sharing their experiences online. Not to mention, there are a growing number of books on the ketogenic diet on the shelves.
Here, discover 12 of the most talked about keto books and learn what registered dietitians think of them.
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