When it comes to dieting, people usually have a few different goals in mind. Some people will adjust their diet for financial or ethical reasons, others will want to lead a healthy life, and some just want to lose weight. Each of these are valid and effective motivations, but some diets might be more useful for weight loss than they are general health.
One of these diets that's proven especially popular in recent times is the ketogenic diet, which has been adopted by Halle Berry, Jenna Jameson and more - more affectionately known as keto. It's gained a ton of popularity in recent times, because if you do it right, it allows you to lose weight while eating a lot of bacon, cheese and avocado.
If you do it right.
But unfortunately, more and more experts are warning against going on the keto diet, especially with your long-term health in mind. While the idea of cutting down on carbs seems like a great idea in concept, it's already something we've seen crash and burn before with the Atkins diet, which came with delightful side-effects such as excessive thirst, bad breath, the 'meat sweats' (really not fun) as well as some good old constipation.
The keto diet works on a slightly different principle. It's designed to trigger a process known as ketosis; where your body switches from burning carbs to burning fat instead, allowing you to lose weight by doing little more than eating fatty food and sticking with exercise.
Nutritionist Dana James explains that the keto diet was initially designed for people living with epilepsy. "The ketogenic diet was not developed for fat loss but rather for epilepsy. It is a diet I endorse for neurological issues but not fat loss," she revealed.
“I like the idea, the basic concept," said Dr. Kim Williams, former president of the American College of Cardiology, to Plant Based News. "You change your dietary habits and you change something. Unfortunately, the science of it is wrong. If all you wanted was short-term weight loss — and short-term could be a year or two — if that's all you’re looking for, great.”
Long term, going onto the keto diet could have a lot of similar side effects as with the Atkins - primarily, constipation. James says that the ratio of nutrients - 60 percent fat, 35 percent protein, and five percent carbs - mean things can go very wrong if you're on it too long.
"If you follow these ratios strictly you won’t have enough plant fiber or phytonutrients for regular bowel movements — you’ll be constipated — your skin will lose its vibrancy, and you’ll disrupt the gut micro-biome, which feeds off the plant fiber, and this will have an adverse impact on your mood and thyroid. Of course, none of this shows up straight away, but it will.”
So there you have it, folks. If you're looking to shed pounds rapidly for a special occasion like a vacation or a wedding, then it might work to go on the keto diet. If you're looking to lose weight and keep it off for a long time, there might be a more suitable diet plan out there for you.
