Keto diet is too high-fat for heart patients, cardiologist warns
One Minneapolis cardiologist is concerned that people following the trendy Keto diet aren’t worrying enough about their fat intake.
Elizabeth Klodas, MD, told INSIDER in a Jan. 13 story that not all of her patients who adopt the high-fat Keto diet fare so well in the long-term.
“Stop. Stop!” she said. “In my own practice, the people that have adopted it, their cholesterols can just go crazy.”
Keto involves consuming a diet low in carbs and high in fats to urge the body into a state of fat-burning ketosis. According to INSIDER, people following the diet can fuel up on 70% to 80% fat each day. To date, keto has been promoted as a way to stave off diabetes, improve focus and even potentially combat cancer.
Ethan Weiss, another cardiologist and a keto enthusiast himself, said cholesterol isn’t typically an issue with the diet, “but I’m not going to tell the people that do have trouble with their cholesterol that it’s not a problem.” He said he recommends his patients follow a “heart-healthy” keto plan, which would involve lots of fatty fish, olive oil, avocados and nuts, but evidence suggests most keto patients opt for bacon, heavier creams and coconut oil.
“It’s not about high-fat, low-fat,” Klodas said. “It’s good fat, bad fat.”
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After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.