VIJAYAWADA: The new fad, KETO diet has been the talk of the town for a while now. Social media and vernacular TV channels in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the past few months are abuzz with this new diet regime introduced by CA-turned nutritionist Veeramachaneni Ramakrishna Rao.
Right from youngsters to middle-aged people, everyone is showing keen interest to try this new diet, which helps one lose weight and also reverses Type 2 diabetes. But how far is it safe to follow? Doctors are warning that it would lead to death, if not followed under proper medical guidance.
Recently, a women who is in her mid 40s from Tenali reportedly died with a kidney failure after following this diet. Padma (name changed), who was a diabetic, stopped using medicines while following keto diet. She also did not undergo regular health checks for over a month. Following which, her two kidneys failed and she died while undergoing treatment.
Speaking to Express, Haranath, the elder son of Padma (name changed) said, "My mother despite being a diabetic, she used to be healthy and active. For the past two months, she followed the programmes of Veeramachaneni Ramakrishna on a special liquid diet for curing diabetes and weight loss. She shed about 10-15 kg in a span of 40-45 days. But suddenly her health deteriorated and we found that her kidneys have stopped functioning. Doctors said that it is because of following the special diet."
However, Padma's husband had ruled out that keto diet was the cause of his wife's death. He said that Padma had been suffering from kidney disorder for a long time.
Dr. N Prashanth, a reputed nephrologist from Vijayawada says, "Taking improper diet and fatty foods would lead to kidney disorders. Keto diet is very popular in Western countries, but the people in those countries do not follow liquid diet or consume fatty foods. Opting liquid diet is very dangerous."
Not just Padma, many people across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana States are taking to diet plan introduced by Veeramachaneni Ramakrishna. Large number of people are watching his videos on social media to learn about keto diet. A keto or ketogenic diet is a very low-carb diet, which turns the body into a fat-burning machine. It has many proven benefits for weight loss, health and performance, if taken under medical supervision.
Veeramachaneni Ramakrishna (48), a chartered accountant by profession, hails from Vijayawada. He
reportedly weighed about 120 kg in the year 2017. Though he tried many workouts and diets for weight loss, all his efforts went in vain. Later, he took to a diet plan based on four things-- consuming 70-100 gms of fat, three lemons, four litres of water and one vitamin tablet a day. He claims to have shed 30 kilos in less than three months following a diet that he devised and tried first on himself.
He believes the biggest culprit behind the increasing waistline and bulging bellies is everything refined like oil, flour, rice and sugar and reckless eating. He says switching back to what the people ate a generation back is the ideal food for people, especially from Andhra and Telangana States.
When TNIE contacted Ramakrishna and enquired about his diet plan and its side effects he says, "Doctors are simply blaming my diet plan. It is quite effective and doesn't have any side effects. Every day I attend hundreds of phone calls and people thank my diet plans. I am also conducting meetings in a big scales where thousands of people attend them and feel inspired. I never personally meet people and guide them to take my diet. It is my logical experience and through my videos they follow and achieve positive results."
He further said that his diet plan is very effective in curing diabetes, PCOD, Kidney and Heart problems and many more.
However, nutritionists says that his diet plan has many flaws like taking fatty foods and consuming over 70 grams of fat in a day will only risk the metabolism.
Dr. K Anuradha, Nutritionist says that many people are coming to her and enquiring about the Ramakrishna's diet. She says, "Now a days, people who are visiting for weight loss are enquiring about keto diet plan. Taking fresh fruits and Vegetables and staying away from saturated foods is good for health. But taking fatty foods and relying on liquids is quite dangerous. Every diet is tailor made for each person and their body. It varies from person to person."
Keto diet plan