Keto Diet
Should you try the Keto diet to lose weight?
Short answer: I don’t know
The research done on this topic is contradictory and very limited.
I used to be wholly against the keto diet… mainly because I had seen so many people try it, lose a bunch of weight really fast and then gain it all back when they stopped following the diet
Lately, I’ve softened on the subject because I have seen some conflicting information…but I still don’t recommend any “diet”
Anyway, I wanted to have a more informative answer when people ask me about it so I did some research and here’s what I found:
According to an article by Ludwig et. Al. In 2021, glycemic load is what we should be paying more attention to when it comes to fat storage rather than energy balance. Energy balance is the thing everyone usually refers to regarding weight loss: eat less, move more. But according to this study, animals with a high glycemic index diet which includes things like white bread and potato chips compared to animals with a low glycemic index diet which includes things like legumes and non starchy vegetables had in increase in fat storage without increasing their energy intake.
Eating high glycemic load foods also promotes hunger and cravings for such foods which leads to a vicious cycle. Energy expenditure may also decline because of decreased fuel availability.
So by eating a keto diet, and essentially replacing high glycemic foods or carbs with fat that has no glycemic load, people experience weight loss. It’s not necessarily the lack of carbs, but the glycemic load that makes the difference.
According to an article by Dashti et. Al. In 2005, there are numerous studies that suggest that a high carb diet raises triglyceride levels and reduces HDL cholesterol however, they found that this could be reversed by replacing saturated fat instead of carbs.
According to another study conducted this year, ketogenic diets induce cellular senescense which means the cells stop dividing. This has been implicated in organ diseases including diseases of the heart and kidneys but it has also been used to treat cancer by slowing the division of the cancer cells. Interestingly, they found that intermittent ketogenic diets did not have this effect. They also point out the fact that we do not really know if ketones are anti inflammatory and that some research has shown that they are actually pro inflammatory and can lead to organ disorders. The National Institute of Health supports the idea that long term ketosis can lead to liver and kidney disorders.
So what do we do with all of this?
I will still never recommend any diet because restricting yourself in any way just doesn’t seem sustainable to me. While there may be some benefits to the keto diet, the same benefits are seen with low glycemic index diets and low saturated fat consumption so personally, I would rather avoid possible organ dysfunction and diet relapse and focus on eating a balanced diet full of foods that I truly enjoy while trying to substitute low glycemic foods whenever I can, watching my saturated fat consumption and prioritizing the things that are proven to make a positive difference like quality sleep, proper hydration and regular movement. That seems more sustainable to me.
References:
Batch, J.T., Lamsal, S.P., Adkins, M., Sultan, S., Ramirez, M.N. (2020). Advantages and Disadvantages of the Ketogenic Diet: A Review Article. Cureus12(8). 10.7759.9639.
Dashti, H.M., Mathew, T.C., Hussein, T., Asfar, S.K., Behbahani, A., Khoursheed, M.A., Al-Sayer, H.M., Bo-Abbas, Y.Y. & Al-Zaid, N.S. (2004). Long-term effects of a ketogenic diet in obese patients. Exp Clin Cardiol.9(3):200-5.
Grundler, F.; Mesnage, R.; Ruppert, P.M.M.; Kouretas, D.; Wilhelmi de Toledo, F. (2024). Long-Term Fasting-Induced Ketosis in 1610 Subjects: Metabolic Regulation and Safety16, 1849. 10.3390/nu16121849
Ludwig, D.S., Aronne, L.J., Astrup, A., De Cabo, R., Cantley, L. C., Friedman, M. I., Heymsfield, S. B., Johnson, J. D., King, J. C., Krauss, R. M., Lieberman, D. E., Taubes, G., Volek, J. S., Westman, E. C., Willett, W. C., Yancy, W. S. & Ebbeling, C. B. (2021). The carbohydrate-insulin model: a physiological perspective on the obesity pandemic. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 114.(6), 1873-1885. 10.1093/ajcn/nqab270
Sung-Jen Wei et. Al. (2024), Ketogenic diet induces p53-dependent cellular senescence in multiple organs.Sci. Adv.10.1126/sciadv.ado1463
