Is the Ketogenic Diet Safe for Women?
New trends frequently come and go in the health and fitness space. When one fad diet ends (or becomes less popular) another one begins.
I’m sure by now you’ve heard about the ketogenic diet. And you’re probably wondering if it’s safe for women. Or maybe you just want to know what it’s all about.
It may be new to some, but the ketogenic diet has actually been around for quite some time. It was originally developed in the 1920s as a therapy for epilepsy.
What is the ketogenic diet?
In the simplest of explanations: the ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet, with only a moderate amount of protein.
“Keto” is short for ketosis and occurs when your liver breaks down fat into fatty acids and glycerol. While your body is in a state of ketosis your body produces ketones. As Dr. Axe points out, "Rather than drawing energy from glucose, a person in ketosis stays fueled off of these circulating ketones or ketone bodies — essentially, burning fat for fuel.”
But, is the ketogenic diet safe for women?
So, you’re probably thinking something like: "Burning fat sounds great, but is this diet safe for me?” Should women begin a ketogenic diet?
This is a diet, and for some, a drastic lifestyle change. Unfortunately, many have heard of the wonderful outcomes that some have experienced with the ketogenic diet and begin without guidance or much research.
With the ketogenic diet, there is the possibility of messing with your hormones. Many women have also felt severely drained due to the lack of carbohydrates. This could leave you feeling even worse than when you started.
However, there are benefits with the ketogenic diet. You won’t be required to count calories, limit portion control, or resort to extreme exercising to see results.
A couple questions to ask before you begin a ketogenic diet:
So, is the ketogenic diet for you? Before you begin the ketogenic diet, I would strongly suggest you do your own thorough research and consider a few things.
01. Is it sustainable? The problem with all “diets” is that they’re not sustainable. You begin the diet, see some results, but as soon as you finish {or quit} you lose all your progress.
02. What is your goal in starting a ketogenic diet? Is it just to lose some weight?
03. Do you love carbs? If so, this diet might leave you even more discouraged than you are now.
04. The ketogenic diet can lead to adverse side affects such as muscle loss and even bone loss.
Dangers of a ketogenic diet
As with many extreme diets, the ketogenic diet can lead to many unfavorable side affects. You’ve heard about the diet’s advoctes praising the results they’ve seen, but as Dr. Greger explains, “As with anything in medicine, it’s all about risks versus benefits.” Ketones are acidic in nature, and can lead to osteoporosis and bone damage. A healthy diet is one that promotes balance. But the ketogenic diet is high in fat by nature and leads to excess amounts of fat in your blood.
If you don’t suffer from seizures and your only goal is to lose weight, then I would encourage you to consider the following possible dangers associated with a ketogenic diet.
01. Muscle loss
A 2018 study of CrossFit athletes on a ketogenic diet showed a loss of calf muscle during a 12-week study. The study concluded, “our finding that KD (ketogenic diet) may reduce leg muscle mass suggests that, over prolonged periods, the diet could adversely affect muscle anabolism[…].”
Here’s something especially interesting: a keto diet not only causes muscle loss, it also undermines your exercise efforts. “Have people do eight weeks of all the standard upper and lower body training protocols—bench press, pull-ups, squats, deadlifts, and, no surprise, you boost muscle mass—unless you’re on a keto diet, in which case there was no significant change in muscle mass after all that effort. Those randomized to the non-ketogenic diet added about three pounds of muscle, whereas the same amount of weightlifting on the keto diet tended to subtract muscle—an average loss of about 3.5 ounces of muscle,” explains Dr. Greger.
02. Bone loss
Bone loss is one of the most dangerous side affects of the ketogenic diet. Dr. Greger explains, “Sadly, bone fractures are one of the side effects that disproportionately plagues children placed on ketogenic diets, along with growth stunting and kidney stones. Ketogenic diets may cause a steady rate of bone loss, as measured in the spine, presumed to be because ketones are acidic; and so, keto diets can put people in what’s called a ‘chronic acidotic state.’”
03. Kidney stones
In addition to muscle loss and bone loss, as Dr. Greger mentions, you might also suffer from kidney stones while on a keto diet.
04. Worsen diabetes
One of the benefits I hear most often about the keto diet is its ability to reverse diabetes. While a ketogenic diet may be able to lower blood sugar levels, it actually worsens the underlying disease. In another one of his many concise videos, Dr. Greger explains what actually happens to diabetic on keto diet. People confuse the symptom – high blood sugars – with the disease. The real problem is carbohydrate intolerance.
“People with diabetes can’t properly handle carbohydrates, and this manifests as high blood sugars. Sure, if you stick to eating mostly fat, your blood sugars will stay low, but you may be actually making the underlying disease worse, at the same time,” says Dr. Greger.
05. Nerve damage
One of the worst symptoms associated to diabetes is nerve damage. Following the ketogenic diet can lead to nerve damage for both diabetics and non-diabetics.
Your body produces ketones on a ketogenic diet. One of those keytones is acetone (like what you use to remove nail polish). And as Dr, Greger explains, “Acetone can oxidize in the blood to acetol, which may be a precursor for methylglyoxal.”
People on a keto diet can have levels of this glycotoxin as high as those with diabetes. This can cause the nerve damage and blood vessel damage similar to what diabetics experience.
06. Heart damage
The nerve damage previously mentioned can also lead to cardiovascular damage (a.k.a. It can lead to heart attacks).
A safer solution for women
If you’re not suffering from debilitating seizures and want to be healthy and lose some weight, then the best solution is a healthy, sustainable diet.
If you want to see real results that last without jumping on another diet, then I want to invite you to checkout one of my meal plans. I give you all the tools you need to make simple, healthy, and delicious meals your whole family will love.