DECATUR — It's a new year and a new decade. And maybe that means a diet is part of your January.
Kelly Gagnon, of Decatur, said the ketogenic diet has changed her life.
The keto diet proves for quick weight loss and is used to reduce seizures in people with epilepsy, according to experts. Those on the diet swear by it, while professionals aren’t completely sold. Experts don’t deny quick weight loss, but they don’t necessarily recommend the diet to everyone.
The idea is for keto dieters to base meals around foods with high fat and moderate protein, while cutting back on foods loaded with carbohydrates, including non-leafy vegetables, breads and sugary foods.
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“I’ve been doing keto on and off for about two years,” Gagnon said. “It’s been wonderful,” and she described the diet as “life-changing.”
She started on a high-fat diet for 30 days and gradually removed gluten from the mix. After researching diets to help with an autoimmune disease, she moved onto the keto diet and found a light at the end of a tunnel.
People on this diet are replacing carbohydrate intake with fat, which puts their bodies in a metabolic state called ketosis. During ketosis, the body burns fat for energy.
Anytime Gagnon has a cheat day, she said her energy has depleted and she feels awful.
Gagnon enjoys traveling and trying new foods. To avoid cheating on her diet but allowing herself to enjoy unique cuisine, she said she will have a bite or two of something new.
When it comes to social gatherings, Gagnon said appetizers and beverages typically aren’t keto-friendly so she will plan accordingly. Other than that, she said the diet is a breeze.
“I struggled a lot in my teens and early twenties,” she said. “I wish I’d known earlier (about this diet).”
Katie Knott of Decatur has gone back and forth between a low-carb diet and keto diet, boasting having lost 30 pounds since March.
“For me, it’s easy to eat keto and it’s easy to modify any recipe and make it keto,” Knott said.
Weight loss, epilepsy
Tina Cloney is a board registered dietitian, licensed dietitian nutritionist and health and nutrition professor at Millikin. She said although there are negatives to the diet, people who eat keto are able to shed pounds quickly, and patients with epilepsy have had fewer seizures.
“It works very, very well cutting back on seizures,” Cloney said.
Elizabeth Hassinger, a registered dietitian at Crossing Healthcare, made similar points, saying the diet leads to quick, substantial weight loss and is great for stabilizing seizures.
Cloney said appetite hormones, ghrelin and leptin, send signals to someone’s brain when they are hungry and when they are full.
"Normally somebody who goes on a fad diet, (the hormones) still signal 'I'm still hungry, I'm not full, I need to eat more, I'm starving.' " she said. "What's odd with this diet, they don't do that."
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Cloney said lipid and cholesterol levels in ketogenic dieters also look good, but long-term studies are unknown.
"These people are more successful with losing weight than some of those other fad diets, so that's a plus,” she said.
For women with polycystic ovarian syndrome who struggle to lose weight, this diet is beneficial, Hassinger said.
She said it could be beneficial for a diabetic if their cholesterol and blood sugar levels are decent.
Know the facts, experts say
Cloney said she struggles with the ketogenic diet because as a registered dietitian and nutrition professor, she said there are several different ways to lose weight healthily while keeping the pounds off.
Both Cloney and Hassinger said the keto diet also eliminates whole food groups, which neither of them recommend.
“You’re giving up all the fruit, you’re giving up all those vegetables and giving up nutraceuticals,” Cloney said, also mentioning participants are lacking on fiber intake.
Hassinger said if someone does try this diet, they must remember how important it is to stay hydrated or else constipation could set in.
Although it may be difficult for one person, another may not struggle. Hassinger said it all varies person by person.
She recommends working hand-in-hand with a dietitian.
“There’s so much misinformation,” Hassinger said. “You want a health professional on your side to make sure you’re doing it right.