But now, a new meta-analysis of a handful of studies, the most comprehensive yet, found that the keto diet can be detrimental to your body, from your brain to your heart.

According to a statement from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the analysis of research, published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, showed that "for most people, the possible long-term risks of the keto diet, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease, outweigh its possible benefits." Lead review author Lee Crosby, RD, even described the typical keto diet as "a disease-promoting disaster.".

The foods often eaten while on a keto diet "have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's—often the very diseases they are touted to help," according to the researchers.

Two studies from 2016 and 2009 study also linked high consumption of these meats to increased risk of Alzheimer's and type 2 diabetes, respectively.

Diets that are high in protein, such as the keto diet, can hasten kidney failure in people who have pre-existing kidney disease, according to a 2020 study published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

However, those who don't have kidney disease can also suffer kidney-related consequences from adhering to the keto diet.

"For those without chronic kidney disease, one of the biggest potential risks of the ketogenic diet is the development of kidney stones," the 2021 study authors warned.

The keto diet especially puts pregnant people at risk of adverse health effects, according to the researchers.

A 2018 study published in the journal Birth Defects Research found that low-carb diets, like the keto diet, are linked to a higher risk of neural tube defects due to the pregnant person consuming fewer fortified foods, thereby not taking in enough folic acid.