NUTRITIONIST WARNS AGAINST KETOGENIC DIET

A nutritionist, Prof. Ngozi Nnam, on Tuesday advised people against the practice of a ketogenic diet, saying it could damage their kidneys.
Nnam gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Ibadan.


Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia says, “ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that in medicine is used primarily to treat difficult-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children.

“The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates.
“Normally, the carbohydrates contained in food are converted into glucose, which is then transported around the body and is particularly important in fueling brain-function.’’
Nnam said: “The keto diet, as it is popularly called, is being adopted by a growing number of people; there is no scientific basis to ascertain its effectiveness in promoting permanent weight loss.

“What goes on in the body with the ketogenic diet is that with the normal diet, the body uses glucose derived from carbohydrate to generate energy for activities. “In the case of a ketogenic diet, you are switching from the use of glucose to the use of fats.

“This means that you are going from what is natural to what is not natural and the body goes into starvation mode and the body switches to fat to stay alive and active,” she said.