Keto Diet: 6 Surprising Side Effects You Need To Know About

If you are someone who wants to lose weight desperately, in order to get fitter and healthier, then, you would be ready to try any new diet that promises quick results, without much thought, right?

Well, over the decades, numerous "diet fads", have joined the weight loss diets' bandwagon and many people have tried most of these diets, if not all, hoping to see results.

The fact is, while some of the diets are very healthy ways to lose weight, the other "fad diets" can be very misleading, with no scientific basis and can also harm your health.

For instance, the "yo-yo diet" was very popular in the 70's, especially among women. This type of diet includes binging on a lot of unhealthy foods when hungry and later starving oneself without any food for a long period of time!

The "yo-yo diet" was deemed to be extremely unhealthy and dangerous!

So, it is very important to know the pros and cons of any diet that you follow, before trying to lose weight.

Now, the keto diet is a new diet trend that has started among people, where most of the carbohydrates are cut off from the diet to promote a quicker weight loss.

While the keto diet is known to aid weight loss, there are also certain side effects that one can experience.

Here are 6 side effects:

1. Persistent Fatigue
2. Higher Chances Of Relapse
3. Excessive Thirst
4. Constipation
5. Could Harm The Kidneys
6. Could Affect Heart Health

1. Persistent Fatigue

It is common for people to experience a bit of tiredness, when they are following a new diet, initially, as they may consume lesser food that usual. However, the body generally gets adjusted to the new servings of food.
In case of the keto diet, the body is not receiving any carbohydrate at all, which is the main source of energy. So, many people start to experience persistent, chronic fatigue, which may come in the way of their daily activities. They may also feel feverish, due to the chronic fatigue.

2. Higher Chances Of Relapse

The keto diet has proven to be a diet which helps people shed kilos so quickly! However, it has also been noted that, people who follow the keto diet have higher chances of gaining back all the weight lost, quickly, even if they forego their diet for a few days.

This is because, the keto diet removes the water weight initially and makes people feel that they have lost actual fat. But this diet can slow down the metabolic rate and make a person gain back weight faster, later on.

3. Excessive Thirst

When a person follows the ketogenic diet, he/she is directed to not provide his/her body with any carbohydrates. As we know, to remain healthy, our body needs all the essential nutrients and carbohydrate is one such nutrient.

So, when the body does not get enough carbohydrates, it works harder internally to produce more energy for activities. When the body is working extra hard, it can cause dehydration and lead to excessive thirst. So, it is very important to drink enough water, when you are on the keto diet, to avoid complications.

4. Constipation

As we read earlier, the keto diet requires people to cut out all sources of carbohydrates from their daily diet. This means, they also have to avoid high-fibre foods such as, whole grains, beans and even many fruit and vegetables which are said to contain carbohydrates.

As we may know, for our bowel movement to remain healthy and regular, we need fibre in our diet. So, when we are not consuming enough fibre, because we are on the keto diet, it could surely cause constipation and other related ailments like stomach pain.

5. Could Harm The Kidneys

While one rule of the keto diet exclude carbohydrates, the other rule is to include high amounts of protein in your diet, as protein helps to cut fat and builds muscles. While this is true, loading your body with too much protein, by consuming large amounts of meat, egg, etc., during every meal can also be unhealthy.

Excessive proteins consumed can put a strain on your kidneys, as the kidneys have to work harder to process and filter out the protein from your body!

6. Could Affect Heart Health

In the previous point, we read that the keto diet restricts people from consuming carbohydrates, but they can consume nutrients like protein. People on the keto diet can also consume healthy fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids and saturated fats.

So, some people on the keto diet, tend to go overboard with foods containing healthy fats and eat a large amount, just because keto allows them to eat healthy fats. This habit can increase the cholesterol levels in the body and may affect the heart, eventually.