How a keto diet can harm your health: ‘It may not be for everyone’

This can be a gut punch to those who know these things.

New research finds that the low-carb, high-fat eating plan — popular among athletes, bodybuilders and some celebrities — can raise cholesterol levels and reduce beneficial gut bacteria.

“The ketogenic diet is effective for fat loss, but it comes with different metabolic and microbiome effects that may not suit everyone,” said University of Bath professor Dylan Thompson, who oversaw the work published Monday in Cell Reports Medicine.

For the 12-week study, 53 healthy adults followed either a moderate-sugar diet, a low-sugar diet (less than 5% of calories from sugar) or a keto diet (less than 8% of calories from carbohydrates ).

The keto diet raised cholesterol levels, increased apolipoprotein B, which can cause plaque buildup in arteries, and decreased Bifidobacteria, carbohydrate-loving bacteria that help digest fiber, absorb nutrients, and boost immunity.

“The ketogenic diet reduced fiber intake to about 15 grams per day,” explained Dr. Russell Davies, who led the research.

“This reduction in Bifidobacteria can contribute to important long-term health consequences, such as an increased risk of digestive disorders such as irritable bowel disease, increased risk of intestinal infection and a weakened immune function,” he added.

The researchers instead recommend adopting a low-sugar diet, arguing that it promotes fat loss “without apparent negative health impacts.”

Keto dieters lost an average of 6.4 kilograms in 12 weeks, while low-sugar dieters lost only 4.6 kilograms on average.

The sugar-restricted diet, however, significantly lowered cholesterol without significantly changing gut bacteria.

This isn’t the first study to explore how a keto diet can affect the gut. 2020 research from the University of California, San Francisco determined that Bifidobacteria decreased on a short-term keto diet.

A 2022 analysis warned that this reduction could be detrimental to colon health and increase the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and depression.

The keto plan has been shown to be helpful in some cases — it can lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation and help control seizures in children with epilepsy, although some health experts warn that it’s a fickle and fixable diet. .