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You may be one of the people who promised to go on a diet when 2020 started. One of the eating plans that have been getting more attention is the keto diet because of its reported weight loss effects and potential health benefits.
A new study, published in the journal Nature Metabolism, adds to the growing list of the positive effects of keto. Researchers found that following the low-carb, high-fat diet for a short period could help reduce the risk of having diabetes and inflammation.
However, the team noted it may not be beneficial to make keto a long-term diet. They also discovered that significantly reducing the intake of carbs and relying on fats for energy for several weeks could lead to unwanted effects, IFL Science reported Monday.
Keto diet requires cutting carbs to just 1 percent of your daily calorie intake, while the 99 percent should come from fats and proteins. These changes have positive and negative effects on the body.
To produce energy to support daily functions of cells, the body uses glucose that comes from carbohydrates that we eat. When on keto, the very low-carb intake makes the body think it is starving, which leads to faster process of burning fats and production of ketone bodies to provide fuel to cells.
The lower levels of carbs also triggers the production of the antibodies called gamma delta T-cells. They mainly help protect tissues from damage.
In the study, researchers put mice on keto diet to observe its effects. They found that the animals burned more fat and showed lower inflammation and blood sugar levels in the first week of eating low-carb, high-fat foods.
However, after a week on keto diet, the mice started to experience unwanted changes. The diet led to an increase in natural fat storage and the loss of the protective gamma delta T-cells.
“Our findings highlight the interplay between metabolism and the immune system, and how it coordinates maintenance of healthy tissue function,” Emily Goldberg, lead study author from the Yale School of Medicine, said in a statement.
The researchers added more studies are required to further understand the direct effects of keto diet on humans. They noted it is too early to rely on the eating plan to manage certain conditions, like diabetes.
“Before such a diet can be prescribed, a large clinical trial in controlled conditions is necessary to understand the mechanism behind metabolic and immunological benefits or any potential harm to individuals who are overweight and pre-diabetic,” Vishwa Deep Dixit, senior study author from the Yale School of Medicine, said.
