The Top 4 Mistakes Everyone Makes On The Keto Diet (And How To Fix Them)

While it seems like everyone is currently "going keto," this high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb diet isn't without its potential pitfalls. As a functional medicine practitioner, I see firsthand how this beneficial diet can quickly become unhealthy with a few simple unintentional mistakes. Here are the top mistakes I see most often that can inhibit people's success in reaching their ultimate health goals.

There are many foods on the market that are technically considered "keto" but are not necessarily healthy. It is easy to get hyperfocused on keeping your macronutrients (low carb, high fat) within your daily limits and overlook the quality of the food that you are putting into your body. This can leave us consuming inflammatory foods such as artificial sweeteners that further perpetuate the health problems that we are trying to heal through a ketogenic diet.

These unhealthy ingredients are most often hidden in prepacked foods, so read labels for ingredients you recognize before purchasing. There are also many whole food options that you can always have on hand for quick snacking like nuts, seeds, olives, and canned wild-caught seafood, which will eliminate the temptation to grab something else. Also, downloading a food tracking app will make tracking macronutrients of whole foods without a label quick and easy.

For example, casein, the protein found in dairy, has two subtypes: A1 and A2. The A1 subtype is what is in most conventional dairy that we find in the grocery store and is a trigger for digestive problems and inflammation due to the years of crossbreeding causing casein gene mutations. And if that's not bad enough, most cows are pumped with hormones and antibiotics. The milk is then pasteurized, homogenized, and the fat is removed, and then it is filled with synthetic vitamins to make up for a lack of nutrients. I don't know about you, but to me that sounds anything but appetizing.

Because of the rise of dairy allergies, there are many delicious dairy alternatives on the market. Nut milks and nut cheeses are not only great sources of fat and protein, but you can find a variety of different options—mozzarella, cream cheese, the list goes on—that taste just as delicious as their counterparts. And if you are a butter lover, grass-fed ghee is a great option as it removes the casein protein, leaving you only with the grass-fed dairy fat.

Additionally, since the ketogenic diet can result in a loss of electrolytes due to the natural loss of fluid retention, it can leave people turning to other sources of electrolytes since they are missing out on natural vegetable sources of magnesium, calcium, and potassium. The problem with electrolyte sources, though, is that they can also contain unnecessary sweeteners and additives.

Some of my favorites that also have a significant amount of electrolytes include:

In the conventional ketogenic diet, all types of fatty cuts of meat are a go—a rarity in most diets. In addition to its fat content, animal sources of protein are loaded with other beneficial nutrients such as B vitamins, which are essential for healthy detox and inflammation pathways. But many studies have shown2 that diets high in non-organic, grain-fed conventional sources, or lots of processed lunch meat, bacon, or sausage, have been linked to cancer and other diseases.

I am a fan of going predominantly plant-centric keto to elevate the health benefits of both conventional ketogenic and plant-based diets (it also can make this way of eating more affordable!).