Is a low-carb or keto diet right for you? —

A low-carb or keto diet has become increasingly popular over the past decade. Though the ketogenic diet is a weight loss diet that’s high in fat, it’s not a strict low-carb diet. Instead, it’s a lifestyle that follows the same nutritional guidelines as other low-carb diets, but also emphasizes the importance of maintaining adequate carbohydrate levels in the diet.

As a keto dieter, you’re probably one of the healthiest people you know. You probably eat the right amount of protein and fat (at least 70 percent of your daily caloric intake), you exercise regularly, and you follow a low-carb lifestyle.

Carbs have gotten a pretty bad rap for years now. To some they are a major cause of weight gain, while others think they’re the key to healthy weight loss. And while we’re not claiming we have all the answers, we are saying that we have seen a lot of success- and weight loss- when we have tried a low-carb and/or ketogenic diet.

Updated 17. June 2021, based on a medical opinion from

Although a low-carb or keto diet has numerous advantages, it is not for everyone. You’ll discover some things to think about in this guide while considering whether or not this diet is suitable for you.

You may also read a scientific article on the keto diet’s potential contraindications.

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1. Is a low-carbohydrate diet necessary for you?

Do you have any health issues that a low-carb or keto diet may be able to assist with?

Reducing carbohydrate consumption, whether in little or big quantities, may help with a variety of health issues, including obesity and metabolic diseases. These health benefits may frequently be obtained only via food, without the need of medications or other treatments that can have severe adverse effects.

Although a low-carb or ketogenic diet is not a cure-all, it may be a highly effective first-line therapy or an addition to medical treatment.

If you are already taking medicines, particularly those that decrease blood sugar or blood pressure, or if you have other severe health issues, you should get medical advice before making any substantial dietary or lifestyle changes.

Is there any additional benefit to a low-carb or ketogenic diet?

Changing your diet may have an impact on not only your health but also other areas of your life. B. based on your athletic performance, hunger pains, and the amount of time you spend in the kitchen. Many individuals and physicians hear about these consequences when they adopt a low-carb or keto diet for other reasons, despite the fact that these areas are seldom investigated in scientific research. Their knowledge will also assist you in making well-informed choices on these matters.

You may not need to follow a low-carb or ketogenic diet if…

• You don’t have any metabolic issues, your weight is normal, and you have a moderate glucose tolerance.
• Diabetes and other metabolic disorders are not passed down down the generations.
• They don’t consume things that are allowed on a low-carb or keto diet (however a keto diet may be followed by vegetarians or vegans).
• You believe that giving up your beloved high-carbohydrate meals would reduce your quality of life, regardless of the potential health advantages.

For some individuals, limiting carbs in their diet, particularly less processed carbohydrates like root vegetables, fruits, and legumes, is unnecessary. Even after thorough examination of their glucose levels and potential insulin resistance concerns, they feel comfortable about consuming carbohydrates, are at a healthy weight, and have no major health problems.

Carbohydrates are found in many foods that some individuals consume in their diet, such as B. Fruits, whole grains, and certain vegetables, even though they are not required in a basic diet.

There is no such thing as a universal diet or a cure-all eating habit. For many individuals, reducing carbs in their diet offers real, substantial, and established advantages, but this diet is not suitable for everyone.

Problems with your health

To learn more about the advantages (or lack thereof) of a low-carb or keto diet, click on the following links:

a passion for life

Follow the links to learn more about how cutting carbohydrates from your diet may help (or hurt) other areas of your life than your health.

2. Moderate low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diet How low should your carb intake be?

The keto diet and the low-carb diet in general are similar but not identical. The quantity of carbohydrates you consume each day makes a difference.

The keto diet recommends consuming no more than 20 grams of net carbohydrates per day, but the precise quantity varies from person to person. Most individuals achieve nutritional ketosis at this time, which means their bodies are using fat for energy instead of glucose. Check out our ketosis guide below.

However, not everyone need such a low carbohydrate intake to enjoy the advantages.

Although specialists differ, we think that a low-carb diet may contain any carbohydrate consumption, ranging from zero to 100 grams per day. Check out our guide to ketosis, which includes a graphic representation of the various carbohydrate amounts in food:

What is the most appropriate level for you?

How can you figure out how much carbohydrate you should consume? Do you have to keep a level on all the time after you select it? The answer to this question may vary based on where you start, what you want to achieve, your medical history, and other factors.

A simple suggestion is:

• A rigorous ketogenic diet may be the most effective approach to begin treating, reversing, or adding treatment to an existing disease (type 2 diabetes, dementia, seizures, cancer, etc.). A low-carb strategy of no more than 100 grams per day may be just as beneficial if you have other health or lifestyle problems.
• A rigorous ketogenic diet is generally quicker and more successful if you’re attempting to shed a lot of weight. A more permissive low-carb diet may be just as beneficial if you’re attempting to maintain your weight.
• Consider what degree of carbohydrate restriction is personally and socially acceptable if decreasing carbs in your diet has a good or negative impact on other areas of your life. A person is more than a medical condition or a number on a scale. Food pleasure, social activities centered on food, and food culture and customs are all aspects of a person’s relationship with food. These considerations will assist you in determining the appropriate amount of carbohydrate restriction for you.

3. Where do I begin?

Here are some resources to help you get started if you’ve determined that a low-carb or ketogenic diet is right for you:

4. Loss of weight

Different diets may help people lose weight. When comparing weight reduction outcomes over a year or longer, the differences between diets typically vanish. In this scenario, there are a few additional things to consider while selecting a weight-loss diet:

1. Is calorie counting required for deliberate calorie limitation on this diet?
2. What effect does dieting have on hunger and satiety?
3. What effect does food have on resting metabolic rate?
4. Is it possible to maintain weight reduction on this diet for a longer length of time?

Here’s how low-carb and keto diets are linked to these issues:

1) You don’t need to watch calories: You may have heard that the keto or low-carb diets are simply another method to lose weight by cutting calories from your diet. However, we advise individuals beginning a keto diet to eat when they’re hungry and stop when they’re full, as long as the items they’re eating are on the keto list or part of our keto or low-carb recipes.

People feel full and satisfied with less calories when they use this method. Even though they were instructed to consume as much of the permitted items as they liked and were not prompted to count or limit calories, individuals on the ketogenic diet reported less hunger and decreased appetite, spontaneously decreasing their calorie intake. If you don’t enjoy keeping track of how many calories you eat and how many calories you burn, a low-carb or keto diet, where you focus on the foods you eat rather than the amount, may be for you.

2) Reduced appetite and increased satiety: Why do individuals who follow a low-carb diet eat less without intentionally restricting calories? Prioritizing protein can help you feel satisfied quicker. Low-carb and keto diets may also help activate hormones that lead to a natural decrease in calorie intake, which is beneficial for those who are overweight or have insulin resistance.

Studies comparing eating eggs to eating a breakfast sandwich found that eating eggs for breakfast increased feelings of satiety and reduced calorie intake for 36 hours; one study also found that eating eggs for breakfast resulted in a beneficial reduction in insulin and ghrelin, hormones that affect hunger and food intake. Despite the fact that both breakfasts had the same amount of calories, the egg breakfast group remained fuller for longer and consumed less calories throughout the day than the bagel breakfast group.

3) Increased metabolic rate: You may have heard that not all diets are effective or that the ideal diet for you is one that you can stick to. The second statement is undoubtedly correct, however the extent to which the diet fails may be related to its impact on your metabolic rate. Long-term weight reduction may be maintained by following a low-carbohydrate diet that improves resting energy expenditure.

A low-carbohydrate diet (10-20% of total calories) improves resting energy expenditure and sustains weight reduction, whereas a high-carbohydrate diet (60 percent of total calories) decreases metabolic rate, according to recent research. Insulin and ghrelin levels were also reduced in one of these trials (the hunger hormone).

4) Long-term results: A low-carb diet may assist sustain weight reduction not just through boosting energy intake, but also because the items suggested in a low-carb diet are often consumed and even ignored by individuals who are attempting to monitor calories and decrease fat in their diet. Vegetables, low-fat dairy, eggs, meat, fish, cheese, butter, and other dairy products are abundant in keto and low-carb diets.

Any diet may be tedious and uninteresting, and only you know the meals you prefer: low-calorie, low-fat, or low-carb. However, since keto and low-carb diets include so many tasty and satisfying items, they may be maintained for a long period.

How do you go about losing weight?

There haven’t been any scientific trials comparing low-carb and keto diets to see which is best for weight reduction. For quicker outcomes, the keto diet is preferred by experience and clinical opinion. A low-carb strategy, on the other hand, can help most individuals lose weight, although not as much.

Start with a ketogenic diet that has fewer than 20 grams of net carbohydrates and observe how you feel. After a few months, you may see whether you want to move to a 50-gram or even 75-gram carbohydrate diet. Always select carbohydrate sources that are excellent in quality and little processed. If your weight reduction has stalled or reversed, the keto diet is a better option for you. You can stick to a low-carb diet if you’re losing weight at a pace you’re happy with.

You may choose a slower weight reduction if a more liberal, but still low-carb diet fits your eating and social habits better. Even if you presently eat a typical American diet that is heavy in calories, carbohydrates, and poor in quality, one of these methods will almost certainly help you lose weight. The goal is to figure out which carbohydrate amount makes you feel the best, is the simplest to stick to, and has the greatest long-term success potential.

What should I do first? Check out our article for additional information on how to lose weight on a keto or low-carb diet:

How to Drop Pounds

Guide Do you struggle to lose weight? Do you want to lose weight more quickly? Then you’ve arrived to the correct location. Hormones are in charge of regulating your weight. It becomes much simpler to shed those excess pounds when you decrease your insulin levels, the hormone that stores fat. Prepare to shed pounds without depriving yourself of food.

Diabetes or pre-diabetes is number five.

The ketogenic diet, according to Dr. Sarah Hallberg and her colleagues at Virta Health, is successful in curing type 2 diabetes and removes the need for costly and possibly hazardous medications.

Patients who followed the ketogenic diet and Virta coaching intervention for only 10 weeks had substantial reductions in HbA1c levels, weight, and medication usage. More crucially, 60 percent had no metabolic indications of diabetes after a year, needed no or substantially less medication, and had improved many other health indicators, such as blood pressure, insulin resistance, inflammatory markers, and blood lipid profile.

The majority of individuals who got traditional therapy, on the other hand, saw their health issues deteriorate.

A ketogenic diet has also been shown to enhance diabetes management in smaller randomized studies with a higher level of evidence.

Policy for scientific evidence evaluation

Guidelines It is critical to have clear advice on how to evaluate the strength of various kinds of evidence based on scientific findings. Our policy is comparable to other similar papers in many respects.

Other studies have shown that different dietary and lifestyle methods may help people with type 2 diabetes, but the results aren’t as dramatic as the Virtoy ketogenic diet, which saw A1c readings drop from 7.6 to 6.3 in a year. Although we can’t directly compare the studies because of variations in subject number, procedure, and other variables, the significant disparities in success rates are impossible to ignore.

Dr. Eric Westman performed a randomized research in 2008 that found that a ketogenic diet had greater outcomes in managing diabetes than a low glycemic index diet, despite the fact that both had beneficial effects.

Another randomized trial a year later found that a low-carb Mediterranean diet was more beneficial than a low-fat diet. Another randomized study showed that after one year, the low-carbohydrate group (33 percent of total calories, or 165 grams on a 2000-calorie diet) was similar to the low-fat group in terms of diabetes management. Vegan diets have demonstrated moderate improvements in diabetes indicators and glycemic control in randomized studies, with HbA1c dropping from 8.05 to 7.71 following a 74-week intervention. In comparison to the conventional diabetic diet, the paleo diet demonstrated a modest improvement in diabetes indicators and blood sugar management.

In fact, any change in the normal American diet is likely to help type 2 diabetes, but it seems that low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets receive the greatest scores when it comes to the degree of improvement.

What methods do you use to control your diabetes?

According to current research, a keto diet with fewer than 20 net carbs per day may be the most effective way to manage type 2 diabetes and potentially reverse the condition. This isn’t to say that a low-carb diet with fewer than 100 grams of net carbohydrates isn’t helpful in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. To discover out, further randomized studies comparing low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets are required. However, compared to other dietary treatments, the keto diet has been found to generate a more complete and fast improvement.

What should I do first? Check out our guide for additional information on using a keto or low-carb diet to cure or reverse type 2 diabetes:

What is the best way to reverse type 2 diabetes?

Do you have type 2 diabetes or are you on the verge of getting it? Do you have concerns about your blood sugar? Then you’ve arrived to the correct location. You can naturally normalize your blood sugar when you need to, without the need of medications, calorie restriction, or starvation.

6. High blood pressure

Most suggestions for high blood pressure concentrate on the DASH (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) diet, which is a low-fat, low-salt diet rich in fruits and vegetables. When compared to the normal American diet, the DASH diet demonstrated a modest drop in systolic blood pressure (SBP) in early trials.

Low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets, on the other hand, have similar beneficial benefits on blood pressure (BP). According to one research, the Atkins diet, which is extremely low in carbs, is twice as efficient as the Zone, LEARN, and Ornish diets in lowering blood pressure: When compared to other diets, it reduced blood pressure by 7.6 points, compared to 2 to 3 points for other diets.

In principle, any weight-reduction diet should reduce blood pressure, but the improvement in blood pressure seen with a low-carb diet may be due to the diet itself, rather than simply weight loss. Both the keto diet and the low-calorie diet coupled with the weight-loss medication orlistat resulted in weight reduction, according to a randomized trial. The keto diet, on the other hand, decreased SAP by 6 points, while the low-fat diet with orlistat raised SAP by 1 point.

Finally, a trial of the Mediterranean keto diet in Spain found that it decreased GSP from 125 to 109. This research had no control group and was not randomized, but it did demonstrate a significant decrease in SAP.

It’s critical to discover non-drug methods for lowering blood pressure. Hypertension is now being treated aggressively, according to contradictory recommendations. Unfortunately, evidence indicates that using medicines to regulate blood pressure more aggressively increases the risk of falls, renal damage, dizziness, and other adverse effects.

If you wish to attempt a low-carb or keto diet to obtain the benefits of blood pressure reduction without the negative effects of medication, talk to your doctor first.

What is the best way to treat high blood pressure?

Few studies have compared the keto diet to a low-carbohydrate diet in terms of blood pressure management. According to the research, the best way to reduce blood pressure without medication is to start with a keto diet (less than 20 grams of net carbs). Losing weight on a low-carb diet, on the other hand, may be beneficial.

What should I do first? See our guide for additional information on managing high blood pressure with a keto or low-carb diet:

How to Get Your Blood Pressure Back to Normal

Guidelines Today, high blood pressure is a frequent health issue. High blood pressure affects almost one-third of people in the United States; maybe you or someone in your family is one of them. Although high blood pressure may go unnoticed, it raises the risk of severe illnesses including stroke and heart attack.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a condition in which the intestines become (IBS)

The low-FODMAP diet has been one of the recognized evidence-based therapies for irritable bowel syndrome over the last decade (IBS). FODMAP stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols, which are short-chain carbohydrates of various kinds (except polyols, which are sugar alcohols).

Although abstaining from different short-chain carbs has been shown in several trials to alleviate IBS symptoms, it is clear that a low-carbohydrate diet in general may be helpful for IBS.

In 2009, Dr. Eric Westman and his colleagues conducted a small research that found that following a keto diet improved IBS symptoms in 77% of individuals with diagnosed IBS. Aside from this research, there isn’t much proof that a keto or low-carb diet may help with IBS.

What is the best way to get rid of coronary heart disease?

There is inadequate scientific data to suggest a keto or low-carbohydrate diet for the treatment of IBS without reservation. However, anecdotal evidence, clinical experience, and FODMAP diet findings indicate that a keto diet, or a low-carbohydrate diet focused on reducing FODMAP foods, may be helpful and is a realistic strategy.

It’s conceivable that your personal diet-modification experiences will offer you with knowledge and good outcomes that science presently lacks.

What should I do first? Check out our guide for additional information on treating IBS with a keto or low-carb diet:

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with the ketogenic diet

Management Audra Atkins-Reeves’ sole objective when she began the low-carb keto diet in October 2016 was to reduce weight, and she did it successfully, losing 40 pounds (18 kg) in only five months. For the first time in decades, she found another great and unexpected benefit: after a month on the keto diet, her intestines were unexpectedly peaceful, quiet, and cooperative.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a kind of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)

PCOS is the most prevalent endocrine disease in women of reproductive age, and it is marked by hormonal irregularities that result in elevated amounts of circulating male hormones, irregular or missing periods, and ovarian cysts.

PCOS is associated with obesity, elevated insulin levels, and proven insulin resistance in women. Furthermore, some individuals prefer to consume meals with a high glycemic index. It also increases women’s chances of getting gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes later in life. As a result, it’s not surprising that a low-carb or ketogenic diet may help with PCOS symptoms. Weight reduction and therapy with metformin (an insulin-sensitive medicine) have been proven to be helpful in the treatment of PCOS, but it’s unclear if low-carbohydrate and keto diets will be just as effective or perhaps more so.

In women with PCOS, clinical research have demonstrated that modest dietary carbohydrate restriction (41-43% of calories, which is technically not a low-carb diet, much alone a ketogenic diet) decreases insulin resistance indicators and lowers testosterone and cholesterol levels. In another research, restricting carbohydrates to 40% of calories helped women with PCOS lose body fat.

In a short research published in 2005, 11 women with PCOS were given a six-month treatment of a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet. Weight, hormonal state, and reported hair growth all improved significantly for the five women who finished the research. Despite prior reproductive issues, two of women got pregnant throughout the research.

In addition, 14 individuals with PCOS showed substantial changes in hormone levels and insulin resistance indicators in a 2020 research.

There’s also evidence that a low-carb diet improves fertility and reproductive health among women who aren’t diagnosed with PCOS. In overweight and obese women, a comprehensive evaluation of low-carbohydrate diets (less than 45 percent of calories from carbs) revealed favorable benefits on reproductive hormones, ovulation, and pregnancy rate.

Despite the fact that these studies did not compare moderate-carbohydrate diets to low-carbohydrate or keto diets, the findings indicate that low-carbohydrate diets may be helpful in treating PCOS and enhancing reproductive health and fertility.

How far can PKOS take me?

Any weight-loss plan may help with PCOS, but low-carb diets have been proven to be helpful in reducing PCOS indicators and increasing results. To make a final recommendation, further information is required. There is no evidence that the effects of low-carb and keto diets are comparable.

What should I do first? Check out our guides for additional information on treating or reversing PCOS with a keto or low-carb diet:

Cholesterol abnormalities (nine)

Many people’s total cholesterol levels may be improved by decreasing triglycerides (TG), raising high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels, and improving low-density lipoprotein (LDL) size and density on low-carbohydrate and keto diets. Changes in these indicators may or may not be linked to insulin resistance, which is a separate marker.

Because conventional blood tests cannot identify insulin resistance, many individuals are unaware that they have it. That is, they will be aware that their HDL is low and their TG is high. Meta-analyses of randomized studies consistently indicate that a low-carbohydrate diet results in lower TG levels and higher HDL levels, as well as more weight loss, than a low-fat diet.

Data from Virta Health’s one-year non-randomized research released in 2018 revealed a 24% decrease in triglyceride levels, an 18% rise in HDL levels (with an outstanding 29% reduction in TG/LDL ratio), a 20% reduction in low-density LDL, and a variety of other beneficial benefits. Although LDL levels rose slightly, LDL particle size dropped by 5%, suggesting that LDL grew bigger and less dense, and the atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score (ASCVD) improved by 12% after ten years.

Some individuals who follow a ketogenic diet see a significant rise in their LDL levels as well as the size of their LDL particles. Although the exact frequency of this occurrence is unknown, it is believed that between 5 and 30% of individuals who follow a low-carb diet have a rise in LDL levels. However, it is unclear whether or not this is a cause for worry. This is contradictory to current evidence, therefore you should consult with your doctor before making a choice.

Do you have a low cholesterol level?

Regarding blood lipid markers, it is not known whether there is a significant difference between a ketogenic diet (<20 g net carbohydrate) or a low-carbohydrate diet (<100 g net carbohydrate), as scientific studies have not compared the two approaches. It is clear that a low-carb diet can improve these figures, and that a ketogenic diet can have a significant effect on these figures.

What should I do first? See our guide for additional information on managing cholesterol issues with a keto or low-carb diet:

Diets high in cholesterol and low in carbohydrates

Advisor Learn more about cholesterol, how your body utilizes it, how low-carb and keto diets may affect blood cholesterol levels, and if you should be worried if your cholesterol levels increase as a result of your keto or low-carb lifestyle.

Epilepsy is number ten.

Since the 1920s, the ketogenic diet has been used to treat epilepsy (seizures) in children, and it is still effective today. The ketogenic diet is frequently used as a second line of therapy due to the availability of seizure medicines, but the development of safe, effective, and consistent regimens has reignited interest in the diet for the treatment of epileptic seizures.

What is the best way to cope with epilepsy?

Professionals who treat epilepsy in children with dietary measures usually think that a diet with a greater fat content and a lower carbohydrate content is more beneficial. Since a result, a rigorous keto diet is likely to be the most helpful, as it supplies the brain with a constant supply of ketones to utilize as fuel. Some people have tried utilizing exogenous ketones to supply the brain with more of this alternate fuel under these circumstances, but there are no convincing studies on this.

What should I do first? Watch this video for additional information on using the keto diet to treat epilepsy:

There have been 1,615 views.

11. Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurological conditions

Switching from glucose to ketones as a brain fuel has a beneficial impact in the treatment of cognitive diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.

Because it includes insulin resistance in the brain and a reduced capacity of brain cells to take up glucose, Alzheimer’s disease is sometimes known as type 3 diabetes. Changing fuel sources may therefore be advantageous from a mechanistic standpoint.

Although the ketogenic diet may have the most promise for treating moderate cognitive decline, the absence of other therapies for severe cognitive decline makes dietary modifications appealing, even if improvement is difficult to show. This may be another area where ketone supplements could be beneficial, although the data for supplementing with ketones in addition to dietary modifications is currently lacking.

Ketones have a neuroprotective impact on the whole brain. As a result, a ketogenic diet may be helpful for a variety of neurological disorders, including traumatic brain injury, stroke, and other nerve cell damage. This is still a popular study subject.

How far can you take cognitive issues?

A keto diet, which changes brain fuel from glucose to ketones, may help alleviate symptoms of Alzheimer’s dementia, according to preliminary research. While further study is needed, some individuals may wish to try a ketogenic diet to see whether their cognitive performance improves while they are in ketosis. Most individuals should eat fewer than 20 grams of carbs each day to accomplish this.

The switch in brain metabolism from glucose to ketones may theoretically guard against other neurological disorders. Although the ketogenic diet is being studied for post-traumatic brain damage, spinal cord injury, and Parkinson’s disease, the evidence is still preliminary and does not support its use as a treatment.

Where to begin: We’ve published many articles on this growing but still contentious subject, and we’ve also included a video presentation on insulin and the brain by psychiatrist Georgia Ede below:

A ketogenic diet for Alzheimer’s disease prevention and therapy. Is it able to assist?

Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative illnesses that impair memory, behavior, and decision-making have spread across Western society like a plague.

6,870 people have seen this.

12. Cancer treatment that isn’t conventional

A ketogenic diet may aid in the treatment of some cancers. Some cancer cells have an aberrant metabolism, requiring only glucose as a source of energy and unable to metabolize fatty acids. The ketogenic diet, which shifts the body’s metabolism from glucose to fatty acids, may theoretically help cure some malignancies.

Low-carb diets are unlikely to be as successful as keto diets due to the requirement to alter your metabolism. Furthermore, a ketogenic diet may help cancer cells become more sensitive to radiation and chemotherapy, making them more effective. Although the final impact is unknown, it may help decrease the needed dosage, allowing for more effective therapy with fewer harmful side effects.

A ketogenic diet may be helpful in conjunction with standard therapies for brain, prostate, colon, pancreatic, and lung cancer, according to animal research and limited human evidence. However, malignancies differ considerably, and the ketogenic diet may not be the optimal strategy for certain cancers, especially when used in conjunction with medicine.

It’s worth noting that there’s limited human data to back up the use of a ketogenic diet to treat cancer, and that this research only backs up the ketogenic diet when used in conjunction with other therapies like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. There is currently no convincing proof that the ketogenic diet is better to standard therapy or that it is the sole therapeutic option.

It’s important to remember that this scientific subject is still in its infancy, and there’s still a lot more to learn. In this edition of the podcast, oncologist Angela Poff, PhD, explains more.

How do you get to the bottom of things?

It’s too soon to tell if the keto diet helps treat cancer, but preliminary evidence indicates that it may be beneficial when used in conjunction with conventional cancer treatments.

Although no studies have been done on this, individuals who are managing their type 2 diabetes or other illnesses with a keto or low-carb diet may find it beneficial to continue eating this way throughout cancer treatment to preserve their general health.

What should I do first? See the introductory article on the Warburg effect and cancer, as well as the article on the current scientific data and discussion on the use of a ketogenic diet as an adjuvant to conventional therapy for the brain tumor glioblastoma, for additional information on the potential connection between food and cancer.

13. A passion for life

Results in sports

With contradictory evidence, athletic performance on a keto diet remains a contentious issue. Adaptation period, kind of training, variations between training and competition regimens, and starting physical condition all play a part in determining reaction. The benefits of the keto diet on performance were studied for just four days in some research that yielded a poor result. This is a very short amount of time to become used to the keto diet.

Other studies, on the other hand, have seen a decline in athletic performance after 25 days on the ketogenic diet, raising questions about whether the time frame is sufficient for an appropriate assessment.

Many athletes don’t have enough time to prepare for a competition since it takes a long time to completely adjust to the keto diet. Fuel metabolism must, however, enter ketosis for optimum advantage, and this condition must be appropriately adapted. This time of adjustment is typically four to six weeks long, although it may be considerably longer in certain instances.

The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Nutrition by Jeff Wolek, PhD, nutritionist, and Stephen Finney, MD, PhD, is the authoritative book on the keto diet and athletic performance. The crux of this book is that you can teach your body to burn fat merely by altering your diet for a few weeks, making blood sugar and glycogen a secondary fuel, according to the writers on the book’s website. You’ll be able to workout harder, work longer, and recover quicker after you’ve made this adjustment.

There are groups of athletes who perform well on a ketogenic diet and others who do not, according to anecdotal accounts. Science has yet to develop an acceptable method for forecasting who will succeed and who will fail. It appears acceptable to attempt a ketogenic diet if someone is prepared to experiment with oneself for at least six months.

Switch to a non-ketogenic, low-carb diet, such as if you’re having trouble. B. Consuming 150 grams of carbs per day may help athletes perform better, particularly in glycolytic (glucose-burning) exercises like sprinting or interval training (such as jiu-jitsu). A non-ketogenic low-carbohydrate diet vs a high-carbohydrate diet has no clear evidence. Personal experimentation is therefore likely to be the key to determining the optimal strategy for each person.

Conclusion: A keto diet may enhance endurance performance in principle following a lengthy adjustment time, however the evidence is ambiguous.

Attention, performance, and mental health

In this area, there are numerous anecdotal accounts but not enough scientific proof. The change in brain metabolism from glucose to ketones may theoretically be advantageous to overall cognitive performance. As a result, a ketogenic diet with fewer than 20 grams of carbs is required. There is, however, no agreement on how to enhance cognition. It’s better to leave this time to independent studies to see whether they notice an increase in mental clarity and a decrease in brain fog.

Conclusion: There is no clear proof. Because carbs are non-essential nutrients, self-experimentation with the keto diet is recommended. has published a number of papers on the state of the evidence for mental illness and attention problems to date.

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A low-carb or keto diet is not a magic bullet for weight loss.. Read more about keto diet plan and let us know what you think.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you lose weight eating low-carb but not keto?

Yes, you can lose weight by eating low-carb but not keto.

Does low-carb work as well as keto?

Low-carb is a diet that limits carbohydrates and high-fat foods. Keto is a diet that limits carbs and fats, but also includes protein.

Do doctors recommend low-carb diets?

Low-carb diets are not recommended by doctors.

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