Results from the study demonstrated that the high-fat and keto diets promoted obesity, with the weight of mice on these diets doubling over the 16 weeks of the study. Mice on the control diet increased weight by around 10% \u2014 a normal rate for mice of that age \u2014 despite all mice in the study consuming roughly the same number of calories. In addition, the high-fat and keto diets impaired glucose tolerance and compromised liver function. Liver damage and elevated levels of blood sugar were observed after only two weeks of both diets.<\/p>\n
Mice on the keto diet also developed elevated levels of triglycerides \u2014 a risk factor for heart disease and stroke \u2014 and showed increased levels of systemic inflammation. Additionally, they developed fat deposits in the liver and expressed genes associated with inflammation and liver scarring.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe keto diet was very damaging to the livers and overall health of mice with regular weights,\u201d Singh said, explaining that the body can utilize fat for energy, but there are metabolic consequences associated with the increase in fat processing. \u201cPeople who hear about the keto diet\u2019s reputation for weight reduction may be tempted to try it themselves. What this research says is \u2014 don\u2019t! This diet should only be considered when properly supervised by a physician and\/or dietician.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whole grains and carbohydrates<\/p>\n
In comparison, mice on the high-carbohydrate diet did not continuously gain weight nor experience liver damage like those on the high-fat diets. Singh emphasized that a highly processed, carbohydrate-heavy diet is not inherently healthy, but it did less damage to the liver than the high-fat diets.<\/p>\n
Mice on the whole-grain rich chow diet gained the least weight and demonstrated the best health indicators.<\/p>\n
\u201cA whole-grain-based diet is always a win \u2014 for mice or people,\u201d Singh said.<\/p>\n
The potential of fiber<\/p>\n
In a separate experiment in the study involving mice with obesity, the high-fat and keto diets also led to further weight gain. However, when the keto diet was supplemented with fiber \u2014 a condition not tested in mice with normal weights \u2014 mice with obesity maintained more stable weight and better health indicators in several areas compared to mice on the high-fat diet or the keto diet without extra fiber.<\/p>\n
The researchers also found that fiber supplementation did not hinder ketogenesis in mice who ate the keto diet. This is important, Singh said, because the keto diet is used for managing specific medical conditions, like epilepsy. <\/p>\n
\u201cIncorporating dietary fibers into the keto diet may reduce gastrointestinal complications associated with very high-fat diets while maintaining the therapeutic benefits of ketogenesis for patients,\u201d Singh said.<\/p>\n
Dietary choices are complex, but that does not make them equivalent<\/p>\n
The important thing to remember, Singh said, is that diet is complex, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver time, researchers have learned a lot about what is healthy or unhealthy based on an individual’s health status, but there is no single dietary magic bullet for weight loss or any other metabolic health concern,\u201d Singh said. \u201cAnyone who experiences health problems or is concerned about their diet should talk to their physician or a registered dietician to develop a plan, based on research, that fits their specific needs and life circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Penn State contributors to this research include Anthony Koehle III, research technologist; Sangshan Tian, doctoral student in nutritional sciences; Loi Nguyen Jr., former undergraduate research assistant and research technician; Gopi Yalavarthi, doctoral student in nutritional sciences; Fuhua Hao, postdoctoral scholar in veterinary and biomedical sciences; Sumudu Rajakaruna, postdoctoral research associate in nutritional sciences; Andrew Patterson, Tombros Early Career Professor, professor of molecular toxicology and of biochemistry and molecular biology; and Rita Castro, associate teaching professor of nutritional sciences. Other contributors include Devendra Paudel of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Chlo\u00e9 Robert and Benoit Chassaing of Universit\u00e9 Paris Cit\u00e9 in France; and In\u00eas V da Silva of Universidade de Lisboa in Portugal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Results from the study demonstrated that the high-fat and keto diets promoted obesity, with the weight of mice…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[134,111,139,556,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-282437","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nutrition","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}