Is Keto the Secret to Diet Success?
The ketogenic diet, also known as the keto diet, is one of the most popular diets in the United States and beyond right now, and that’s for a reason. All you have to do is talk to someone who you know that’s trying it to see the results they’ve had. So, what’s the skinny on the keto diet?
Many keto fans hold it up as a magic bullet for healthy weight loss. In some ways, it’s hacks your body to make it better at losing weight, which sounds perfect for many prospective dieters. While there has been some controversy surrounding the diet, it remains incredibly popular. Is it the weight loss miracle many claim it to be, or is the hype overblown?
The Basics of Keto
An easy way to think of the keto diet is as a simpler version of the Atkins diet. Both use the same science to help you lose weight. Being keto means following a high-fat, medium-protein, low-carb diet.
Originally developed by the Mayo Clinic in the 20s to help treat patients with epilepsy, keto diet meal plans follow a basic equation of 60 to 75 percent fat, 15 to 30 percent protein, and 5 to 10 percent carbs. Keto fans will boast about the diet’s ability to allow for bacon, burgers (without the buns), and steaks, and other foods other diets typically ban. That’s because, for many, this is a prime benefit of following the keto diet and helps individuals stay on course.
A general meal plan for a keto dieter would include lots of healthy fats, like olive oil and avocados, and proteins, like seafood and poultry.
A general meal plan for a keto dieter would include lots of healthy fats and proteins. Some examples of healthy fats are nuts, avocados, and certain oils like olive oil. Ideal proteins for someone on the keto diet include seafood, poultry, and fresh (non-processed) meat. Eggs are also excellent sources of both protein and fat, making them awesome in the keto world. Low-carb vegetables and fruits are also important to keeping a ketogenic diet well-rounded and balanced. You can even indulge, occasionally, in keto-friendly desserts like chocolate, keto-cookies, and certain cocktails that may help keto feel less like a diet.
The Science Behind Keto
How does the keto diet work? In short, it changes the way our body gets the energy it needs to work on a day-to-day basis. By reducing carbohydrate-intake and upping fat-intake, the diet induces ketosis. This is the process that kicks in if your body doesn’t have enough carbohydrates to fuel the body. To make up the deficit, your body switches over to burning fat, instead of carbs, for energy. This is the secret to keto’s weight loss ability. Ketosis also has the added benefits of allowing you to maintain your muscle and curbing your hunger.
The diet induces ketosis, which burns fat, instead of carbs, for energy, helping you lose weight from fat loss.
Generally, ketosis kicks in after roughly three to four days of eating under 50 grams of carbs per day. When your body enters into ketosis, it’s pretty easy to tell. For those familiar with the keto diet, they’ll likely be familiar with the keto flu. This is the stage of symptoms dieters undergo as their body transitions into ketosis. Headaches tend to be a common symptom, along with bad breath. Exhaustion is also a common complaint associated with the keto flu, since the low level of carbs can mess with your electrolyte-mineral balance. Additionally, dehydration and muscle cramps are often experienced as a result of water loss due to having higher ketone levels. Staying hydrated, getting the right amount of sleep, and slowly transitioning into the keto diet, instead of cutting out almost all carbs, can all help avoid or lower the severity of keto flu symptoms.
The Benefits of a Ketogenic Diet
Along with weight loss, a keto lifestyle may have a few other notable benefits. Some dieticians recommend keto for patients with type 2 diabetes, since it focuses on lowering your intake of carbs (a common goal of many diabetes-friendly diets). Going keto may also help improve your levels of healthy cholesterol (HDL) and cardiovascular health (through weight loss).
In addition, there’s some evidence that it may help with mild Alzheimer’s, but more research is needed before it’s considered more than just promising findings. As it stands, more research is needed before professionals can say for certain what the benefits are outside of weight loss.
The Potential Downsides of Keto
The keto diet isn’t without controversy. This makes sense for a diet that we mentioned earlier essentially “hacks” your body to lose weight. We don’t really know the long-term effects of going keto, either.
From The American Heart Association and Mayo Clinic
The American Heart Association is a bit skeptical that keto can improve one’s cardiovascular health, noting that diets like keto have been linked with early death in some studies. Instead, they suggest going with proven diets that are rich in plants and healthy proteins, like the Mediterranean diet. The Mayo Clinic also believes that the diet may have long-term concerns related to heart health. In fact, they’ve called the keto diet “more hype than help for most people.” These are people from the same organization that came up with the diet initially!
From Celebrity Trainer Jillian Michaels
Celebrity trainer Jillian Michaels made waves earlier in 2019 by taking a strong, public stance against the diet, calling it “bad for your overall health and wellness.” Michaels has been a vocal critic of keto, writing on her blog her views on the truth about the keto diet in 2018. In roughly 1175 words, she breaks down the diet and where it’s possible to go wrong with it. For example, she states that putting your body into ketosis for a long time isn’t safe, since it’s your body going into a state of emergency. Your body isn’t made to stay in ketosis for a long time. According to Michaels, the lack of a calorie restriction and the vague descriptions about what proteins or fats to indulge in can also lead dieters astray. Much of what she notes has started being echoed and expanded upon by other dietary experts.
Hard to Maintain
It doesn’t help that many people find the keto diet nearly impossible to maintain. All it takes is one cheat day to take your body out of ketosis. In fact, a cheat day on the keto diet can be even more unhealthy than expected, with studies showing that one dose of 75 grams of glucose (the sugar from carbs) while on a diet like keto can damage your blood vessels! This means that not only can it be difficult to maintain, but by introducing cheat days, you may actively be hurting yourself and undoing many of the benefits. And while you may lose weight quickly on keto, you can also regain it quickly if you start indulging in carbs again.
Ketoacidosis
Keto can also lead to a dangerous condition known as ketoacidosis in extreme cases. This occurs when there’s too many ketones in your body. This condition causes your blood to become acidic and can lead to a coma or even death. So, while you may lose weight very quickly on keto, there’s a chance you can hurt yourself in the process.
● ● ●
Does all this mean that there’s no value to going keto and that everyone who follows it is wrong? No, even in her “The Truth About Keto” post, Jillian Michaels notes in that there are potential benefits to keto, in some forms. It all comes down to balance and sense. While you can lose a lot of weight on keto, you should still strive for a balanced diet, working in healthy sources of fat and proteins.
If you’re healthy and take a sensible approach to keto, the keto diet may work for you. Regardless, before starting any new diet, especially one like keto that’s heavily restrictive, speak with your doctor or a dietician to ensure that it’s healthy for you, specifically. If you’ve started the keto diet without talking to your primary care physician or a dietician, now’s a great time to check in with them. In the end, while they may not have you shedding pounds like keto, more well-rounded diets, like the Mediterranean, CICO, or 80/20 diets, are probably healthier overall.
Featured Blogs
- Learning to Ski
- The Stories Behind Classic Christmas Carols
- 4 More Tips to Make Christmas Tree Hunt Less Stressful
- Why Do We Celebrate That? Other Festive Holidays
- A Senior Guide to Boston
- A Senior Guide to Edinburgh
- How Does Medicare Cover Osteoporosis?
- What are Ulcers?
- Medicare's Coverage of Parkinson's Disease
- What is a Cognitive Screening?
- Spooky Spots for Halloween 2023
- 4 Ways to Keep Trick-or-Treating Safe
- 10 Classic Horror Books for Halloween
- Here's What Medicare Costs in 2024
- 10 Safety Rules for Seniors Who Enjoy Hunting
- Medicareful Living is Changing Its Name — Here's Why
- CMS Releases 2024 Medicare Advantage and Part D Costs
- Can You Keep Your Medicare Plan Each Year?
- A Senior Guide to Lucerne
- Is Expensive Cookware Worth It?
- The Drug Prices Medicare Can Directly Negotiate
- Does Medicare Ever Cover Cosmetic Surgery?
- A Senior Guide to Barcelona
- How Does COBRA Work with Medicare?
- Different Ways Medicare Can Cover Drug Costs
- Medicareful Living is Changing Its Name — Here's Why
- CMS Releases 2024 Medicare Advantage and Part D Costs
- Can You Keep Your Medicare Plan Each Year?
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to Lucerne
- Is Expensive Cookware Worth It?
- The Drug Prices Medicare Can Directly Negotiate
- Does Medicare Ever Cover Cosmetic Surgery?
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to Barcelona
- How Does COBRA Work with Medicare?
- Different Ways Medicare Can Cover Drug Costs
- All About Enrolling in Social Security
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to the Madrid
- Does Medicare Cover Open-Heart Surgery?
- Exercise Tips for Summer
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to Lisbon
- Hosting a Safe Summer Barbecue
- Senior Summer Barbecue Tips
- Does Medicare Cover Biopsies?
- 5 Foods to Avoid if You Have High Blood Pressure
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to the Finger Lakes
- Does Medicare Cover Endoscopies?
- Ways Seniors Can Recover from a Workout
- Is Chocolate Healthy for You?
- Understanding Adult ADHD
- How Does Medicare Cover Hypertension?
- The Symptoms and Treatment of Parkinson's Disease
- How to Determine What Temperature to Use When Cooking
- Eating Healthy on a Budget
- Keeping Fit on Vacation
- Is Your Tonsillectomy Covered by Medicare?
- Tips for the Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Kitchen First Aid Tips
- What Does FDA-Approved Mean?
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Guide to New York City
- How to Caramelize Onions
- Why Do We Celebrate That? April Fools’ Day
- Medicare and Powers of Attorney
- The Essential Role of Eggs in Cooking
- What are Different Types of Complementary
and Alternative Medicine? - Tips for Remembering to Take Your Medicine
- What is Medicare Part E?
- Building Your Basic At-Home Senior Gym
- How to Make Stovetop Popcorn
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to New Orleans
- How to Navigate & Read Academic Articles
- Phytonutrients: What Plant Color Says About Nutrition
- How to Prevent or Reduce Inflammation
- Osteoporosis: Risk Factors, Signs, and Treatment
- How to Make Homemade Pretzels
- Researching Your Ancestry and Family Tree
- How Medicare and Social Security Work Together
- What is Nordic Walking?
- Food Questions You've Been Embarrassed to Ask
- How Medicare Changed for 2023 and Beyond
- Tips for Using a Microwave
- How to Clean Your Ears Safely
- Skiing as a Healthy Hobby for Seniors
- 3 More Great Places to Celebrate New Year's Eve
- Why Do We Celebrate That? More New Year's Eve Traditions
- Panettone, the Italian Christmas Dessert
- A Simple Homemade Gingerbread Recipe
- How to Make Christmas Decorating Jollier
- The Science of Winter Weight Gain
- Seasonal Picks: 3 Foods You Should Try This Winter
- 5 Tips to Make Getting Your Christmas Tree Stress-Free
- Show-Stopping Potato Side Dishes for Thanksgiving
- Dishes to Impress Your Friends: Boeuf Bourguignon
- Holiday Travel Tips to Reduce Stress
- Does Medicare Cover Pain Management?
- Is Hunting a Healthy Senior Hobby?
- Ways You Can Get More Politically Involved
- What are Medicare's Lifetime Reserve Days?
- Spooky Spots for Seniors Halloween 2022
- How to Make Soul Cakes for Halloween
- Jack O' Lantern Carving Tips for Halloween
- Easy Ways to Peel a Potato
- 2023 Social Security COLA Largest in Decades
- Exercise Tips for Autumn
- How to Make Candy Apples at Home
- Why are Medicare Insurance Sales Calls Recorded?
- Here's What Medicare Costs in 2023
- CMS Updates Medicare Enrollment Rules for 2023
- Medicareful Travel: Senior Trip to London
- Does Medicare Cover Insomnia Treatment?
- Healthy and Easy Homemade Dog Treats
- The FDA Finalizes Ruling to Increase Access to Hearing Aids
- What the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Means for Medicare
- Tips to Make Flying and Airports Less Stressful
- CMS Projects Lower 2023 Part D Average Costs
- The 15 Golden Rules of Airplane Etiquette
- How Often Should You Shower?
- What are Medicare Pilot Programs?
- How to Care for Your Cast Iron Cookware
- Confronting a Loved One About Hurtful Behavior
- What Does Creditable Coverage Mean for Medicare?
- Using Za'atar in Your Cooking
- Dealing with Canceled Flights
- Protecting Your Vacation from Flight Disruptions
- Do Pre-Existing Conditions Affect Medicare Coverage?
- Which is Better: A Bath or Shower?
- Are Weight Loss Medications Healthy?
- Healthy Strategies for Anger Management
- The Health Benefits of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- The Difference Between Common Cooking Papers and Foils
- What are Medicare I-SNPs?
- Identifying Toxic Relationships in Your Life
- Healthy Ways to Spice Up Your Water
- All About Medicare Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans
- Medicareful Travels: A Senior Guide to All-Inclusive Resorts
- Does Medicare Cover Occupational Therapy?
- Lower 2023 Medicare Part B Premium Could Be on the Way
- Which is Better: Natural or Artificial Sweeteners?
- Tips for Vacationing with Pets
- Is It Better to Work Out Harder or Longer?
- Tips for Traveling with Your Pet
- Are Medicare Part B Giveback Plans Worth It?
- Introducing the Medicareful Living Family Cookbook!
- Medicare Coverage for Treatment of PTSD
- The Causes and Treatments of Nasal Congestion
- Dishes to Impress Your Friends: Spring Rolls
- Medicare Freezes Late Enrollment Penalties for Qualifying Enrollees
- What is a 5-Star Medicare Plan?
- What is PTSD?
- What is Inflammation?
- What is Medicare's Secondary Payer Program?
- What You Should Know When Buying Cast Iron Cookware
- What Does MACRA Mean for You?
- What to Do If You Receive a Terminal Diagnosis
- Dishes to Impress Your Friends: Homemade Lobster Ravioli
- Reading and Understanding Your Blood Pressure
- How to Be a Snowbird in Retirement (18 Questions to Ask!)