Ketogenic diet has gained traction for its purported benefits of helping one lose weight quickly. However, a lot of dieters don't really understand how to follow the low-carb high-fat diet in a healthy way, as the diet and its impacts on a person's long-term health haven't been studied enough. The diet may have a number of potential side-effects and a new study indicates the dangers of following a diet without full information. The study has said that 'cheat days' while following a high-fat and low-carb diet like ketogenic diet, may end up causing damage to the blood vessels. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia, has said that consumption of just one dose of 75 gm of glucose while following the keto diet, may harm blood vessels.
The study was conducted on nine male subjects, who were asked to consume a drink with 75-gm glucose before and after a period of seven days of following the low-carb high-fat diet. The diet that the participants followed consisted of 70 per cent of fats, 20 per cent of protein and just 10 per cent carbs, which is similar to how modern ketogenic diet is followed. The researchers said that there was an increase in the blood biomarkers that suggested that the blood vessel walls were being put under pressure, due to the sudden spike in levels of blood sugar.
The results of the study that was conducted by UBC's Okanagan Campus, were published in the journal Nutrients. A report on the study published on the University's website quoted study lead author Jonathan Little as saying, "We were interested in finding out what happens to the body's physiology once a dose of glucose is reintroduced. Since impaired glucose tolerance and spikes in blood sugar levels are known to be associated with an increased risk in cardiovascular disease, it made sense to look at what was happening in the blood vessels after a sugar hit." The researchers however, also admitted that since this particular study has only been conducted on nine subjects, there was a need for more detailed research conducted with a larger sample size.