A low-carb, high-fat diet may be linked to higher levels of “bad” cholesterol and a doubling of the risk of cardiovascular events, such as blocked arteries, heart attacks and strokes, according to new research.
“Our study found that the regular consumption of a self-reported low-carb, high-fat diet is associated with increased levels of LLD cholesterol – or “bad” cholesterol – and a higher risk of heart disease,” the lead author of the study, Dr Iulia Iatanfrom the Healthy Heart Program Prevention ClinicSt. Paul’s Hospital, and the University of British Columbia Center for Heart-Lung Innovation in Vancouver, Canada Canada.
I study
“This study provides an important contribution to the scientific literature and suggests that the harms outweigh the benefits,” he said Christopher Gardner, a professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center who conducted clinical trials of the keto diet. Gardner did not participate in the study.
«L’increased cholesterol LDL should not be considered a negligible side effect of a VLCD diet (very low calorie diet) or a ketogenic diet,” Gardner said, noting the higher risk of cardiovascular events in those with higher blood ketone levels. compared to those following a more standard diet. In the study, the researchers defined a low-carbohydrate, high-fat (Lchf) diet as a diet in which the 45% of total calories daily comes from fat and 25% from carbohydrates. The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, was presented Sunday at the American College of Cardiology’s annual science session along with the World Congress of Cardiology.
«The rationale for our study was born from the fact that in our cardiovascular prevention clinic we saw patients with severe hypercholesterolemia who followed this diet,” Iatan said during a presentation at the session. High cholesterol, or high cholesterol, increases the risk of heart attack or other adverse cardiovascular events.
“This led us to question the relationship between these low-carb, high-fat diets, lipid levels and cardiovascular disease. Despite this, the data on this relation they are limited,” said the researcher.
The sample
The researchers compared the nutrition of 305 people who followed an LCHF diet with that of around 1,200 people who followed a standard diet, using health information from the UK Biobank, which follows people for at least a decade.
Researchers found that people following the LCHF diet had higher levels of low-density lipoprotein, also known as LDL, cholesterol and apolipoprotein B. Apolipoprotein B is a protein that coats LDL cholesterol proteins and is can predict heart disease better than high LDL cholesterol levels can.
The researchers also noted that the total fat intake of the LCHF diet participants was higher than saturated fat and the consumption of animal sources was twice (33%) than those of the control group (16%).
“After an average of 11.8 years of follow-up – and after adjusting for other risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and smoking – people following a Lchf were more than double the risk of having several events cardiovascular important, such as blockages in arteries that needed to be opened with stenting procedures, heart attacks, strokes and peripheral arterial disease,” the researchers found, according to the news release.
The risks
In the release, the researchers say their study “can only show an association between diet and increased risk of major cardiac events, not a causal relationship,” because it is an observational study, but their findings warrant further study. , «especially when approx 1 in 5 Americans reports following a low-carb, keto-like, or fully keto diet.”
Iatan said study limitations include measurement errors that occur when dietary ratings are self-reported, the small sample size of the study and the fact that most of the participants were British and did not include other ethnic groups.
The study also looked at the longitudinal effect of the diet, whereas most people on a ketoid diet tend to stick to it intermittently for shorter periods of time.
Most of the participants – 73% – were donnewhich, according to Iatan, is “quite interesting to see, but also supports the available literature that women in general tend to follow more dietary patterns, tend to be more interested in changing their lifestyle.”
Specific treatments
When asked if there are groups that do not suffer damage by following a Lchf diet, Iatan replied that the duration of the diet and the loss or not of weight “can counterbalance the increase in Ldl”.
“The important thing is to remember that every patient responds differently. So, there really is inter-individual variability between responses. What we found is that, on average, patients tend to increase their LDL cholesterol levels.”
Dr David Katz, a lifestyle medicine specialist who was not involved in the study, said “there are various ways to put together an LCHF diet, and they are all very unlikely to have the same effects on serum lipids or events.” cardiac”.
However, he added, “the fact that an LCHF diet was associated with adverse effects in this study is a reality check for those who adopt such diets just because they’re in vogue.”
According to most health experts, the keto diet, which bans carbohydrates to make the body burn fat for fuel, excludes healthy foods such as fruits, beans, legumes and whole grains. In the keto diet, you limit your carbohydrate intake to 20-50 per day – the lower the better. To be clear, a medium-sized banana or apple contains about 27 carbohydrates, or the entire daily requirement.
The energy purpose
«Food groups that must be eliminated to achieve ketosis are important sources of dietary fiber, as well as many important nutrients, phytochemicals and antioxidants. This is of concern to many health professionals who consider VLCD or the ketogenic diet to be detrimental to long-term health,” Gardner said.
Keto is short for ketosis, a metabolic state that occurs when the liver begins using stored fat to make ketones a energy purpose. The liver is hardwired to do this when the body loses access to its fuel of choice — carbohydrates — and thinks it’s hungry.
The keto diet has been around since the 1920s, when a doctor discovered it as a way to control seizures in children with epilepsy who weren’t responding to other methods of treatment.
Low-carb diets like keto rely heavily on fat for satiation. At least the 70% of the keto diet consists of fat; some claim it is more than 90%.
It is recommended that you consult a healthcare professional before starting a ketogenic diet. pic.twitter.com/79zYBvl2pX
— Grow Up (@growup261) February 20, 2023
While you can get all of these fats from healthy unsaturated fats like avocado, tofu, nuts, seeds and olive oil, the diet also allows for saturated fats such as lard, butter and coconut oil, as well as whole milk, cheese and mayonnaise. Eating lots of foods high in saturated fat increases the production of LDL cholesterol, which can build up in your arteries and restrict blood flow to your heart and brain.