The Truth About The Keto Diet

What is it?

Fad diets have been around since the mid 1800’s. They’ve been around forever and they’ll be around forever, and they keep getting more and more plentiful, seemingly appearing and gaining staunch supporters overnight. A funeral director created the first low-carb diet in 1862 and we repackaged it as the keto diet in 2018. A kaleidoscope of low-carb diets sprang from various sources since Atkins in the 1970’s, too many to mention.

Ketogenic, or “keto” diets, are currently the most popular low-carb diets. No doubt you’ve heard of the diet and seen the myriad of “keto” foods on store shelves. There’s no “one” keto diet, but they’re all low carb and high fat, and they’ve been around for a long time. Celebrities and Silicon Valley executives alike swear it increases clarity and suppresses appetite. Some athletes use it to improve sports performance, although research seems to support this works for only for a small subset of elite athletes.

An enthusiastic following of the diet subscribes to the theory that producing ketones from stored fat as an alternative fuel by depriving the body of glucose is an effective form of weight loss. Our bodies’ cells use glucose as their main energy source, and we get our glucose from foods with carbohydrates. To get our bodies to a state of ketosis, no more than 5% of daily calories can come from carbohydrates. Once in this state, it takes 5 days to start burning fat as fuel. Ketosis is the same fat-burning mode people go into when they’re starving. Between 70-80% of participants’ calories come from fat, largely animal fat. Participants may experience an up to 10-pound weight loss in the first two weeks, largely due to water loss.

What’s the science say?

While the keto craze has a large and diverse bandwagon not excluding health professionals, others in the medical field express concern with the diet, largely because we have no long-term answers yet about its effectiveness or safety. They’re concerned about making meat the diet’s “go-to” staple while reducing fiber, protein and nutrient-rich grains and produce, because these diet changes can increase risk of death. Doctor Shivam Joshi argues in an opinion paper that “enthusiasm outpaces evidence” and that the diet wrongly bans beans and whole grains, which are linked to long lives. Researchers also pose concerns about kidney stones and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

The evidence we have that the keto diet works in the short term should be weighed with the fact that we have none that it works in the long term. Most of the studies we have so far used a small group of participants in a short-term of twelve weeks or less, and did not include control groups. Further, evidence seems to suggest that it works no better than other diets.

You decide.

Beliefs about nutrition cut deeply personal for many, and I totally get it. I’m not a dietititan, nor do I have an agenda. The eating habits I favor are the ones that work for you and that make your body healthy and strong for the long haul.

If you choose to start a keto diet, consider talking to a doctor or dietitian first who can keep tabs on any changes and/or help you create an eating plan that fits your individual health conditions. When considering a new diet, also consider your personal preferences, your lifestyle, and your goals.

For example, look back on the diets you’ve already tried—What worked/didn’t work over the long run? How did being on the diet feel to you? Did you feel anxious? How long was the diet? What are your inner motivations for going on a diet—To improve your health, or to impress others? Only you can discern what’s best for you, based on the honest answers to those questions.