Another day, another reincarnation of Keto.

Like anything that trends, people like to put their own little spin on it. The off-the-moment Ketogenic Diet is no exception. Halle Berry mixes her Keto with some intermittent fasting, there is Keto Cycling for those who can’t deal with the restrictive nature of Keto all the time, and now, entering from stage left, is Dirty Keto, a diet for those who, well, just want an excuse to eat junk.

Piggybacking on the ‘high fat’ section of the high-fat, low-carb Keto mantra this diet does follow the same principles of OG Keto by focussing on the macronutrients you need - 60-70 per cent fat, 15-30 per cent protein and 5-10 per cent carbs - but that’s where the similarities stop.

What is the Ketogenic diet? What is the Ketogenic diet?

The Dirty Keto diet doesn’t really care where these macros come from.

Translation: the fat portion doesn’t have to be those natural good, healthy fats, like oily fish and avo, and the proteins aren’t lean or organic - instead the diet allows for processed foods like pork rinds, ice cream and bunless Big Macs.

For those not quite in the know, the Ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low carbohydrate eating plan which forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. This is because normally our bodies convert carbs into glucose but in a low carbohydrate diet, the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies instead. This combined with a strict daily calorie intake often leads to rapid weight loss.

Sure this dirty cousin of Keto may still put your body into ketosis but at what cost? With so much research pointing to the lifestyle diseases caused by a high-fat, high-processed diet is it really worth it? In short, nope.

“It’s a temporary fix at best," Scott Keatley, R.D., of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy told Women’s Health. At worst, it's "a really good way to lose lean body mass that is difficult to get back and aids in maintaining a high functioning metabolism.”

Instead fill your plates with a variety of nutrient-rich proteins, vegetables, carbs and healthy fats, and reserve processed foods as occasional treats.

Before considering a new eating plan, be sure to speak to a healthcare professional.

For more on this topic, this is Scott Gooding’s 5-day keto-friendly meal-prep plan. Plus, we’ve busted the 4 most common myths about the keto diet.

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