A new study presented at a scientific conference warns that a “keto-like” diet, which involves high amounts of fat and low carbohydrates, may increase the risk of cardiovascular events like chest pain, blocked arteries, heart attacks, and strokes. The study suggests that this type of diet may lead to higher levels of “bad” cholesterol in the blood.
Popular weight-loss diet also associated with higher levels of LDL cholesterol.
The ketogenic or “keto” diet, which involves consuming very low amounts of carbohydrates and high amounts of fats, has been gaining popularity. However, a new study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology suggests that a “keto-like” diet may be associated with higher blood levels of “bad” cholesterol and a twofold heightened risk of cardiovascular events such as chest pain (angina), blocked arteries requiring stenting, heart attacks and strokes.
“Our study found that regular consumption of a self-reported diet low in carbohydrates and high in fat was associated with increased levels of LDL cholesterol— or “bad” cholesterol—and a higher risk of heart disease,” said Iulia Iatan, MD, PhD, attending physician-scientist at the Healthy Heart Program Prevention Clinic, St. Paul’s Hospital and University of British Columbia’s Centre for Heart Lung Innovation in Vancouver, Canada, and lead author of the study. “To our knowledge, our study is one of the first to examine the association between this type of dietary pattern and cardiovascular outcomes.”
Carbohydrates are the body’s first “go-to” source for fuel to provide energy for daily life. Low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) diets, like a keto diet, restrict consumption of carbohydrates (e.g., bread, pasta, rice and other grains, baked goods, potato products such as fries and chips, and high-carbohydrate fruits and vegetables). By depriving the body of carbohydrates, it is forced to start breaking down fat for energy instead. The breakdown of fat in the liver produces ketones, chemicals that the body uses as energy in the absence of carbohydrates—hence the name…