How to lose those extra fats is a major health and personal concern for people that are overweight or obese. Working out, intermittent fasting, skipping meals, and buying necessary daily dietary supplements from BulkSupplements are ways that people have tried to lose weight, and one method that has become popular in the weight loss industry is a ketogenic diet.
What Is Ketogenic Diet and How Does It Work?
A ketogenic diet is a food pattern that contains very low or no carbohydrates and high fat intake. Our body’s main source of energy is glycogen, an end product of carbohydrates. When the body is starved of carbohydrates, it is forced to get the energy from somewhere else, and the body enters into a state of ketosis. This results in the body burning fats to use as energy, thus making you shed weight. Some have argued that a keto diet has harmful effects on the health of people. This article looks at the pros and cons of the keto diet you need to know before you subscribe to it.
Pros of Keto diet
Weight loss
The major reason for the keto diet is weight loss and this is the first benefit you enjoy when you start this diet. Since it is a low-carb diet, it reduces your intake of sugar and your body makes use of fats as its energy causing you to burn more fats. Keto diet makes you feel fuller, thereby reducing your cravings for food.
May inhibit the growth of cancer cells
Cancer cells use glucose as their source of energy to multiply rapidly, with the keto diet, cancer cells will be starved of glucose which reduces their growth.
Improves brain functioning
Keto diet helps to reduce inflammation in the brain. According to research, the keto diet increases sensory and motor functions to keep the brain healthy. It helps to control seizures in people with epilepsy, improves cognitive functions in adults, and prevents symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
Controls sugar in the blood
Since high carb intake is not good for type 2 diabetes patients, the keto diet controls sugar in the blood by reducing the level of sugar in the blood. It also minimizes insulin sensitivity.
Cons of a keto diet
Despite the benefits the ketogenic diet offers, it has some side-effects. This is not peculiar to the keto diet only. You should read other diet product reviews to know if they also have their own side-effects.
Risk of high cholesterol
Keto diet which is a high intake of fatty foods can have negative effects on your cholesterol levels. Consuming large amounts of saturated and transfats puts you at the risk of high cholesterol as well as cardiovascular diseases. Saturated fats like red meat are not good while unsaturated fats help to lower your cholesterol level.
Nutrients deficiencies
Due to the fact that the keto diet involves a low intake of carb, you will be missing out on foods that contain fiber, important vitamins, and minerals like vitamins A, B, C, K, calcium, zinc, and magnesium. This could cause long-term health issues.
Heart disease, kidney stone, and liver disease
Drastically cutting off carbohydrates from your food may cause kidney stones due to a lack of fiber intake. It can also increase the risk of heart disease and liver problems.
Keto Flu
By changing your diet to keto, you may experience what is called “keto flu” which includes headaches, constipation, fatigue, nausea, hunger, brain fog, and irritability.