Is keto actually good for you? The professionals and cons of the high-fat, low-carb diet

Some time ago, following death of an Indian actress in her 20s from kidney failure - allegedly due to her ketogenic lifestyle - I wrote a tale on the divisive keto diet, which prescribes high-fat, medium-protein and low-carb meals.

The piece outlined the risks associated with eliminating entire food groups for weeks at a time, as well as the ramifications of consuming higher-than-usual levels of protein and fat. As nutritionist Mitun de Sarkar said at the time: “Eating an increased protein diet could add more stress to the kidneys by raising degrees of uric acid.”

A lot more alarming was her first-hand experience with a customer who followed a social media influencer’s transformational advice. “Followers were told they are permitted to eat slabs of butter to meet up their fat needs, plus free-flowing ghee, fried burger patties without the bread and so on. A stage came when my client had zero energy, suffered extreme acidity and started losing her hair,” said de Sarkar.

These extremities aside, the piece figured quick-fix diets aren't, and perhaps do not have been, a solution to lose excess weight in a safe and sustainable manner.

Not soon after it had been published in The National, I was inundated with emails by diehard keto fans, entrepreneurs and a good triathlete; the essential theme of the correspondence was that, when done right, the dietary plan promotes not merely weight loss, but also better health.

I was intrigued. Is there such a thing as an unyielding but user-friendly diet, and is keto it?

Its rationale sounds reasonable enough. As Jennifer O’Grady, a nutritionist at Love Food ME, explains: “Fundamentally the diet works on the premise of switching the body’s energy source from carbohydrates to fat. When you limit your intake of carbohydrates, the body will start to consume placed carbohydrates. Once they’re gone, the body will turn to fat as a fuel source - in an activity that is known as ketosis.”

Of the three main macronutrients used for energy, protein is very important to building and maintaining muscle, while fats help your body absorb essential vitamins,” explains Francoise Albrando Crosbie, leader, Keto Goodies Dubai.

“Carbohydrates transform into sugars, and having way too many carbs can have both short-term and long-term unwanted effects. The keto diet - which advocates removing sugar completely - keeps this in balance. Sugar is a significant reason behind many illnesses that people are currently suffering from. So regarding gut health, the ketones produced actually lessen inflammation.”

Therefore the premise sounds effective in some recoverable format. How, then, can one still do it to reap the huge benefits without adverse side effects?