Behind the Ivy - Summer 2018

WELLNESS

ketogenic diets may interfere with insulin sensitivity as a certain amount of carbohydrate in your diet is needed for the pancreas to produce the insulin that keeps blood sugar in check. If not carefully controlled, ketogenic diets can lead to the same problems as starvation: a major nutritional imbalance with consequences such as muscle wastage, kidney problems and low blood sugar. Additionally, the diet is hard to follow over the long run, and due to its restrictive nature, it often leads to binge eating and rapid weight gain after stopping the diet. So, what’s the takeaway? While the 2018 Kardashian Keto Diet might be a safer alternative than previous versions, it is still playing with the body’s metabolic processes to achieve a fast weight loss result with little effort. Drastically reducing a macronutrient like carbohydrates can be dangerous. And if you really need to lose weight, a rapid, quick-fix might not be the healthiest thing for your body. If you are really determined to try the ketogenic diet, seek medical supervision to avoid any dangers or risks to your health. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, registered dietitian, or Kardashian expert, so please consult the appropriate professional before making any changes to your diet, health, or other applicable areas.

warn that it must be done under medical supervision. Come to think of it, Kourtney did mention she had a team of doctors monitoring her…

Recently, I noticed Kourtney Kardashian is all over the news again, this time in Harper’s Bazaar talking about her success on the Ketogenic diet. Kourtney finds that keeping her body in a state of “nutritional ketosis” is a “really positive experience” and wants to do the diet again this year. While Kourtney added lots of trendy healthy things to her version of the Ketogenic diet, like apple cider vinegar, avocados, and a treat day, the question still remains: should we really be taking diet advice from a Kardashian? What is ketosis, anyway? Under normal circumstances, our body uses glycolysis to generate energy by breaking down carbohydrates. Depriving the body of carbohydrates forces it into a state called ketosis, in which the digestive system switches from breaking down carbohydrates to breaking down body fat in order to generate energy. This results in a by-product called ketones, hence the name “ketosis”. Sounds pretty normal, right? Yet, if you look up the definition of ketosis in a medical dictionary, you’ll see that it’s anything but. First, you’ll notice the words “pathological”, “abnormal” and “deficiency”, indicating that your body is in a risky state. In fact, by limiting carbs, a ketogenic diet tricks your body into starvation, and many health professionals

What are the benefits? The ketogenic diet has a

reputation for producing fast weight loss without hunger or the need to count calories. Weight loss sometimes happens within days, and it often seems to come with added health benefits, such as lowered cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglycerides. A 2014 US National Institutes of Health study compared a low-carb diet to a low-fat diet in 148 overweight adults for a period of 12 months, and found low-carb diets showed faster results, more weight loss and a better reduction in cardiovascular risk factors. It has also been reported that a ketogenic diet raises healthy HDL-cholesterol and improves blood sugar control for Type 2 Diabetes patients in the short term. What are the side effects? During a ketogenic diet, the body must get rid of the ketones produced after breaking down fatty acids. This places great stress on your kidneys, which need to work overtime to clean your blood. This raises your risk of gout, kidney stones, and other renal problems during the diet. Ironically, although it controls blood sugar in the short term, in the long term,

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