How does ketogenic diet work

However, the review concluded that the positive effects of the diet on heart health depend on diet quality. Discover which foods promote heart health. Some studies, such as this review , suggest the ketones that generate during the keto diet provide neuroprotective benefits, which means they can strengthen and protect the brain and nerve cells.

The ratio of fat, protein, and carbs in a keto diet alters the way the body uses energy, resulting in ketosis. Ketosis is a metabolic process during which the body uses ketone bodies for fuel. The Epilepsy Foundation suggest that ketosis can reduce seizures in people with epilepsy — especially those who have not responded to other treatment methods. More research is necessary on how effective this is, though it seems to have the most effect on children who have focal seizures.

A review supports the hypothesis that a keto diet can support people with epilepsy. The ketogenic diet may reduce epilepsy symptoms by several different mechanisms.

Discover natural treatments for epilepsy here. Polycystic ovary syndrome PCOS is a hormonal disorder that can lead to excess male hormones, ovulatory dysfunction, and polycystic ovaries. A high-carbohydrate diet can cause adverse effects in people with PCOS, such as skin problems and weight gain. There are not many clinical studies on the ketogenic diet and PCOS. One pilot study from examined five women over 24 weeks.

The researchers found that a ketogenic diet improved several markers of PCOS, including:. A different review of studies from found that a keto diet had beneficial effects for people with hormonal disorders, including PCOS and type 2 diabetes. However, they did also caution that the studies were too diverse to recommend a keto diet as a general treatment for PCOS.

Learn which foods people with PCOS should eat and avoid. The ketogenic diet may have a range of health benefits. However, staying on the ketogenic diet long-term can have an adverse effect on health, including an increased risk of the following health problems:.

The keto diet can cause adverse side effects that many people know as keto flu. These adverse effects may include:. These symptoms are especially common at the beginning of the diet as the body adjusts to its new energy source. People who take a type of medication called sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 SGLT2 inhibitors for type 2 diabetes should also not follow a keto diet. This medication increases the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis, a dangerous condition that increases acidity in the blood.

Read more on reasons a person might not lose weight on a keto diet. It is important to discuss any intended diet plan with a doctor, dietitian, or trusted healthcare provider, especially for people who are trying to manage a health problem or disease. People looking to start the keto diet should seek consultation with a doctor and check if they have diabetes, hypoglycemia , heart disease , or any other health conditions to ensure the keto diet is a safe eating pattern.

The rapid weight loss people experience with their keto diet results initially is also in part due to loss of water weight — your body stores carbs with water, so when you use up your carb stores, you lose water weight.

Weight regain is extremely common on the keto diet , as most people cannot sustain this diet long term, and once carbs are reintroduced, people often see weight gain and diminished keto diet results. When you first begin the keto diet, you may experience certain side effects that occur as a result of your body adjusting to a new fuel source. I want to be clear that these symptoms are in no way an actual flu-like illness, rather the "keto flu" is a nickname for feelings of tiredness, lethargy, mild headaches, cloudy, slow thinking, lightheadedness, and hunger that you may experience when you start a keto diet.

Think about it: your body has been used to getting plenty of carbohydrates - it's favorite food source. When you drastically reduce the amount of carbs your body receives, it will send signals to you through the form of the above symptoms - like slow thinking and tiredness.

These side effects are your body screaming, "feed me carbs! As a dietitian, I will always recommend long-term, healthy lifestyle changes rather than a fad diet. But if someone told me they were definitely going to follow a keto diet, even if I advised against it, I would make the following recommendations for what to eat:.

Rather, I recommend transitioning off the diet by following these guidelines:. In general, the keto diet can produce weight loss results in the short term, but it's not a sustainable, long-term, solution to weight problems. When you transition off the keto diet, you will likely gain the weight back that you initially lost. That's why I will always recommend longer term, healthy, sustainable diet changes rather than short-term diet fads like the keto diet. After all, studies show that healthy, low-calorie diets that include carbs can produce similar long-term weight loss results.

Before making any kind of major switch to a weight loss diet , I also recommend mentioning it to your doctor, who can refer you to a dietitian like myself for more information. Your best chance for success on such a restrictive diet as keto is to find a registered dietitian familiar with the eating style. He or she will help you gradually change your diet so you're eating fewer carbs and more fat, staying hydrated, managing any keto side effects that come up, and meeting all your nutritional needs.

What are the side effects of a ketogenic diet? An infamous stage of the keto diet is the keto flu. It's the collection of symptoms think constipation, headaches, nausea that you get when your body is adjusting to ketosis. Rest assured your symptoms will pass within a couple of weeks, but a registered dietitian can help you minimize them. Because the main tenet of the keto diet is counting and cutting carbs — a commonly used way to control blood sugar — this eating approach has become increasingly popular among people with type 2 diabetes who are looking to lower their A1C , which is the two- to three-month average measurement of blood sugar levels.

Indeed, research suggests this diet may lead to fast weight loss and potentially lower blood sugar for people with the disease. But dietitians warn the keto diet also comes with risks that are specific to people managing diabetes, including possible drug interactions and potentially dangerous low blood sugar if you're on medication, as well as kidney damage in people whose kidneys are dysfunctional because of elevated ketones in the blood.

Here are some other things to know before you try this restrictive eating plan. Following a diet that drastically restricts carbohydrates requires carefully monitoring your food choices to ensure you are meeting your nutritional needs. Work with a registered dietitian to make sure you follow this diet in a healthy manner without increasing your risk for complications or negative side effects.

You can find a registered dietitian at EatRight. Although the ketogenic diet does not explicitly require incorporating fitness into your routine, increasing your physical activity is always important when you want to reduce to or maintain a healthy body weight, according to an article in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases. The ketogenic diet relies heavily on dietary fat.

Because high levels of animal fat in the diet have been associated with increased levels of cholesterol , aiming to include a good variety of plant-based fats can be helpful.

Plant-based oils such as olive oil and avocado oil provide healthy fat for cooking and dressings. While the keto diet can lead to rapid weight loss through ketosis, the plan carries some health risks, including: Nutritional deficiencies Heart harms Gastrointestinal issues like constipation , and more.

Because of the severe carb restrictions and elimination of food groups such as grains, the plan may also be challenging to adhere to in the long run. Trying the diet, giving it up, then trying it again may lead to weight cycling, or yo-yo dieting, which will make it harder to lose weight permanently.

Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking. Carbohydrates and Blood Sugar. The Nutrition Source: Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health. Mayo Clinic. November 18, Dietary Intake for Adults Aged 20 and Over. March 26, May 19, Constipation: Overview. June 29, Journal of the American College of Cardiology. October Heart Disease Risk Factors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

December 9, Diabetic Ketoacidosis: Overview. November 11, Preventive Medicine Reports. December British Journal of Sports Medicine. July A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Obesity Reviews. January September Paoli A. Ketogenic Diet for Obesity: Friend or Foe? February Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases. Harvard Medical School. March 1, Nature Medicine.