Janet Ogundepo A new study has found that mice fed with a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, commonly known as a ketogenic diet, accumulated high levels of ageing cells in their organs. A ketogenic diet is popular among influencers, athletes, and people who want to lose weight and improve their metabolism. Published in the journal Science Advances, the study titled ‘Ketogenic diet induces p53-dependent cellular senescence in multiple organs,” revealed that the ketogenic diet puts increased stress on the heart, kidneys, brain, and liver.
However, the accumulation of ageing cells, referred to as cellular senescence, was reversed in mice that took regular breaks from the diet. Independent experts who commented on the research findings argued that the results did not prove that ketogenic diets were harmful to people. One of them, a cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic, Wilson Tang, noted “the “results don’t prove that ketogenic diets are harmful in people.
This paper is an important addition. We need to be more cautious and less cavalier.” According to Science Advances, the rationale behind ketogenic diets is that reducing carbohydrate consumption allows the body to burn fat instead.
During this process, the liver produces molecules called ketones, hence the diet’s name. The diet, originally devised in the 1920s by a doctor at the Mayo Clinic to treat epilepsy in children, has been embraced by individuals seeking to lose weight, reduce blood sugar, boost athletic performa.
