Skip to content
Dangers of the Keto Diet - DEBUNKED!

Dangers of the Keto Diet – DEBUNKED!

The Keto diet has been the most popular diet to keep your body healthy and also in shape. The ketogenic diet is a diet process where carbohydrate level is restricted and instead high protein and fat foods are incorporated in the diet. 

The modern generation tends to inculcate this keto diet in their lives due to major health issues, obesity and inactivity. The carbohydrate diet can ruin any type of body.

Considering the fact that the keto diet itself has many important and health benefits, many nutritionists prescribe their patients for keto diet. 

The course period of ketogenic diet may be either short or long term depending upon the health situations. If you want to lose weight then a ketogenic diet can provide you the best results.

It has also been noticed that there were major changes in health and obesity. It cured the patients and also improved the daily lifestyle. Normal human beings who followed the keto diet also observed the physical changes in their day to day activities.

Diseases like Alzheimer’s seem to have some relief in their seizures. In many patients it was observed that they had reduced seizures. The weakness and fatigue level they used to face was decreased to a lower level and rather noticed an active change in their body.

In spite of such benefits, the keto diet has been hated by many. There are many nutritionists and dietitians who have protested the keto diet due to some or other reason. 

Due to certain health conditions, there might be some people who might get affected because of keto diet.

Even many keto diet proponents stated that if the diet is not planned or followed in a right way then it could affect in an opposite way. So, before you start with the keto diet, it is important to be aware of the risk factors as well.

The experts have suggested starting any diet after consultation only. It may save you from the risk of the particular diet. As the title is hinting, this article is to debunk all the harmful effects of keto diet.

Here are some risk factors because of the ketogenic diet.

THE KETO DIET FLU

Approximately, 25% of people who have followed a ketogenic diet experienced the symptoms of keto flu

The symptoms might include vomit, gastrointestinal infection, fatigue, weakness and lethargy. These symptoms are temporary and might pass after a few days of dieting.

This might happen because the body isn’t used to the low carbohydrate diet. The body stops using sugar for energy because of the deficiency in it. 

Instead, the body starts burning fat to get energy. This transition may make you feel tired for a few days. Whole body metabolism starts to adapt in a completely different way.

The carbohydrate intake is restricted to 50 grams per day. For energy, the glucose substitutes itself to ketones. 

It is also important to keep monitoring the sodium, potassium and other electrolytes level. If there is decrease in any electrolyte, it may lead to headache, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, constipation. 

All of these symptoms are because of dehydration.

If you develop any symptom of keto flu, you must talk to the expert. They may advise you to drink plenty of water and get plenty of sleep. 

To fight with flu, you are also suggested to incorporate green tea, organic coffee and herb drinks.

STRESS ON KIDNEYS

If you are reading this article, then you definitely know that the keto diet requires a high protein and high fat diet. It is also a well known fact that proteins are the major reason for the formation of kidney stones.

The high intake of such foods can cause acidity in blood and urine. The blood stream then contains higher levels of calcium in the urine. 

The calcium then forms a stone like structure. When calcium is in excess in the body, they get excreted via urine.

The keto diet also reduces the amount of citrate level in the urine. Citrate is actually helpful in preventing the formation of kidney stones. It binds with the calcium and forms a bond to prevent the kidney stones.

Dangers of Keto Diet

People who are already suffering from chronic kidney disease aka CKD are advised to never follow a keto diet. 

They already have weak kidneys and will be unable to remove the acid accumulation in blood. The keto diet in such situations can lead to acidosis and worsen the health and progression of the disease.

For those who already have kidney stone problems in their hereditary have 40% chance of developing stones. Such people are advised to incorporate less protein foods in their diet.

NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES

If you belong to India, then you must be aware of the culture and diversity in cuisines. Restricting the amount of carbohydrate and food choices can also restrict the amount of nutrients you consume.

The keto diet limits all the nutrient rich fruits, grains, and legumes. It moderates the amount of vitamins and minerals in the diet. 

The keto diet also fails to fill the need of calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B, Vitamin C, magnesium, phosphorus and all the other nutrients.

Dangers of the Keto Diet

Such restriction in diet might lead to nutrient deficiency. Dietitians always refer to you to have certain tests to know the level of all the nutrients in the body. Deficiency in any vitamin or mineral might lead to malnutrition and affect the body in harmful ways.Even those who are given green light to keto diet are prescribed certain supplements such as vitamin, potassium, magnesium, and sodium. It is the utmost priority of any nutritionist that an individual is consuming an adequate amount of diet.

BLOOD SUGAR FLUCTUATION

For the patients already suffering with diabetes are generally advised with the keto diet plan. The ketogenic diet restricts the amount of carbohydrate and sugar they consume. It helps to manage their blood sugar values.

However, the patients already suffering with type 1 diabetes may experience frequent decline in blood sugar rates. This can lead to the symptoms of confusion, fatigue, sweat. The worsened situation can also lead to the extreme conditions of coma and death.These types of patients are generally prohibited to follow any kind of diet. If the individual is in extreme need of a keto diet, then it is advised to keep a check on the glucose levels. 

Dangers of the Keto Diet

The glucose level should be checked several times a day as a routine.Diabetic conditions can also trigger ketoacidosis. This means that the ketone body starts accumulating in the brain and in return makes the blood acidic. 

The acidic blood can damage other organs in the body. Even the non diabetic patients might experience this condition because of a low carbohydrate diet. Although, it is quite rare.

LOSS OF MUSCLE MASS

This concern is still in ongoing research and scientists are trying to find the reason for it. But there are certain people who have observed the muscle mass loss while on the keto diet. It is a well observed fact that muscle mass burns more calories than the fat. This might also affect the metabolism of your body.

For those who are already into muscle training already know that if you are on the ketogenic diet, it becomes important to follow resistance training as well. This is because fat and protein alone cannot be helpful in the muscle building process.

Muscle mass also helps in daily activities and keeps the body metabolism ongoing. Losing muscle mass can also lead to weakening of the strength and metabolism.

There is one more reason for the loss of muscle mass. When a person decides to come off the ketogenic diet, there might be a certain gain in the weight. This weight gain is never in a proportionate manner.

To stop that, an individual is advised to perform resistant training in their daily life. They are also prescribed certain keto boosters to help them with the decrease in metabolism. After a while, when you are adapted to the working of a ketogenic diet, you might observe a noticeable amount of increase in metabolism.

DIGESTION PROBLEMS

Every individual has different digestive tract and bowel movements. It is on that individual how their body takes up the ketogenic diet. The keto diet is already very restrictive in carbohydrates. The lower amount of carbohydrate also creates the problem to meet the daily fiber needs.

For a group of people, this may lead to constipation. There are almost 65% of keto diet patients who reported constipation as their common problem. Also, fiber acts as bait to the good gut bacteria which help in immunity and inflammation issues. Deficiency in fiber can affect the gut bacteria.

The other groups of peoples have reported to have diarrhea as a side effect. This is because the gallbladder forms an enzyme called bile which helps in the breakdown of fat. The keto diet revolves around a high fat and high protein diet. The higher amount of fat in the diet signals the gallbladder to produce more bile.

To the people who observe these side effects are advised to have a keto diet plan revolving around high fiber and low carbohydrate food. The food such as cauliflower, avocado, broccoli and beans must be incorporated in the diet. If the problem still persists then, a dietician might also prescribe you some fiber supplements.

YO-YO DIETING

It is very strange to link keto diet with yet another form of diet called yo-yo dieting. Now, what is it? Yo-yo dieting can also be called a weight cycling method. In this type there is regular fluctuation in weight changes. A pattern is created where an individual might lose and gain weight consecutively.

Yo-yo dieting is definitely not healthy for any body type. It can lead to harmful effects on people. The keto diet is a very restrictive diet. At times, when people fail to follow the diet or do not take it seriously might face certain negative effects.

For people who want to reduce their weight have to be on the keto diet for a longer duration. Going back to normal eating habits can increase your weight with negative effects.

Yo-Yo Dieting

There is a proper protocol to leave the diet. Nutritionists ask you to follow those protocols to come off the keto diet. This is just to avoid the further complications of yo-yo dieting.

Yo-yo dieting is considered harmful for the body because it increases your weight rapidly and if you start the keto diet again, it might decrease your weight. These sudden changes in weight will obviously have negative effects over your physical and mental health.To avoid this, people with keto diet are also advised to have a control over them to not break the rules of the keto diet until the goal is achieved. After that, a dietitian will help you to add the carbohydrates gradually.

IRREGULAR PERIODS

It is a well known fact by all the women out there that sudden weight changes directly affect the periods. They may become excessively irregular or completely stop. Sudden weight gain or weight loss tends to affect the period irregularity.

Although, this might be a temporary problem at times but still needs consultation. Even if after two months there is irregularity then this might be an issue.This happens because of the decline in certain hormones such as gonadotropin- releasing hormone, estrogen, progesterone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). This long term disruption might create many more health effects. 

Doctors might also advise you to take certain supplements.Irregular periods might also change you emotionally as well physically. If the situation becomes a little serious, your doctor might also advise you to go on a keto diet. It depends on the irregularity of your cycle.

Do keep a check and consult your doctor as soon as possible if the problem persists.Being on a keto diet is not a curse. It is very important to understand that every coin has two sides. With the benefits the keto diet provides us, there are certain disadvantages as well. 

It all depends on an individual. In certain groups of people, keto diet has these harmful effects.But the majority of people have been observed to be benefited with the diet. Before starting anything it is good to know about the pros and cons of it. Hope this piece of information helps everyone out there trying to seek help.

Happy dieting!

Previous article Can I Eat Subway Salad On A Keto Diet?

Leave a comment

Comments must be approved before appearing

* Required fields