Individuals struggling with elevated blood sugar may find an unexpected ally in dietary fat, according to research published last month in Nature Communications.
The study, conducted by exercise medicine researcher Sarah Lessard at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, discovered a high-fat ketogenic diet could restore exercise benefits typically lost by those with hyperglycaemia.
Physical activity remains among the most effective methods for enhancing overall health, yet those with raised blood sugar often fail to achieve improvements in oxygen efficiency – a key marker of cardiovascular fitness and longevity.
The findings suggest that consuming more fat, rather than less, might prove beneficial for this population.
Mice fed a ketogenic diet saw their blood sugar levels return to normal within one week
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Mice fed the ketogenic diet experienced remarkable results, with their blood sugar levels returning to normal within just seven days.
“After one week on the ketogenic diet, their blood sugar was completely normal, as though they didn’t have diabetes at all,” said Lessard, an associate professor at Virginia Tech’s Centre for Exercise Medicine Research.
The dietary intervention also triggered significant changes in muscle composition over time.
Animals that consumed a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet whilst exercising regularly on running wheels developed more slow-twitch muscle fibres, which are associated with enhanced endurance capacity.
“Their bodies were more efficiently using oxygen, which is a sign of higher aerobic capacity,” Lessard noted.
The ketogenic diet derives its name from ketosis, a metabolic process whereby the body transitions from burning sugar to utilising fat as its primary energy source.
This approach stands in stark contrast to the low-fat dietary guidance traditionally championed by health professionals. Yet the concept is far from novel in medical practice.
Prior to the discovery of insulin in the 1920s, physicians employed similar high-fat, carbohydrate-restricted regimens to manage diabetes patients.
The diet has also demonstrated benefits for other conditions, including epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease, despite ongoing debate among nutritional experts regarding its broader applications.
Lessard’s research underscores that diet and physical activity produce their greatest effects when pursued in tandem rather than separately.
“What we’re really finding from this study and from our other studies is that diet and exercise aren’t simply working in isolation,” she explained.
The keto diet helps the body transition from burning sugar to utilising fat as its primary energy source
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“There are a lot of combined effects, and so we can get the most benefits from exercise if we eat a healthy diet at the same time.”
The researcher intends to extend her investigations to human participants to verify whether people experience comparable improvements.
For those who find the ketogenic approach too demanding, Lessard suggests the Mediterranean diet as a more manageable alternative that still supports healthy blood sugar levels.
“Our previous studies have shown that any strategy you and your doctor have arrived at to reduce your blood sugar could work,” she said.