Following a keto diet? ‘Cheat day’ may disturb the schedule..!

Toronto, April 3: Many health-conscious people follow ‘keto diet’. Whenever one follows any rule, we always find out a way to break that rule. For keto diet, people found ‘cheat day’ to bypass the schedule of diet. But, beware and have a look what researchers have said, On this day having just a plate of fries or a bottle of soda while following a 'keto diet' may damage your blood vessels, say scientists who warn against going for a 'cheat day' while following the popular weight loss regime. The ketogenic or keto diet has become very common for weight loss or to manage diseases like type 2 diabetes.

"It 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," said Jonathan Little, associate professor at University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada.

The often embraced 'cheat day' is a common theme in many diets. However, researchers found just one 75-gramme dose of glucose, the equivalent a large bottle of soda or a plate of fries- while on high fat, low carbohydrate diet can lead to damaged blood vessels.

For their test, the researchers recruited nine healthy young males and had them consume a 75-gramme 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.

"We were originally looking for things like an inflammatory response or reduced tolerance to blood glucose. What we found instead were biomarkers in the blood suggesting that vessel walls were being damaged by the sudden spike in glucose," said Durrer.

The diet can be very effective because once the body is in ketosis and starved for its preferred fuel glucose, the body's chemistry changes and it begins to aggressively burn its fat stores, Little said in a statement.

What is ketosis?

Ketosis occurs when the body does not have sufficient access to its primary fuel source, glucose. Ketosis describes a condition where fat stores are broken down to produce energy, which also produces ketones. The aim of the diet is to try and burn unwanted fat by forcing the body to rely on fat for energy, rather than carbohydrates.

Ketosis is also commonly observed in patients with diabetes, as the process can occur if the body does not have enough insulin or is not using insulin correctly.

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.

"My concern is that many of the people going on a keto diet -- whether it's to lose weight, to treat Type 2 diabetes, or some other health reason -- may be undoing some of the positive impacts on their blood vessels if they suddenly blast them with glucose," Little said.

"Especially if these people are at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease in the first place," he said.

"Our data suggest a ketogenic diet is not something you do for six days a week and take Saturday off," he added.