Avocado toast with fried cheese instead of bread and zucchini noodles covered in buttery bacon sauce are just some of the tasty ideas that have made the high-fat, low-carb ketogenic (or keto) diet famous on social media.
This popular way of eating often promises weight loss and better health. But now, scientists say that while keto may help with weight control, it may also cause serious problems with how your body handles sugar and fats.
In a new study from the University of Utah and the Utah Diabetes and Metabolism Research Center, researchers tested how different diets affect health.
They divided mice into four diet groups: one followed a very high-fat ketogenic diet (90% fat), another had a high-fat diet (60% fat), a third group ate a low-fat diet, and the fourth group had a low-fat, moderate-protein diet.
Each group had different amounts of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. The mice were allowed to eat as much as they wanted for several months—up to 36 weeks for males and 44 weeks for females.
The researchers found that mice on the ketogenic diet didn’t gain as much weight as those on the high-fat diet. However, the keto diet still led to weight gain when compared to the low-fat diets.
More importantly, the mice on the keto diet developed high levels of fat in their blood and problems with how their bodies used sugar. Male mice also showed signs of fatty liver and liver problems, which are serious health issues.
The ketogenic diet works by putting the body into a state called ketosis. In ketosis, the body stops using carbs for energy and starts burning fat instead, which creates special fuel molecules called ketones.
This diet has been used for almost 100 years to help reduce seizures in children who have epilepsy that doesn’t respond to medicine. Even though it has helped many children, scientists still don’t fully understand how it works.
Some think the diet helps by keeping blood sugar levels steady, which is good for the brain. Others believe that the ketones themselves may help calm brain activity. Because the diet is now popular among people trying to lose weight or improve health, the scientists wanted to look more closely at its long-term effects.
Previous studies have looked into this, but many were limited or didn’t include both male and female test subjects. In this new study, researchers included both genders and regularly checked on the mice’s body fat, organs, and blood health.
While the keto diet helped prevent extreme weight gain, the researchers found that it caused other serious health problems over time. Mice on the keto diet had trouble processing sugar because their bodies were not releasing enough insulin. In male mice, the liver also suffered, becoming fatty and less healthy.
The study clearly shows that following a keto diet for a long time may come with serious risks, especially for metabolism and organ health.
The scientists say that more research is needed to see how changing the types of fats and balance of nutrients in the keto diet might reduce these risks. This is especially important for people with epilepsy who depend on the diet for medical reasons.
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The study is published in Science Advances.
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