Text by Corina Tan
Diverse Keto Dishes
The ketogenic (keto) diet is a high-fat, low-calorie diet where the aim is to eat 75 per cent of calories from fat, 20 per cent from protein and 5 per cent from carbohydrates. It remains a popular diet especially amongst people who are looking to lose weight while health claims about this diet abound. However, one question remains – is the keto diet really safe long term?
The safety of the keto diet is still being researched, with early research showing that individuals who followed it for 24 weeks showed positive weight loss progress. Another study, however, recommends that people follow the diet not more than 12 months, and even then, need to keep a close watch on kidney function. So, the conclusion to these studies indicate that no one is sure how safe the diet is beyond a year.
“My professional recommended period of following the keto diet is about six months maximum, and that will also depend on how much the person weighed prior to starting the diet and the state of his or her overall health within those six months,” says Nikola Djordjevic, MD, of MedAlertHelp.org.
He adds, “That said, I highly advise that anyone on the keto diet get checked by a professional nutritionist or a medical doctor regularly to make sure he or she hasn’t developed any complications like hypertension.”
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There is a danger that people who are going at this diet alone, will not know or understand how to select healthy fats versus undesirable fats. In terms of carbohydrates, people may also find shortcuts to carbs like baked bread when a healthier option would be to get them from vegetables. Key nutrients that we need like electrolytes may be missed out, and their inadequacies may cause unpleasant symptoms like nausea, constipation, muscle cramps and weakness. Also, adequate nutrition for keto diet has to come from real foods instead of protein powders or MCT (Medium-chain triglyceride) oil.
Despite the many success stories from followers of the keto diet, more doctors are warning their patients against the diet because it has been ranked as one of the worst diets in U.S. News and World Report. Doctors who do support the diet, stress greatly on rules and guidelines to keep the diet safe and effective. In other words, it is extremely important that people work with their doctors, nutritionists or dietitians to make sure that they are on the right track and that their bodies are monitored for safety.
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