3. Keto results —
how can it benefit you?
If you are wondering what kind of results you can expect from a keto diet, the answer depends on how strict you are, along with a number of other factors.
Evidence shows that keto diets help with weight loss, blood sugar control, and many other conditions. But outcomes from even the most well-run study are still an average of what each participant experienced.
That means that your experience with keto will be unique. Your weight loss and health improvements may be sudden and dramatic or they may be slow but steady.
What you can expect from keto, almost without exception, is to eat foods you enjoy, without hunger or calorie-counting. If your diet is easy, enjoyable, and provides adequate essential nutrition, you’ll more likely be able to follow it long term to lose weight, improve your health, and maintain these benefits.
What benefits might you experience by switching to a keto diet? Quite a few, possibly.
Weight loss without hunger
Science shows keto and low carb diets are often effective for losing weight.
In fact, more than 35 high-quality scientific studies show that, when compared to other diets, low carb and keto diets lead to greater weight loss.
Why do keto diets work so well for losing weight? As discussed earlier, being in ketosis lowers insulin levels, which can help you access your body fat stores more easily.
Another reason may be that keto diets help people naturally eat less, as a result of feeling more satisfied.
Control or reverse type 2 diabetes
Keto and low carb diets can provide powerful blood sugar control for people with type 2 diabetes. Why? Because carbohydrates raise blood sugar much more than either protein or fat. To lower blood sugar — and potentially reverse type 2 diabetes — eat fewer carbs. It can be that simple.
Improve metabolic
health & blood pressure
Ketogenic diets may play a strong role in improving several markers of metabolic health, including blood pressure, blood sugar, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
Control type 1 diabetes
People with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin injections no matter what type of diet they eat. However, low carb diets often improve blood sugar control and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia (dangerously low-blood sugar).
Improve fatty liver disease
In non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), too much fat is stored in the liver. Recent research suggests a keto or low carb diet may help reduce or even reverse NAFLD.
Other potential benefits
Although there’s less high-quality research about the benefits of a keto diet for other conditions, emerging evidence suggests that it might be helpful for some people — and for many, it’s certainly worth trying.
Summary
A keto diet has been shown to provide several benefits, such as weight loss, reversal of type 2 diabetes, and improved metabolic health.
4. Potential risks of a keto diet
Does eating a keto diet pose any health risks? Although research on long-term health effects is needed, the evidence to date suggests that keto diets providing adequate nutrition are unlikely to cause harm.
It is true that some people following ketogenic diets have experienced adverse effects, including kidney stones and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
However, these side effects are rare and we suspect they may vary with the variety of foods eaten.
In some cases, elevations in LDL-cholesterol and LDL-particle number have occurred in people who eat keto or low carb diets with less fat and more protein than the classic ketogenic diet.
However, individuals with diabetes or insulin resistance often respond to low carb eating with improved lipid markers overall, as discussed earlier.
If your LDL increases after starting a keto or low carb diet, please read our guides on LDL hyper-responders, the potential dangers of LDL cholesterol, and how to lower LDL cholesterol.
6. Common mistakes
The “perfect” approach to keto will likely differ from person to person. But to help you get ahead of the game, here are some common mistakes to avoid to achieve keto success.
Going overboard with fat
Have you heard that fat is a free food on a keto diet, or that if you want to lose fat, you should eat more fat? The truth is that eating too much fat prevents your body from using its stored fat for energy. So, go easy on fat if you’re trying to lose weight. Learn more >
Eating too many nuts and dairy products
Most nuts and some dairy products (cheese and Greek yogurt) are keto-friendly. However, their carbs and calories can add up fast if you eat too much — and these tasty foods are easy to overdo. For best results, keep portion sizes small. Learn more >
Fear of too much protein
Are you concerned that eating a lot of meat, eggs, and other high protein foods will lead to gluconeogenesis (literally “making new glucose”) and raise your blood sugar? You don’t need to be. Studies in people with type 2 diabetes suggest that protein usually has little to no effect on blood sugar levels.
Learn More >
Chasing higher ketone levels
Being in nutritional ketosis means that your blood ketone levels are between 0.5 and 3.0 mmol/L. However, higher levels don’t appear to be any better than lower levels for weight loss. In fact, you don’t necessarily need to be in ketosis to lose weight. Learn more >
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