A ketogenic diet outperformed both the Mediterranean and a low-fat, plant-forward diet on several measures of metabolic health in a new clinical trial involving people with obesity, prediabetes, and fatty liver disease, according to findings published August 27 in the journal Cell Metabolism.
How the Trial Worked
The trial randomly assigned 42 participants with obesity, prediabetes, and fatty liver disease to one of three diets. Researchers provided all of participants’ food and met with them weekly through a dietitian to help them stick to their assigned diet.
What the Results Showed
All three groups lost about 10% of their body weight, but the keto group reduced liver fat by 67%, compared with 45% in the other two groups. Half the keto group no longer met the criteria for prediabetes by the end of the study, compared with 29% on the Mediterranean diet and just 7% on the low-fat diet.
The Cholesterol Question
Despite containing far more fat, including saturated fat, the ketogenic diet did not appear to worsen cholesterol markers: researchers found no significant differences between groups in LDL cholesterol or apolipoprotein B levels.
