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ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Atlanta OBGYN Dr. Anna Cabeca says she hit menopause at 48 and hit a wall.
"I had the brain fog, the weight gain," Cabeca remembers. "I had been over 240 pounds, I had a significant amount of hair loss. I was struggling with mental clarity, like, my life was falling apart. And I knew I was missing something."
Dr. Cabeca went on the ketogenic, or keto diet.
It's incredibly popular: a high fat, and very low carb, designed to send your body into ketosis, where, instead of burning carbs, you're burning fat.
But, the keto diet has its share of critics, concerned about long term side effects.
"The typical ketogenic diet, we think of as high in animal proteins and fat, like bacon and butter, right," Dr. Cabeca says. "But, we can assume that's not the healthiest way to go, right? And that's true."
And, after a while on the keto diet, Dr. Cabeca had some issues.
"Many people call it keto flu, I called it keto-crazy," she says. "I was not myself."
In her book, "The Hormone Fix," Dr. Cabeca has created her spin on the keto diet.
She calls it the Keto-Green Diet and claims it eases menopausal symptoms.
Her version is packed with high-alkaline foods, designed to help balance your body's pH levels.
"So, leafy greens, micronutrients such as broccoli sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli.
Cabeca says kale, collards, and chard are also on her plan.
"Apple cider vinegar, lemons, limes, those are great alkalizers," she says.
She's created her own keto green smoothie.
Dr. Cabeca says these foods help the body detox, and claims they helped her get better control of her hormones.
"I lost weight very, very quickly," she says. "But, I [also] regained that mental clarity, that mental, like, I call it, that energized enlightenment."