tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/kardashian-56997/articlesKardashian – The Conversation2024-02-29T17:41:19Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2240182024-02-29T17:41:19Z2024-02-29T17:41:19ZDrinking olive oil: a health and beauty elixir or celebrity fad in a shot glass?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578716/original/file-20240228-16-ys3r3k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3594%2C2408&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
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<p>Celebrities such as <a href="https://poosh.com/why-kourtney-kardashian-drinks-tablespoon-evoo/">Kourtney Kardashian</a>, Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow and <a href="https://www.womanandhome.com/life/news-entertainment/jennifer-lopez-credits-her-grandmas-crazy-beauty-secret-for-glowing-skin-and-chances-are-you-already-have-it-at-home/">Jennifer Lopez</a> all extol the virtues of swigging extra virgin as well as slathering it on their skin, crediting olive oil for their glowing complexions. </p>
<p>Lopez even based her JLo Beauty brand around the kitchen staple, claiming that her age-defying looks were not the result of botox or surgery but the family beauty secret: <a href="https://graziamagazine.com/us/articles/jennifer-lopez-skincare-routine/">moisturising with olive oil</a>. </p>
<p>And she’s in good company. Hollywood star <a href="https://jnews.uk/goldie-hawn-swears-by-olive-oil-for-perfect-skin-at-76-best-life/">Goldie Hawn reportedly drinks olive oil</a> before bed and uses it topically as a moisturiser, while <a href="https://www.redonline.co.uk/beauty/a31184313/julia-roberts-olive-oil-hair-skin/">beauty icon Sophia Loren</a> really goes to town by bathing in the stuff. </p>
<p>While these celebrities swear by the skin beautifying properties of olive oil, some skin types should <a href="https://scholarhub.ui.ac.id/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1182&context=jdvi#:%7E:text=Background%3A%20Dry%20skin%20or%20xerosis,water%20in%20the%20stratum%20corneum.">give it a swerve</a>. Those <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dth.14436">prone to acne</a> or eczema, for example, might find the <a href="https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(21)00813-7/fulltext">olive oil exacerbates their problems</a>. Some <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22995032/">dermatologists warn against</a> using it as skin care altogether – bad news for JLo.</p>
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<p>Thanks largely to celebrity promotion, drinking olive oil has now become a <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/lifestyle/tiktok-dua-lipa-ice-cream-olive-oil-b2479725.html">worldwide TikTok sensation</a>. Viral videos show influencers tossing back shots of cult olive oil brands, and proclaiming a wide range of health benefits from improving digestion to clearing up acne. </p>
<p>Celebrity and influencers are sold on liquid gold but what about the rest of us? Can drinking olive oil really work on miracles for our health? </p>
<h2>The benefits of olive oil</h2>
<p>There’s no doubt that olive oil is full of good stuff. It’s high in polyphenols and antioxidants, which have protective qualities for the body’s tissues. It’s also a rich source of essential fatty acids, including oleic acid, which is known for <a href="https://foodrevolution.org/blog/olives-and-olive-oil-benefits/#:%7E:text=Compared%20with%20olives%2C%20olive%20oil,in%20polyphenols%20and%20antioxidants%2C%20however">lowering cholesterol</a> so reducing the chances of heart disease. </p>
<p>Research has found that the inclusion of olive oil in the diet shows encouraging effects in a variety of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu11092039">inflammatory and medical diseases</a> and can <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffnut.2022.980429">support weight management</a> if used correctly. </p>
<p>Replacing butter, margarine, mayonnaise and dairy fat with olive oil has been linked to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jacc.2021.10.041">lower risk of mortality</a>. There’s also evidence to suggest that the protective compounds in olive oil may help <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0261649">guard against cancer</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10376491/">dementia</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29141573/">support the liver</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7916323/">and kidneys</a>.</p>
<p>But none of this is new information to health professionals. The health benefits of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7466243/">extra virgin olive oil</a> are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu11092039">well researched</a> and nutritionists have promoted olive oil as a swap for saturated cooking fat for years. </p>
<p>After all, the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7536728/">Mediterranean diet</a> has been touted as one of the healthiest diets in the world for decades. The diet itself can vary from region to region, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu15092127">virgin olive oil</a> is a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu11092039">consistent element</a>. It’s used as the <a href="https://www.themediterraneandish.com/cooking-with-olive-oil/">main source of cooking fat</a> and included in everything from salad dressings to bread.</p>
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<h2>Can fat be healthy? Yes and no</h2>
<p>Fats are crucial for a balanced diet, aiding in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A,D,E,K and enhancing the nutritional value of meals. </p>
<p>However, fat of any kind is also dense in calories and excessive consumption <a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000336848">can lead to weight gain</a>. According to the <a href="https://www.who.int/news/item/17-07-2023-who-updates-guidelines-on-fats-and-carbohydrates">World Health Organization</a>, to prevent unhealthy weight gain, adults should limit their intake of fat to 30% of total energy intake with no more than 10% coming from saturated fats. </p>
<p>Two tablespoons of olive oil – the standard amount in the shots taken by celebrities and social media influencers – contain 28g of fat (238 calories) and 3.8g of saturated fat equating to <a href="https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/171413/nutrients">19% of the recommended daily intake</a>. </p>
<p>That daily shot of extra virgin, then, might not be the best idea. Adding small amounts of olive oil to meals throughout the day is a more balanced – and appetising – approach to incorporating healthy fats into your diet.</p>
<p>But what about Kourtney Kardashian’s <a href="https://poosh.com/why-kourtney-kardashian-drinks-tablespoon-evoo/#:%7E:text=First%20things%20first%2C%20it's%20recommended,a.m.%20(every%20other%20day).">claim that</a>: “It’s recommended to consume extra virgin olive oil in the morning on an empty stomach so the oil can coat your system and neutralize your stomach walls for optimal benefits?” </p>
<p><a href="https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/briefs/consuming-olive-oil-on-an-empty-stomach-health-benefits/91503">Some brands</a> have also echoed the idea that consuming olive oil on an empty stomach offers unique health benefits. But no. There’s no scientific evidence to suggest this is true. </p>
<p>For a healthy but more satisfying snack, Kourtney might try including a handful of olives into her daily diet. Olives offer the same rich array of nutrients, including vitamins E, A and K, alongside essential minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and amino acids. </p>
<p>Unlike olive oil, olives have the added benefit of a high fibre content. The combination of fat and fibre enhances feelings of satiety, making olives a nutritious addition to the diet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224018/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hazel Flight does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The benefits of consuming olive oil have been known for years – but the evidence about using it for skincare is fairly mixed.Hazel Flight, Programme Lead Nutrition and Health, Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1686322021-10-05T15:42:23Z2021-10-05T15:42:23ZPraise for Kim Kardashian’s Skims ignores her family’s relationship with body augmentation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424549/original/file-20211004-13-1r2300t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=20%2C0%2C4612%2C3014&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Valued well above US$1 billion, Kim Kardashian’s Skims is now among the most successful and quickly growing shapewear brands.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kim Kardashian’s much talked about <a href="https://skims.com/">shapewear brand, Skims</a>, made headlines in September for its most recent campaign featuring her sister <a href="https://people.com/style/kourtney-kardashian-megan-fox-pose-topless-skims-campaign/">Kourtney Kardashian and close friend, Megan Fox</a>. </p>
<p>The two appear in a intimate embrace, wearing nothing but underwear. <a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/fashion/a37693560/kourtney-kardashian-megan-fox-skims-campaign-photos/"><em>Cosmopolitan</em> </a> wrote that the pair “look so good […] wow,” with industry heavyweights like <a href="https://www.nylon.com/fashion/megan-fox-kourtney-kardashian-skims-campaign"><em>Nylon</em></a> and <a href="https://www.instyle.com/fashion/megan-fox-kourtney-kardashian-skims-cotton-campaign"><em>InStyle</em></a> adding to this praise. Important questions surrounding these images and their implications for viewers however are missing from mainstream conversations. </p>
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<p>Also missing from conversation is the <a href="https://www.allure.com/story/the-kardashian-effect">Kardashians’ now infamous relationship to body augmentation</a>, beauty ideals and the pressures these ideals often cause. This should raise some concern, especially from a brand devoted to dressing, shaping and changing the body. </p>
<h2>Promises made to women</h2>
<p>Valued well above <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/business/dealbook/kardashian-skims.html?searchResultPosition=3">US$1 billion</a>, Skims is now among the most successful and quickly growing shapewear brands. Even amid COVID-19, Skims experienced <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/09/business/dealbook/kardashian-skims.html">an uptick in sales</a>. So, what explains this tremendous growth? </p>
<p>Kim’s brand(s), much like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-does-kylie-jenner-make-money-2018-7#in-march-2019-forbes-dubbed-kylie-jenner-then-21-the-worlds-youngest-self-made-billionaire-1">that of her sister, Kylie’s</a>, thrive off promises made to women. Namely, promises that the purchase of their products can produce a figure and face closer in shape and size to the Kardashians. Skims’ images and online advertisements communicate as much, drawing viewers’ attention to an (increasingly) narrow waist and full hips like those Kim Kardashian first made famous.</p>
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<p>Of course, these promises aren’t real, from lip kits that failed to produce Kylie’s perfect pout, <a href="https://www.glamour.com/story/kim-kardashian-says-this-suppl">to vitamin supplements</a>, <a href="https://www.revelist.com/celebrity/kim-khloe-diet-tea-defense/15085/kim-and-khlo-kardashian-have-been-promoting-flat-tummy-tea-and-other-dangerous-diet-products-for-a-while-now/1">teas</a> <a href="https://www.insider.com/kim-kardashian-sells-waist-trainers-doctors-say-dangerous-2019-9">and waist trainers</a> that couldn’t quite “snatch” a Kardashian-like silhouette. Yet, media continue to levy praise and admiration, as if these promises shouldn’t warrant some suspicion. </p>
<h2>Understanding the beauty ideal</h2>
<p>In my work as a researcher studying appearance and attractiveness, as well as their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14695405211022074">representation and reception across media platforms</a>, I take questions related to beauty, its various pressures (and privileges) seriously. </p>
<p>I look to images and advertisements, as well as videos and online trends, to better understand how beauty has come to shape our mediascape, and what this means for everyday viewers including and especially young people who consume and engage with digital content. </p>
<p>Throughout, I observe <a href="https://people.com/style/kuwtk-reunion-kim-kardashian-doesnt-think-family-promote-unrealistic-beauty-standards/">a quintessentially Kardashian ideal</a>, with an increasingly large number of social media users postured in ways that <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/7133655/charlotte-crosby-curvy-figure/">reproduce the sisters’ figures and faces</a>. Consider, for example, online makeup tutorials and outfit shots dedicated to the sisters’ likenesses. Kim’s own <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QvgzfNzHbY">beauty tutorial</a> has generated more than 15 million (and counting) views online, with everyday consumers tuning in to see just how to achieve the Kardashian look. Contour sticks and face powders — they are told — are all that is needed to sculpt, highlight and lift the face. </p>
<p>The popularity of these images and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuwtdKj4Z2g">videos</a> reflects Kim and her sisters’ respective influence within the world of beauty, even as they continue to <a href="https://people.com/style/kuwtk-reunion-kim-kardashian-doesnt-think-family-promote-unrealistic-beauty-standards/">deny their role in its pressures</a>. </p>
<p>In my ongoing work on appearance, with sociologists Shyon Baumann and Josée Johnston, young people often explain that the Kardashians define what it means to be beautiful today. Drawing our attention to the sisters’ full lips, round hips and tapered waistlines, they remind us just how important (and impossible) the Kardashian ideal has become (thin, but curvaceous, full, but flat in <em>all the right places</em>). </p>
<h2>One step forward and two steps back</h2>
<p>To her credit, Kim’s work with Skims represents a step forward in she and her sisters’ enviable empire of brands, and their relationship to beauty. The brand has a focus on more diverse bodies in many (if not most) of its images and advertisements online, and shapewear in a range of sizes and skin tones, <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/kim-kardashian-west-future-of-skims">Skims is far more inclusive than some of its industry competitors</a>. In fact, consumers can shop up to sizes 4X and 5X across most product categories to find, in the brand’s own words, “a <em>solution</em> for every body” (emphasis added). </p>
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<p>But with this step forward, Kim has taken two steps back. As the brand’s messaging (however subtle) so often suggests, women ought to rein in their figures and discipline their bodies if they are to be <em>made</em> beautiful, sculpted and “solved” — she is suggesting that womens’ bodies are necessarily flawed, and in need of correction. </p>
<p>Though messages like this are not new in the world of beauty and fashion brands, their demands and attendant pressures from contouring the face to binding the belly, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190311-how-social-media-affects-body-image">have never been more persistent or damaging than they are today</a>. </p>
<p>As philosopher Heather Widdows, points out in her work on beauty, <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691160078/perfect-me"><em>Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal</em></a>, we have, as never before, a “duty” to perfect our appearance or at the very least, try. And this duty, as Kim and her sisters well know, can be packaged for purchase.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168632/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jordan Foster receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>Important questions surrounding the praise over Kim Kardashian’s Skims are missing from mainstream conversations.Jordan Foster, PhD Student, Sociology, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1123232019-02-25T11:55:11Z2019-02-25T11:55:11ZKardashians cancelled? At $500,000 per Instagram post they won’t care<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/260411/original/file-20190222-195886-1vja201.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is this real life? Kim Kardashian rendered in wax at Madame Tussauds.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">RichartPhotos via Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A world without the Kardashians. Unimaginable, isn’t it? But if <a href="https://www.newidea.com.au/keeping-up-with-the-kardashians-cancelled-us-report">rumours circulating at the moment</a> are to be believed – and the foundation stone of the whole Kardashian enterprise is rumour spiced with gossip plus a soupçon of <a href="https://www.eonline.com/uk/news/891347/kris-jenner-plays-coy-over-kylie-jenner-and-khloe-kardashian-pregnancy-rumors">mischievous fibs</a> – then the show that launched a zillion products may be cut by the E! TV channel because of declining audiences.</p>
<p>If the show disappears, the family certainly won’t. Kim and the rest of the clan are as ubiquitous as air and as famous as any rock star, actor, supermodel or entrepreneur-cum-TV-host-turned-US president. Since <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/keeping-up-kardashians-season-16-13987775">Keeping Up With the Kardashians</a> (KUWTK to aficionados) first aired in 2007, every member of the family has annexed our consciousness and infiltrated our lives, usually in a way that persuades us to part with our money. In the process they have all become multimillionaires – 20-year-old Kylie Jenner is set to become the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesdigitalcovers/2018/07/11/how-20-year-old-kylie-jenner-built-a-900-million-fortune-in-less-than-3-years/#64e0eb9aa62c">youngest self-made billionaire in history</a>.</p>
<p>People idolise Kim almost as much as she seems to idolise herself, but without quite knowing why. She’s uncoupled greatness from achievement in the sense that she’s acknowledged as one of the best known and distinct women in the world – she has a certain eminence and aura, yet boasts few tangible achievements beyond her own gravitational sphere; she appears and sells stuff, but not much else. (Though she did release a 2015 book called <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kim-Kardashian-Selfish/dp/0789329204">Selfish</a>.)</p>
<p>Then there is the feeling of intimacy with others who are, at once, proximate and remote. Other celebrities of the early 21st century created bonds of digital familiarity but none exploited the possibilities offered by web 2.0 interactivity more fully than Kardashian and her family. When audiences were drawn to the Twitter feeds of Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Britney Spears in the 2000s, Kim Kardashian was studying <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-6728903/Paris-Hilton-looks-dishevelled-smokes-outside-nightclub.html">Paris Hilton</a>.</p>
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<p>Kim and her family were sovereign and unrivalled for their craft and ingenuity; but if they’d surfaced in, say, the 1990s, the Kardashians would be greeted with shrieks of derision and dismissed as unwholesomely talentless, self-adoring exhibitionists – or probably not greeted with anything at all. The whole family would likely have been totally ignored in an era of Madonna and Michael Jackson, artists who somehow managed to provoke and disturb audiences and produce entertainment of the first magnitude.</p>
<h2>Cultural tsunami</h2>
<p>Kim Kardashian also produced entertainment; in fact, she fascinated people, though exactly how and why was not abundantly clear – at first. But in 2007, the year when KUWTK started on TV, something was happening to culture, alongside the rise and rise of social media sites such as Twitter. </p>
<p>“Why is she famous?” has an obvious answer: no woman in history has ever been afforded such lavish media coverage. Maybe Diana, Princess of Wales. For now, Kim Kardashian is never out of the media. And we continue to scratch our heads. This is a woman from a family we know about basically from watching them sitting on sofas, eating salads and taking pictures of themselves (a practice <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/20/style/paris-hilton-selfie.html">Paris Hilton modestly claims she invented</a> in 2006). </p>
<p>When KUWTK launched, it seemed just another derivative of the countless reality TV shows that had been populating the broadcasting landscape for the previous 15 years. But since then it has grown to be arguably the most formidable force in television history. And, if you think (as you doubtless will) I’m exaggerating, think of how much of the world’s attention the Kardashian family collectively commands. And how much money they encourage the world to spend – mostly on inessentials.</p>
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<h2>Nice little earners</h2>
<p>It’s not known whether the Kardashian family members are adherents of the school of thought that propounds advertising is at its most effective when recipients aren’t aware it’s advertising (its earliest proponent was Walter Dill Scott, 1869-1955, whose book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Psychology-Advertising-Walter-Dill-Scott/dp/1340116839">The Psychology of Advertising</a> was first published in 1913). But they probably wouldn’t have opposed it. </p>
<p>Even if they did, they couldn’t argue with the money ad agencies offered them to commend, approve, allude to, hint at, speak favourably of or just name a product. Kim can reach 9.4m Instagram followers with one tap of her manicured index finger. Cost-benefit calculations lead advertisers to believe that <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/culture-news/news/a40474/this-is-how-much-the-kardashians-get-paid-for-one-instagram-post/">paying Kim up to US$500,000 a time</a> is decent value. Sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner boast 76.4m and 89.1m followers each (at the time of writing) and can only command US$400,000 per post. <a href="http://hollywoodlife.com/tag/khloe-kardashian">Khloé</a>, who has over 64m followers, and Kourtney, with 54.3m, limp by on US$250,000 a time. Kardashian product endorsements aren’t so much advertisements as cattle prods.</p>
<p>In a world where the ownership of commodities is synonymous with the Good Life, the Kardashians have every legitimate claim to being major talents. Talent isn’t, as popularly assumed, a gift or natural ability we possess: it’s an attribution. If we, the audience, think Kim et al have talent, they have. It’s like beauty: a subjective benefaction.</p>
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<p>In a properly run world, you might suppose a successful long-running TV programme would address issues such as injustice, inequality, poverty, racism, sexism, violence or other issues of concern. But this is not a properly run world – whatever that might be – and the Kardashians authentically draw on audience’s real-life experiences. The family’s almost defiant success also hints at a future for celebrity amid the decline of old media. In the digital age, the skill set required of anyone who aspires to celebrity-level influence is uncertain, but involves relatability. If people identify with you, then you have a shot at greatness.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-celebrity-non-experts-and-amateur-opinion-could-change-the-way-we-acquire-knowledge-106002">How celebrity non-experts and amateur opinion could change the way we acquire knowledge</a>
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<p>Social media, like art, journalism and entertainment, contributes to our understanding: it is there to inform audiences but not necessarily with responsibility. The Kardashians will endure. You might not like them; you might even despise the misplaced devotion of their global following. We’re used to middle-aged males controlling our media, not upstart young hellions with limitless influence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112323/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ellis Cashmore's new book "Kardashian Kulture" will be published by Emerald on March 22. </span></em></p>Don’t expect to see any less of the Kardashians. Sorry about that.Ellis Cashmore, Honorary Professor of Sociology, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/998672018-08-02T10:00:14Z2018-08-02T10:00:14ZKeto diet: a dietitian on what you need to know<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229816/original/file-20180730-106517-1kpywlq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>A diet developed in the 1920s to treat children with epilepsy is suddenly all the rage. The ketogenic diet, or “keto diet”, has reportedly been <a href="https://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/g16641173/keto-diet-celebrities/">endorsed by celebrities</a> and even athletes are giving it a go. </p>
<p>The keto diet is one of a series of fashionable low carb diets that include the <a href="https://uk.atkins.com/">Atkins diet</a>, <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/south-beach-diet/art-20048491">the South Beach diet</a> and <a href="https://www.zonediet.com/the-zone-diet/">the Zone diet</a>. There are hundreds of people selling ketogenic diet plans online and on social media, with big promises of the results to be expected.</p>
<p>The keto diet got its name because <a href="https://www.perfectketo.com/what-are-ketones/">ketones</a> are the source of energy that the body uses when it’s burning fat. Ketones are produced in weight loss regardless of the type of diet you are following. So, actually, anyone who is losing weight is actually on a keto diet.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter to your body whether the fat it’s burning is from your existing reserves or from the high fat meal that you just ate. And the production of ketones <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0736574818300960#bib0320">doesn’t necessarily mean you are burning body fat</a>. So when keto dieters add fat to their diet through <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/may/14/bulletproof-coffee-dave-asprey-eat-healthy-exercise-interview">bulletproof coffee</a> or coconut oil, it is burnt as fuel instead of body fat – which defeats the object of the diet achieving weight loss. </p>
<p>By adding additional fat to the diet, your energy balance will remain positive regardless of the fuel (carbohydrate, fat or protein) and this will promote weight gain, as is demonstrated by children on ketogenic diets when they gain weight despite the fact that their urine shows that they are <a href="https://www.rch.org.au/neurology/patient_information/ketogenic_diet/">producing ketones</a>.</p>
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<h2>Another fad?</h2>
<p>Inducing ketosis – a natural state for the body, when it is almost completely fuelled by fat – in therapeutic diets is a skill that needs the <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg137/chapter/1-Guidance#ketogenic-diet">close supervision</a> of a dietitian in a specialist clinic. This is because the diet is not balanced and can easily lead to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5983110/">nutrient deficiencies</a>, nausea, vomiting, headache, tiredness, dizziness, insomnia, poor exercise tolerance and constipation – sometimes referred to as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499830/">keto flu</a>.</p>
<p>The effects of maintaining ketosis for long periods of time are unknown. But concerns include the impact on important gut microbes that are likely to be starved of essential fibre required for healthy balance. The potential effect of this on long-term health is still not clear. </p>
<p>Most people calling their diet a keto diet are simply following a low or very low carbohydrate diet. Low carbohydrate diets can be helpful, at least in the short term, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/409791">for some people to lose weight</a>. However, as with the true ketogenic diet, most people can’t stick with a very low carbohydrate diet <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5959976/#CR8">for long</a>. </p>
<p>The latest research shows that it’s the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29958395">ability to stick to the diet</a> that matters. So if a low carbohydrate diet or keto diet is a practice that works for you and you are able to maintain it for as long as it takes to lose excess body fat – and you are meeting your nutritional requirements – then the science says that this should be encouraged.</p>
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<span class="caption">‘Your keto lunch is served, madam.’</span>
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<p>But it’s worth noting that, as yet, there hasn’t been enough research into the ketogenic diet to support its use in some medical conditions – so people using the diet to treat diabetes or <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/advice/esuom6/resources/metformin-for-treating-polycystic-ovary-syndrome-in-women-who-are-not-trying-to-get-pregnant-pdf-17664476101">polycystic ovarian syndrome</a>, should consult their doctor before trying it, as it can affect blood sugar levels. People with pancreatic or liver problems, or problems with fat metabolism should also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499830/">avoid the ketogenic diet</a>. This is because the diet is so high in fat that it puts added pressure on both organs, which are essential for fat metabolism . </p>
<h2>Sensible eating</h2>
<p>It is also worth considering that eating a well balanced, keto diet is actually very expensive. For most people, following a low carbohydrate diet, rather than a no carbohydrate diet, is much more practical – as it will also allow for the inclusion of fruit and all vegetables. This represents much better dietary balance and usually leads to people <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5959976/#CR8">sticking with it for longer</a>. </p>
<p>As always with weight loss, in the end it all comes down to taking less energy in than you burn. In the UK, the <a href="https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritionscience/nutrients-food-and-ingredients/carbohydrate.html?start=2">National Diet and Nutrition Survey</a> says that on average, people get about half of their energy from carbohydrates. So by cutting out the source of half of your energy from your diet – even if some of that energy is replaced by fat – you are likely to reduce your energy intake, which leads to weight loss. </p>
<p>But if you can’t sustain the keto diet, don’t worry, you are in the majority. Try considering why you eat, rather than what you eat. Tackling convenience buying and emotional eating is the key to successful weight loss for most people.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99867/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophie Medlin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Can a ketogenic diet really help you lose weight? Here’s what the research says.Sophie Medlin, Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, King's College LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.