The often embraced 鈥榗heat day鈥� is a common theme in many diets and the popular ketogenic diet is no exception.
New research from UBC鈥檚 Okanagan campus says that just one 75-gram dose of glucose鈥攖he equivalent a large bottle of soda or a plate of fries鈥攚hile on a high fat, low carbohydrate diet can lead to damaged blood vessels.
鈥淭he ketogenic鈥攐r keto鈥攄iet has become very common for weight loss or to manage diseases like type 2 diabetes,鈥� said Jonathan Little, associate professor in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at UBCO and study senior author.
鈥淚t consists of eating foods rich in fats, moderate in protein, but very low in carbohydrates and it causes the body to go into a state called ketosis.鈥�
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Little said that the diet can be very effective because once the body is in ketosis and starved for its preferred fuel glucose, the body鈥檚 chemistry changes and it begins to aggressively burn its fat stores. This leads to weight loss and can reverse the symptoms of diseases like Type 2 diabetes.
鈥淲e were interested in finding out what happens to the body鈥檚 physiology once a dose of glucose is reintroduced,鈥� says Cody Durrer, UBC Okanagan doctoral student and study first author.
鈥淪ince 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.鈥�
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For the test, the researchers recruited nine healthy young males and had them consume a 75-gram glucose drink before and after a seven-day high fat, low carbohydrate diet. The diet consisted of 70 per cent fat, 10 per cent carbohydrates and 20 per cent protein, similar to that of a modern ketogenic diet.
鈥淲e were originally looking for things like an inflammatory response or reduced tolerance to blood glucose,鈥� says Durrer. 鈥淲hat we found instead were biomarkers in the blood suggesting that vessel walls were being damaged by the sudden spike in glucose.鈥�
Little said that the most likely culprit for the damage is the body鈥檚 own metabolic response to excess blood sugar, which causes blood vessel cells to shed and possibly die.
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鈥淓ven though these were otherwise healthy young males, when we looked at their blood vessel health after consuming the glucose drink, the results looked like they might have come from someone with poor cardiovascular health,鈥� adds Little. 鈥淚t was somewhat alarming.鈥�
The researchers point out that with only nine individuals included in the study, more work is needed to verify their findings, but that the results should give those on a keto diet pause when considering a cheat day.
鈥淥ur data suggests a ketogenic diet is not something you do for six days a week and take Saturday off.鈥�
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