March 6, 2023 – Keto diets can greater than double the danger of significant heart problems, a recent study shows.
People who ate high-fat, low-carbohydrate foods were more prone to have higher cholesterol and suffer heart attacks or strokes than individuals who followed a daily eating regimen. Keto diets were also related to twice the danger of needing procedures to open blocked arteries.
“Our study found that regular consumption of a self-reported low-carb, high-fat diet was associated with increased LDL cholesterol levels – or 'bad' cholesterol – and a higher risk of heart disease,” says researcher Iulia Iatan, MD, PhD, in a opinion“To our knowledge, our study is one of the first to examine the association between this type of dietary pattern and cardiovascular outcomes.”
Presented this week on the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, study evaluated health data from 305 people within the UK who were identified because they reported eating a keto-like eating regimen during a 24-hour period initially of the study. This group was compared with 1,220 individuals who were the identical age but ate a traditional eating regimen. The study defined keto-like diets as diets wherein not more than 25% of day by day calories come from carbohydrates and greater than 45% of calories come from fat.
Most of the study participants were women (73%), they tended to be obese and the common age was 54. The researchers then analyzed the health of the people over a period of virtually 12 years.
Keto dieters with the best LDL levels of cholesterol had the best risk of heart and circulatory problems. During the statement period, 9.8% of keto dieters experienced a recent cardiac event, in comparison with 4.3% of those on the usual eating regimen. The researchers really helpful that individuals considering a keto eating regimen seek the advice of a physician before starting the eating plan.
“While on the diet, it is recommended to monitor cholesterol levels and consider other risk factors for heart disease or stroke, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, physical inactivity and smoking,” said Latan, who's an attending physician at St. Paul's Hospital and the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation on the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Keto eating regimen is brief for ketogenic eating regimen. The term refers to eating high-fat foods, which in turn helps the body produce ketones. Ketones are “a type of fuel that the liver produces from stored fat,” in accordance with Harvard HealthThe idea is to achieve a state of “ketosis,” where the body burns fat for energy as a substitute of sugar from carbohydrates present in grains, fruits, and vegetables. It can take several days to achieve ketosis, and eating an excessive amount of protein also can throw the entire cycle off.
Most of the people studied who followed a ketogenic eating regimen had an increased health risk, but in some cases levels of cholesterol remained stable and even decreased. The reasons for this are unclear, the researchers said.
“One of our next steps will be to try to identify certain characteristics or genetic markers that can predict how someone responds to this type of diet,” says Latan.