We always say we’re not fans of diets. We’re big believers in all things in moderation, and healthy portion control with plenty of variety. Strict adherence to rules can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food and “failing” at a diet instead of steady progress.
However, we acknowledge that some people do better with a diet. And some diets can be medically beneficial. We also know that some diets can be harmful for some aspects of health and beneficial for others. You have to weigh what is important for your medical needs.
The keto diet can be harmful for some aspects of health but aid others. It can raise cholesterol and lower helpful gut bacteria. On the other hand, it can aid mental health symptoms. New research has found that a keto diet can aid liver and blood sugar health.
The randomized clinical trial at Washington Univ. School of Medicine compared three commonly recommended diets. The participants got all of their food from the study. They ate either keto, a low-fat, vegetable-focused diet or the Mediterranean diet. All of them improved overall metabolic health. They also lost an equal amount of weight. But the keto diet aided blood sugar and the liver the most.
“For patients with obesity, [minor blood sugar concerns] and fatty liver disease, weight loss induced by a very low-carbohydrate diet provides additional therapeutic effects on glucose and lipid metabolism that should further help prevent the progression to more severe metabolic diseases than weight loss alone,” said Dr. Samuel Klein, the study’s senior author.
The researchers found that insulin sensitivity in liver cells improved two to three times for people following the keto diet. Additionally, the keto diet lowered fat in the liver by 67 percent. The other two diets lowered fat by 45 percent. It also aided blood sugar control more than the other diets. The other diets lowered 24-hour blood sugar measurements by eight percent. The keto diet lowered the measurements by 20 percent.
“Fatty liver disease affects about 75 percent of adults with obesity worldwide and has become the fastest-growing cause of chronic liver disease and liver cirrhosis,” said Dr. Max Petersen of the Washington Univ. School of Medicine. “Our study shows that for people with obesity and fatty liver disease, a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet could help reduce that statistic.”
The study was small, with only 55 participants. So more research is needed to confirm the results. Additionally, the researchers want to study the fundamental reason why weight loss has metabolic benefits. They intend to study the effects of GLP-1s in their research.
