A key part of following a ketogenic, or keto, diet is reducing your sugar intake.

This is necessary for your body to enter ketosis, a state in which your body burns fat rather than sugar for energy.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy sweet-tasting foods.

Sugar alcohols are sweeteners that have tastes and textures similar to those of sugar, but fewer calories and a less significant effect on blood sugar levels.

As a result, they can be a satisfying option for individuals looking to reduce their sugar intake, such as those following a keto diet.

This article explains whether sugar alcohols are keto-friendly, as well as which ones may be better options for you.

Sugar alcohols occur naturally in some fruits and vegetables. However, most are commercially manufactured in a lab.

While there are many types of sugar alcohols, common ones you may see on food labels include.

• Erythritol. Often made by fermenting the glucose found in cornstarch, erythritol has 70% of the sweetness of sugar but 5% of the calories.
• Isomalt. Isomalt is a mixture of two sugar alcohols — mannitol and sorbitol. Providing 50% fewer calories than sugar, it’s most commonly used to make sugar-free hard candies and 50% as sweet.
• Maltitol. Maltitol is processed from the sugar maltose. It’s 90% as sweet as sugar with almost half the calories.
• Sorbitol. Commercially produced from glucose, sorbitol is 60% as sweet as sugar with about 60% of the calories.
• Xylitol. One of the most common sugar alcohols, xylitol is as sweet as regular sugar but has 40% fewer calories.

Due to their low calorie contents, sugar alcohols are frequently used to sweeten sugar-free or diet products like gum, yogurts, ice cream, coffee creamers, salad dressings, and protein bars and shakes.

When you eat sugar, your body breaks it down into smaller molecules. These molecules are then absorbed into your bloodstream, which causes your blood sugar levels to rise.

In contrast, your body cannot fully break down and absorb carbs from sugar alcohols. As a result, they cause a much smaller rise in blood sugar levels.

One way to compare the effects of these sweeteners is their glycemic index (GI), which is a measure of how quickly foods can raise your blood sugar.

Here are the GI values of common sugar alcohols.

• Erythritol: 0
• Isomalt: 2
• Maltitol: 35–52
• Sorbitol: 9
• Xylitol: 7–13

Overall, most sugar alcohols have negligible effects on your blood sugar levels. To compare, white table sugar (sucrose) has a glycemic index of 65. 

Sugar intake is limited on a keto diet, as eating it causes your blood sugar levels to rise.

This is an issue, as raised blood sugar levels can make it difficult for your body to remain in ketosis, which is key for reaping the benefits of the keto diet.

Given that sugar alcohols have a much less significant effect on blood sugar levels, they’re commonly found in keto-friendly products.

Furthermore, since they aren’t fully digestible, keto dieters often subtract the sugar alcohols and fiber from the total number of carbs in a food item. The resulting number is referred to as net carbs.

Still, due to the variation in GIs of different types of sugar alcohols, some are better for the keto diet than others.

Erythritol is a good keto-friendly option, as it has a glycemic index of 0 and works well in both cooking and baking. Plus, due to its small particle size, erythritol tends to be better tolerated than other sugar alcohols.

Still, xylitol, sorbitol, and isomalt are all suitable on a keto diet. You may simply want to scale back your intake if you notice any gastrointestinal side effects.

One sugar alcohol that appears to be less keto-friendly is maltitol.

Maltitol has a lower GI than sugar. However, with a GI of up to 52, it’s likely to have a more significant effect on your blood sugar levels than other sugar alcohols.

As such, if you’re on a keto diet, you may want to limit your intake of maltitol and choose a sugar alternative with a lower GI.

When consumed in normal amounts through food, sugar alcohols are considered safe for most individuals.

However, they do have the potential to cause digestive issues, especially in larger amounts. Side effects like bloating, nausea, and diarrhea have been observed when intake of sugar alcohols exceeds 35–40 grams per day.

Additionally, individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may experience negative side effects with any amount of sugar alcohols. As a result, if you have IBS, you may want to avoid sugar alcohol completely.The bottom line

Sugar alcohols are low calorie sweeteners that generally have little to no effect on your blood sugar levels. As a result, they’re a popular keto-friendly option for sweetening foods and beverages.

Just keep in mind that some may be better choices than others.

For example, maltitol has a much greater effect on blood sugar levels than erythritol, which has a GI of 0.

The next time you’re looking to add sweetener to your coffee or make homemade keto-friendly protein bars, try using a sugar alcohol like erythritol or xylitol.

Just be sure to consume these sweeteners in moderation to avoid any potential digestive distress.

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Ketogenic diet that excludes a wide array of essential food groups, can take a toll on our overall health if people are not able to sustain such a drastic change in eating habits that too in a safe manner. As a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet known as the Ketogenic diet, has been touted as one of the best weight loss programmes, at the same time been dismissed by many.

Out of the total daily caloric intake, nearly 70 to 80 per cent comes from fat, 20 per cent from protein and the remaining 5 per cent or so are derived from carbohydrates. The carbohydrate deprivation pushes the body into ketosis, which is a state where fat becomes its primary fuel source.

Despite its ability to cause rapid weight loss, this dieting approach doesn’t find many supporters among medical professionals. The Keto diet is usually not recommended by doctors for the reason that it excludes a wide array of essential food groups that are imperative for optimal health, such as grains, fruits, and some vegetables.

Medical professionals caution people to be aware of the difference between weight loss and overall health. Jeffrey Mechanick a medical director at Mount Sinai Heart’s Marie-Josee and Henry R Kravis Center for Clinical Cardiovascular Health quite frankly stated to USA Today that “I wouldn’t recommend the keto diet to anybody.” Vasanti Malik, an adjunct assistant professor of Nutrition at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, expressed her concern regarding this extreme system of eating.

“You want to be mindful because these foods — whole grains, fruits, and vegetables — carry a number of beneficial nutrients — vitamins, polyphenols, fibre — that have been shown time and time again to be beneficial for cardiometabolic health,” Malik told USA Today.

According to Mechanick, depletion of carbohydrates compels the body to scavenge upon its fat and muscle tissue to keep everything up and running. “In theory, the Keto diet basically mimics starvation. If you don’t eat carbohydrates but you eat an excessive amount of fat and protein, you’re still going to waste tissue. The tissue is still going to burn off,” explained Mechanick.

Fad diets such as keto also lead to weight rebound issues with people who are not able to stick to them after losing weight. The answer for sustainable weight loss hence lies with emphasising on the quality of food and not exclusively the number of calories that are consumed.

Mechanik suggests the minimisation of sugars and starches and an increased intake of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and beans.

Malik recommends people to include more grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts, while limiting saturated fat, added sugar and added sodium. Tidying up your menu, in conjunction with daily physical exercise would be enough to create a solid foundation for health.

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The keto diet has gained popularity, unlike any other diet in the recent past. Scores of health articles discuss it daily and so many people are willing to try it after hearing about it from a friend. There are many success stories – people have reported feeling rejuvenated and shedding many kilos. However, the fact remains that long term studies on its effects have not been carried out and the scientific community has not approved it as a weight loss therapy yet. Further research will tell us if the weight loss is sustainable (as many of those who lose weight find it difficult to keep it off) and shed light on its long term health effects.

There may be short term benefits 

A study at Yale involving mice has shown that the ketogenic diet does have good short term health effects. A week on the diet improved metabolism, lowered inflammation and diabetes risk. However, the mice that were on the diet longer than a week regained the weight and became obese and had a higher likelihood of developing diabetes. The researchers attributed this to the high amount of fat in the diet – the mice were consuming more fat than they could burn and burdening their bodies.

What the keto diet consists of 

A ketogenic diet is composed mostly of fat as 90% of the calories are meant to come from fat and proteins make up the remainder. The idea is to deprive the body of carbohydrates as much as possible. Ideally, less than 50g of carbohydrates should be consumed in a day. Vegetables and fruits contain carbohydrates, but leafy greens and certain berries can be consumed, albeit with restraint. Pulses, rotis, and foods containing added sugar will need to be avoided. All kinds of fats are permitted, and unsaturated fats especially so – they make up the majority of the diet.

The diet aims to use a different kind of fuel to run the body. Rather than glucose, a body that has been on the keto diet will run on ketone bodies instead. The liver produces ketone from stored fat, so the body effectively begins burning fat to fuel itself. It believes that it is in a state of starvation when in reality it is not. With the release of ketone bodies, gamma delta T-cells are also released which lower inflammation and risks associated with diabetes. For example, the mice had lower blood sugar at the end of the week. 

Longer-term issues

However, the researchers found that during this fat burning process, fat from the diet continues getting stored in the body anyway. What this meant for the mice was that they started gaining weight after being on the diet for a longer time. This led to obesity and an increased likelihood of getting diabetes. It appears that the high-fat content of the diet eventually works against it.

The researchers hope to use these findings to better understand the workings of the ketogenic diet and perhaps come up with recommendations on the duration of the diet. 

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Washington: A ketogenic diet — which provides 99 per cent of calories from fat and protein, and only one per cent from carbohydrates — may produce health benefits in the short term, but negative effects after about a week, according to a study conducted in mice.

The study, published in the journal Nature Metabolism, suggests that the keto diet could, over limited time periods, improve human health by lowering diabetes risk and inflammation.

The keto diet has become increasingly popular as celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kim Kardashian, have touted it as a weight-loss regimen, the researchers noted.

The diet tricks the body into burning fat, said lead author Vishwa Deep Dixit from the Yale University in the US.

When the body’s glucose level is reduced due to the diet’s low carbohydrate content, the body acts as if it is in a starvation state — although it is not — and begins burning fats instead of carbohydrates.

This process in turn yields chemicals called ketone bodies as an alternative source of fuel.

When the body burns ketone bodies, tissue-protective gamma delta T-cells expand throughout the body.

This reduces diabetes risk and inflammation, and improves the body’s metabolism, said Dixit.

After a week on the keto diet, mice show a reduction in blood sugar levels and inflammation, he said.

However, when the body is in this “starving-not-starving” mode, fat storage is also happening simultaneously with fat breakdown, the researchers said.

When mice continue to eat the high-fat, low-carb diet beyond one week, they consume more fat than they can burn, and develop diabetes and obesity, the researchers said.

“They lose the protective gamma delta T-cells in the fat,” Dixit said. Long-term clinical studies in humans are still necessary to validate the anecdotal claims of keto’s health benefits, the researchers noted.

“Before such a diet can be prescribed, a large clinical trial in controlled conditions is necessary to understand the mechanism behind metabolic and immunological benefits or any potential harm to individuals who are overweight and pre-diabetic,” Dixit said.

“Obesity and type 2 diabetes are lifestyle diseases. Diet allows people a way to be in control,” he said.

With the latest findings, researchers now better understand the mechanisms at work in bodies sustained on the keto diet, and why the diet may bring health benefits over limited time periods.

“Our findings highlight the interplay between metabolism and the immune system, and how it coordinates maintenance of healthy tissue function,” said Emily Goldberg, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale.

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Many people swear by the ketogenic (“keto”) diet and its supposed myriad of positive health effects. Though there are some concerns associated with keto, it has proven effective for many people who adopted the diet, aiding in weight loss, helping reverse type-2 diabetes, and more. A new study out of Yale University has found that adopting the keto diet in short spurts may be the best way to get the most results from it.

The keto diet involves eating a relatively high level of fat and a low quantity of carbohydrates in order to trick the body into a type of ‘starvation mode.’ When in this state, the body will switch over to burning fat instead of carbohydrates; many formerly overweight people report having experienced substantial weight loss on this diet. Benefits may include lowered appetite and inflammation.

According to the new study out of Yale, however, some of these benefits only persist for a short period of time. The diet can potentially have good and bad effects on protective immune cells called gamma delta T-cells, which work to lower inflammation and the risk of developing diabetes. These cells ‘expand throughout the body’ when it is burning fat (ketones, specifically) for fuel instead of sugar.

That change comes with positive effects on health by tackling harmful inflammation and reducing one’s odds of developing diabetes. The benefit is relatively short-lived, however, according to the new study. The team found that mice who continued to eat a keto diet started consuming more fat than they were burning after the first week.

This nixed the positive effects of the gamma delta T-cells and paved the way for weight gain and, eventually, the development of diabetes.

The potential for keto to increase diabetes risk is a known one; in late 2018, researchers in Zurich published a study that warned type-2 diabetes risk was found to eventually increase after several weeks on the keto diet, though the reason for this was unknown.

The Yale findings indicate that adopting a keto diet for short periods of time may be more effective at lowering inflammation and reaping other health benefits than eating the diet continuously for weeks or months on end. Unfortunately, the ideal length of the diet for humans isn’t known at this time; additional research will be necessary.

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The Keto diet is a low-carb diet followed by millions to stay healthy. It is highly popular and widely practised across the globe. Let us see some ways by which one can make their keto diet plan interesting. 

3 quirky ways to spice up a keto diet plan

Cauliflower pizza

The ingredients required are 1 medium cauliflower that is finely chopped, 1 egg, 100gm of grated cheese such as mozzarella, salt, and pepper to taste, choice of herbs such as rosemary or oregano. Mash the cauliflower and cook it in the oven then add egg, seasoning, herbs, and grated cheese.

Spread the mixture on a pizza pan and put it back in the oven until it turns golden. Now add toppings, cover with some more cheese and let it cook till the cheese bubbles. The cauliflower pizza is now ready.

Keto turmeric milkshake

One needs 375 ml non-dairy milk, 2 tbsp coconut oil, 3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon ginger powder, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon,1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, granulated sweetener, a pinch of Himalayan salt, and 2 ice cubes. Place all the ingredients in a bender.

Blend for 30 seconds on high or until thick and golden. The keto turmeric milkshake is now ready.

Avocado egg chicken wrap

The ingredients required include one avocado, one egg, chicken sausages, salt and pepper to taste, and cream cheese. Take the egg and whisk it with salt and pepper until frothy. Heat a non-stick skillet and add some melted butter. Pour the egg mixture and swirl it evenly.

Once the edges are crisp, take out those crepes and spread the avocado with sausage and cream cheese in the middle and wrap it like burritos. This avocado egg chicken wrap can be a nice addition to one’s keto meal plan.

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A ketogenic diet — which provides 99% of calories from fat and protein and only 1% from carbohydrates — produces health benefits in the short term, but negative effects after about a week, Yale researchers found in a study of mice.

The results offer early indications that the keto diet could, over limited time periods, improve human health by lowering diabetes risk and inflammation. They also represent an important first step toward possible clinical trials in humans.

The keto diet has become increasingly popular as celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Lebron James, and Kim Kardashian, have touted it as a weight-loss regimen.

In the Yale study, published in the Jan. 20 issue of Nature Metabolism, researchers found that the positive and negative effects of the diet both relate to immune cells called gamma delta T-cells, tissue-protective cells that lower diabetes risk and inflammation.

A keto diet tricks the body into burning fat, said lead author Vishwa Deep Dixit of the Yale School of Medicine. When the body’s glucose level is reduced due to the diet’s low carbohydrate content, the body acts as if it is in a starvation state — although it is not — and begins burning fats instead of carbohydrates. This process in turn yields chemicals called ketone bodies as an alternative source of fuel. When the body burns ketone bodies, tissue-protective gamma delta T-cells expand throughout the body.

This reduces diabetes risk and inflammation, and improves the body’s metabolism, said Dixit, the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Comparative Medicine and of Immunobiology. After a week on the keto diet, he said, mice show a reduction in blood sugar levels and inflammation.

But when the body is in this “starving-not-starving” mode, fat storage is also happening simultaneously with fat breakdown, the researchers found. When mice continue to eat the high-fat, low-carb diet beyond one week, Dixit said, they consume more fat than they can burn, and develop diabetes and obesity.

“They lose the protective gamma delta T-cells in the fat,” he said.

Long-term clinical studies in humans are still necessary to validate the anecdotal claims of keto’s health benefits.

“Before such a diet can be prescribed, a large clinical trial in controlled conditions is necessary to understand the mechanism behind metabolic and immunological benefits or any potential harm to individuals who are overweight and pre-diabetic,” Dixit said.

There are good reasons to pursue further study: According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 84 million American adults — or more than one out of three — have prediabetes (increased blood sugar levels), putting them at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. More than 90% of people with this condition don’t know they have it.

“Obesity and type 2 diabetes are lifestyle diseases,” Dixit said. “Diet allows people a way to be in control.”

With the latest findings, researchers now better understand the mechanisms at work in bodies sustained on the keto diet, and why the diet may bring health benefits over limited time periods.

“Our findings highlight the interplay between metabolism and the immune system, and how it coordinates maintenance of healthy tissue function,” said Emily Goldberg, the postdoctoral fellow in comparative medicine who discovered that the keto diet expands gamma-delta T cells in mice.

If the ideal length of the diet for health benefits in humans is a subject for later studies, Dixit said, discovering that keto is better in small doses is good news, he said: “Who wants to be on a diet forever?”

The research was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

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A new study by researchers in Australia has some sobering findings for endurance runners who are considering an LCHF or keto diet for its presumed benefits to performance. Proponents of such diets argue that the diets enable better fat adaptation over long distances, but the study found found a significant potential downside: it may compromise their bone health.

The study, published in Frontiers in Endocrinology today, took 28 elite race walkers (23 male, five female) who were training for the 2016 Olympics or the 2017 World Championships and put some of them on a high-carbohydrate diet and the rest on a low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet for three and a half weeks, after which the keto group resumed carbohydrate consumption. (Athletes were allowed to choose which group to join.) “Study diets were designed and individualized for each athlete by trained members of the research team including registered sports dietitians, a professional chef, and exercise physiologists,” the study says. Athletes’ blood was tested for markers of bone breakdown and regeneration at rest and after exertion, both before the diet began and after they resumed eating carbs.

(Note that many people distinguish between a strict keto diet and LCHF, in which the restriction on carbohydrate consumption is less extreme, but in this study there is no distinction.)

The study found that markers of bone health were compromised in the keto group, and that the effects were only partially reversed when subjects resumed a high carbohydrate diet. “Long-term effects of such alterations remain unknown, but may be detrimental to bone mineral density (BMD) and bone strength, with major consequences to health and performance,” the authors noted, acknowledging the need for longer-term studies.

The authors noted that while exercise is generally beneficial for bone health, “bone injuries represent a challenge to consistent training and competition in high performance sport.” Bone injuries can be caused by low energy availability, inadequate vitamin D and/or calcium intake. RED-S is a major concern for athletes, and knowledge of how to help those experiencing its effects is growing.

The study notes that carbohydrate availability may also play a role in bone health in athletes. In particular, the authors noted that several studies show that beginning endurance training with low glycogen stores stimluates the release of cytokine interleukin-6 (IL6), which increases bone breakdown. But it also cited another study that found that severely limiting carbohydrate availability in athletes resulted in increased bone breakdown independent of IL6 levels.

The study concludes: “Given the injury risks and long-term outcomes underpinned by poor bone health in later life, in athletes as well as individuals who undertake exercise for health benefits, additional investigations of the ketogenic diet and its role in perturbing bone metabolism are warranted.”

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A recent survey of registered dietitians named the low-carbohydrate keto diet yet again as the most popular diet in the United States. In Ireland, it consistently ranks high in Google searches, with keto recipe books featuring high in the publishing charts – particularly at this time of year.

Powering this diet is fat, and loads of it – all the way up to a hefty 90 per cent of one’s daily calories.

Its fans (and marketers) feed social media with before and after photos, crediting the diet for life-altering weight loss or other effects. They swirl butter into their coffee, load up on cheese, and eat lonely burgers without its bestie, the bun. Staples such as whole grains, legumes, fruit and starchy vegetables are being largely pushed off the plate as devotees strive for ketosis – when the body begins to burn fat instead of glucose as its primary energy source.

The diet is hailed for dropping pounds, burning more calories, reducing hunger, managing diabetes, treating drug-resistant epilepsy, improving blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, the major storage form of fat in the body. People have reported improved concentration, too.

First, a word: choosing an eating plan or an approach to eating is very personal. Everyone’s body, tastes and background are unique. The best approach to food intake is one in which you are healthy and nurtured and matches your social and cultural preference. If you want guidance, it’s recommended you consult with a dietitian.

What is the ketogenic diet?
A “typical” ketogenic diet consists of at least 70 per cent of calories derived from fat, less than 10 per cent from carbs and less than 20 per cent from protein. The ketogenic diet, long used to treat epilepsy in children, calls for 90 per cent of daily calories to come from fat, with the amount of protein or carbs varying as long as it’s 4 grams of fat for every combined 1 gram of carb and protein, according to the American Epilepsy Society. That can mean chowing down on a lot of cheese, butter, eggs, nuts, salmon, bacon, olive oil, and non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, greens and spinach. For the arithmetic-challenged, apps and online programmes can do the math for you.

The goal of the ketogenic diet is to enter a state of ketosis through fat metabolism. In a ketogenic state, the body uses primarily fat for energy instead of carbohydrates; with low levels of carbohydrate, fats can be converted into ketones to fuel the body.

For ketosis, a typical adult must stay below 20 to 50 grams of net carbohydrates – measured as total carbs minus fibre – each day. Crossing that threshold is easy: a thick slice of bread adds 21 carbohydrates, a medium apple 25, and a cup of milk 12. It’s not just bread and soda that are on the outs but high sugar fruit and starchy veggies such as potatoes, as well as too much protein. Also, dieters have to be on high alert for hidden carbs, often invisible to the eye, yet coating that seemingly keto-friendly fried cheese.

Can I lose weight on the keto diet?
Yes. Certainly in the short-term, it appears that way. For the first two to six months, there’s evidence that a very low carbohydrate diet can help you lose more weight than the standard high carbohydrate, low fat diet, according to a recent literature review of low-carb diets by the National Lipid Association in America. “By 12 months, that advantage is essentially gone,” said Carol Kirkpatrick, director of Idaho State University’s Wellness Center, and lead author of the new literature review. After that, weight loss seems to equalise between those two popular diet regimens. She said keto is best used to kick start a diet, before transitioning to a carb intake that you can adhere to for the longer term.

How long does it take to see results on the keto diet?
For some, it’s the promised land of diets. Instead of cringing through carrot sticks, they can fill up guilt-free on chorizo with scrambled eggs. Indeed, some evidence suggests that people feel less hungry while in ketosis, and have fewer cravings. “That’s why it’s become so popular for the general population,” said Dr Mackenzie Cervenka, medical director of Johns Hopkins Hospital’s Adult Epilepsy Diet Center. “Because once you are in ketosis, it’s easy to follow.”

Usually, it takes between one to four days to enter the state, doctors say, but it depends on many factors such as activity level: a runner, for example, may sprint there faster than a couch potato.

The keto diet appears to deliver fast results: The first pounds may seem to slip off. That can be seductive, but it’s likely water weight. Then, dietitians say, it’s back to energy in minus energy out.

But can the ketogenic diet help to burn more calories?
There is some evidence that it can. The research is limited and conflicting here, too. It may be a very small effect, and not meaningful for weight control. That’s what one study found. In it, 17 obese or overweight volunteers moved into metabolic wards for two months and had every last spoonful of food monitored. (This recounting of the science uses definitional terms such as “obese” to be clear about the subjects of research studies.) For the first month, they consumed a high carb diet; for the second, they had a ketogenic one, with both plans equal in calories.

In the end, though insulin levels did decrease while eating the bunless burger, they didn’t lose more fat than when they had bread. The study was limited, though, by having a small sample size, and not having a comparison group that wasn’t on the back-to-back regimens.

For some, a low carb diet can be appealing.That doesn’t mean that diet is superior, according to a study that followed 609 overweight adults on either a low carb or a low-fat diet for a year. In the end, both groups shed almost the same amount on average – about 12 to 13 pounds, according to the randomised clinical trial that examined a low carb diet less restrictive than the keto.

Does the ketogenic diet benefit long-term? 

It’s not known yet. “If you tell people to go on this diet forever and for a longer term, there is no evidence,” said Carla Prado, an associate professor and director of the University of Alberta’s Human Nutrition Research Unit.

The diet does help children with epilepsy: Nearly a third to two-thirds of patients experience 50 per cent fewer seizures after six months on the regimen. (Even back in 400BC people fasted to treat epilepsy. And the ketogenic diet itself is nearly a century old, having been popular to help with seizures until the discovery of an anticonvulsant drug.) There are case studies on how 10 patients with a rare condition fared on the diet for a decade, but most well-designed studies in this field have not extended beyond two years.

Does a low carb diet help people with diabetes?

Yes. “Carbohydrate is the biggest driver of blood sugar,” said Dr William Yancy, director of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center, who sees a lot of promise in the diet helping those with diabetes.

A new randomised clinical trial enrolled 263 adults with type 2 diabetes into group medical visits, with half receiving medication adjustment for better blood sugar control, and the others undergoing weight management counseling using a low carb diet. (All participants of the study had a BMI that fell within the range of overweight or obese.) Both groups experienced lowered average blood sugar levels at the end of 48 weeks, according to findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine. However, the weight management group on the low carb diet slimmed down more, required less medication and had fewer problematic low blood sugar episodes.

For those with Type 2 diabetes, a low carb diet seems to improve average blood sugar levels better in the first year than the high carbohydrate, low fat diet. After that time period, the review by the National Lipid Association found that difference almost disappears — but with a very important benefit: the low carb participants were able to use less medication. “People like that because they don’t like to be on diabetes medicines,” Dr Yancy said.

Is there a healthy way to eat more fat?

When Dr Cervenka starts her patients with epilepsy on a low carbohydrate diet, she doesn’t rule out saturated fats from animal products. She wants them to get used to the new way of eating. But if cholesterol levels climb and stay that way, she advises them to shift to foods and oils with mono- and polyunsaturated fats such as avocados or olive oil.

While the diet’s effect on LDL (“bad” cholesterol) appears to be mixed, the National Lipid Association’s review found that a very low carbohydrate diet does seem to improve HDL (commonly known as the good cholesterol). Beyond a year, it seems these benefits don’t last, much like in weight loss. Only lowered triglyceride levels seem to have any staying power. Other findings: the evidence on blood pressure is inconsistent, and the reports of improved mental clarity are not supported by controlled studies.

What’s the effect of all that fatty meat on your health?

And what happens, for example, after cutting down fruits, legumes and whole grains – all food that studies point to reducing cardiometabolic risk? Dr Neil Stone, a preventive cardiologist, worries about this, having seen the bad cholesterol levels of some of his patients on the keto diet increase drastically. (It doesn’t happen to all but it does happen to some). “Any diet that raises major risk factors for coronary heart disease puts patients at risk over the long term,” he said.

There are many ways to interpret the keto diet. Some people will eat a salad with chicken, dressed in olive oil, while others will feast on stacks of bacon washed down by diet soda, the kind of diet known as “dirty keto”. That’s eating anything, including processed foods, as long as your carbs are low enough and your fat high enough to achieve ketosis.

The best diet is one that works for you, but if you want to try this, they recommend avoiding trans fats such as margarine, limiting saturated fat by consuming lean cuts of beef, skinless chicken breast, and incorporating fatty fish such as salmon into your diet. Reach for foods high in unsaturated fats like avocado, nuts, seeds and olive oil.

Are there side effects of the keto diet?

At first some can experience some stomach issues and gastrointestinal (GI) distress. “Ninety percent of calories from fat is probably going to be a shock to the system,” said Linsenmeyer. It’s crucial, doctors say, to consult with a dietitian or physician, have cholesterol levels regularly checked, and replenish the fluids and sodium lost by increased urination and the severe restriction of carbohydrates. If not, within two to four days of beginning the diet, that depletion can bring on the “keto flu” – symptoms such as dizziness, poor sleep and fatigue in some people.

“Carbohydrates have a lot of nutrients that can help us maintain our body function,” said Prado. On the diet, some people experience “keto breath”, a halitosis likely caused by the production of acetone, which is one of the ketone bodies.

Possible side effects for patients with epilepsy starting the diet include constipation from reduced fibre intake, vomiting, fatigue, hypoglycemia, worsening reflux, and increased frequency of seizures. The National Lipid Association review urges that patients with lipid disorders (like high cholesterol or triglycerides), a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (such as having a heart attack or stroke), heart failure, and kidney and liver disease take caution if considering the diet. People on blood thinners should take extra care.

Advice we can all agree on: Eat healthy, there is no quick fix

Advice from the battling diet camps can be confusing.

Keto isn’t the only way to lose weight or change your life, obviously. Dietitians say it is not essential to cut back on as many foods, since a moderate low carb diet may still hold benefits for diabetes or weight loss.

One thing is certain, any meaningful change starts with behaviour. Are you at a right point to make a change in your life? Dr Yancy suggests asking friends and family to support you, confer with a doctor, incorporate physical activity, and begin to think of it not as a temporary measure but more of a lifestyle change. 

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Arecent survey of registered dietitians named the low-carbohydrate keto diet yet again as the most popular diet in the US. Powering this diet is fat, and loads of it — up to a hefty 90 per cent of one’s daily calories.

Its fans feed social media with before and after photos, crediting the diet for life-altering weight loss or other effects. They swirl butter into their coffee, load up on cheese and eat lonely burgers without its bestie, the bun.

The diet is hailed for dropping pounds, burning more calories, reducing hunger, managing diabetes, treating drug resistant epilepsy, improving blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, the major storage form of fat in the body. People have reported improved concentration, too.

What is a keto diet?

A “typical” ketogenic diet consists of at least 70 per cent of calories derived from fat, less than 10 per cent from carbs and less than 20 per cent from protein. That can mean chowing down on a lot of cheese, butter, eggs, nuts, salmon, bacon, olive oil, and non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, greens and spinach. The keto diet is vastly different from the USDA dietary recommendations of 45 to 65 per cent of total calories to be from carbohydrates, 20 to 35 per cent from fat, and 10 to 35 per cent from protein.

The goal of the ketogenic diet is to enter a state of ketosis through fat metabolism. In a ketogenic state, the body uses primarily fat for energy instead of carbohydrates; with low levels of carbohydrate, fats can be converted into ketones to fuel the body.

For ketosis, a typical adult must consume less than 20 to 50 grams of net carbohydrates — total carbs minus fibre — each day. Crossing that threshold is easy: a thick slice of bread adds 21 carbohydrates, a medium apple 25, and a cup of milk 12. It’s not just bread and soda that are on the outs but high sugar fruit and starchy veggies like potatoes, as well as too much protein.

There are many ways to interpret the keto diet. Some people eat a salad with chicken, dressed in olive oil, while others feast on bacon washed down by diet soda, the kind of diet known as “dirty keto”. That’s eating anything, including processed foods, as long as your carbs are low enough and your fat high enough to achieve ketosis. The best diet is one that works for you, but if you want to try this, avoid trans fats such as margarine and limit saturated fat by consuming lean cuts of beef, skinless chicken breast and fatty fish like salmon. Reach for foods high in unsaturated fats such as avocado, nuts, seeds and olive oil.

Christopher Gardner, the lead author and a professor of medicine and nutrition scientist at Stanford Prevention Research Center, US, also says he sees one common misconception about keto: eating too much protein. Most amino acids in protein foods can be converted into glucose in the body, undermining efforts to keep carb intake low. “It drives me nuts that people don’t get it,” he said when he sees people eat, for instance, steak after steak.

Can I lose weight on it?

For the first two to six months, there’s evidence that a very low carbohydrate diet can help you lose more weight than the standard high carbohydrate, low fat diet, according to a new literature review of low-carb diets by the National Lipid Association.

“By 12 months, that advantage is essentially gone,” said Carol F. Kirkpatrick, director of US’s Idaho State University’s Wellness Center, and lead author of the new literature review. She said keto is best used to kick start a diet, before transitioning to a carb intake that you can adhere to for the longer term.

How long to see results?

For some, it’s the promised land of diets. Instead of cringing through carrot sticks, they can fill up on chorizo with scrambled eggs. Indeed, some evidence suggests that people feel less hungry while in ketosis, and have fewer cravings.

“That’s why it’s become so popular for the general population,” said Dr Mackenzie C. Cervenka, medical director of Johns Hopkins Hospital’s Adult Epilepsy Diet Center in the US. “Because once you are in ketosis, it’s easy to follow.” Usually, it takes between one to four days to enter the state, doctors say, but it depends on many factors like activity level: a runner, for example, may sprint there faster than a couch potato.

The keto diet appears to deliver fast results: The first pounds seem to slip off. That can be seductive but it’s likely water weight. Then, dietitians say, it’s back to energy in minus energy out. You can gain weight on any diet if you’re consuming 5,000 calories a day, according to Whitney Linsenmeyer, director of Saint Louis University’s Didactic Program in Dietetics.

“It’s not like it is going to magically alter your metabolism to where calories don’t matter,” she said. And when resuming the carbs, that water weight returns.

Does it help with diabetes?

Yes. “Carbohydrate is the biggest driver of blood sugar,” said Dr William Yancy, director of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center, who sees a lot of promise in the diet helping those with diabetes.

A new randomised clinical trial enrolled 263 adults with type 2 diabetes into group medical visits, with half receiving medication adjustment for better blood sugar control, and the others undergoing weight management counselling using a low carb diet. (All participants of the study had a BMI that fell within the range of overweight or obese.)

Both groups experienced lowered average blood sugar levels at the end of 48 weeks, according to findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine. However, the weight management group on the low carb diet slimmed down more, required less medication and had fewer problematic low blood sugar episodes.

For those with type 2 diabetes, a low carb diet seems to improve average blood sugar levels better in the first year than the high carbohydrate, low fat diet. After that time, the review by the US National Lipid Association found that difference almost disappears — but with a very important benefit: the low carb participants were able to use less medication. “People like that because they don’t like to be on diabetes medicines,” Dr Yancy said.

Are there side effects?

At first some can experience some stomach issues and GI distress. “Ninety percent of calories from fat is probably going to be a shock to the system,” said Linsenmeyer.

It’s crucial, doctors say, to consult with a dietitian or physician, have cholesterol levels checked, and replenish the fluids and sodium lost by increased urination and the severe restriction of carbohydrates. If not, within two to four days of beginning the diet, that depletion may bring on “keto flu” — dizziness, poor sleep and fatigue.

“Carbohydrates have a lot of nutrients that can help us maintain our body function,” said Carla Prado, director of the University of Alberta’s Human Nutrition Research Unit, US. Some people experience “keto breath”, a halitosis likely caused by the production of acetone, one of the ketone bodies.

Possible side effects for patients with epilepsy starting the diet include constipation, vomiting, fatigue, hypoglycemia, worsening reflux and increased frequency of seizures. The US National Lipid Association review urges patients with lipid disorders (high cholesterol or triglycerides), a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (such as a heart attack or stroke), heart failure and kidney and liver disease to take caution if considering the diet. People on blood thinners should take extra care.

Whichever eating plan one chooses for 2020, certain recommendations are nearly universal: cut down on refined carbs and ultra-processed foods, and consume more whole foods, particularly non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli, asparagus, and spinach.

“The ‘optimal diet’ lies somewhere between what has been proposed historically — the high carbohydrate, low fat diet — and the ketogenic diet,” said Dr Cervenka.

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Gaining traction all over the years from people while being frowned upon by some number of health experts, the ketogenic, or keto diet is one of the most unique diet trends out there. And one can’t deny this whether you agree with it or not.

This is because the diet itself combines the power of calorie restriction with the benefits that you can get from putting your body in nutritional ketosis, which when done properly, can provide a number of health benefits while also helping you achieve weight loss at the same time.

Still, many people get it wrong and oftentimes misunderstood how keto is supposed to work, thanks in part to some common myths that people throw around.

In any case, here are a few “keto strategies” that will hopefully get rid of these common misconceptions and help you achieve the results that you’re aiming for.

Only eat keto food and ingredients

These are foods that are very low in carbohydrates. However, what’s low for you is determined by your daily carb limit. This means that you need to be more vigilant with your food choices because even healthier food like fruits and veggies can still pack a lot of carbs. With keto, however, do eat low-carb vegetables, meats, nuts and seeds, high fat dairy, sweeteners, avocado and berries.

Know what to focus on

And what you should focus on is being in a calorie deficit because it’s the key to burning off your own fat. To do this, you need to focus on two things: eat protein-dense and fiber-rich foods and eliminating all calorically-dense processed foods from your diet.

Track your macros

People usually tend to underestimate how many calories they really eat. Tracking yours can help you be more aware of where you are in the diet. Thankfully, there are many keto calculators that you can find on the internet.

Change your food environment

Of course, this can be hard for some people since changing your environment for one diet can be a bit much. Still, you can do this by only allowing keto-friendly food in your house, planning your meals ahead of time (stops you from overeating as well), only eating foods that you track and avoiding unhealthy foods you can binge on.

Prepare for keto concerns

Unfortunately, putting your body through ketosis isn’t that common, and so your body might have some adjusting to do. This “adjusting” comes in the form of the so-called “keto flu,” which may have symptoms like sugar cravings, dizziness, cramping, poor focus and insomnia. Luckily, drinking lots of water can help clear these symptoms. They would disappear as your body adapts more.

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The high-fat, low-carb keto diet has been around for 100 years as a therapeutic treatment for epileptic seizures, but it’s recently gained favor with celebrities and heath enthusiasts alike as a foolproof way to lose weight. The idea with keto is to shift the body into a state of fat-burning ketosis, by banishing nearly all carbs (no sweet apples or bread allowed), and fueling up on 70 to 80% fat every day.

It’s been tried by Hollywood stars including the Kardashians and Halle Berry, while Silicon Valley tech workers swear by its ability to lift their mental fog. Doctors are also starting to believe the plan holds promise for staving off diabetes. There’s even evidence to suggest that maybe it could one day help some drugs better combat cancer.

Health experts are still cautious about recommending the plan across the board, however, not only because it’s difficult to follow, but more importantly, because there isn’t much long-term data about what it may do to heart health after years or decades of use. Cardiologists and kidney doctors are already expressing serious concerns about what they’re seeing in practice when certain patients go high-fat.

Going low-carb can be bad for your heart

Cardiologist Elizabeth Klodas says not all of her patients have done well on the trendy plan.

“Stop. Stop!” she told Insider. “In my own practice, the people that have adopted it, their cholesterols can just go crazy.”

She’s not the only heart doctor to have pointed this out.

Cardiologist Ethan Weiss, who himself has become an ardent follower of a high-fat keto diet plan, says that while high cholesterol isn’t a common issue with keto, it can happen.

“I think the vast majority of people who go on this diet will have no trouble with their cholesterol,” Weiss told Business Insider last year. “But I’m not going to tell the people that do have trouble with their cholesterol that it’s not a problem.”

He sometimes suggests a high-fat keto plan to his patients working to manage diabetes, obesity, and other metabolic issues. But he’s cautious about how and when he prescribes it, recommending what he calls a “heart healthy” keto, with lots of fatty fish, olive oil, nuts, and avocado in the mix.

Klodas said those are all healthful additions to any diet that she would endorse to her patients, too.

“It’s not about high fat, low fat, it’s good fat, bad fat,” she said. “The oils in nuts and seeds, oils in fish, avocados, you don’t have to worry about those, those appear to be anti-inflammatory, they help cholesterol.”

But evidence suggests people tend to fuel up on bacon, cream, and coconut oil when going keto instead of favoring unsaturated, healthy fats.

Perhaps this is why studies show that people who follow low-carb diets tend to have a higher risk of death, and in particular, tend to die from coronary heart disease far more often than people who eat more carbohydrates. (Not everyone who goes low-carb will restrict their carb intake enough to enter fat-burning ketosis, however.)

Whether your diet is low-carb or high-carb, make sure you’re eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and nuts

Klodas also doesn’t buy into the idea that going low-carb, while shunning the fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains that we know are linked to positive health outcomes, is a good idea.

“If you look at populations that eat a keto-type diet, the Inuit, for example, very few fruits and vegetables, right? Their average lifespan is 10 years shorter,” Klodas said. “None of these Blue Zones where people live long, well … none of them follow a keto diet.”

Klodas said the secret to better health lies in cooking more for yourself and incorporating more produce, like fruits, vegetables, and beans into what you eat. These can be high-carb, but also promote overall health.

Instead of overhauling people’s diets completely (often a failing strategy), Klodas has asked many of her patients to shift their eating routines through small, incremental changes. She started a line of packaged “Step One Foods” six years ago, which all include lots of fiber, alpha-linoleic acid, and plant sterols to help lower cholesterol.

The idea is that patients might make two simple “swaps” to their diet a day, switching out an afternoon candy bar or a breakfast pastry with something from her line like a serving of oatmeal or a smoothie.

At an American Heart Association scientific session in 2018, Klodas presented academic research conducted (in conjunction with the Mayo Clinic and University of Manitoba) on 54 patients, which suggested that her swaps really work. They helped people reduce their total cholesterol by about 5% in a monthlong trial, without any additional drugs.

She sees her program as one small way to start people down a path to choosing more healthful foods, lowering their overall cholesterol without the potential for some of the mind-altering side effects that statins can have.

“What I see are deficiencies of fiber, antioxidants, healthy fats,” she said. “That’s the thing that’s really missing in people’s lives.”

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The ketogenic diet was one of the most popular diets in 2019, and it doesn’t show any signs of stopping. While it has stirred up controversy (Remember the Jillian Michaels — Al Roker feud?), it has not seemed to wane. 

The lifestyle has been used to battle both weight issues as well as overall health issues. For example, many epileptic patients have seen a reduction in symptoms when following a ketogenic — or close to ketogenic — diet. Others have given the diet credit for helping them drop a significant amount of weight in a short time, while boosting their energy.

For those looking to jump into keto, the diet does require some preparation before going full speed ahead. But, a little bit of prep work will put you at an advantage and may allow you to see results faster than you anticipated. 

Here is everything you need to know about going keto. 

What is the keto diet?

The keto lifestyle, whether it is being tapped for weight loss or health reasons, is not something that should be taken lightly. Keto requires the elimination of complex carbohydrates as well as grains, sugar, fruit and tubers, like yams and sweet potatoes. It relies on the heavy presence of meat, leafy greens, above-ground vegetables, nuts, fats, oils and alternative sweeteners. 

According to experts, fewer than 15 grams of carbohydrates are optimal for those looking to send their bodies into ketosis.

How does keto work?

By eliminating carbohydrates, the body slips into ketosis, a process in which ketones are produced from the breakdown of fats in the liver. In turn, the body goes into a metabolic state through the starvation of carbohydrates called ketosis. (Basically, you are burning fat for energy instead of sugar.)

How do you start a keto diet?

Before jumping on the keto bandwagon, health experts urge you to talk to a doctor or other health professional to ensure that there will be no unwanted reactions or side effects. 

“If you are considering starting any kind of ketogenic diet, you should discuss it first with your doctor. The diet may be harmful if you have existing kidney, liver or heart disease. If you have diabetes or high blood pressure and are on medications, you should be in close contact with your physician to monitor changes and adjust medications as needed,” says Diane Vizthum, a dietitian at the Adult Epilepsy Diet Center at Johns Hopkins. 

Keto planning and prep

There is simply no way around it — keto requires a lot of planning and prep before jumping in. Not only will you be looking to eliminate foods from your diet, but you will also have to learn to cook using keto-compliant foods, how to order when dining out, and how to utilize keto-based substitutions for baked goods, snacks and other indulgences. 

“It can be harder to manage your diet because you might have to spend more time calculating your carbohydrate intake and spend a lot of time planning meals and considering the foods you are eating,” says Mascha Davis, MPH, RDN, a national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 

Stocking your cabinets with both keto cookbooks and these keto staples can help to eliminate some of the stress of going keto. Researching keto-compliant recipes as well as learning how to read labels for pitfalls like hidden sugar will also ensure you will see success on the keto plan. 

Vizthum adds that those attempting the keto diet should make an honest attempt to eat whole foods and not turn to processed foods that may be compliant, but are otherwise not healthy (yes, this includes keto fast food options). This will ensure both weight-loss results as well as overall health-based results. 

Get familiar with macros

On the keto diet, counting macros is really non-negotiable, especially if your aim is to lose weight. One of the best ways to do this is to use the keto formula, say experts. The formula is your basal metabolic rate (using the Harris-Benedict equation) times your activity level. This will give you the number of calories you should be taking in if you are looking to maintain your current weight. Adjustments may be necessary based on how much weight you are looking to lose and how quickly.

How do you know you’re in ketosis?

There are several ways to figure out if you’re in ketosis. The easiest way is to pay attention to symptoms, which tend to include bad breath, increased urination, dry mouth and increased energy (a mixed bag, for sure). 

If you want to get even more accurate, there are blood and urine tests for those doing keto. Widely available at drug stores, grab a box of urine strips designed for diabetics. Or use a glucose or ketone meter for more accurate results. 

Are there any keto side effects? 

Side effects vary, however, there is one you should watch out for: keto flu. This effect stems from the elimination of carbohydrates and sugar, which causes withdrawal symptoms. These can include headache, fogginess, lack of energy and nausea.

No one ever said it was easy, but if you stick to it and approach it sensibly, you may find keto a worthy lifestyle option.

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Today, a quick look at the many health and diet trends will show you that the ketogenic, or keto diet, is one of its most popular one today, followed by countless people from all over the world who found success in it and continue to reap its many health benefits.

As a low-carb, high-fat diet, the keto diet is usually followed by people to help them either lose weight or manage type 2 diabetes. Some even follow for both.

With that said, there are actually two types of the keto diet, which are dirty and clean. However, how they differ in their approach may not always be clear, and so here’s what you need to know about them.

The Clean Keto

First off, the clean keto diet. So-called because of the foods that you eat when you follow this diet, mainly consist of whole, nutrient-dense foods. As such, the whole foods in this diet mainly come from quality sources, such as grass-fed beef, olive oil, non-starchy vegetables or wild-caught seafood. However, high-carb foods like grains, potatoes, rice, bread, pasta, pastries and some types of fruit are banned.

Furthermore, this type of keto diet puts more emphasis on food quality than the traditional keto diet because that one only asks you to take a daily protein intake of 15-20 percent daily calories, 50 grams of carbohydrates and a high-fat intake of around 75 percent of your daily calorie needs. If followed properly, this should put your body under ketosis, which pushes it to burn fat instead of carbs to use as energy, helping you lose weight in the process.

The Dirty Keto

On the other end of the spectrum is the dirty keto, otherwise known as the lazy keto. While both the clean and dirty keto are low-carb, high-fat diets, the latter differs because its food sources are often not that nutritious.

For one thing, the dirty keto diet finds no trouble incorporating processed foods into the mix, something that the clean keto avoids in great lengths. Because the diet doesn’t have nutritious food sources, it also lacks the nutrients you can get from traditional keto.

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In particular, food has become a topic of serious contention and everyone seems to have an opinion on which diets are the best.

However, with the decade coming to an end – top dietitian Paula Norris thought it was about time some of the biggest diet myths of 2019 were debunked.

Here, she reveals the six biggest diet myths of this year – and tells us which ones we should be ignoring all together.

1. Egg yolks are bad for you

Eggs are a great source of protein and nutrients – however, egg yolks have been demonised in the health-food industry this year as causing blood cholesterol levels to rocket.

However, Paula has now debunked this myth and said that eggs have a nutritional benefits – and we shouldn’t completely cut them from our diets.

“This one is understandably confusing because in the past it was advised that eggs should be limited,” she wrote on her Instagram.

“The Australian Heart Foundation did an extensive review on the current evidence and made new recommendations that stated that there is no limit of eggs for most people.

“The exception is for those who have heart disease or type 2 diabetes who should limit intake to seven eggs per week.”

2. Keto is the best way to go

From Kim Kardashian to Gwyneth Paltrow – droves of celebrities this year have hailed the keto diet for their trim physiques.

However, Paula is not convinced by the restrictive diet plan, which involves swapping out carbs for fats and proteins.

She says: “There are easier ways to lose weight. Sustaining keto long term is extremely challenging.

“The high saturated fat and exclusion of wholegrains, most fruits and some vegetables may have negative impacts.”

She adds: “In fact keto can leave you devoid of nutrients, gut loving fibre and is VERY hard to sustain long term.”

3. Dairy is the devil

A dairy backlash this year caused droves of people to swear off milk and cheese for good.

In particular, some claim that because it is high in saturated fat it can trigger heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Despite this, Paula stresses the importance of incorporating dairy-rich foods in your diet.

She says: “For those who can tolerate it, it is an extremely nutrient rich option to include in your diet.”

It comes after a recent study revealed that eating dairy makes people happier – as it increase pleasure levels by 25 per cent.

4. Vegan is the best way of eating

Many people have chosen to go vegan this year as a way of eating more healthily and helping the environment.

It involving eating only plants such as vegetables, grains, nuts and fruits.

Paula says you need to be particularly careful if you have a vegan diet – and ensure you are getting the nutrients you need from eating a varied and balanced vegan diet.

Paula says: “If you follow a vegan diet then careful planning is needed to ensure your nutrient intake is adequate.

“Nutritional deficiencies can have both short and long term complications.”

5. Carbs are bad

It’s a common belief that munching on anything carb-heavy can ruin an otherwise good diet.

However, Paula has debunked this myth – and claimed eating carby foods are important in our diet – as long as you don’t go overboard.

She says: “Carbs always cop unfair criticism.

“If you’re smart with how you eat them, I.e. limit processed, choose mostly whole grain and don’t go overboard with the portions then our bodies love us for eating them.

“Our body actually prefers to use them as energy over any other macronutrient.”

6. Detoxes are beneficial

Everyone this year has been encouraged to steam, juice and starve the unhealthy food they’ve eaten out of their systems with a detox diet.

It is all about expelling poisons and toxins from the body – like a sort of reset button.

You stop eating and drinking anything that isn’t just pure fruit and veg (and nuts in some cases), which then kickstarts a healthier regime.

Despite this, Paula says this diet myth is possibly the worst of all – largely as it can have a detrimental effect on the nutrients in your body.

“Detoxing. Don’t bother with it”, she urges.

“Our kidneys and liver do the detoxing for us. Detoxes leave you hungry, cranky, poor and devoid of nutrients.”

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