"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

Study: Keto weight loss plan doubles the chance of heart attack and stroke

March 6, 2023 – Keto diets can greater than double the chance of significant heart problems, a brand new study shows.

People who ate high-fat, low-carbohydrate foods were more more likely to have higher cholesterol and suffer heart attacks or strokes than individuals who followed an everyday weight loss plan. Keto diets were also related to twice the chance 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 weight loss plan during a 24-hour period at the beginning of the study. This group was compared with 1,220 individuals who were the identical age but ate a standard weight loss plan. The study defined keto-like diets as diets through which not more than 25% of every 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 chubby and the typical 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 remark period, 9.8% of keto dieters experienced a brand new cardiac event, in comparison with 4.3% of those on the usual weight loss plan. The researchers really helpful that folks considering a keto weight loss plan seek the advice of a health care provider 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 weight loss plan is brief for ketogenic weight loss plan. 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,” based on Harvard HealthThe idea is to succeed in a state of “ketosis,” where the body burns fat for energy as an alternative of sugar from carbohydrates present in grains, fruits, and vegetables. It can take several days to succeed in ketosis, and eating an excessive amount of protein may throw the entire cycle off.

Most of the people studied who followed a ketogenic weight loss plan 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.