The Ketogenic Diet and Risks

High Fat Diet
Introduction
High-fat diets have caused a major controversy during the past decade. In fact, the Western diet, ketogenic diet and other types of high-fat diets have become more and more popular even though studies have been produced that link high fat diets to obesity, brain damage, cardiac disease, liver disease and cancer (Branco et al., 2016; Francois et al., 2016; Freeman, Haley-Zitlin, Rosenberger & Granholm, 2014; Wilson, Deasy, Hayes & Cooke, 2017). Therefore it is extremely important to understand both the benefits and negative effects of a high fat diet on the human body. New research has unmasked the myths that have been believed and applied through the years about this type of diet and its effects on morbidity and mortality in the long run. This paper will examine those issues by defining the high fat diet, where it is practiced, who is impacted by it, when it came into being, and how it affects the body.
What It Is and Where It Occurs
The high fat diet is a diet that is especially high in fats and low in carbs. It is also known as the ketogenic diet and popularly known as the Atkins diet or the Western diet. Meats such as beef, lamb, chicken or pork are typically consumed in the ketogenic diet; and fishes such as salmon or trout along with omega-3 enriched eggs are commonly consumed. Breads are avoided as they are high in carbs. The idea of the high fat diet is to give the body a source of energy it can use to burn its own excess fat instead of adding to it by consuming foods that rather pack on the pounds instead of help the body to be energized enough to shed them. Other benefits of this diet are that it can help to reduce seizures in people who suffer from epilepsy (Wilson, 2015).
The high fat diet occurs nearly globally, as globalization has helped to homogenous the various parts of the world. For instance, fast food franchises like McDonald’s and Pizza Hut can be found on virtually every continent in both the East and the West. And with the rise of social media, ideas and fads (including diets like the Atkins diet) spread quickly around the world and take hold. Though initiated in the West (which is why the high fat diet is sometimes called the Western diet, where meat is viewed as a staple of the Western meal), this diet has spread mainly to developed parts of the world (because in order to consume the high fat diet one must have access to meat or fatty fishes, which means this is primarily a middle class type of diet—no a poor person’s diet).
Who is Affected?
Those who consume the high fat diet may be impacted by other factors, such as genetics, environment and the extent to which they engage in exercise; however, if individuals who consume the ketogenic diet do not exercise and are at risk from their environment of continuing in this lifestyle. This diet is mainly consumed in developed countries and especially consumed in the Western countries where it originated. This diet impacts the body in a number of ways, which shall now be described.
The high fat diet can lead to obesity, which should not come as a surprise, since it is a diet that is high in fat. As Francois et al. (2016) how, the ketogenic diet increases
ghrelin-expressing cells in the stomach, which contributes to the onset of obesity. Of course, with the right exercise routine, the risk of obesity can be mitigated—but not many people in the West partake of exercise to the extent required in order for the high fat diet to help in losing weight as opposed to gaining it. As a result, the mortality rate of individuals in the U.S. who die from obesity is quite high. Even if an individual does not die from obesity, the long-term effects of the high fat diet unaccompanied by serious exercise can complicate the morbidity of an individual’s health: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, brain disease, liver disease, and cancer can all develop over time if a person is only consuming high fat foods without properly exercising the body (Branco et al., 2016; Francois et al., 2016; Freeman, Haley-Zitlin, Rosenberger & Granholm, 2014; Wilson, Deasy, Hayes & Cooke, 2017). Indeed, these morbidities are typically co-related and occur as co-morbidities among individuals who consume the high fat diet exclusively for long periods without exercising. For that reason, it is important that individuals understand the risks of adopting a high fat diet.
How It Happens
Time does effect the process: a long-term high fat diet will surely put one at increased risk for the morbidities described above with the potential for mortality if the risks are not addressed in due order. This occurs in a variety of ways. Consumption of a high fat diet, for instance, can impact insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, which leads to diabetes development (Honors, Hargrave & Kinzig, 2012). The ketogenic diet has been used as a tool for rapid weight loss among people suffering from morbid obesity—but the side effects of this intervention can have negative health effects as well: blood glucose levels could rise, sleep abnormalities could occur (Willi, Oexmann, Wright, Collop, & Key, 1998), and for the aging population that can be problems as well (Uranga et al., 2010).
For the aging population, the concern comes with the way the high fat diet impacts the body’s already degenerating processes. In order to process the fatty diet, the body has to be relatively strong, which is why exercise is usually such a vital part of the diet. High fat diets can accelerate age-related adiposity and can exacerbate preopheral inflammation. (Uranga et al., 2010). There are also molecular pathways for high fat diets to effect metabolic dysfunction. When this occurs, oxidative stress, sirtuin signaling, and even exacerbation of brain aging can result. There is considerable evidence linking high fat diets to brain pathogenesis as well.
Conclusion
In summation, the high fat diet, also known as the Atkins diet, the Western diet or the ketogenic diet is a diet that focuses on consuming foods high in fat content, such as red meat, fatty fish or omega-3 enhanced eggs. The idea is that this diet can help to reduce the sugar content in the body which makes it hard for people to lose weight. However, exercise is typically promoted along with this diet to ensure that weight can be lost. The problem is that most people (especially in the West and other developed parts of the world) do not get the exercise needed to make this diet very effective in controlling body weight. This diet originated in the West and spread throughout the world, and has impacted communities that have leisure time and the funds to spend on meat diets. While the high fat diet can reduce weight for morbidly obese patients, the side effects can include the onset of diabetes, brain damage, liver damage, obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The high fat diet can impact insulin resistance over the long term and can damage one’s ability to tolerate glucose in the blood, which is what leads to type 2 diabetes development in adults. The diet can also advance brain aging and increase metabolic dysfunction. The risks of this diet, therefore, should be considered and the need for exercise should also be understood before adopting.
References
Branco, A. F., Ferreira, A., Simões, R. F., Magalhães?Novais, S., Zehowski, C., Cope, E.,
... & Cunha?Oliveira, T. (2016). Ketogenic diets: from cancer to mitochondrial diseases and beyond. European journal of clinical investigation, 46(3), 285-298.
François, M., Barde, S., Legrand, R.,. . Fetissov. (2016). High-fat diet increases
ghrelin-expressing cells in stomach, contributing to obesity. Nutrition, 32(6), 709-715.
Freeman, L. R., Haley-Zitlin, V., Rosenberger, D. S., & Granholm, A. C. (2014).
Damaging effects of a high-fat diet to the brain and cognition: a review of proposed mechanisms. Nutritional neuroscience, 17(6), 241-251.
Honors, M., Hargrave, S., & Kinzig, K. (2012). Glucose Tolerance in Response to a
High-Fat Diet Is Improved by a High-Protein Diet. Obesity,20(9), 1859-1865.
Uranga, R. M., Bruce?Keller, A. J., Morrison, C. D., Fernandez?Kim, S. O., Ebenezer, P.
J., Zhang, L., ... & Keller, J. N. (2010). Intersection between metabolic dysfunction, high fat diet consumption, and brain aging. Journal of neurochemistry, 114(2), 344-361.
Willi, Oexmann, Wright, Collop, & Key. (1998). The effects of a high-protein, low-fat,
ketogenic diet on adolescents with morbid obesity: Body composition, blood chemistries, and sleep abnormalities. Pediatrics, 101(1), 61-7.
Wilson, C. (2015). How high-fat diet for epilepsy affects the brain. New Scientist, 
228(3049), 12-13.
Wilson, R. A., Deasy, W., Hayes, A., & Cooke, M. B. (2017). High fat diet and
associated changes in the expression of micro?RNAs in tissue: Lessons learned from animal studies. Molecular nutrition & food research, 61(6), 1600943.