Review of Advantages of The Keto Diet

Christy Brissette, a media dietitian who graduated from George Brown College, is a stakeholder in the topic of the keto diet who questions, “... is [the keto diet] useful and healthy as a strategy for weight loss” (Brissette, par. 1), wanting to split the pros and cons to decide whether or not the keto diet is a wise choice for people wanting to burn fat. For this reason, Brissette explains how the keto diet is increasing in popularity though before the trend the diet was “... used under close supervision by physicians and dietitians since the 1920s for treating epilepsy and has shown promise in managing brain cancer” (Brissette, par. 1). Next, Brissette states how “at least 70 percent of your daily calories come from fat,” and other statistics of where your calories come from during the diet such as the “10 percent” from carbohydrates, and “25 percent” from protein. Brissette then goes on to show the recommendation by the Institute of Medicine where the diet is made up of “45 to 65 percent carbs, 20 to 35 percent fat and 10 to 35 percent protein” (Brissette, par. 2).

In addition, Brissette gives examples of the few foods you can eat when going through the keto diet which are mainly red meats and other fatty foods. Furthermore, Brissette points out that lots of people engaging in the keto diet lose a impressive amount of weight, but do not commit to the routine for long. On the other hand, Brissette shows research describing that while the keto diet is known for being helpful with burning fat the diet actually burns less fat the more muscle is broke down for energy. Thus, Brissette lists pros to the diet such as the fact you do not need to count calories, you will not be hungry, you will lose weight in fat at first, and that there are potential health benefits such as lowering the probability of heart disease depending on how long you stick with the diet plan.

However, Brissette then goes on to list the cons of the keto diet with how the diet can get boring and repetitive. This can also ruin your social life if you are too afraid of temptations when invited to social events, not to mention the side effect of constipation due to lack of fibers within the diet. There also seems to be a risk of nutrient deficiencies like lack of “calcium, magnesium, selenium, thiamine, vitamin D and vitamin C,” and a general safety problem “in people with impaired kidney function,” and the “ diet is not safe for pregnant or breast-feeding women” (Brissette, par. 32). Therefore, Brissette mentions that you should consider whether or not such a restrictive diet will affect you and your social life. Which leads to the question, should more people start using the keto diet as a way of losing weight.