As the most Googled diet in 2018 and touted by many celebrities as a quick way to lose substantial weight- the keto diet has since become a lifestyle choice for many. The keto or ketogenic diet is made up of at least 70 per cent fat and very few carbs, making it a diet rich in meats, eggs, nuts and dairy and restrictive of fruits, root vegetables, grain products and legumes.
Since dietary fat has been villainized for years as one of the major causes of heart disease, people with a heart condition or who are generally concerned about their heart health may be apprehensive about whether the diet could be for them.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular disease or heart disease is the leading cause of death globally. Researchers cite all kinds of culprits and risk factors of heart disease: cholesterol levels, blood sugar, inflammation, obesity, and more. Heart disease has been considered a fat-storage disease: excess fat consumed leads to being overweight and higher levels of blood lipids (triglycerides and lipoproteins), and increased cholesterol levels contribute to plaque formation in the arteries and raise the risk of heart conditions. So, where does the keto diet stands when it comes to heart health?
How Does Keto Diet Works?
As already mentioned, keto or ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that involves reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. The intake is designed to trigger the metabolic state of ketosis, a process that occurs when the body burns off fat as an alternate source of energy. Typically, that source is a person’s carbohydrate intake, which is converted into glucose and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most cells prefer to use blood sugar or glucose, which comes from carbohydrates, as the body’s main source of energy. However, in the absence of circulating blood sugar from food, we start breaking down stored fat into molecules called ketone bodies.
The process of ketosis usually happens over two to four days of eating fewer than 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. Ketogenic diets help lower blood sugar and insulin levels and shift your body’s metabolism away from carbs and towards fat and ketones—which supplies energy to the brain.
What Does it Mean for Your Heart Health?
Several studies indicate that the keto diet can help some people reduce their heart disease risk and heart-related conditions. Because of its focus on fat consumption, the keto diet is concerning to many doctors, dieticians, and health advocates. However, with an emphasis on “good” fats, a clean keto diet can ultimately reduce risk factors of heart disease. Moreover, in an article published by PubMed Central of the US National Library of Medicine, ketogenic diet results in lower LDL and higher HDL. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is considered to be the “bad” cholesterol in our body and the high-protein lipoprotein (HDL) is the “good” cholesterol that helps protect against heart disease.
Another biggest risk factor for heart disease is inflammation. The heart’s scourge is inflammation, which injures arteries and causes cholesterol to oxidize in your arteries, forming plaques that drive heart disease. The cause of inflammation, as noticed many times, is elevated blood sugar. Following a keto diet can help lower blood sugar and improve insulin function and can be anti-inflammatory. A review in the May 2017 issue of the journal Nutrients examined the effects of keto on the heart and found keto also offering protection against prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Is the Keto Diet Healthy if You’re Living with Heart Disease?
If you have a heart condition, you need to be under close supervision of your doctor if you are considering to be on a keto diet.
Eating a keto diet can reverse or decrease a lot of risk factors for heart disease, including inflammation, high blood lipids, obesity, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance/diabetes — all factors you want to control if you have heart disease. However, it is also important to keep in mind that not all keto diets are created equal. Furthermore, a Mediterranean diet seems to more in favour of being the best option for people at high risk for heart disease.
A study published in April 2016 in the European Heart Journal observed 15,482 patients on their diets. After a four-year follow-up, those who closely followed the Mediterranean diet had a lower risk of a heart attack or stroke compared with those on a “Western diet” (higher in refined grains and sugars and fried foods). The researchers concluded that adding these healthier foods, which include sources of carbs banned on keto — fruits, veggies, legumes, and whole grains — rather than avoiding unhealthy foods was the most important factor in preventing another heart problem.
Potential Risks of Keto if You’re at Risk for Heart Disease
Certain nutritional deficiencies may be seen with following a keto diet as it is a restrictive diet. According to medical professionals, it is tough to stick to a restrictive diet, and it is not the most sustainable in the long term.
What’s more, when it comes to developing heart diseases, genetic component is a factor too. So, if you’re one of those people, with a family history of the disease, a keto diet can make the situation significantly worse. People with hypothyroid-related issues, familial hypercholesterolemia, and/or food allergies, food sensitivities, or mental health conditions also don’t respond well to the standard keto diet.
Another concern has been pointed out by an article in the Harvard Health Blog, stressing the impact of keto diet on your cholesterol levels. The data shows that cholesterol may spike when you first start a keto diet but then decrease after a few months of ketosis. There isn’t long-term research showing what happens to cholesterol levels. And that uncertainty matters — especially when we’re talking about your heart health, a crucial point the author makes.
Take Away
Your relationship with food counts a lot when it comes to your overall health and wellbeing. An individual’s goal should instead be embracing a lifestyle change instead of a diet, which is more sustainable over a long period of time.
When it comes to heart health, explore all associated risks. Don’t rely on keto to prevent heart disease or treat existing heart disease. If you want to make any changes in your diet, it is best to consult with your doctor to make the best heart-healthy dietary changes for you.
