From a study by Forsythe, et al in 2008 — “Comparison of Low Fat and Low Carbohydrate Diets on Circulating Fatty Acid Composition and Markers of Inflammation” — link to study on ResearchGate.net

This study found that a low carb / high fat ketogenic diet showed improvements in markers of metabolic syndrome, including reduced inflammation.

  • Body mass = lower
  • Abdominal fat = lower
  • Triglycerides = lower
  • Fasting glucose and insulin = lower
  • HDL (“good” cholesterol) = higher
  • Total saturated fatty acids (SFA) in the blood = lower

How can this be? Because on a carb-restricted diet, the fat you eat does not metabolize into body fat. In the absence of glucose (from carbs), dietary fat is burned as energy — as is body fat, and several important health markers improve as a result.

keto-diet-metabolic-markers