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The ketogenic diet, or keto diet as it is commonly known, has become very famous in different analogous and digital media, which exalt its benefits showing the clear results of the food plan based on very reduced consumption of carbohydrates but enriched with fats. According to multiple studies carried out by important nutritional institutions and health professionals is cataloged as an important tool for weight loss in the first place and improve the quality of life of those who are governed by the aforementioned plan, however, it is important to mention the risks of side effects that may occur due to the use, abuse or lack of professional guidance and advice to obtain a satisfactory outcome, in that sense, we will continue our line of ideas.
First of all let’s define why you would be willing to follow a dietary plan like the one that the keto diet represents, those motivations are clear and you wouldn’t be the only person pursuing those interests, since, a great part of the world population has as objectives or desires to reduce waist, hip, abdomen, leg sizes and so on, regardless of whether your diet is for a health issue recommended by your doctor or an aesthetic issue which is also perfectly acceptable.
Let’s say that you want to wear a dazzling swimsuit in your next summer vacation or your cardiologist urged you to improve your diet and reduce several pounds to give a better quality of life to your heart and your existence in general, the keto diet is an excellent tool or plan that you can use in your favor but always maintaining certain parameters that we will see later.
Health reduction?
The keto diet or the set of them that can be found disseminated in a great variety of sources of information proposes to the user of this diet that it minimizes in great measure the quantity of essential elements for the suitable development of the organism, among these elements we find reduction of vegetables and fruits, question that supposes for the body a very low contribution of minerals, fiber and vitamins.
Let us understand that the consumption of vitamins and minerals represents a fundamental character in the feeding of the human being, being needed a balanced proportion of these, so that the body correctly makes its biochemical functions but elementary and so that the deficiency of nutrients is avoided this keeps a variety of them in the corporal deposits, elements where we find that some are stored in greater quantity and others in very low doses, in simple terms, when the consumption of nutrients is stopped and the levels in the deposits drop, immediate, medium or long term effects are produced depending on each one and the time period in which it has been deprived of its intake.
On the other hand, the scarce or null consumption of fiber finishes among other affections, in problems of constipation that will appear progressively in the person.
In any of the two previous cases it could be recommended in the middle of the keto diet that the person uses some vitaminic supplement and a certain type of infusion that provides slight laxative effects, nevertheless, the main advice that you need will find it without any doubt with your doctor of confidence or the professional of the nearer one than it has after carrying out its corresponding analyses to him and determining its condition in concrete, letting him know if you can begin or to maintain the rate of the diet.
In addition to the effects of the mentioned reduction, there are other elements that must be carefully considered. The scarcity or minimization of hydrates in the daily diet increases the production of ketone bodies, generating in most cases halitosis or that unpleasant bad breath that we avoid so much in our lives, and at the same time adding sensations of fatigue and marked tiredness, but it does not end at this point.
Since the ketone bodies that the organism will now produce must reach the brain to replace glucose, which will be reduced to a considerable minimum, and since glucose is considered the brain’s favorite food, the cognitive capacity, and its performance will also be reduced and affected, as has been shown by several scientific studies carried out in the United States of America.
Since we are talking about ketone bodies, if these rise in a very exaggerated way massively invading the blood there is a possibility of finding a condition known as ketoacidosis which has the ability to produce damage in some organs or in some instances the comatose state, which is why I will not tire of advising you always under any circumstances to consult health professionals.
Common Risks
- The progressive deterioration of bone health is one of the most common conditions found in people who have been practicing this type of diet for a long time, which is directly related to the consequent loss of bone strength due to the decrease in mineral density while the individual’s body adapts to the desired ketosis for weight loss.
- Conditions such as psoriasis and other skin conditions as reflected in a study done in Salzburg, will be exaggeratedly pronounced in the body due to the high consumption of fat proposed by the diet, thus producing different major or minor skin eruptions in practitioners.
- There is a time when because of the process that the body lives when starting to burn fat or calories, there is what has been colloquially called the keto flu, this is an anomaly that has the characteristics of a common flu but is nothing more than the lack of energy due to lack of carbohydrates, the symptoms that have been observed by specialists include multiple dizziness, fatigue, spontaneous headaches and nausea, all while the body is accustomed to being in a state of ketosis.
- When a person is consuming very high quantities of animal food products that gather large proportions of fat within which are mentioned eggs, cheese, meat, like some others, it is most likely that your body enters a state known as acidified specifically your blood and urine, which forces the body to have to expel calcium through urine and in turn this presents a greater risk of developing kidney stones. If an individual suffers from any renal disease or presents any type of difficulty with the kidneys, he should completely avoid any variant of the keto diet, since his body will not be able to eliminate the accumulation of acid in the blood from those foods suggested in the keto diet.
- The studies based on the highly promoted keto diet have been very exhaustive and far-reaching in order to preserve the health and integrity of the community in general which is tempted to try all those fads they find attractive without considering the opinion of an expert to prevent regrettable damage, These studies have shown that those eating behaviors in their multiple variants and names oriented to the restriction of carbohydrates if maintained over a long period of time will cause the development of cardiovascular diseases, and some other chronic difficulties that could ultimately turn into cancer if not taken care of properly.
- We cannot forget that a ketogenic diet plan is not compatible with the person who especially presents hepatic diseases, since, this diet can cause problems directly in the liver and the kidneys due to the high index of proteins that must be metabolized by them.
- In a long list of studied cases it was found that in most of the practitioners of this dietary modality emotional or mood changes were produced, light in some and abrupt in others due to the lack of healthy sugars present in the carbohydrates required by the brain at different times.
Recommendations
In this article we do not intend to discourage all those who have achieved timely and enjoyable results through the keto diet, nor those who have invested time studying it and trying to improve it progressively, however, our commitment is to the health, welfare and stability of people who devote a little of their attention to keep us informed.
We believe that it is not right to blindly believe in a list of benefits presented in various places if these are not confronted with the risks that are also present in the midst of the miraculous idea of the keto movement that has become so popular without providing complete information, and this, thanks to being promoted tirelessly by self-proclaimed nutritionists, trainers or life, health, mind and body coaches who somehow ignore the real interests and needs in health and welfare issues of the people who follow them because they simply do not have the accreditation and professional preparation to be able to function as perfect counselors in these matters.
There are many rumors, the much sought-after miracle promise of effective weight loss, and so much noise around the ketogenic diet because at first glance it seems infallible and very safe for a considerable group of people but among other sectors there are three in particular for which special attention should be paid if we talk about the keto movement, I could say that it would be best not to apply this diet in these people who are consuming medications for diabetes, drugs for the control and regulation of blood pressure, and finally those women who are breastfeeding.
In principle, as we have said before, the most important thing you should do before the eventual decision to follow a dietary plan like this or any other is to consult the opinion of a professional expert in nutritional matters with the objective of obtaining the correct orientation and avoiding regrettable effects, however, within our humble opinion that should not be considered as definitive in these matters, we can say based on a variety of academic studies, some products like the following are recommended to consume when practicing the keto diet, let’s see.
If saturated fats are referred to, it is advisable to use cocoa butter or coconut oil. With respect to unsaturated fats, products such as seeds, avocado, olive oil, tofu, nuts and almonds can be consumed.
We do not recommend eliminating carbohydrates without medical observation, although if your desire is to prove its benefits in a reduced period, the keto diet urges you to eliminate fruits and vegetables from daily consumption in spite of the fact that these are totally necessary for the body, which is why we suggest that you keep within the list of products to consume at least low proportions of chard, spinach, cucumber, celery, garlic, cabbage, onions, asparagus, peppers and pumpkins.
