Pros and Cons of Going Keto: What You Should Know Before Starting This Fat-Filled Diet

Since the keto diet is so low in carbs, that means cutting out whole grains and fruit. Even though fruit has sugar in it, it's still an excellent source of fibre, vitamins, and minerals. And if you're more focussed on eating fats and protein, you may neglect to eat the daily recommended amount of veggies and skip out on those important nutrients.

"You may end up with a diet that's deficient in some vitamins and minerals," Katherine Brooking MS, RD, cofounder of Appetite For Health, told POPSUGAR.

Since the keto diet is so low in carbohydrates and therefore low in sugar, it may be effective in regulating blood sugar and treating type 2 diabetes when done carefully under medical supervision.

Dr. Phinney told POPSUGAR that the keto diet could help regulate blood sugar. "Type 2 diabetes is a disease characterized by high blood sugar, meaning it can also be thought of a disease of carbohydrate intolerance," he said. "By cutting out most dietary carbohydrates and replacing them with a well-formulated ketogenic diet, people living with type 2 diabetes are able to reduce and maintain their blood sugar closer to or actually in the normal range."

Because the keto diet is so high in fat, you may end up eating tons of saturated fat from bacon, butter, cheese, and fatty meats, which could negatively impact your cholesterol levels.

"You may see your cholesterol levels skyrocket, as all of these are high in saturated fat, which is known to increase unhealthy LDL cholesterol," Brooking told POPSUGAR. Amnon Beniaminovitz, MD of the Medical Offices of Manhattan, added that this is particularly problematic for people who have heart disease risk factors.

If you want to try the keto diet, Dr. Beniaminovitz advised, "You should have your cholesterol checked routinely and be followed by a cardiologist or a endocrinologist that can modify the diet and help minimize the risks."

Sure, the keto diet can help you lose weight, but that's not the only way it targets belly fat. Steve Phinney, MD, PhD, chief medical officer at Virta Health, told POPSUGAR that it can help fight inflammation.

"A well-formulated ketogenic diet has potent anti-inflammatory effects throughout the body, including for belly fat, and thus enables a person to lose it," he said. Curbing chronic inflammation can also help you ease joint pain, digestive issues, fatigue, and skin issues.

"While a ketogenic diet has been shown to decrease appetite while burning fat and maintaining muscle, it is not without risk," said Holly Pudwill, president and clinical dietitian at Balanced Nutrition of Jacksonville. "Ketones are a byproduct of ketosis. If those build up, a condition called ketoacidosis can result." When this happens, ketones build up in the blood, making it too acidic and causing dehydration. In very extreme cases, this dehydration can lead to coma or death.

Cardiologist Luiza Petre, MD, told POPSUGAR that the keto diet can help lower blood pressure, albeit not directly. Since obese individuals have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure, she said, losing weight with the keto diet could lower your risk.

"The bottom line is the ketogenic diet will improve blood pressure, but not as a direct effect; it's through its indirect weight-loss benefits," she said. "If the keto diet is done without a weight-loss goal, basically on a high-fat diet without a calorie deficit, it might not impact blood pressure at all. Losing weight remains the number-one intervention followed by lowering salt and exercise to improve blood pressure."

"Typically, the body's main source of energy comes from glucose, which is a sugar that is metabolized from the digestion of carbohydrates," said Lorraine Kearney, holistic nutritionist. Glucose is the main source of fuel for the brain, nervous system, red blood cells, and certain bodily tissues — and carbohydrates are a key source of glucose.

"Without adequate glucose sources in the diet, the body must change the way it burns energy so that it can function. Low-carb, high-fat, and hihg-protein diets cause a shift in glucose metabolism and the body begins to rely on partially broken down products of fat, called ketone bodies, as fuel," Kearney explained. "If just the right amount of calories from carbohydrates are consumed, the body prevents the breaking down of protein into amino acids for energy (i.e., ketones) to maintain optimum functioning of vital organs, such as the liver and kidneys."

However, people on the keto diet run the risk of not having enough glucose in their bodies due to the diet's restriction of carbohydrates. When this happens, Kearney said that the body will begin to take protein from the muscles. "This will decrease the building, repair, and functioning of the body and its vital organs, such as the heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys," she explained.