Hello and welcome back to Ask Dr. Hazel are many episodes that drop each week.

I'm your host, Dr. Hazel, and I'll be answering all your burning questions.

So let's jump into this week's question.

I would like to ask a question about the keto or low-carb high-fat diet.

I am wondering now if the keto diet is really for everyone

or if there are some people to whom it may do more damage than good and increase their cholesterol

or even cause non-fatty liver syndrome. I did read that it is normal that the lipogenic profile

of the liver can change on the keto diet,

but I'm wondering if it's safe or even worth it.

And can you achieve similar fat loss goals on a more balanced diet that includes eating carbohydrates?

Thank you.

Thank you for your question.

I'm going to answer this quite generically and remind you that the

information provided here on the podcast should never be taken as individual medical advice or

replace that of your usual healthcare practitioner. So firstly, let's just talk about the ketogenic diet.

The keto diet or the ketogenic diet is one form of a low carb diet,

but it's considered to be a very low carb diet in that it only includes 5 to 10% calories from

carbs per day. So that's about 20 to 50 grams per day, the amount that you'd probably find in about

two to three slices of bread

compared to the 50% of calories from carbohydrates currently recommended in the public health

recommendations for the general population. It also includes moderate levels of protein with

no restriction of fat. This means this diet tends to be really

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