And while some fats can be healthy, there’s a risk that by following a high-fat diet, you’ll increase your intake of unhealthy trans and saturated fats. These “bad” fats are found in things like red meat, poultry skin, cheese, and butter, and can lead to an increase in LDL or “bad” cholesterol and an increased risk of heart disease. This is a controversial topic, as some experts recommend a low-carb diet to reduce the risk of heart disease. If you’re at risk or have heart disease, it’s important to talk to your doctor about your health needs first. The keto diet has been shown to cause low blood pressure, high cholesterol, constipation, kidney stones, nutrient deficiencies, liver problems, brain fog, mood swings, and an increased risk of heart disease. It is not particularly safe for people with pancreatic, liver, thyroid and gallbladder problems.
Now the body becomes proactive in burning fat and producing ketones for energy instead of carbohydrates.
The evidence for the specific kidney effects of ketogenic diets is limited, but worth mentioning, especially in the context of the unclear long-term benefits of such diets for diabetes and obesity. For people without chronic kidney disease, one of the biggest potential risks of the ketogenic diet is the development of kidney stones, a finding that has been widely observed in the pediatric epilepsy literature. The ketogenic diet’s emphasis on high-fat animal foods, while excluding many fruits and vegetables, promotes a urinary environment for kidney stones.
It has been suggested that supplementing ketogenic diets with fiber and indigestible carbohydrates might be advisable, although there is a lack of data confirming that supplementation could counteract the effects of very low-carb diets on the gut microbiota. During prolonged fasting, some tissues, such as muscles, can directly metabolize free fatty acids released from fat reserves. However, much of this fatty acid is converted into ketones in the liver, which can feed glucose consumers such as neurons, minimizing the mobilization of body proteins for gluconeogenesis.
You will then begin to break down protein and fat for energy, which can cause you to lose weight. It’s important to note that the ketogenic diet is a short-term diet that focuses on weight loss rather than pursuing health benefits. In other clinical preworkout snack trials of ketogenic diets, diabetes medications are often reduced or eliminated (21, 36–43). The positive effects of ketogenic diets on people with type 2 diabetes are primarily due to weight loss, with the benefits diminishing over time.