The ketogenic diet, or keto diet, is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate eating plan designed to shift the body into a metabolic state called ketosis. In ketosis, the body begins to break down fat for energy instead of relying on carbohydrates. This process results in the production of ketones, which the body then uses as fuel. Achieving and maintaining ketosis through diet alone requires strict carbohydrate restriction, often involving a limited selection of foods like meat, eggs, nuts, and fish, while avoiding fruit, sugar, beans, and high-carb vegetables. Because of the difficulty in adhering to the diet, keto supplements have become popular. Among those supplements are keto gummies, marketed to support a ketogenic diet and help with weight loss, energy, and metabolism.
What are Keto Gummies?
Keto gummies are supplements designed to mimic the appearance of ordinary chewable vitamins, but with the goal of boosting ketone levels in the blood. Most keto gummies contain medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), a type of saturated fat that help give your body energy, in addition to exogenous ketones. Sometimes, keto gummies may contain gelatin or natural sweeteners like Stevia.
Exogenous ketones are ketones produced outside of the body and consumed orally, as opposed to endogenous ketones, which are produced inside the body. Exogenous ketones include ketone salts and ketone esters, which have different chemical structures and potencies, with esters considered more potent.
Registered dietitian Beth Czerwony, RD, LD, explains that keto gummies are a supplement that adds exogenous ketones into your body, which may help continue ketosis. However, it’s important to note that keto gummies (or any keto supplement, for that matter) don’t put you in ketosis. Czerwony clarifies that keto gummies may help the process of ketosis continue, but you need to be in ketosis first.
Potential Benefits of Keto Gummies
There’s limited research on the benefits of keto gummies. According to Czerwony, potential benefits include increased weight loss, improved athletic performance, and decreased appetite. However, research is inconclusive on whether keto gummies or other keto supplements can actually keep you in ketosis.
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One study explains that supplements may increase the amount of ketones too much. Ideally, your body wants to maintain an even level of ketones. And when this happens, your liver may not produce as many ketones naturally, making it harder to stay in ketosis.
Potential Risks of Keto Gummies
Before trying keto gummies, it’s important to understand the potential risks. Czerwony says those potential risks include nausea and vomiting, gastrointestinal issues, like diarrhea, and low blood sugar.
Czerwony warns that you run the risk of GI issues if your keto gummies use sorbitol, which is known as a laxative. You should be cautious if you’re going try it. Slowly introduce keto gummies to see how you do because you don’t want to all sudden just kind of overdo it and have those side effects and not be very happy.
Czerwony cautions against adding keto gummies to the mix for some people with Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney issues who may opt to go on the keto diet. The keto diet - and the addition of a keto supplement like gummies - can potentially lower your blood sugar, leading to hypoglycemic responses, and it can dehydrate you as well.
Regulatory Landscape and Accuracy of Claims
It's important to recognize that dietary supplements, including keto gummies, are not approved for safety or efficacy by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and ingredients and their amounts may vary. This lack of regulation means that the claims made by manufacturers may not always be accurate or supported by scientific evidence. Katie Schwartz, a registered dietitian, emphasizes that these products are not evidence-based and often rely on misleading marketing.
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Addressing Unauthorized Charges and Scams
Consumers should also be aware of a pattern of complaints concerning unauthorized and/or unexpected charges and unresolved refund disputes associated with some keto gummy products. These complaints often involve consumers signing up for what they believe is a free trial, only to later discover additional unauthorized charges to their credit cards.
Scammers have also used the "Shark Tank" name to push the false idea that the cast of the show invested in CBD gummies and keto gummies, even though no such episode of the show ever aired. These ads led to scammy articles branded with the logos of major publishers. The articles usually claim that various celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Ree Drummond, Kelly Clarkson, Tom Selleck, Kaley Cuoco, Melissa McCarthy, Wayne Gretzky, the cast of "Shark Tank," or others all endorsed either CBD gummies or keto gummies, even though they had no involvement with the products whatsoever.
Some users have reported receiving bags of CBD or keto gummies products at their doorstep, despite having no recollection of ordering the products. Some also said there was no charge on their credit card. Many of these users said that the return address on the package was for a nameless "fulfillment center".
One additional aspect of the "Shark Tank" CBD gummies and keto gummies scams, plus the scams that used the image and likeness of other celebrities, was that many users told us they believed they would be charged around $40 for their order, but were ultimately charged close to $200.
Recommendations
Before you hop on the keto gummy bandwagon, Czerwony suggests looking at your diet first if you’re struggling to stay in ketosis. Consider making the necessary tweaks to your keto diet so you’re getting enough calories or fiber. Doing so can be a healthier option instead of turning to keto gummies.
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But if you’re following the keto diet, everything seems to be running fine and you want to see a boost to your weight loss, then I think you could certainly try keto gummies, says Czerwony.
If you want to try keto gummies, make sure you talk to a healthcare provider first. And remember that keto gummies are an addition to your keto diet plan - they don’t replace it. You may only reap the potential benefits if you use them consistently.
If any readers find one of the scammy articles that claims "Shark Tank" or other big-name celebrities endorsed keto gummies, or find a product order page that is believed to be involved in the scam, the domain URL can be reported to its registrar.