Hi everyone, I am new here. I started the keto diet but I feel quite concerned about the high fat intake and what that would do to cholesterol levels? Any thoughts would be really appreciated
As I am all for living a balanced life I am wondering if this diet is a little bit out of balance or am I being overly concerned?
Welcome to the group.
Did your doctor say anything about you going on a Keto diet? Have you talked with the doctor about this at your last appointment?
There's really no straight answer to this one, because it seems to affect all people differently.
Some find cholesterol remains steady (I did when I tried keto for a short spell), some find HDL (good cholesterol) increases, some find LDL (bad cholesterol) rises, or both HDL and LDL can rise, effectively cancelling each other out.
It does feel a bit wrong to be eating loads of fat though, I get it. The worst you can do is try it, and if your numbers go the wrong way, just ease off again.
What is the reason for you to follow ketogenic diet?
Keto, like every other diet, isn't for everyone and I think you're right to be concerned. I tried it a few months ago with my partner. It was fine for me - I just didn't enjoy the foods but it badly failed for my partner (bad cholesterol increased, return of T2 diabetes, weight gain). We found a nutritionist who did a couple of simple tests by post, identified the foods that were negatively impacting his health. He's reversed his symptoms. phew.
.
No, you’re not being ‘overly concerned’, Balancedliving ⚖️ .
You’re appropriately concerned & asking thoughtful, well-balanced ⚖️ questions. 👍👍
.
Merely additional queries for reflection 🤔 :
. . . ❓What are my specific health concerns, conditions, goals?
. . . ❓ How would Keto (Ketogenic) diet help those concerns, conditions, goals?
. . . ❓ Am I considering Keto short-term? long-term? life-long?
. . . ❓ Do I fully understand what Ketosis is, how it is achieved, & how it affects long-term health?
. . . ❓ What does my medical team 👩⚕️ 👨⚕️ think about Keto given my particular health condition(s), any medications I’m taking, my age, my lifestyle/ routine habits, etc.?
. . . ❓ Should things go pear-shaped 🍐, do I know how to recover?
.
Resources from esteemed physicians sharing their experience/ knowledge about keto:
. . . • healthunlocked.com/healthye... . . . • healthunlocked.com/healthye...
. . . • healthunlocked.com/healthye... . . . • healthunlocked.com/healthye...
. . . • healthunlocked.com/healthye... . . . • healthunlocked.com/healthye...
. . . • google.com/search?as_q=Keto...
.
Yes, ‘experimenting’ ( healthunlocked.com/healthye... ) can be a useful, self-learning experience 😌 👩🎓 — when we’ve an understanding of what we’re dealing with. Otherwise, we can unwittingly be playing with fire 🔥 (& inadvertently get burned 😳 🥵 ):
. . . • healthunlocked.com/healthye... . . . • healthunlocked.com/healthye...
. . . • healthunlocked.com/healthye...?
.
Wishing you good luck & good health in whatever dietary path you try, Balancedliving. 😌 🙏 🍀 🌺 🌞
.
Hi I don’t think there is much inspiration for joining the low carb high fat (lchf), way of eating, above, so I will give you my take on lchf. I use the word eating as opposed to diet as, for me anyway, lchf has changed the foods I now eat and once avoided like the plague. I have healthy fats, olive oil, coconut oil, cream in my coffee, butter added to my vegetables. Fatty meats such as lamb cutlets with the fat, oily fish. The list is endless. What I don’t eat is potatoes, bread, pasta and rice. You may think you cannot live without the staples but I assure you it is easy and you will feel and see the difference. Do your own research and read as much as you feel you need to before embarking. Take a look at the lchf posts, don’t buy into any programmes it’s not necessary, unless you want to. It’s not expensive probably cheaper than your diet now. I now don’t eat any processed foods, which are expensive for what they are, and I don’t take any supplements, I get all my nutrients from the food I eat. Good luck, keep posting there is loads of advice here. I think all the regular lchf group are on holiday 😂
I’ve never done Keto so I can’t give you first hand experience of it this is just food for thought.
Keto was originally developed to help children with epilepsy. It has since been helpful for some diabetics to get greater control of their blood sugars. It has been helpful for weight loss. Fat is very satiating for some people and it has enabled people to lose weight without having to count and measure everything because they are naturally full. People have experienced health benefits and more recent research over the last decade or so has shown that for most people the low fat diet were all told to eat back in the 70s/80s was based on some flawed science, and a certain amount of fat in our diet is necessary for healthy function of our bodies.
We now know that dietary cholesterol has no bearing on blood cholesterol for most people, and that enough cholesterol in the body is important for certain functions.
There is a genetic condition called familial hypercholesterolaemia which means whatever you eat your cholesterol will be high and for that specific group of people they may need to limit foods high in cholesterol and saturated fats (but monounsaturated fats will still be okay to eat)
So why Keto for you, weight loss? Health? There is a healthunlocked LCHF forum who could give you great advice on how to do it and avoid the initial side effects some people get.
As Cooper27 said above you can try it for a while then get blood tests done to check your cholesterol isn’t going sky high (and the type/ratio of cholesterol is more important than the total number but I won’t try a lengthy explanation of that now)
Is it something you think you’d enjoy and could stick to long term?
If you are concerned about the cholesterol but would still like to try it you could prioritise monounsaturated fats over saturated fats which is what vegetarian/vegan ketoers do.
As I said above, I haven’t tried Keto. A couple of times I have tried LCHF. I found it good for satiety and weight loss but I just couldn’t get enough fibre from vegetables (mild intolerances) . I don’t closely monitor macros but I would estimate a 35% high fibre carb/35% fat/30% protein split. I have managed to lose two stone on that and improved both my blood sugars and my cholesterol. So if you want to lower carbs but not go fully Keto there will be a point on a sliding scale of macro ratios that might suit you better.
Good luck 😀
I've heard of it, but thought it was a veggie type diet?
There's a vegan keto diet too, so maybe that's the one you're thinking of?
You could call it that! I eat very low carb and ‘keto’, and most of my plate is full of veggies at meal times! 😊 I love it.
I love veggies/meat
Me too 😊 it’s a good combination! Keto suits me very well!
As a matter of fact I made some yesterday, I used a tomato juice base, when ever I try making it from scratch it doesn't taste good. I threw the last batch in the trash 😖
Hello! I think I eat healthily with a great balance of foods, loads of fresh veggies, fish, meat, a little fruit, and healthy fats like avocado, olive oil and nuts. This is ‘keto’, and I am in keotosis steadily. Occasionally I eat foods with more carbs in them, like new potatoes or a slice of birthday cake at a party! But I’m happy eating very low carb day to day .
For me it means steady weight loss and other health related improvements.
— as someone has written above, it’s a good idea to understand why you’re thinking about it, and what you hope to achieve, and what the effect might be on any existing related conditions.
Might be an idea to post on the LCHF forum- some helpful people are there with specific knowledge... and they do give impartial advice, and advise on pros and cons.
I hope you find the answers you’re after.
One thing that has puzzled me with Keto, is if fat is so good without carbs, why is it so bad WITH carbs? I for one just can't be that strict with anything. For myself, I am leaning more and more towards a mostly plant based Pescatarean diet, allowing some eggs, and fish, and maybe some cheeses, in moderation.
Fat isn’t bad with carbs. See my post above. Different macro splits suit different people 😀
Keto and cholesterol 
Keto
I'm looking for 10 super simple keto diet recipes