Is the Keto Diet Healthy?

The Keto diet is now becoming a trend among people who seek quick, healthy and sustainable weight loss, or to manage/prevent lifestyle illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and arthritis among others.

But the question on everyone’s mind is whether it is safe to follow the Keto diet. Are there risks involved in adopting a ketogenic diet? If there are risks, do the benefits outweigh them? There are numerous studies that have been carried out to find out whether the Keto diet is healthy.

To unravel whether a keto diet is healthy, let's start with the basics:

What is Keto Diet?

Keto is a high-fat diet with extremely low levels of carbohydrates and moderate amounts of proteins. The diet is centered on making you healthy as your body enters into a glucose-starved state known as ketosis. In this state, your body converts fats into ketones to get energy.

Many argue that Keto diet is healthy because it is known to help people lose weight and experience long-term keto diet benefits such as high energy levels, low blood sugar, high rate of fat loss, increased levels of good cholesterol, and reduced risk of contracting Alzheimer’s.

However, some people may wonder: Is it even healthy to cut off fruits and vegetables and to replace them with a fat-based diet?

The Right Keto Approach

To realize the Keto diet benefits, you will need to adopt the right keto approach that requires you to:

• Eliminate junk food from your diet
• Get to know the levels of keto macros and eat within your recommended macronutrient amounts
• Follow your keto diet consistently to maintain ketosis and enjoy its benefits
• Avoid foods that are not keto friendly
• Choose healthy fats over unhealthy fats
• Hydrate adequately
• If you are following a keto diet primarily for fat loss, incorporate exercise to help burn fat faster
• Get at least eight hours of sleep

The Health Benefits of the Keto Diet in Managing or preventing Various Diseases

Studies have proven that the keto diet is effective in management and prevention of certain diseases. Below are 9 diseases that can be prevented and managed using the keto diet.

1. Cancer: Some recipes found in the Keto diet have ingredients that help manage small cancerous tumors or any other type of tumor. Besides, other studies that cancerous cells rely greatly on sugars to multiply and survive. A keto diet eliminates sugars and starch foods hence creating an environment that is not conducive for growth of cancerous cells.
2. Heart diseases: The Ketogenic diet raises the levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and lowers the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL). Since it is low in carbohydrates and sugars, it minimizes the risks for heart diseases that are associated with high sugar levels.
3. Diabetes and Prediabetes: These two diabetic conditions are brought about by changes in metabolism, a spike in sugar levels and overproduction of insulin. The Keto diet has shown positive effects in managing insulin resistance and reversing prediabetes and diabetes type 2.
4. Alzheimer’s disease: Research studies show that you can manage Alzheimer’s disease by slowing symptoms associated with it with a ketogenic diet.
5. Epilepsy: Epilepsy patients have reported that seizures resulting from epilepsy become less prevalent when following a strict Ketogenic diet.
6. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): When your ketone levels are high, your insulin levels reduce significantly which helps in balancing the production of hormones and thus makes you less prone PCOS.
7. Brain Injuries: A study on some animals found that Keto recipes could reduce concussion and help patients recovering from brain injuries.
8. Acne: Managed insulin levels and consuming less sugar or processed foods may help alleviate acne.
9. Obesity: Other studies show that people on the ketogenic diet lose weight proportionally to their body fat. They also experience a reduced appetite, which is essential in weight management.

Conclusion

The keto diet will help reduce inflammation, increase the rate at which you lose fat, and boost your energy levels among other benefits. You need to focus on the quality of food and getting enough nutrients to reap Keto diet benefits.

For tasty keto fat bombs and snacks, recipes purchase the Ketogenic Fat bombs: 57 Sweet and Savory High Fat, Low Carb Fat Bomb Recipes for Paleo, Keto and Low-Carb Diets (Keto Cookbooks).