The Keto Diet: What Is It and Why Is Everyone Doing It?

The keto diet has swept the world, with proponents claiming that it can help you lose a significant amount of weight, and keep it off permanently. But is the diet as effective as its supporters claim?

Berry’s Diet of Choice

Plenty of famous faces have added their support to the keto diet. In a tweet from January 2018, movie star Halle Berry said, “Today I encourage you to say yes to the keto diet, give it a try…”

A Cure for Diabetes?

One particularly appealing promise made by keto fanatics is the claim that the diet can help reduce the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, or even cure sufferers entirely. So what’s going on here, and why do people claim the diet is so effective?

Sugar is the Problem

The keto diet involves cutting out all (or, at least, most) food that produces sugar in the bloodstream. The obvious foods are sugar (not just processed, but also in fruit), but the diet’s real power comes from almost entirely cutting out carbohydrates.

Carbs are Just Sugar

Carbs are delicious, but the body is very efficient at breaking them down into sugar, which is instantly stored as body fat. For this reason, many dieticians and medical experts will advise reducing carbs to lose weight.

If you’re interested in learning more, it’s worth consulting a doctor yourself (rather than taking advice from the internet).