Ask any devotee of the keto diet and they will tell you that the high fat and carbohydrate eating plan offers real results: many people who follow the restrictive plan lose weight and, unlike other diets that they may have tried, they do not make. Feeling hungry or deprived
But the keto diet also has its disadvantages. To begin with, its entire premise is based on a complex metabolic state known as ketosis, in which the body is forced to burn fat instead of carbohydrates for energy. It is not easy to send the body to ketosis, says Melissa Bailey, RD, a clinical dietitian at the University Hospital of Pennsylvania, or keep it there for an extended period of time.
"Even in the hospital under strict controls, when we send patients to ketosis for medical reasons, it can be extremely difficult to do," says Bailey. "On your own, it's practically impossible to do it consistently."
Nutritionists are not the only ones who say that going keto can be difficult. Online forums and blogs are full of stories about the mistakes and misconceptions of new users. Here are some of the biggest mistakes that people tend to make, and the biggest concerns that health experts have.
Eat too much-saturated fat
The keto diet limits people to only 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day and encourages increased fat intake to compensate for missing calories. That already goes against the proportion recommended by most nutritionists for a balanced diet, says Bailey, but it is even more worrisome when people primarily choose saturated fats to fill that gap.
"I know people who follow the keto, and many times I see that there is a lot of bacon in their day or a lot of really processed meat," says Bailey. "And those thing are super high in sodiums and super high in saturated fats, which can really affect your cardiovascular health."
Although the evidence linking saturated fat to heart disease has been mixed, one of the largest and most recent studies on the subject found that people who consumed the most saturated fat were 18% more likely to develop a disease coronary than those who ate less. The dietary guidelines of the USA UU They currently recommend limiting saturated fat to no more than 10% of your daily calories.
"If people want to follow this diet, there is a way to get that extra fat in their diet, but still choose healthy fats," says Bailey. "But there are not enough people who are taking that extra step."
Losing important nutrients
The elimination of whole foods or food groups, such as milk or grains, both of which are banned (or close to them) in the keto diet, can cause deficiencies in certain micronutrients, says Bailey. Dairy products are a good source of calcium, for example, while bread and cereals are often enriched with iron or magnesium.
"When you are limitings those source, you are not going to gets the same nutrients by eating bacon and steak," says Bailey. "Every time you eliminate something from your diet, I recommend talking with your doctor or a nutritionist about taking a supplement instead."
On the other hand, adds Bailey, the supplements often contain glucose or other types of sugar as filler ingredients. (Some prescription and over-the-counter medications also do). "In some cases, taking supplements or medications can prevent people from achieving ketosis," says Bailey, "which goes back to the idea that achieving ketosis really is not an easy or sustainable goal."
Do not drink enough water
It is important to stay hydrated with any diet, but dieters with keto often cite this as a big mistake they made when they started with their new plan. A large part of the drop in pounds that people see in their first weeks comes from water weight loss, says Bailey; If that water does not replenish, it can cause constipation and contribute to the sensation of shit known as the keto flu.
Exaggerate in artificial sweeteners.
When a Reddit commentator recently asked people to share their biggest problems with the keto, several joined warnings about maltitol, a sweetener used in many products suitable for keto. (The low-carbohydrate snacks that contained the ingredient were "delicious," one person noted, "but the incoming gastrointestinal apocalypse is not worth it.")
It is true that maltitol and other sugar alcohols can cause diarrhea and swelling, especially when consumed in large quantities. That's one of the reasons why it's a good idea to choose whole foods or homemade foods instead of processed foods and packaged with long lists of ingredients, says Bailey, even when you're making a keto.
Consume more carbohydrates than you think
Reducing carbohydrates sounds simple enough: simply stop eating bread and pasta, right? That's a good start, but in reality, there are many other foods that contain carbohydrates, including some that are traditionally considered proteins or fats.
"I did not know that milk is not keto," wrote a commentator on that same Reddit thread. "I was drinking milk like there was not a morning every time I had a craving for sugar [sic]." Another commentator shared a similar anecdote: "Idem! How many carbohydrates can be in a coffee with milk without sugar? A lot."
The problem with the keto, says Kristen Kizer, RD, a dietitian at the Houston Methodist Medical Center, is that there is not much room for this type of error. "Excessive carbohydrate consumption is definitely very easy," she says. "And if you're eating carbohydrates and you're not realizing, unless you're really controlling your ketones regularly, you'll fall out of ketosis and you will not know."
Waiting for long-term health benefits
The keto diet produces rapid results, Kizer admits: people tend to lose weight quickly, which is one of the reasons why the plan is so popular. But, he says, they almost always recover it when they try to switch from keto to a less restrictive and more sustainable way of eating.
Even more disturbing, he adds, is the fact that people initially tend to lose fat and muscle. The pounds you recover, on the other hand, due to changes in your muscle mass and metabolism, tend to be a higher percentage of fat.
Bailey agrees that the benefits of the keto diet, in addition to short-term weight loss, are questionable. "There are no long-term studies that show what this is doing to our overall health," he says, "and we know that if you're eating a lot of saturated fat, it could be harmful."
That's why Bailey does not recommend the keto diet for weight loss or for general health reasons, even temporarily. "And if you're really passionate about trying, ask your doctor or nutritionist to help you come up with a plan that includes healthy foods in healthy proportions," she says. It is possible that most people follow a low carb diet in a way that is not harmful, he adds, "but makes smart and work decisions."
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