Is a Keto diet harmful??

[Jillyfl]

Ive just been reading that it is not good to be on a keto diet for more than say 6 months or when you have lost the desired weight because it can actually harm you. I feel so good and my blood sugars are under control that I was planning to stay on this diet for life. Can anyone shed any more light on this please?

Also should I be monitoring how many keytones my body has in it?

 

[kokhongw]

Thinking you are on keto diet is more harmful than actually being on keto diet...

 

[Guzzler]

Could you tell us where you got this information, please? We may be able to find the source material and judge its veracity. Thank you.

 

[bulkbiker]

"nutrtionfacts.org"? maybe or some other anti meat propaganda site? or maybe the vegan cardiologist..
I'm still here after almost 3 years of keto.. getting better by the day!

 

[Brunneria]

As the others have suggested, could you provide a link to the information saying that keto is harmful?

There are lots of internet urban myths flying about (on every subject under the sun) so it is always good to approach them all (even the advice given on this forum) with a healthy dose of scepticism and a sharp eye out for vested interests.

 

[Rustytypin]

Is Keto harmful? In my opinion, no. If it was then the body would not be able to survive on it for any length of time.

 

[There is no Spoon]

Can anyone shed any more light on this please?

Is Keto harmful?
The simple truth is everyone is different and who knows how your body will react to a keto diet for the next 20 years.

You should be safe to continue with the diet, I'm sure your body will tell you if it's not getting enough from the diet and you need to adapt it to a more LCHF version. Which will take you away from Ketosis but keep your diet working along the core principles of carb intolerance.

One problem with not doing Keto right is lack of vitimin & minirals and lack of fibre (I know the current resurch on fibre before anyone points me to Youtube {good luck with that after ARTICLE 13 comes in to effect [or even linking an article through google (Article 11)] } ) fibre slows down bg spikes, in a Keto diet there should be very little rise in bg but little is not the same as none.

Then the question has to be as @kokhongw asked are you sure your doing it right.

Also should I be monitoring how many keytones my body has in it?

How do you know your in ketosis if you don't?

 

[Jillyfl]

Hi all

I don't know if I'm in ketosis, but I feel amazing. I was doing a search to find out how you know if you are in ketosis, and how to measure it. It was a google search and the "harmful" info was on this website somewhere. But I cant for the life of me find it again. I wont stop this though because I really do feel amazing.
If I come across the discussion I'll post it here.

 

[Resurgam]

I began eating low carb in the early 1970s and have seen so many adverse effects listed, and had warnings and even threats made to stop me - and yet, seeing weightloss and having more energy and feeling great only happened when eating this awful diet.

 

[bulkbiker]

Hi all

I don't know if I'm in ketosis, but I feel amazing. I was doing a search to find out how you know if you are in ketosis, and how to measure it. It was a google search and the "harmful" info was on this website somewhere. But I cant for the life of me find it again. I wont stop this though because I really do feel amazing.
If I come across the discussion I'll post it here.

You can measure your blood ketone levels (probably the most accurate) with a meter.
I recently got this one

https://www.valuemed.co.uk/collecti...n-you-buy-50-on-call-blood-ketone-strips-here

But as you can see they aren't anywhere near as cheap to run as a blood sugar meter.

 

[Jillyfl]

I began eating low carb in the early 1970s and have seen so many adverse effects listed, and had warnings and even threats made to stop me - and yet, seeing weightloss and having more energy and feeling great only happened when eating this awful diet.

Wow thank you that's very reassuring. I have hated all this to begin with but I don't want to go back now!!

 

[Jillyfl]

You can measure your blood ketone levels (probably the most accurate) with a meter.
I recently got this one

https://www.valuemed.co.uk/collecti...n-you-buy-50-on-call-blood-ketone-strips-here

But as you can see they aren't anywhere near as cheap to run as a blood sugar meter.

Oh thank you. Perhaps I'll continue as I am for now. It's working any how and I'm able to keep my blood sugar levels in the green on my app!

 

[Lamont D]

I started ketosis in 2014, still going strong and not about to change.
I have a carb intolerance, so doing Keto is the best treatment for my condition.
It's a no brainer!
However you do have to get your balance right to get the right nutritional values correct for your lifestyle. The great energy and health you are experiencing is telling you that you are not far off.

I'm an oap, work full time, and have great energy levels.
I am in really good health, my hba1c levels and full panel of annual review results are very good.
If not for eating Keto, I would be very ill!

 

[bulkbiker]

Oh thank you. Perhaps I'll continue as I am for now. It's working any how and I'm able to keep my blood sugar levels in the green on my app!

Brilliant.. I have found a ketogenic diet and some intermittent fasting (along with a few extended fasts) has been very beneficial to controlling blood sugars and putting Type 2 into remission.

 

[Resurgam]

I have gone back to work (I an 67 years old) and I am going out a lot more to play music for dancing and to the folk club, and I am teaching dancing in schools during the early part of the year ready for May Day and other events in June and July.

 

[Boo1979]

If you consult Dr Google, then you will find equally strongly argued cases for it being harmful and harmless in the long term so it comes down to a case of “ you pays your money and makes your choice”
For me I go for what controls my Bg level best - v low carb / keto ( under 20g carbs) for me leads to rising blood sugars, low carb / keto ( 30-50g carbs) keeps things ticking along nicely
I do think close attention needs to be payed to other nutrients such as the balance of fat types, the intake of fibre, vitamins & minerals etc, not just carbs. In addition, the source of those carbs is v important

 

[kokhongw]

I'm able to keep my blood sugar levels in the green on my app!

The claims that flatline glucose is potentially harmful in the long term is classic FUD argument and greatly exaggerated. Flatline glucose is likely to be a stronger marker of health than harm...we are meant to have metabolic flexibility and be able to naturally reach ketosis to access our energy store.

The ketogenic lifestyle which is guaranteed to flatline glucose (because it is a pre-condition of getting into ketosis) simply put us in the state that give us ready access to our energy store by lowering insulin production, upregulating enzymes required for fats metabolism and lower our dependence on glucose alone as a fuel source.

It doesn't take much carbs to put us out of ketosis. So we can break out of ketosis anytime to replenish our energy store accordingly once we reach the desired fats/lean mass ratio.

 

[Jillyfl]

I started ketosis in 2014, still going strong and not about to change.
I have a carb intolerance, so doing Keto is the best treatment for my condition.
It's a no brainer!
However you do have to get your balance right to get the right nutritional values correct for your lifestyle. The great energy and health you are experiencing is telling you that you are not far off.

I'm an oap, work full time, and have great energy levels.
I am in really good health, my hba1c levels and full panel of annual review results are very good.
If not for eating Keto, I would be very ill!

Thank you. I think I may have been an undiagnosed diabetic for years. I have heart failure with no known cause as I don’t have blocked arteries and neither have I had a heart attack. It is assumed that it is as a result of complications of diabetes . I know that I don’t have an irregular beat now, it can’t be cured though as the damage is done, but now I hope I can stave off the downward spiral of heart failure for a while yet.

 

[zand]

Thank you. I think I may have been an undiagnosed diabetic for years.

Yes I think that happens to a lot of us.

 

[Guzzler]

The one thing for sure is that the modern western diet has had 50+ years (so I guess that is definitely long term) to bring us to the point of epidemics of obesity and Type 2 Diabetes without any long term trials etc.
Which is why the guidelines that promote carbs at 40%-60% with every meal plus snacks and that behave like a stuck record should be thrown out.