For every person who talks up the ketogenic diet, there’s another warning about the ill effects on your heart. The worry is that following a very high-fat, moderate-protein, and very low-carbohydrate diet will create a subsequent spike in cholesterol levels, which could, in turn, raise your risk for heart disease.
The worry is certainly valid. On the keto diet, each day you’re eating up to 80 percent of your calories from fat and sticking with 20 to 50 grams of net carbs, a term used in popular diets, including keto and Atkins but one that is not officially recognized in the medical community. (To calculate net carbs, subtract fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carb amount, per Atkins.) This all means you’ll be eating a lot of fat per day, and in the name of meeting that quota, that may include unhealthy choices such as butter, coconut oil, and animal fat, all sources of saturated fat, which has been linked to poor heart health, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Read more…
