Having a healthy and effective diet that works on our body is a key to stay fit in our busy schedule where we usually forget to focus on how our body has been doing. One of the most popular, on-trend and effective diets has been the keto diet. Keto diet puts you on very low carb and high fat intake so your metabolism shifts from carbs to only fats and ketones.
It does wonders to stay fit and in shape by burning fat at an accelerating rate with reducing blood sugar and insulin level of the body. But as effective as it may be, it can also be harsh on the body at times and can cause various side effects.

The five most common side effects that may occur while running under a keto diet are:

#1. Bad breath and Keto Flu

Although this may not be a dangerous and profoundly harmful side effect, this is one of the early adaptive results of adapting the keto diet. The signs of keto flu are a headache, fatigue, nausea and sugar cravings. These signs will go away in no time. Some people take BHB salts supplement to help overcome these symptoms faster.

The bad breath that people experience while under keto diet is acetone. This occurs as you start producing ketones, you begin to create different forms of ketone, one of which is acetone. However, this effect goes off after a couple of early weeks after adopting a keto diet.

#2. Hypoglycemia

It is one of the most common side effects at the early stages of adopting a keto diet. At this stage, our body tries to get adjusted to keto diet intakes rather than sugar intakes. While all our life, our body has been only on sugar and all at once, the sugar is cut off from our diets.

During this adaptation period, you might feel dizziness, body fatigue, intense, frequent hunger, irritability and also depression. Although this stage is familiar to everyone adapting to a keto diet, it should reduce in a few days after starting the diet.

#3. HPA axis dysfunction

HPA stands for hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenaline and adapting to keto diet might cause dysfunction of the HPA. At this stage, the brain goes to an emergency starvation response and starts to release cortisol, which further signals the body to release glucose into the body to get energy.

Due to this, the glucose level into the body reduces, hypoglycemia occurs again, and the cycle goes on. During this phase, you may undergo insomnia and high heart palpitations. However, this is not so common.


#4. Mineral deficiency

The body doesn't just specifically secrete cortisol but also excess minerals and electrolytes. This occurs due to hydration level maintenance in the body by excreting and urination. People suffering from this stage might have to go under frequent urination, constipation and ultimately resulting in severe diarrhea. It’s very easy to fix this. All you need is to eat enough foods that are rich in mineral or take supplements to maintain electrolyte balance.

#5. Blood pressure and diabetes

While being on a keto diet, the blood pressure also lowers down to an accelerating rate to the point where the person feels light-headed and may experience heart palpitations and intense hunger. Also, a diabetic person might need lesser insulin medications as the diet is on lesser sugar contents. A person on normal conditions may require a keto diet having contents and quantity similar to what a person with diabetes or blood pressure needs to have.

Takeaway:

Thus, you should always consult a physician before starting keto diet and follow the instructions carefully since not following a proper and safe diet to an individual might become highly harmful and might cause various dysfunctions. These effects may be temporary, but you still need to consult with your doctor if it still occurs after a few weeks of being on a keto diet.

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