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Ketogenic diets, which forgo carbs and replace them with fats, have become extremely popular in recent years, peaking as the Most Wanted Diet of 2020. While these diets are effective in treating epilepsy and have applications in a variety of other diseases, the evidence for use as a weight loss tool in healthy individuals remains disputed.
In a recent study on rats, researchers suggested that keto diets have a dramatic impact on people’s hearts. The results showed the changes induced by a high fat diet in the hearts of rats, reducing the production of mitochondria and creating scar tissue. Their work has been published in the journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy.
The basis of ketogenic diets is to bring the body into a state of ketosis by consuming mainly fat. Ketosis is a normal metabolic response that kicks in when the body does not have enough glucose to ensure that enough energy is supplied. The liver begins to convert fat molecules into ketones, which are released into the bloodstream and used as an alternative energy source.
As this process consumes fat molecules and lowers blood glucose and insulin levels, the diet has become popular among people looking for weight loss. The jury is still out on whether ketogenic diets are safe and effective for long-term weight goals, with many swearing by the success they have had and others contesting it as an alternative to traditional methods of weight loss. weight.
In the latest piece of research, a collaboration between Fudan University, Shanghai, and Sichuan University, Chengdu, researchers delved into the cellular impacts of ketosis on the heart. The most abundant ketone body formed during ketosis is β-OHB (70% of all ketones), which is said to have multiple secondary benefits for the immune system. However, research has suggested that an elevated β-OHB is linked to poorer heart health, as well as various other concerning correlations between ketosis and mortality.
The study involved three groups of six rats fed a ketogenic diet, a normal diet, or a low-calorie diet over a four-month period. After the four months, the hearts of the rats were analyzed for cellular changes between each diet. In the ketogenic group, rats demonstrated increased β-OHB ketone levels and resulting activation of the gene Sirt7, inhibiting the biogenesis of mitochondria. Moreover, when this pathway was translated into cultured human cells, it led to apoptosis (cell death) of heart cells and fibrosis (scarring).
These results do not clearly prove that ketogenic diets damage the human heart, nor that all ketogenic diets should be stopped. Cellular and animal models have been used and there is no data on the long-term effects of ketosis on human organs, which would require further testing and clinical trials. However, it does highlight an avenue of inquiry that needs to be followed to ensure that ketogenic diets are safe for use as a weight loss tool. The authors call for additional trials over a longer period, but in the meantime suggest ketogenic diets should be avoided for weight loss unless required by a health concern.
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