Keto diet and interval fasting: What are their benefits or harms?

Those who follow trendy diets may eat excessive amounts of heart-damaging fats. However, these diets are now showing cardiovascular benefits.

Ketogenic diets and interval fasting may be good for heart health, the researchers claim. But they also argue that their benefits are unlikely to exceed the effects of diets that doctors now recommend for preventing cardiovascular disease. A major review on the subject is published in The American Journal of Medicine.

KETO-DIET

The keto diet is very low in carbohydrates and high in fat. This causes the body's metabolism to change: the body begins to get more energy not from glucose, but from the ketone bodies that are formed when fat is broken down.

The scientific evidence available today speaks in favor of the keto diet as a weight-loss factor. At the same time, scientists are still having difficulty answering which is better - the keto diet or the more common calorie-restricted diet.

The keto diet has shown good results in terms of treating diabetes. Some scientific work has shown that it helps lower blood sugar levels. However, this effect of the diet should be confirmed by larger studies.

The risk of the keto diet comes from the fact that its adherents often choose unhealthy, saturated fats for their diet. This can increase the risk of heart disease. Some studies have shown that such diets can cause people to have denser blood vessel walls and increase the risk of death.

INTERVAL FASTING

This method allows people to eat anything, but limits the time they eat to a few hours a day. Outside of that "window," you can't eat. Scientists have noted that interval starvation can accompany hunger, leading to overeating. For the same reason, people may choose unhealthy foods, potentially leading to heart and vascular disease.

Much of the research regarding interval starvation has been done on animals. There is evidence that this diet can promote longevity, weight loss, lower blood pressure, and improve glucose and lipid metabolism. Overall, scientists are positive about the future of interval fasting. But they caution that it may have new side effects in the long run.

RESEARCHERS' CONCLUSION

On the one hand, scientists say, both diets help people lose weight. On the other hand, they may lead to eating large amounts of unhealthy foods that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Although today's scientific evidence suggests that these diets improve heart and vascular health.

In any case, interval fasting and the keto diet are no healthier for the heart than the Mediterranean diet, the plant-based diet, and the DASH diet, experts say.

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