Keto is high fat, low carb, and a decent amount protein. Vegetables are optional.
Most people only do keto for a few years and then revert back to their normal eating habits after they get the health results they wanted, but some people go long-term.
Is there any harm eating keto even for a year? Does the high amount of fat cause heart and artery problems? What about cancer risks due to all the meat?
if you don’t eat vegetables on keto you’re definitely doing it wrong. low in carb are:
broccoli, bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, all salads, kale, spinach, brussel sprouts, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms,..you can even eat other veggies with more carbs, but in lower amounts.
>Is there any harm eating keto even for a year? Does the high amount of fat cause heart and artery problems? What about cancer risks due to all the meat?
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I think the level of “harm” is going to depend on a lot of things that have nothing to do with the diet. If you are overweight, and spend a year in a calorie surplus on keto, the outcome is obviously going to be worse than if you are in a calorie deficit.
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Cancer risk due to meat is dependent on the types of meat eaten (for example, fresh chicken is overtly less carcinogenic than hot dogs containing nitrtites) and other factors like how robust your body’s immune and antioxidant defense systems are.
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The long term data we have on ketogenic diets is mostly in a therapeutic context; traditional ketogenic diet, 90% calories from fat, supplemented with vitamins, not a modern “modified” ketogenic diet with up to \~15% of calories from protein and a few target low-carb sources for micronutrients. Pretty much nobody on a modern ketogenic diet who is educated in nutrition science and cares about their health is going to recommend cutting all vegetables. The data on traditional KD’s doesn’t generally look that great for longevity compared to normal diets, but, the patients are obviously living longer and healthier lives than if they were having seizures all the time. Basically, we don’t have long-term data on the kind of modified ketogenic diets like people on /r/keto are using. There’s even disagreement about the need to strictly be in nutritional ketosis (GKI <9 or blood BHB >0.5 mmol/L) on modifed ketogenic diets to get their benefits in that subreddit.
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Genetics play a huge role in the outcome. Some people are more prone to arterial plaque buildup than others, regardless of diet. These people should probably avoid diets high in fat and especially saturated fats. Some people burn fat and spare glucose more easily than others leading to a more favorable testosterone:cortisol ratio on ketogenic diets. These people can do quite well on a ketogenic diet and even perform pretty well athletically.
i don’t see vegetables as optional. i think a lot of people who try keto, dare i say most, really just want to get away with eating cheese and meat and butter in stupid quantities. i eat a ton of leafy green vegetables, onions, olives, etc every day as part of my meat dishes and it doesn’t push my carb level very high, i still have enough in my budget for a spoonful of honey or a small serving of quinoa.
also this research is buried by the FDA because they want you to keep that bun on your burger, but meat by itself is not the biggest culprit for heart health, it’s the combination of meat and carbs that does people in. in the keto subs you’ll see people talk about their bloodwork baffling their doctor, because most doctors are still trained to think that high fat diets are inherently bad.
This is purely anecdotal:
I did strict keto for ~8 month as an experiment. Got my blood tested before, one time in the middle and shortly before i stopped. No big changes. I was eating healthy before and ate healthy while on keto.
I stopped for various reasons, but health wasn’t one of them.
Peter attia (md specialised on longevity) was on keto for 3 years and even though he stopped thinks its perfectly fine.
Its pretty crucial to stay on keto though. If you mix in cheatdays every now and then it might actually be unhealthy.
It would take an hour or two of typing to explain why most of what youre saying is not an issue. I want to focus on meat causing cancer though. Meat does not cause cancer. Meat is correlated with cancer, which means that people that eat more meat tend to be more likely to get cancer. The issue is that people who eat more meat are also more likely to get their meat from fast food, eat high ammounts of processed foods, consume more added sugars, and theyre more likely to use tobacco products.
So while correlation is important, it does not show that meat causes cancer. We need more interventional studies on the topic. Ive never seen an interventional study that was well controlled, that showed meat causing cancer.
Also, i dont eat keto anymore but I did for 2 years. The only issues I ever had was electrolyte issues, which is why I added back fruit for carbs.
Personally I’m pretty blinded by what I see on reddit or real life which is mostly like eggs n bacon or meat/chicken and fat based sauces. There is however extremely beautiful keto recipes if you look around, that includes lots of vegetables and more white meat and fish.
Edit: for reference you can eat two carrots, 100g broccoli and 100g of kale and it should be below the 5% of calories(100kcal on average).
In short yes.
Keto diet due to the high fat produces negative outcomes regarding cholesterol, blood pressure and your heart. Wouldn’t recommend doing it over a normal well balanced diet, especially given weight loss from keto isn’t superior at all
It’s not really a low amount of vegetables. You can get what you need doing keto.
Outstide of the Framingham studies we don’t have any longitudinal studies on how a single diet impacts people over a period of 10, 20, 30 years or a lifetime. So we don’t have the actual data to state with certainty the answer to your question.
When people are doing keto for things like seizures or brain tumors. Probably safe to say better to follow that than anything else.
Additionally we do have the research that shows as long as someone is being mindful of that they eat and eating whole foods, paleo, keto, carnivore, vegan/plant-based etc. are all much better for you and will result in better health outcomes than the SAD.
Also, fat doesn’t cause heart disease. Excessive carb intake causes more issues with cardiovascular disease risk than fat intake. Most people will get marked improvements in blood lipids on the keto diet. Additionally there is vegan keto, so you do not have to just eat pure meat and saturated fats.
The worst thing you can do from a health perspective is become insulin resistant, and only 12% of people are metabolically healthy in the us. High carb diets do not fix insulin resistance.
Keto fixes insulin resistance for many people and therefore reduces health risks significantly.
There’s this unsupported assertion that this approach that works great against type Ii diabetes somehow is at the same time too unhealthy for the long term.
A low carb, high saturated fat, practically zero vegetable diet reversed my high cholesterol and vascular inflammation in 10 months. My doctor said that wouldn’t be possible. Details here if you’re curious: https://www.reddit.com/r/SaturatedFat/comments/shym8k/the_power_of_this_diet_my_10_month_n1_experiment/
Cutting vegetables out is a poor decision. Keto isn’t a lifestyle that lasts long in the general population of eaters. Eat balanced meals, complex carbs, complete proteins, and vitamin rich vegetables. Go out and exercise. Have your thyroid checked or see if there’s any medical condition that could be preventing you from losing weight. If you are on birth control, realize it’s common to experience a 10% increase in weight. Love yourself. Good luck
Keto is extremely unsustainable long term and not great for your health. You should always have an overall balance of carbs, protein, and fat. Going keto is very hard to get your vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. I don’t know why people think carbs are bad, if you eat good carbs, you’ll be fine.
If doing is for weight loss, there are better options that are sustainable long term. Keto should be more a temporary thing than trying to make it a lifestyle to restrict yourself from eating natural & whole foods that are good for your health.
Instead of straight up fasting, I’ll go keto (90% fat from mostly MCT, 10% protein, 0% carb) and it’s great for short periods. I don’t see how it’s possible long-term.
And what most people call Keto is really just Atkins with a new name because Atkins was debunked long ago. Keto is high fat, low protein, no carb - at least in the quality studies that show any brain benefits.
This became a thing, and is really good for the health of some types of people and CAN reverse disease…
High fat, low carb has had medical and science conferences for the last several locations, Denver being main.
https://denversdietdoctor.com/medical-weight-loss/
https://lowcarbconferences.com
https://lowcarbconferences.com/category/low-carb-denver-2019/
Just like any fad diet, it is not sustainable or healthy. Carbs are not the enemy. They are as essential as fruits and vegetables, and protein. If you want to lose weight or get healthy, you need to incorporate all foods and learn to listen to your body. That is sustainable. Denying yourself certain foods (yes, even dessert), will never end well because eventually, you will start having cravings and probably overeat (unless you have an eating disorder). It’s really a lifestyle choice just as exercise is. Making healthy eating and exercise a way of life rather than doing it sporadically is much healthier in the long run. You will probably find that you don’t crave certain food groups. Not everyone is supposed to be a size 2. Health comes in all shapes and sizes. As someone who was anorexic for 47 years, I can tell you that restricting certain foods is not the answer. Good luck to you! :)
I think a high fat diet can be okay if you manage to limit saturated fat and eat a decent amount of nonstarchy vegetables and berries. It still has issues with athletic performance, since many sports dietitians will recommend 6g carb per kilogram of body weight. And the low bowel movement frequency is also concerning when you have high amount of fat. I don’t know, maybe this can be mitigated somewhat with psyllium husk supplementation.
The other question is who benefits with such a diet. Diabetics and prediabetics can benefit from more stable blood glucose. People with dry mouth might have better oral health. That’s the main groups I can think of. So I wouldn’t recommend this to people in general.
veggies usually dont have that much carbs…
Or at least there are a ton of veggies with near zero carbs.
and fat isnt unhealthy, its on old believe that is very misleading.
High quality fats can be one of the most healthy things you can add to your diet.
Most ppl do keto for a month and give in to carb cravings. Many never even reach ketosis. But they do lose weight fast, mostly just water, and think its the best possible diet.A few people do it correctly and the foods you are allowed in keto just are not easy to eat a lot of. Sure, mayo is high in calories and low volume, but could you eat a tub of mayo?Keto is ok If you can stick to it, if not, best leave it alone
Most ppl do keto for a month and give in to carb cravings. Many never even reach ketosis. But they do lose weight fast, mostly just water, and think its the best possible diet.A few people do it correctly and the foods you are allowed in keto just are not easy to eat a lot of. Sure, mayo is high in calories and low volume, but could you eat a tub of mayo?Keto is ok If you can stick to it, if not, best leave it alone
My personal experience with keto-the carb restriction is extreme, very difficult to do, but not impossible. The results are amazing. You will lose a lot of weight which is the great part of the diet. The bad part for me was that I did not have the energy to do the exercising that I have always enjoyed in my life. It’s much less enjoyable to go on a run or spend an hour or two in the gym. To do those things is a huge strain and takes the fun out of it. Plus, the diet caused bad breath and excessive body odor and sometimes constipation. I’m not judging the diet: just saying what happened to me and that, for me, it wasn’t sustainable.