What are the effects of ketogenic diets on nutrient sufficiency, gut flora, and heart disease risk?
Decades of experience using ketogenic diets for certain cases of pediatric epilepsy have accumulated a body of safety data. The apparent major issues include nutrient deficiencies and a risk of heart disease. Click here for more information.
It’s important to ensure that essential nutrient requirements are met during dieting, and strict ketogenic diets have been found to be lacking in 17 micronutrients, vitamins, and minerals. For more information, click here.
Nevertheless, plant-based approaches seem to offer a solution with their nutrient density. Deficiencies can be addressed with supplements. Plant-based diets provide an abundance of prebiotics, which are absent in ketogenic diets. Click here to find out more.
A major concern is the impact on gut flora, as ketogenic diets lead to microbiome changes and increased cases of constipation. Click here for further information.
On the topic of heart disease, studies suggest that a low-carb plant-based diet is linked to a lower risk of mortality, while animal-based low-carb diets are associated with higher mortality. If you’d like to learn more, click here.
Evidence also suggests that very-low-carb ketogenic diets may not improve cholesterol levels, which hampers their perceived benefits. Additionally, these diets have been found to impair artery function, impacting health adversely. To learn more about keto diets, please see the video series here.
Explore related videos below to learn more about ketogenic diets and their effect on microbiomes.
