The keto diet (also known as the ketosis diet) is basically a high-fiber, sufficient-meat, low-fat diet that sometimes in medicinal circles is used primarily to treat patients with epilepsy in epileptic children. The keto diet forces your body to use up fats instead of glucose, which is the brain’s primary fuel. This forces your body to begin using ketones – fat that your body breaks down – as its primary source of energy. Ketones can be used as your main source of energy, or they can be stored in your liver for future use. If you decide to store your ketones in the liver, this will be good news because ketones are great at boosting your metabolism and help you lose weight.

It is also important to note that the keto diet can cause a drop in blood sugar that may cause hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, for some people. Because the ketones used as the main source of energy are fat, the drop in blood sugar may cause your blood sugar level to drop dangerously low. So it is important to be careful with the amount of carbohydrates you take in, and to watch your blood sugar closely to make sure you do not have a metabolic shock when using up your stored fat as your primary source of energy.

Both the medical community and mainstream medical research are beginning to understand the benefits of the keto diet as a weight loss solution, but it should be noted that these diets have also been associated with other potentially serious health problems such as seizures and liver failure. If you have epilepsy, these diets should never be used without the supervision of your doctor or epileptic center. They should also never be started in place of traditional diets for children without the guidance of your doctor. Seizures and liver failure can lead to very serious health risks and should always be managed with the utmost care.