Ketogenic Diet
A Ketogenic Diet is a high fat, low protein and carbohydrate diet that was originally discovered to be beneficial in treating epilepsy and seizures in children. However, nowadays it is seen as many of the latest low-carb craze diets.

A Ketogenic diet basically is designed to starve the body of carbs and sugar. It is a very tough diet to follow, but usually ends in quick weight loss if it is done correctly. The Atkins diet is proof of this being true. However, most Ketogenic diets are not meant for long term weight loss maintenance. Like most low-carb diets these days, the Ketogenic diet is very low in fiber, which can cause a very sluggish digestive track resulting in chronic constipation issues. Another common complaint is light-headedness, fatigue and unexplained crankiness, which are all explained by the lack of carbs in the diet. Furthermore, being that the diet eliminates carbs, staying on the diet for a long time will result in major nutrient deficiency problems. For this reason, it is highly recommended that anyone on a low-carb ketogenic diet to take a good multivitamin and mineral supplement.

There is also a Ketogenic diet for vegetarians that have been proven to work quite well. Just because you do not eat meat does not mean you cannot try the low-carb diet, you just have to be creative and plan your meals and snacks ahead of time. Vegetarians can have many foods on the Ketogenic diet such as peanut butter, meat substitutes, nuts, salads and probably most important, protein powder.

People are hooked on Ketogenic diets because they do work and quickly. However, don’t be fooled, they are nothing to mess around with if you don’t follow them correctly. If you are looking for a short term crash diet you are good to go, but using a Ketogenic diet for anything longer than a week or two is not recommended at all.

If you are pondering which diet plan is better for you, I recommend the low-fat diet over the low-carb diet. Not necessarily because the low-fat diet will work any quicker on shedding the pounds, but because of the overall health benefits involved.