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Ketogenic diet has gained immense popularity in the past few years. It involves the high intake of fats, adequate amounts of protein and low carbs. This diet triggers a process called ketosis in the body which forces it to burn fats rather than carbs for energy.
The most commonly consumed healthy foods in a ketogenic diet include eggs, cheese, low carb vegetables like kale, spinach, capsicum, cabbage, cauliflower, most gourds, and seafood and nuts.
People on a keto diet are required to get 75-80% of their energy from fatty foods. Even though the diet aids in losing weight and has been touted by celebrities globally, the question that often arises is whether or not consuming such a large amount of fat has a downside. If you have ever wondered the same, continue reading.
Many people have been concerned about the effects a keto diet would have on cholesterol levels. Earlier, an article published in the Harvard Health Blog explained that the data indicates a spike in cholesterol levels when you first begin the diet which then decreases after a few months of ketosis. (Read more: High cholesterol, symptoms, causes, risks, treatment)
However, there isn’t much research on the long-term effects of the diet and the uncertainty becomes all the more concerning if you have a family history of heart conditions.
Keto diet and heart health
Researchers and medical practitioners have been perplexed about the effects of a ketogenic diet on cardiovascular health. New research has found that it could significantly improve heart health in people who are already at risk of heart failure.
In such people, the muscles in the right or left side of the heart weaken, thereby reducing the heart's ability to pump blood effectively. Another thing that happens, especially in those with diabetes, is the reduced flexibility of the heart to draw upon various chemical energy sources. This, by default, starves the muscle of the fuel it needs to function effectively.
One of the most commonly drawn molecules for energy is pyruvate. It is carried to the heart by a protein called MPC complex, that is, mitochondrial pyruvate carrier which contains two subunits: MPC1 and MPC2.
Researchers at St Louis School of Medicine in the US found that the production of both these subunits reduced in failing human hearts. They then went on to study mice and found that the lack of production of MPC2 steadily develops heart failure over a period of time.
“Interestingly, this heart failure can be prevented or even reversed by providing a high fat, low carbohydrate 'ketogenic' diet,” explained Kyle S. McCommis, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at St Louis School of Medicine, who led the research. The scientists found that the damage could be reversed simply by giving the mice a special diet for three weeks.
“A 24-hour fast in mice, which is also ‘ketogenic’, also provided significant improvement in heart remodelling,” said McCommis.
It was also found that ketosis produces an alternative fuel called Acetyl CoA which could be used by the mitochondria (power centre of the cell) as a source of energy instead of pyruvate. The research showed that the diet reversed heart failure (in mice) by promoting the breakdown of fatty acids in mitochondria.
The study hence suggests that consumption of higher fat and lower carbohydrate diets may be a nutritional therapeutic intervention to treat heart failure. The findings could further inspire the development of new drugs for heart failure, speculate cardiologists.
