The Keto Diet: Good or Bad?

What is keto and who is it for?

What is Keto?

The ketogenic diet means your body runs on ketones rather than sugar. This happens when your total carbs are fewer than 20grams per day. When this happens, your body shifts from using carbs for energy to using fat. The keto diet is high in fat, low-moderate in protein, and extremely low in carbs.

The Good

Clinically the keto diet has been studied and proved to help epilepsy in children since the 1920s. It’s gained popularity today due to its ability to be a very powerful weight-loss diet. This is because eating a lot of carbs is the quickest way to gain weight. As a weight lifter, I was able to gain 50 lbs by upping my carbs. When I was ready to shed weight, I simply lowered my carbs to a keto level and lost 20lbs in a few weeks. Bodybuilders manipulate carbs to bulk and cut before a show.

I utilized keto to help heal from an autoimmune disease that I had for 10 years. It should be noted that many keto foods are considered keto simply because they have low carbs. Many of these snacks are highly processed. If anyone is trying keto for weight loss or for a chronic condition, you’ll want to avoid highly processed foods.

The Bad

The complications start because keto is not right for everyone. I personally felt horrible when I did it. There is a 2 week adjustment period but I was keto for over a month. Your body needs glucose for certain functions, especially for your brain and thyroid to function. When you’re In keto your body does make glucose out of protein, either that you’re eating or from existing muscle.

This is called, gluconeogenesis and it is a stress on your body. Meaning when your body is having to make glucose out of protein, it releases cortisol which is something you want to avoid.

Many doctors are weary of endorsing the ketogenetic diet just yet. There isn’t a lot of studies on using the diet long-term. Doctors such as Alan Christenson, author of The Adrenal Reset Diet, fear the keto diet is too restrictive and that it’s dangerous for most people.

Anecdotal evidence can’t be ignored either. People are coming out in droves praising the keto diet. If something makes you better, there’s not much room for debating it.

The Takeaway

So is the keto diet good or bad? The answer is totally dependent on the individual. For some, it’s a weight loss bomb, for others it’s a cure to chronic illness, and yet for others, it can cause problems with the thyroid and lead to stress on the body.

It’s good for some, but not for everyone. Ultimately, I recommend experimenting and getting bio-feedback from your body. That’s really the only way you’ll know if it’s good for you or not. Me personally, I stay low carb but not keto. For me, Keto is a therapeutic option to be used short-term when battling an illness, but not a long-term diet. Tim Ferris also views keto this way.