You should avoid the keto diet if you're one of these people

The keto diet continues to be the trendiest diet du jour with countless A-list celebs (hello, Kimmy K, Gwyneth Paltrow and Halle Berry) who swear the diet helps keep them lean, toned and energised. But on the other hand, increasingly health experts are warning the high-fat low-carb diet poses serious health issues might be a big fat waste of your time or worse, put your long-term health at risk.

So, who should you believe?

Well, let's get one thing straight: there is no single diet that will suit everyone simply because everyone is different but if you fall into one of these six categories, the keto diet is probably not the best option for you.

1. Type 1 or 2 Diabetic

To enter a state of ketosis, you need to deprive your body of carbohydrates. During this process, the liver becomes the sole provider of glucose to feed your glucose-hungry organs. If you have Type 1 diabetes, you are insulin-dependent, which means your blood sugar levels decrease to dangerous levels when in a state of ketosis.

"Ketosis can actually be helpful for people who have hyperglycemia issues, but you have to be very mindful of your blood sugar and check your glucose levels several times a day," nutritionist and dietitian at Houston Methodist Medical Center, Kristen Kizer, tells Health.

Ketosis can actually trigger a dangerous condition known as ketoacidosis, whereby the body stores up too many ketones and the blood becomes too acidic, which leads to liver, kidney and brain damage.

It is recommended that those who are diabetic will need doctor's permission and close supervision if following the keto diet.

2. Athletes

There are instances where being fuelled on fat might not deliver the required energy for certain types of exercise. It's a controversial topic, but those who perform high-intensity activities like CrossFit or martial arts may find their performance hindered on a keto diet.

"Explosive movements eat up the muscles' glycolytic capacity, which is powered by glucose from dietary carbohydrates," Medical Daily explains.

In a recent study in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, researchers found that participants performed worse on high-intensity cycling and running tasks after four days on a ketogenic diet, compared to those who'd spent four days on a high-carb diet. The study's lead author concluded that the body is in a more acidic state when it's in ketosis, which may limit its ability to perform at peak levels.

On the other hand, endurance athletes might thrive on a keto diet because their energy levels can be adequately fuelled by fatty acid oxidation and ketones.

Keto expert Scott Gooding, notes that if you're an athlete and enjoy following the keto diet, you don't have to give it up entirely. Instead, you can adopt a cyclic keto diet.

"If you're feeling your output is sub-optimal, then try adding some carbs into your post-training feed. You may only need 200–250 grams, but see if that makes a difference. Look to get this from safe starches or gluten-free grains. This is known as cyclic keto - low carb on non-training days then upping the carb intake on training days to help replenish cells."

3. People with no gallbladder

The keto diet isn't entirely out of reach if you've had your gallbladder removed. The key here is being mindful of where the fats you consume are derived from.

"The gallbladder produces bile necessary to breakdown fats. So with this in mind it might sound like a high fat diet would be off limits. However, it might just mean that you're mindful of where those fats are derived from," Gooding explains. "The back-up plan is that the liver can produce bile – therefore it's best to favour shorter fatty acids such as the ones found in coconut oil or MCT."

Medical Daily recommends any individual who falls into this category (or has an existing gallbladder disease) should consult with a doctors before trying the keto diet.

4. Pregnant or breastfeeding women

"A growing fetus requires a steady glucose supply to support normal growth, including crucial brain development," Medical Daily states. "Reduced glucose availability caused by a maternal keto diet may have long-term adverse effects on infant health. These include abnormal growth patterns and alterations in brain structure."

Women who are breastfeeding can actually tolerate more carbs and protein, so avoid the keto diet and just eat real food to nourish you and your baby.

5. Children

Following any fad diet means you're cutting out important food groups. In the case of the keto diet, *a lot* of food needs to be eliminated in order to remain in a state of ketosis. Therefore, it only makes sense that a 'classic keto' diet can hinder healthy growth in children.

A doctor or dietitian should be consulted before a ketogenic diet is started in children.

6. People with Multiple Sclerosis

"The National Multiple Sclerosis Society raises questions about the long-term safety of the keto diet for MS patients. It also cautions about possible keto diet side effects, like fatigue and constipation," Medical Daily notes.

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Vanessa Hudgens Is On The Keto Diet—And She Does Intermittent Fasting, Too

Vanessa Hudgens is on two of the most popular diets: intermittent fasting and keto.

In a new interview with People, Vanessa says she switches between the two diets.

Vanessa, 30, typically fasts for 18 hours a day and eats during the other six.

Let's be honest: Vanessa Hudgens is about as trendy as they come, so of course she's on two of the trendiest diets out there: intermittent fasting and keto.

Back in November, Vanessa, 30, revealed to Women's Health that a month before her interview, she started intermittent fasting. Her reason? She saw how well it worked for a friend. "Homeboy is aging backward," she said.

Now, in a new interview with People, she opens up even more about how she juggles the two diets.

"I've been intermittent fasting a lot, because for me, I love pasta, I love pizza, and when I'm not eating carbs I feel like a little piece of me dies," she told People, adding that she eats during a six-hour period each day (from noon to 6 p.m.), and then fasts for the other 18 hours.

Watch Vanessa try keto snacks:

"Intermittent fasting is great, because when I am fasting—those first two weeks are definitely rough, I'm not going to lie, but after that I feel more grounded and powerful in my workouts," she said. "I get the nutrients that I need when I eat, but then I also eat what I want."

But really, eating for just six hours each day can be rough—that's why Vanessa switches to the keto diet sometimes to change things up. "If you have the right ingredients to keep you on track, I think it's amazing," she said, talking about the keto diet. "I'm always making sure I'm getting those healthy fats in, so I eat a LOT of almond butter. You feel really energetic and supported on the keto diet."

Still, juggling two pretty intense diets is definitely a challenge. And while Vanessa says it works for her, it might not be everyone's thing. "I feel like it's a recipe that works for me," she says. "Everyone's different of course, but for me, that's what's been the most beneficial so far."

Amber Brenza Amber Brenza is the health editor at Women's Health, and she oversees the website's health and weight loss verticals.

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What a Keto Diet Cheat Meal Might Do to Your Body

Each week, we read what's going on the world of science and bring three of the wildest findings straight to you. Scroll through for the latest. Note: this article originally appeared on Tonic in the US.

Taking a sudden break from your keto diet might negatively impact your blood vessels

During a cheat meal, you throw your food rules out the window and indulge. For people on the keto diet, this might mean filling a plate with carbohydrates, which the body metabolizes as glucose. A keto diet is rich in fats and proteins, and a very low amounts of carbohydratesâ€" the goal is to cause the body to go into a state called ketosis, where it burns fat as its energy source, instead of glucose.

In a new paper published in Nutrients, researchers were interested to see what would happen when people on a keto-like diet were reintroduced to the carb-rich foods they had been avoiding (like during a cheat meal).

Impaired glucose tolerance and spikes in blood sugar are associated with cardiovascular disease, says Jonathan Little, an exercise and diabetes researcher at The University of British Columbia, and senior author of the study. Because of that association, he and his colleagues looked at people’s blood vessels when they were given glucose after spending a week on a low-carb, high-fat diet.

Little tells me that they didn’t measure ketones in their subjects to definitively tell whether they were in ketosis in the study. But since all the foods were provided, and people ate less than 50g of carbs per day, it was “like ketogenic.”

After one week on this diet, they gave nine healthy males 75 grams of glucose, which is about the same amount of glucose as a large bottle soda or a plate of fries, a press release says. They saw a spike in glucose, which was to be expected, but also saw evidence in their subjects of blood vessel wall damage.

The markers they saw are called “endothelial microparticles” or “endothelial microvesicles,” which are small pieces of the cells that line the surface of the vessel. They are released when the cells are inflamed or damaged. These microparticles weren’t present when glucose was given before the low carb high fat diet. “If endothelial microparticles go up in your blood it tells us that the endothelial cells appeared to be unhappy,” Little says.

Cody Durrer, first author on the paper, says that their findings could suggest that following a keto diet might make you more intolerant to carbohydrates and predispose you to blood vessel damage if you suddenly gorge on carbs.

"My concern is that many of the people going on a keto dietâ€"whether it's to lose weight, to treat Type 2 diabetes, or some other health reasonâ€"may be undoing some of the positive impacts on their blood vessels if they suddenly blast them with glucose," Durrer says in the release. "Especially if these people are at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease in the first place."

The study also found, though, that the increase in these markers of damage was transient, and returned to baseline measurements within two hours. “It is possible that this could be a normal adaptive response that helps kickstart the body, or ‘wake it up,’ to the reintroduction of carbohydrates after not consuming much of them for a week,” Little explains.

For now, these effects need to be studied in a larger sample size. Little says that if a keto diet is helping you achieve greater health goals, and a cheat meal helps you sustain those goals, then he still thinks the potential benefits might outweigh any potential risks.

Your brain processes metaphors literally

We often speak in metaphors, where words don’t literally mean what we say. She grasped the idea, is different than grasping a fork; a rough day is different than a rough towel; a sweet boy is not the same as a sweet cupcake.

But our brains might process metaphors and their literal counterparts in very similar waysâ€"previous studies have suggested that our understanding of metaphors may be rooted in their physical meanings. There’s some evidence that when we hear phrases like she grasped the idea, the parts of our brain involved with sensory-motor function (the other grasping) are active too. Or that tactile and taste metaphors (rough and sweet) also activate sensory regions of the brain.

In a new study in Brain Research, researchers looked at when exactly these brain activations of the literal interpretations of metaphors took place. Were metaphors first being processed in the literal sense, and then metaphorically? This could help answer an outstanding question: Is the literal understanding necessary to understand a metaphor at all?

Watch more from VICE:

The study looked at when different brain regions were active when people were given three sentences, two with a shared metaphorical word, and one without. For example: The bodyguard bent the rod, the church bent the rules, and the church altered the rules.

When people saw the word bent they had similar response in the brain each time, even when bent was being used metaphorically. The sensory-motor areas of the brain were active right away, in around 200 milliseconds.

“Metaphoric phrases behaved more like concrete literal phrases in that both rapidly activated sensor-motor systems,” says Vicky Lai, an assistant professor of psychology and cognitive science at The University of Arizona, and the paper’s first author. She says their findings still don’t fully reveal how we understand metaphors, but they let us know that the literal understanding is probably very important to comprehending the metaphor overall.

Moreover, Lai says that it furthers her work on how metaphors might benefit learning and emotion. For learning, one of her other metaphor projects asks if students can more easily learn science concepts when there are metaphorical explanations. Another asks people to use metaphors to think about past sad experiences, and see if it helps them feel better.

Until we know more about how to use metaphors for our benefit, they can reveal how speakers between cultures organize their conceptual categories, she says.

“For example, in Mandarin Chinese you can say ‘stir-frying the stock market,’” she says. “Which means to manipulate the stock market for one's benefit.”

Mice grew taste buds in their lungs after having the flu

Despite getting my flu shot, I still got the flu this year, and spent about a week not moving farther than from my bedroom to my couch. But for some people, the effects of the flu linger way beyond a week, and they have continuing problems with their lungs.

In a new study in the American Journal of Physiology Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, researchers infected mice with the flu and then examined their lungs, to see how their lungs recovered.

“A severe case of the flu can actually reshape the architecture of [the rodents’]their lungs and forever compromise their respiratory function,” says a press release from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine.

To the researcher’s surprise, they found cells in the lungs that are nearly the same as taste bud cells, called tuft cells, or solitary chemosensory cells.

These are the same kinds of cells that detect bitterness, and “when the researchers stimulated the out-of-place cells with bitter compounds, they went wild, growing and triggering an inflammatory response,” Live Science reported.

“It was just really weird to see, because these cells are not in the lung at baseline,” senior author and biologist at Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine, Andrew E. Vaughan, says in the statement. “The closest they are normally is in the trachea.”

This study was done in mice, so the next step is to see if humans also have these kinds of cells in their lungs after getting the flu. If they do, it could explain why children who get respiratory infections are predisposed to developing asthma.

Your weekly science and health reads

I am not always very attached to being alive. By Anna Borges in The Outline.A very moving, personal piece about a little-talked about subject: chronic, passive suicidal ideation.

Is your wellness practice just a diet in disguise? By Melissa A. Fabello in Healthyish.A reminder to examine the everyday “wellness” habits we pick up, and ask if they’re rooted in disordered eating.

The challenge of going off psychiatric drugs. By Rachel Aviv in The New Yorker.Going off a drug, or two, or fiveâ€"can be a rocky road.

Millenials are sick of drinking. By Amanda Mull in The Atlantic.Are we quitting drinking altogether or just tired of the way it makes us feel?

How A.S.M.R. Became a Sensation. By Jamie Lauren Keiles in the New York Times MagazineA “‘silvery sparkle’ inside the head, a euphoric ‘brain-gasm’ or a feeling like goose bumps in the scalp that faded ‘in and out in waves of heightened intensity.’”

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Keto diet: Not the best way for women to lose weight

Ketogenic diet is one of the most popular forms of diet among fitness enthusiasts, as it can enable you to shed those extra kilos quickly. However, the outcome of following this diet can vary from person to person and a new study has to say that it may not be beneficial for women. The findings of the study conducted by the University of Iowa revealed that women need to pay extra attention while opting for this diet as it can lead to severe side effects such as fluctuating blood sugar levels. The study was based on mice where it was observed that after following the keto diet, female mice did not lose weight as significantly as their male counterparts. Additionally, the blood sugar control of female mice was impaired after the test. Co- author of the study, Jesse Cochran pointed out that since there is no clear evidence that can pinpoint the effects of a keto diet among various individuals, it is important for everyone to consult a dietician before including this diet in your daily routine.

During the study, some mice were given a ketogenic diet while some were given a regular one. The control diet consisted of 7 % fat, 47 % carbs and 19 % protein. On the other hand, the keto diet provided 75 % fat, 3 % carbs and 8 % protein. A significant amount of weight loss was noted in male mice who were on a keto diet post 15 days of the experiment while there was no change in weight of female mice.

WHAT IS A KETO DIET?

Apart from being a fad in the fitness space, a ketogenic diet which is low in carbs and high in fat content has been used to reap numerous health benefits. The biggest benefit of this diet, as claimed by various studies is that it helps you to lose weight pretty. Apart from weight loss, this diet is said to do wonders for patients suffering from epilepsy, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. If you start a keto diet, the lack of carbs in your food intake will force your body into a metabolic state called ketosis, where the cells inside your body  start to burn the fat in your body due to lack of carbohydrates.

Though there are scientific studies that prove how a keto diet can help you against various severe health ailments, there is still doubt over its benefits in both genders. According to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Physiology, following a ketogenic dietcan make you more susceptible to develop type 2 diabetes. Also, foods low in carbohydrate and containing high levels of fat showed adverse effects, especially in females.

SIDE EFFECTS OF KETO DIET IN WOMEN

The majority of the studies which support the benefits of this diet have one thing in common: They all talk about benefits in the male population only and this is why it is important for women to consult a dietician or nutritionist, if they want to opt for ketogenic diet. Here, we tell you about the most common side-effects you can face if you try it without getting a nod from your doctor.

Increases the risk of acute kidney injury

A ketogenic diet will reduce the electrolyte levels inside your body. Electrolytes are the key component behind various bodily functions and you can find electrolyte in your body in the form of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and chloride. The lack of electrolytes can put you more at risk of developing kidney injuries. Also, their absence can even lead to irregular heartbeats.Combat plan: Include foods with high water content which are not starch. Tomatoes and cucumbers are good options to keep yourself hydrated and prevent any kidney-related problem.

Impairs your athletic performance

Many renowned sports personalities openly speak about the benefits a keto diet brought into their game. However, a 2018 study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness mentioned that athletes who were following a diet low in carbohydrate and high in fat for over four days witnessed a significant decline in their performance. The athletes involved for this study were cyclists and runners.Combat plan: Try to make your meals with virgin olive oil which will help you get the short burst of energy required while running or cycling.

Slows your metabolism

You may know that the faster your metabolism is, the more calories you will be able to burn. A keto diet does that for you, as your body burns fat instead of carbohydrates to produce energy. However, this process can also lead to reduced muscle mass which eventually reduces your metabolism, making it difficult for you to lose weight.

Combat plan: Adding spices like ginger and cayenne pepper to your meals can rev up your metabolism and fat burning process while you are on ketogenic diet. Chilli peppers and nuts will also help.

Leads to high blood glucose levels

Since ketogenic diet includes lots of fat, it can easily up your cholesterol which not only puts you at risk of having a cardiovascular disease, but also increases your chance of developing type 2 diabetes. In this condition your blood glucose levels increase significantly. So, experts in the field are concerned about people taking up a keto diet without consulting a dietician or their doctor. A 2018 study exhibited at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Germany revealed that low-carb diet can make you more likely to die from cancer or cardiovascular problems. Also, according to another study published in the Lancet, people who opted for a low-carb diet, but included high animal proteins in their daily routine are more susceptible to die early as compared to those with moderate carb consumption.Combat plan: Nuts, fruits, vegetables, and olive oil are options you can try to reduce the risk of increasing your blood sugar levels while on a keto diet.

Published: April 3, 2019 10:18 am

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How Long Is It Safe to Stay on the Keto Diet?

This high-fat, low-carb eating plan has its fans—and detractors. Here's what the experts say about eating keto for the long-term.

Chutima Chaochaiya/Shutterstock

The keto diet is popular among people looking to shed pounds. But the question remains: Is keto diet safe in the long-term? Here, what researchers and doctors want you to know.

What is the keto diet?

The ketogenic (keto) diet is a high-fat, low-calorie diet. People following the keto diet aim to eat 75 percent of their calories from fat, 20 percent from protein, and 5 percent from carbohydrates. If you're curious about the plan, check out these before-and-after keto diet pictures. The keto diet has been used for decades to help children with certain types of epilepsy avoid seizures—and research backs up the continuous use in these people.

What about everyone else: Is keto diet safe in the long term?

How long the keto diet is safe for weight loss is still under study. Early research found that overweight individuals who followed it for 24 weeks had positive results. Another study recommends people follow the diet for no more than 12 months. Even during that time, say the authors, "close monitoring of [kidney] functions while on a ketogenic diet is imperative." In other words, let your doctor know what you're up to, and keep an eye on your kidney health. Beyond a year, no one's really sure how safe the diet is.

"My professional recommended period of following the keto diet is about six months maximum, and that will also depend on how much the person weighed prior to starting the diet and the state of his or her overall health within those six months," says Nikola Djordjevic, MD, of MedAlertHelp.org.

He adds, "That said, I highly advise that anyone on the keto diet get checked by a professional nutritionist or a medical doctor regularly to make sure he or she hasn't developed any complications like hypertension."

Precautions to take with long-term keto dieting

Despite all the keto success stories, most doctors still warn against the plan—in part because U.S. News & World Report ranked it as one of the worst diets. Doctors who do support keto say there are rules and guidelines that are more likely to keep the diet effective and healthy, starting with:

Focus on quality fats

"Since the largest component of a keto diet is fat, my biggest concern with keto is that the fats consumed may not be healthy ones," says Alvin Berger, MS, PhD, adjunct professor of nutrition at the University of Minnesota and CEO of SciaEssentials. "Examples of undesirable fats include excessive amounts of coconut oil, deep-fried fats, lard, and oxidized/rancid fats." Dr. Berger suggests you work with a certified nutritionist, particularly one with an expertise in fats, to hone your keto diet for the long term.

Don't waste your carbs

Keto eaters find a lot of "low-carb" hacks for their favorite non-keto foods, from chocolate chip cookies to baked bread, but Dr. Berger says you should use the carbs you can consume on healthier options, like vegetables.

Pay attention to micronutrients

Keto dieters can miss out on some key nutrients like electrolytes such as sodium and potassium, says Jennifer Mason, MS RD, a dietitian who specializes in low-carb and keto diets. Without adequate sources of these two nutrients, you may experience nausea, weakness, muscle cramps, and constipation—or the keto flu. You can try supplements, or focus on nutrient-rich foods that will provide you what you need.

Eat real food

Your pharmacy shelves are groaning under the weight of keto supplements, but Adam Nally, DO, author of The Keto Cure, advises steering clear. "I recommend using real food instead of protein powders and MCT oil," he says. "Adequate nutrients in a ketogenic diet come from eating real animal protein and real animal fat over the long term." If you are considering keto supplements, review this list of the keto supplements that might be worth your money.

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‘Cheat day’ during keto diet may damage blood vessels

HealthPosted at: Apr 3, 2019, 12:21 PM; last updated: Apr 3, 2019, 12:21 PM (IST)

TORONTO: Having just a plate of fries or a bottle of soda while following a 'keto diet' may damage your blood vessels, say scientists who warn against going for a 'cheat day' while following the popular weight loss regime.

The ketogenic or keto diet has become very common for weight loss or to manage diseases like type 2 diabetes.

"It consists of eating foods rich in fats, moderate in protein, but very low in carbohydrates and it causes the body to go into a state called ketosis," said Jonathan Little, associate professor at University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada.

The diet can be very effective because once the body is in ketosis and starved for its preferred fuel glucose, the body's chemistry changes and it begins to aggressively burn its fat stores, Little said in a statement.

This leads to weight loss and can reverse the symptoms of diseases like Type 2 diabetes.

The often embraced 'cheat day' is a common theme in many diets. However, researchers found just one 75-gramme dose of glucose—the equivalent a large bottle of soda or a plate of fries—while on a high fat, low carbohydrate diet can lead to damaged blood vessels.

"We were interested in finding out what happens to the body's physiology once a dose of glucose is reintroduced," said Cody Durrer, doctoral student at UBC.

"Since impaired glucose tolerance and spikes in blood sugar levels are known to be associated with an increased risk in cardiovascular disease, it made sense to look at what was happening in the blood vessels after a sugar hit," said Durrer.

For their test, the researchers recruited nine healthy young males and had them consume a 75-gramme glucose drink before and after a seven-day high fat, low carbohydrate diet.

The diet consisted of 70 per cent fat, 10 per cent carbohydrates and 20 per cent protein, similar to that of a modern ketogenic diet.

"We were originally looking for things like an inflammatory response or reduced tolerance to blood glucose. What we found instead were biomarkers in the blood suggesting that vessel walls were being damaged by the sudden spike in glucose," said Durrer.

The most likely culprit for the damage is the body's own metabolic response to excess blood sugar, which causes blood vessel cells to shed and possibly die.

"Even though these were otherwise healthy young males, when we looked at their blood vessel health after consuming the glucose drink, the results looked like they might have come from someone with poor cardiovascular health," said Little.

The researchers point out that with only nine individuals included in the study, more work is needed to verify their findings, but that the results should give those on a keto diet pause when considering a cheat day.

"My concern is that many of the people going on a keto diet—whether it's to lose weight, to treat Type 2 diabetes, or some other health reason—may be undoing some of the positive impacts on their blood vessels if they suddenly blast them with glucose," Little said.

"Especially if these people are at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease in the first place," he said.

"Our data suggests a ketogenic diet is not something you do for six days a week and take Saturday off," he added. PTI

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On the keto diet? Ditch the cheat day, study says

The often embraced 'cheat day' is a common theme in many diets and the popular ketogenic diet is no exception. But new research from UBC's Okanagan campus says that just one 75-gram dose of glucose—the equivalent a large bottle of soda or a plate of fries—while on a high fat, low carbohydrate diet can lead to damaged blood vessels.

"The ketogenic—or keto—diet has become very common for weight loss or to manage diseases like type 2 diabetes," says Jonathan Little, associate professor in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBCO and study senior author. "It consists of eating foods rich in fats, moderate in protein, but very low in carbohydrates and it causes the body to go into a state called ketosis."

Little says the diet can be very effective because once the body is in ketosis and starved for its preferred fuel glucose, the body's chemistry changes and it begins to aggressively burn its fat stores. This leads to weight loss and can reverse the symptoms of diseases like Type 2 diabetes.

"We were interested in finding out what happens to the body's physiology once a dose of glucose is reintroduced," says Cody Durrer, UBC Okanagan doctoral student and study first author. "Since impaired glucose tolerance and spikes in blood sugar levels are known to be associated with an increased risk in cardiovascular disease, it made sense to look at what was happening in the blood vessels after a sugar hit."

For their test, the researchers recruited nine healthy young males and had them consume a 75-gram glucose drink before and after a seven-day high fat, low carbohydrate diet. The diet consisted of 70 per cent fat, 10 per cent carbohydrates and 20 per cent protein, similar to that of a modern ketogenic diet.

"We were originally looking for things like an inflammatory response or reduced tolerance to blood glucose," says Durrer. "What we found instead were biomarkers in the blood suggesting that vessel walls were being damaged by the sudden spike in glucose."

Little says the most likely culprit for the damage is the body's own metabolic response to excess blood sugar, which causes blood vessel cells to shed and possibly die.

"Even though these were otherwise healthy young males, when we looked at their blood vessel health after consuming the glucose drink, the results looked like they might have come from someone with poor cardiovascular health," adds Little. "It was somewhat alarming."

The researchers point out that with only nine individuals included in the study, more work is needed to verify their findings, but that the results should give those on a keto diet pause when considering a cheat day.

"My concern is that many of the people going on a keto diet—whether it's to lose weight, to treat Type 2 diabetes, or some other health reason—may be undoing some of the positive impacts on their blood vessels if they suddenly blast them with glucose," he says. "Especially if these people are at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease in the first place."

"Our data suggests a ketogenic diet is not something you do for six days a week and take Saturday off."

More information: Cody Durrer et al, Short-Term Low-Carbohydrate High-Fat Diet in Healthy Young Males Renders the Endothelium Susceptible to Hyperglycemia-Induced Damage, An Exploratory Analysis, Nutrients (2019). DOI: 10.3390/nu11030489

Citation: On the keto diet? Ditch the cheat day, study says (2019, March 27) retrieved 3 April 2019 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-03-keto-diet-ditch-day.html

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