The Keto Diet has become very famous as many individuals consider that it helps them lose weight quickly. However, the keto diet may not be best for long-term use as the high-fat consumption may lead to other health conditions like heart rhythm issues. Also, eating low-carb and high-fat makes exercising more challenging.
Currently, you find so many weight loss diets available globally, including high-protein, low-carb, etc., easily grabs your attention. The Atkins, South Beach, and Paleo diets all come under this category, and Keto Diet is one among many, Keto is also called as Ketogenic.
But the real Ketogenic Diet is different from other low-carb diets as they concentrate on protein, a keto diet mainly focuses on fat that provides 90-percent of daily calories. Remember, Keto Diet is not a type of diet to try as and trail or experiment.
The Keto Diet has become famous for individuals looking to lose weight and enhance their health. The diet includes considerably reducing carbs intake while enhancing the fat content and protein intake. This puts your body into a condition called ketosis that is similar to a molecule present in your body that helps the body burn fat instead of burning carbs.
Many people follow the Keto Diet plan as there is proof that it can help people lose weight by increasing the intake of fat content and reducing the consumption of carbohydrates. However, there may be some risks involved in a Ketogenic diet plan if you follow it for a longer period.
Although researchers are not sure about the long-term effect of the keto diet, the research has been going on to find the risk effect of long-term consumption of low-carbs and high-fat diet plan.
According to the research conducted by the ACC (American College of Cardiology) shows that if an individual is on a low-carb diet for a longer period, then there is more risk of developing AFib (Atrial Fibrillation). Reducing the consumption of carbs for a long time may cause heart rhythm problems.
The medical study conducted on around 14,000 people performed for over 20-years and found that the individuals who obtain a low percentage of their daily calories from grain, starchy vegetables, and fruits are considerably more at risk of developing Atrial Fibrillation.
This heart condition makes the heartbeat irregular and puts the individual at more risk of heart attack and stroke. However, you should know that though the studies show the connection between AFib and carb intake, it does not show a clear effect and cause. It requires more investigation to find if there are any negative effects on your health if you cut down carbs intake.
Table of Content
Ability to exercise might suffer
If you are on a low-carb diet for a longer period, then you may not have the required energy to work out every day. One of the major properties of the Keto Diet is that it makes your body get the energy from fat instead of getting the energy from carbohydrates. Though it is a positive change, the benefits may depend on how energetic you are.
The keto diet is initially used to help the children suffering from epileptic seizures; it is used to reduce the frequency of seizures. Also, the keto diet has been tried for weight loss. However, Kathy McManus, a director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital, says that “the study was done only for short-term results, and we don’t know if it works for long-term. Also, the results were mixed, so it is not sure if the diet plan is completely safe or not.”
How does it work?
The major goal of the Keto diet is that it forces your body to use various types of energy. Instead of depending on sugar/glucose that obtains from carbohydrates like legumes, grains, fruits, and vegetables, the Keto diet depends on ketone bodies; it is a kind of energy that the human liver produces from stored body fat.
Burning excess fat is a perfect way to lose weight; however, making the liver produce ketone bodies is a bit tricky. To make your body convert fat into energy, you need to reduce the intake of carbohydrates, which would be around 20 to 50gms of carbs per day. Well, it generally takes a few days to reach the ketosis state. Also, eating a lot of protein can affect the ketosis.
What do you eat?
In the Keto diet plan, you should consume high-fat in each meal. For instance, in a 2,000 calorie diet, you must consume around 165gm of fat, 75gms of protein, and 40gms of carbs. But, the precise ratio depends on your specific needs.
Keto diet also includes some healthy unsaturated fats like walnuts, almonds, avocados, seeds, olive oil, and tofu. But saturated fat from lard, palm oil, butter, coconut oil, and cocoa butter are stimulated in high amounts.
In the keto diet, the consumption of protein is not provided clearly whether you can eat lean protein foods or saturated protein sources like pork, beef, and bacon. When it comes to eating fruits and vegetables, well, most fruits are rich in carbohydrates, but you can eat some particular fruits in small portions like berries. Also, leafy green like Swiss chard, kale, and spinach are restricted. Even most vegetables are rich in carbs, so when you are on the keto diet, make sure to eat the veggies in small portions.
Conclusion
A Keto Diet can be an exciting alternative to treat particular health conditions, and it may speed-up the weight loss process. But, this diet is not easy-to-follow, as it makes you consume fatty products, red meat, salty foods, and processed foods that are extremely unhealthy.
Also, researchers are not sure about the long-term effects of this diet. Also, it is not easy for any individual to follow this diet for a long time. Also, it is important to know that the fab diets that provide quick weight loss are connected with increased mortality.
It is important to consult your physician before considering following any diet plan, including a keto diet plan. Instead of following a popular diet plan, you must look for change that is reliable and gives you long-term results.
