What are the benefits of keto diet?

Over the past several years, I have performed in-depth research on different diets that are popular for their claimed health-boosting and weight-loss benefits. The keto diet is among them.

To give you a quick overview, the keto diet is short for the ketogenic diet. In general, the keto diet is composed of 75% good fats, 20% protein, and 5% carbs. There are a few variations of the keto diet (like high-protein keto diet), but this is generally the standard macronutrient ratio needed in order to achieve ketosis.

Ketosis is the key to the keto diet. Ketosis is a normal metabolic process characterized by increased ketone production. Ketones are a form of energy that is alternative to carbohydrates. Carbohydrates break down into glucose, which are easy for the body to use, but can also be problematic when over-consumed, like they are in the Standard American Diet (SAD).

To understand if the keto diet is considered healthy, first, let’s take a step back to understand ketosis - since misunderstandings are often the root of the criticism of the keto diet.

This is what I have found in my research about the potential health benefits of the keto diet with links to relevant research:

1. Promotes weight loss: While a low-fat diet is often recommended for weight loss, but research shows that a high fat, moderate protein, and low-carbohydrate diet is much more effective at promoting weight loss, thanks to the beauty of ketone bodies.
2. Lowers risk factors for disease: These risk factors include high blood sugar and insulin levels, high cholesterol, and high triglycerides, among others.
3. Protects from muscle loss: a very low carbohydrate diet with adequate amounts of protein are likely protective against the loss of muscle mass.
4. Lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes: Excess fat is linked to metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes, and weight loss spurred by the keto diet can help to lower risk factors..
5. Helps to control type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders: If you have diabetes, you may be turning to the ketogenic diet as a way to control your insulin and glucose levels. Early research shows that the ketogenic diet can help you significantly improve insulin sensitivity levels. One study even shows that some diabetes patients were able to stop taking their diabetes medication altogether while on the keto diet.
6. May help slow tumor growth for certain types of cancer: Early research shows that a calorically-restricted ketogenic diet is an effective alternative therapy for malignant brain cancer). Since high levels of circulating glucose in the blood are needed for tumor growth, the glucose-reducing effects of the keto diet help to slow tumor growth.
7. Improves symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease: The ketogenic diet may help to reduce the symptoms and slow the progression of degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
8. Helps treat factors causing polycystic ovarian syndrome (POS): POS is the most common cause of infertility among women. One of the aggravating factors of POS is high levels of insulin. The ketogenic diet can help reduce insulin and glucose levels in the blood as a dietary therapy for POS.
9. Boosts recover from brain diseases: Initial animal studies show that the keto diet may boost the recovery of young people who have experienced traumatic brain injuries).
10. Reduces the severity of acne: One of the factors that can increase your risk of acne is high insulin levels in the blood. Since the ketogenic diet doesn’t allow you to eat sugar or processed foods, which up insulin levels, it may help to improve the appearance of acne.
    
    

For most people, the ketogenic diet could offer significant health benefits.

The two main worries of health and nutrition specialists are the following:

1. People follow the keto diet without consulting a specialist first
2. The keto diet has not been around long enough to understand its long-term effects

There are logical responses to both of these concerns and they are directly connected. Research, even if it is relatively new, is on the side of the ketogenic diet. But it is true that an unbalanced keto diet (or any unbalanced diet, for that matter) could have detrimental effects.

For that reason, it is important to:

1. Get a general medical check-up to make sure you are in good health to follow a restrictive diet.
2. Consult with a registered dietician who is a specialist in the ketogenic diet to guide you on how to build a well-balanced ketogenic diet that fills all of your nutrient needs.

Once you check these off of your list, you will very likely be able to reap the benefits of the ketogenic diet for your health.