How Ketogenic Diet Affects Microbiome Balance and Health

From diet-hacks to weight-loss tips, let’s talk about everything you need to know about the ketogenic diet (KD). So what is ketogenic diet, and why is it so popular?

Keto for short is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that has been shown to have many benefits for weight loss, health, and mood. By changing the way your body processes and uses food, keto can help restore balance in your microbiome – the trillions of bacteria living in and on your body. 

This blog will discuss the effects of ketogenic diet on microbiome balance and how it can impact overall health. We’ll also talk about some of the potential side effects of ketogenic diet and how to avoid them. 

What is ketogenic diet?

The microbiome is an incredibly important part of our body’s health. It’s responsible for performing many essential functions, like gut healing and reducing inflammation. 

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. Some studies showed  that a ketogenic diet helps restore the microbiome balance. Aldo some other researchers are saying that this diet is also beneficial for weight loss, blood sugar regulation, and more. 

On the other hand, for long term duration, a ketogenic diet can have side effects. Or, it can be harmful for some specific circumstances. 

Ketogenic diet for overall health is curate’s egg. Even if it is  healthy for many situations, still you need to take a health professional’s advice and check if that diet is suitable for your microbiome.

How ketogenic diet affects microbiome balance

The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that has been shown to be beneficial for weight loss and health in general.

One of the ways ketogenic diet affects the microbiome is by restricting carbohydrates and replacing them with healthy fats. This in turn alters the microbiome’s composition and impacts health in a positive way.  

Side effects of ketogenic diet

If you’re considering a ketogenic diet, it’s important to be mindful of the side effects it can have. To achieve ketosis, the diet requires the body to use fat instead of glucose for energy.

This can result in a significant change in the microbiome balance, which in turn, can have health consequences. For example, ketogenic dieting can cause constipation and diarrhea. Moreover, it can affect gut health in other ways, such as reducing the absorption of nutrients and increasing inflammation. So, be sure to talk to your doctor before starting a keto diet, and follow a healthy keto lifestyle that works for you!

Hyperlipidemia

The KD may cause hyperlipidemia in up to 60% of all kids who apply it. Even shortly after the start of the diet, it may occur at any point during the treatment period.

Since cream is so straightforwardly integrated into recipes (whipped cream, ice cream, soups, soufflés, sauces, dressing), the conventional KD primarily relied on saturated fats and 50% of the fat calories came from cream.

The KD’s usual struggle is to keep the diet appetizing while ‘hiding the fat. To maintain the ratio unchanged, eggs, bacon, and protein sources high in saturated fats are often used to diminish the quantity of fat in each meal. Hyperlipidemia, with increases in triglycerides, cholesterol, LDL, VLDL, and a decrease in anti-athrogenic HDL will result from traditional or classic KD.

Gastro intestinal disorders

Since the KD lacks fiber and bulk, Gastrointestinal (GI) problems are common in up to 3/4 of all KD patients.

Fat lowers the esophageal sphincter tone, slows gastric emptying, and decreases intestinal transit time, which are the most common symptoms of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) and constipation. Healthcare professionals will exacerbate these symptoms by fluid restrictions. 

Anorexia or feeding refusal can be caused by the ketone bodies. Pancreatitis, fatty liver, and gallstone disease have all been reported in case studies.

Nephrolithiasis

Up to 10% of KD patients experience nephrolithiasis. In comparison to calcium oxalate stones, uric acid stones are more prevalent.

When released in the urine, hypercalciuria, and low urine citrates all contribute to kidney stone development; the KD leads to a variety of metabolic alterations that predispose people to nephrolithiasis. Uric acid levels raised, and ketone bodies are acidic. During dehydration, the danger might rise.

Citrates (brand formulation is critical since many commercially accessible citrates include carbohydrates) should be used routinely to prevent renal stones during each follow-up appointment, along with a urine analysis and urine calcium creatinine ratio. Most centers no longer employ fluid restriction in the management of KD. To minimize the chance of stone formation, drink plenty of water.

The benefits of ketogenic diet

Ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that has been shown to be an effective way to improve your health and microbiome balance. 

This diet has a wide range of benefits, including;

• Decreased inflammation 
• Improved hormonal balance

It has also been shown to be an effective treatment for a variety of health conditions, including;

• Epilepsy 
• Cancer-related diseases

The ketogenic diet helps shift the body from using sugar as its primary energy source to using fat instead. This keto-adapted diet can be a way to improve your overall health and microbiome balance.

Gut–brain axis: The ketogenic diet alters functional gut microbiota

The gut-brain axis is a complex network of pathways that involve the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and central nervous system. The gut microbiota plays an important role in this pathway, as it affects both mental health and digestive health.

Recently, ketogenic dieting – which is high in fat and low in carbohydrates – has been found to alter the composition of gut microbiota, leading to improvements in host health. These benefits include improved cognitive performance, moods, inflammation levels, insulin resistance and metabolism.

In addition to these direct effects on human health, ketogenic diet research also suggests potential applications for the diet in regenerative medicine and food metabolism research. Overall, ketogenic diets are proving to be beneficial not only for weight loss but also for overall human well-being!

Beneficial for weight loss and cardiovascular health

There is a lot of hype around the keto diet and for good reason. 

Keto diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that helps promote healthy fat metabolism and reduces inflammation. It also helps to improve gut bacteria balance, leading to improved gut function and healthier intestinal bacteria. In addition, keto has been shown to help reduce risk of obesity (especially if combined with exercise), heart disease and type 2 diabetes. 

The ketogenic diet and epilepsy

In many cases we saw that ketogenic diet is effective in managing epilepsy.By enabling your body to use fat for energy, the keto diet preserves gut function and restores microbiome balance.

This diet is also high-fat and low-carbohydrate, which is what is known as a ketogenic lifestyle. The keto diet has been linked with a number of health benefits, including

• Weight loss 
• Improved gut health
• Improved epilepsy control

It’s important to keep in mind that while on the keto diet, you must maintain a healthy microbiome balance to get the most out of this diet. This means you should eat a balanced diet that includes plenty of healthy fats and low-carbohydrate content.

Conclusion

While there are still some unknowns about the ketogenic diet and its effects on overall  health you can give it a try. But of course with a health professional and considering your gut microbiome.