Keto can increase your cholesterol, but it’s actually good for your heart.
Ketosis is a state your body enters when you eat very few carbs and lots of fat.
Ketosis can also occur naturally if you’re fasting for long periods of time.
However, you may be wondering, is keto good for your heart?
Maybe you’re someone with heart disease trying to solve it, or you’re just trying to stay healthy.
In this article, I’ll discuss whether keto is good for the heart or not.
What Is Ketosis?
Ketosis is a metabolic state your body enters when it uses fat for energy instead of glucose (sugar.)
To get into ketosis, you need to drastically reduce your intake of carbs.
On keto, you’ll be eating mostly fat, protein, and vegetables with a small number of trace carbs, limited to under 50 grams per day.
Compared to the standard American diet (SAD,) you’ll drastically need to carb consumption, to around 50 grams or less daily.
Is Keto Good for Your Heart?
Yes, keto is good for your heart health. Studies in humans have found that it can help decrease triglycerides (fat in the blood,) raise HDL (good cholesterol,) and decrease LDL (bad cholesterol.)
For people who are looking for a low-carb diet to lose weight and improve blood cholesterol, the ketogenic diet may be a great option.
However, as with any diet, you should consult your doctor before making any drastic changes to your diet.
Can Ketosis Cure Heart Disease?
Unfortunately, there are no studies that show if it can cure heart disease or reduce the risk of a heart attack. What we do know is that ketosis can help decrease blood triglycerides, decrease LDL (bad cholesterol,) and increase HDL (good cholesterol.)
It may also increase your metabolic rate and decrease inflammation, which can improve your heart health.
However, we don’t have many studies on specifically treating heart disease with a keto diet.
If you have heart disease & are interested in curing it, giving keto a shot would likely only benefit you.
Should You Try a Ketogenic Diet for Heart Health?
Although still inconclusive, some studies have shown that a low-carb, high-fat diet may be beneficial for heart health. We also don’t know if it can cure, prevent, or treat heart disease, so it’s likely best to just try it and see if it improves your cholesterol numbers & overall heart health.
Conclusion
So, is keto good for your heart? The short answer is yes.
It improves good cholesterols, decreases bad cholesterols, & decreases triglycerides.
However, there’s still no evidence showing if it can cure heart disease or reduce the risk of a heart attack.
Still, we can’t ignore the possible benefits of a low-carb, high-fat diet when it comes to weight loss and improving blood cholesterol.
If you’re interested in starting a keto diet, here’s an article detailing the benefits of a keto diet and how to get started.
Hope this helped!
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