The study’s lead author, Dylan Thompson of the University of Bath, stated, “The ketogenic diet is effective for fat loss, but it comes with varied metabolic and microbiome effects that may not suit everyone.” Cell Reports Medicine was published on Monday.
A ketogenic diet increases cholesterol and decreases good gut flora.
Important conclusions consist of:
- Elevated Cholesterol: The ketogenic diet resulted in an increase in cholesterol, especially in tiny and medium-sized LDL particles. The diet raised levels of apolipoprotein B (apoB), an artery-clogging protein. The low-sugar diet, on the other hand, dramatically lowered the amount of cholesterol in LDL particles.
- Reduced Beneficial Gut Bacteria: The ketogenic diet changed the composition of the gut microbiome, particularly reducing Bifidobacteria, which are good bacteria that are frequently included in probiotics. This bacterium produces B vitamins, inhibits infections and dangerous bacteria, and lowers cholesterol, among its many other advantages. The composition of the gut microbiota was not dramatically affected by sugar restriction.
- Glucose Tolerance: Adults’ bodies became less adept at metabolizing carbohydrates as a result of the ketogenic diet.
- Both diets produced fat loss: at 12 weeks, the sugar-restricted diet produced an average of 2.1 kg of fat mass loss per person, while the ketogenic diet produced an average of 2.9 kg of fat mass loss per person.
- Metabolism: Researchers also found that the ketogenic diet significantly altered muscle energy expenditure and lipid metabolism, changing the body’s preferred fuel source from glucose to fats.
53 healthy adults participated in the 12-week trial and followed one of three diets: moderate sugar, low sugar (less than 5% of calories from sugar), or keto (less than 8% of calories from carbohydrates).
Apolipoprotein B, which can lead to plaque accumulation in arteries, raised cholesterol levels, and Bifidobacteria—carb-loving bacteria that aid in fiber digestion, nutrition absorption, and immunity—were all reduced during the ketogenic diet.
This is not the first study investigating the potential gastrointestinal effects of a ketogenic diet. The University of California, San Francisco found in 2020 that a brief ketogenic diet led to a drop in Bifidobacteria.
This decline may be harmful to colon health and increase the risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and depression, according to a 2022 analysis.
While some medical professionals caution that the keto diet is an unsustainable, quick-fix approach, it has been proved to be helpful in certain situations. For example, it can lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, and help control seizures in children with epilepsy.