The ketogenic diet is based on a diet high in fat and deprived of sugar, excluding starches, fruits, and most vegetables.
Catherine Lacrosnière, nutritionist doctor, explains on Europe 1 that if it can seem "miraculous", it often causes rapid weight gain.
(Serious) health risks are not excluded either.
The ketogenic diet, wonder, scam or real danger?
This diet is a very low carbohydrate diet, in which virtually all sugary foods are banned.
"Starches, fruits, vegetables too rich ... We eliminate all this to promote what is fatty", explains Catherine Lacronière, nutritionist doctor, at the microphone of Europe 1.
Avocado, coconut and almonds
But beware, there is no question of gorging on "bad fat".
No donuts or fries on the menu, but naturally rich foods.
"Avocado, coconut, almonds, vegetable oils ...", lists Catherine Lacronière.
"The body no longer has its fuel, it has to go and get what it is given, ie fat. It will transform it into ketone bodies
(transformation of fat in the liver, nldr)
to from the body's fat reserves. "
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Cardiovascular risks
If this diet is effective, it is because the body's production of ketones causes loss of appetite within three or four days.
"The problem is that it is a very restrictive diet that risks gaining weight as quickly as we lose it" once the diet is over, warns Catherine Lacrosnière.
A study published in early September by the journal
National Jewish Health also
warns of the dangerousness of the ketogenic diet.
The researchers explain that this diet followed over a long period could cause stiffening of the arteries - by the accumulation of fat deposits - and, ultimately, cardiovascular problems.