The keto diet was created in 1923 by Dr. Russell Wilder to manage seizures for patients diagnosed with epilepsy. Since its creation the diet has become very popular over the last few years as people testify to major weight loss. Research show that a majority of the people who try the keto diet has an indication of obesity. However, there is limited information on how effective this diet is in treating obesity and there are some risk.
What the keto diet does to your body is turn it to the metabolic state of ketosis. This allow you to survive in a period of famine as your body fuel it self on ketone bodies, produced from fat, instead of sugar and glucose from carbohydrates. To achieve ketosis people will consume 75 percent of their calories from fat, 5 percent of their calories from carbohydrates, and 20 percent of their calories from protein. Results show that it take people about 72 hours to achieve ketosis but here is the down side.
If you are on diabetic medication that cause low blood pressure, its recommended that you consult with your doctor to get your medications adjusted. The reason is that low blood pressure is one of the many risk associated with the keto diet and if not watched this symptom can be more severe in diabetic patients. Not consuming healthy sources of fat and protein will put you at a high risk of heart disease, kidney stones, constipation, and nutrient deficiencies. You can develop the "keto flu" with symptoms of upset stomach, dizziness, decreased energy, and mood swings. Lastly, the keto diet is termed a "yo-yo diet" meaning that its a diet with rapid weight loss fluctuations associated with increased mortality. After you lose the weight your appetite increases and you hang on to fat leading you back to where you started or even worse.
Doctors advise that people try to avoid short term weight loss diets and adopt long term healthy diets that's balanced, rich, and colorful. The source for this information came from Harvard Medical School and the University of Chicago Medicine.