The Mediterranean Keto Lifestyle
The Mediterranean take on the centuries-old ketogenic diet is not a fad but rather a pairing of proven approaches to eating associated with optimal health and longevity.
The fundamental approach when cutting carbs and boosting heart health is focusing on a healthy, holistic approach that includes clean eating, physical activity, and sharing meals with family and friends.
The consumption of vegetables, select pulse vegetables like lupin beans, and olive oil regular, moderate exercise lower stress levels close relationships with friends and family interaction, and being an active part of a community, collectively contribute to our overall health and well-being.
Consider adopting these seven principles, to approach the keto diet from a Mediterranea perspective, to optimize triglycerides and promote heart health while adopting a low-carb, high-fat diet:
- Eat healthily: This tip seems obvious but its importance makes it worth reiterating. Keto-friendly convenience foods have their place in any low-carb, high-fat lifestyle, but sourcing clean whole food sources is crucial when also seeking to improve heart healthso beware.
- Seek the silver linings: Life can get heavy, and finding moments to laugh and do things that bring you joy are essential to well-being while journeying to cut the carbs.
- Get moving regularly: Theres no one right way to get active. Find activities you enjoy and make you feel invigorated and incorporate more of those experiences into your weekly routine.
Drop The Ketosis And Eat More Fiber
There is a common misunderstanding that a low-carb diet has to be ketogenic.
That is, that carbs should be low enough for the body to start producing ketones out of fatty acids.
This type of diet appears to be the most effective for people with epilepsy. Many people also claim to get the best results, mental and physical, when theyre in ketosis.
However more modest carb restriction can still be considered low-carb.
Although there is no clear definition, anything up to 100-150 grams per day can be classified as a low-carb diet.
It is possible that some individuals see cholesterol increases when theyre in ketosis, but improve when they eat just enough carbs to avoid going into ketosis.
You can try eating 1-2 pieces of fruit per day maybe a potato or sweet potato with dinner, or small servings of healthier starches like rice and oats.
Depending on your metabolic health and personal preferences, you could also just adopt a higher-carb version of paleo instead.
This can also be a very healthy diet, as demonstrated by long-living populations like the Kitavans and Okinawans, who ate a lot of carbs.
Although ketosis can have many incredible benefits, it is definitely not for everyone.
Other natural ways to lower cholesterol levels include eating foods high in soluble fiber or resistant starch, and taking a niacin supplement.
Exercising, getting better sleep and minimizing stress levels can also help.
What Happens To Triglyceride Levels On A Ketogenic Diet
âTriglycerides are among one of the most predictable changes when one adapts to and maintains a well-formulated ketogenic diet. For people starting out with elevated triglycerides, they almost always show a sharp and sustained reduction. On average, people with metabolic syndrome will see their serum triglycerides reduced by half when on a ketogenic diet .
Yes, there are people who may not respond this way, but the exceptions tend to be people whose serum triglycerides were already within the abnormal range. Increases in triglycerides during a well formulated ketogenic diet may occur, but this is rare. In those cases, it may be due to carbohydrate consumption that is greater than oneâs tolerance or due to alcohol consumption in the day or two prior to the blood test.
Citations
Volek JS, Phinney SD, Forsythe CE, Quann EE, Wood RJ, Puglisi MJ, Kraemer WJ, Bibus DM, Fernandez ML, Feinman RD. Carbohydrate restriction has a more favorable impact on the metabolic syndrome than a low fat diet. Lipids. 2009 44:297-309. doi: 10.1007/s11745-008-3274-2.
Recommended Reading: How To Lower High Cholesterol
The Truth About The Ketogenic Diet And Lipids
Lets look at some of the most important facts about the ketogenic diet and its relation to ones lipid profile:
Lipid Profile Changes on the Ketogenic Diet
The facts show that a well-planned low-carb diet can actually lead to a better cholesterol profile, not a harmful one.
In obese patients, a ketogenic diet has been shown to significantly :
If you hear anyone talk about elevated cholesterol from a low-carb diet, thats likely due to an increase in HDL cholesterol, which is actually beneficial and means a LOWER risk of heart disease because it increases HDL to LDL cholesterol ratio.
Plus, a whole foods, ketogenic diet eliminates sugar-creating foods that can cause inflammation and damage to the arteries. Since your body has less glucose available to make cholesterol, total cholesterol levels will drop.
You can also expect a drop in triglyceride levels, as eating carbohydrates spikes your triglyceride levels so, a great decrease in carbs means lower triglyceride readings.
The Takeaway On Triglycerides
Triglycerides are bundles of fat, perfect for energy storage. You need them to function normally.
High triglycerides, however, are correlated with increased heart disease risk.
To lower triglycerides naturally, focus on diet and lifestyle. Going low-carb, getting enough omega-3s, exercising, and limiting sugar all can help.
And the best part: These changes dont only improve your triglycerides, they also improve your health.
Read Also: Does Olive Oil Contain Cholesterol
Intro: Keto Diet And Cardiometabolic Risk Factors
Although originally used as a therapeutic approach to reduce seizures in children with intractable epilepsy, nowadays the ketogenic diet is more well-known and broadly used for weight loss and cardiometabolic disease management.
A question frequently asked when considering the implementation of a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet is whether there are potential negative health outcomes associated with this approach, such as worsening cholesterol levels. Unfortunately, the answer to this question is not cut and dry and is dependent on many potential variables including ethnicity, length of time diet is utilized, amount of carbohydrate intake , level of exercise/activity, and whether the type of fat in the diet is predominately unsaturated or saturated.1-7
Reviews of the literature have shown that in non-epileptic, obese individuals with metabolic dysfunction, as well as in healthy participants, the ketogenic diet has been associated with many positive changes in cardiometabolic biomarkers:1-2
- Reductions in total cholesterol and triglycerides
- Increases in HDL cholesterol
- Increase in size and volume of LDL cholesterol particles
- Improvements in glucose control and reductions in insulin resistance and diabetes medication use
- Reduction in 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score
- *Variable* changes to LDL cholesterol
Does keto impact cholesterol levels? It depends
The skinny on the keto diet and cholesterol levels
Citations
Bianca Garilli, ND, USMC Veteran
How To Follow Keto In A Heart
One of the draws of a keto diet is the idea that you can eat any and all fat that you want. Thats not a healthy mindset to step into. I recommend patients choose cardioprotective fats, like nuts, nut butter, seeds, avocado, and extra virgin oils, such as olive oil, says Ryskamp. Similarly, avoid foods that are high in saturated fat as your primary fat sources.
Its not just fats that are important, but maximizing the small amount of carbohydrates youre allowed. Getting enough fiber can be a challenge, and youll want to make sure youre eating plenty of low GI-index veggies . Ultimately, the benefits come from replacing foods, like processed carbs, that experts believe are detrimental to overall wellness, with those that are heart-healthy, like unsaturated fats, she says.
Its been repeated over and over: If youre drastically changing your diet which includes going keto you need to talk to your doctor first and make sure its safe for you and your individual health concerns. You also want to get your lipids checked before and during keto, so your doctor can watch for a cholesterol spike and determine if this is a healthy diet for you.
One of the biggest concerns, says Soffer, is that once you come off keto, you continue eating a high-saturated-fat diet in combination with a typical Standard American Diet . Because keto is highly restrictive, most people dont stay on it for the long haul, so watch your diet and plan appropriately when you go off the diet.
Also Check: What Is Good Ldl Cholesterol
How To Know If Your Triglyceride Levels Are Optimal
All you have to do is set up an appointment with your doctor to get a standard blood test done. Ask your doctor to print the results for you, and track your progress at after appointment.
According to the American Heart Association, these are the triglyceride level ranges:
| Optimal | |
| Very high | 500 mg/dL or higher |
Aim for optimal triglyceride levels, but dont forget about cholesterol and blood sugar levels as well.
To see if you have healthier cholesterol levels, check your total-to-HDL cholesterol ratio. A ratio between 3 and 4 indicates that you have healthy cholesterol levels and are at a substantially reduced risk of heart disease. When it comes to blood sugar, your fasting blood sugar levels should be below 100 mg/dl.
It is also important to take note of your posture before you get your blood drawn. For example, different positions, like sitting, standing, and laying down, can cause triglycerides to vary significantly. Because of this, the American Heart Association recommends that you sit for at least 5 minutes in the same position each time you get your blood drawn to minimize variability in triglyceride measurements.
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High Triglycerides And Heart Disease
Many studies have linked high triglycerides to increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Triglycerides are most useful for measuring heart disease risk when analyzed alongside HDL cholesterol. Researchers have found that in high risk patients a high triglyceride to HDL ratio predicts risk better than other measures, including LDL cholesterol.
Some researchers, however, doubt that triglycerides actually cause heart disease. Instead, triglycerides are a warning sign a red alert for other heart disease risk factors, like obesity or type 2 diabetes.
For instance, drugs called fibrates which lower triglycerides specifically have only mixed results in clinical trials on heart disease.
Cholesterol lowering drugs called statins also lower triglyceride levels, and have been shown to reduce heart disease risk. But statins also lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels more established risk factors for heart disease.
Read Also: Is Pork Bad For Cholesterol
Limit Sugar Refined Carbohydrates And Too Much Alcohol
Do you have to eat a keto diet to lower triglycerides? Not necessarily. Reducing sugars, refined carbohydrates, and alcohol may be enough to lower your levels.
As we mentioned, any caloric excess can increase triglycerides. However, the most likely sources of extra calories are excess sugar, refined carbs, and alcohol.19
One reason carbs and sugars commonly increase triglycerides may be that carbs and sugars are two of the most commonly overconsumed foods. However, another reason could be that fructose and alcohol are more likely to cause fatty liver, which can raise triglycerides.20
One study reports that simply replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water reduced triglycerides.21
And another reports that decreasing alcohol consumption lowered fasting triglycerides.22
Other factors, such as baseline obesity and insulin resistance, may make it more likely that eating carbs would cause an individuals triglycerides to rise.23
If youre overweight or have insulin resistance, the evidence shows its important to reduce carbs. However, the data suggests that most people with high triglycerides even people with normal weight would benefit from reducing sugar, refined carbs, and alcohol.
Disadvantages Of A Custom
A customized keto diet plan is a type of keto diet plan customized to fulfill a persons particular requirements.
This method can benefit some individuals, as it allows them to eat more foods they take pleasure in while still preserving their weight loss objectives. There are likewise some downsides to this approach.
Some people may find that they can not stick to this diet plan since it doesnt supply adequate variety in food options. Others may find it tough or pricey to keep such a rigorous intend on a long-lasting basis.
References:
Read Also: How To Bring Cholesterol Down Fast
The Bottom Line About Cholesterol And The Keto Diet
Cholesterol is essential to key processes in your body.
Low-carb, high-fat diets such as the ketogenic diet, increase the concentrations of heart-healthy HDL cholesterol when compared against standard high-carb diets.
Carbohydrate restriction in healthy individuals leads to higher levels of HDL cholesterol.
Low-carb, high-fat diets generally decrease LDL particle concentration and increase the size of LDL cholesterol, which is beneficial for cardiovascular health.
Dangerous VLDL cholesterol concentrations in the blood decrease with a ketogenic diet.
Improvement in the total LDL to HDL cholesterol ratio has been demonstrated when dietary carbohydrates are replaced with fat.
When we weigh all the evidence, the benefits of low carb diets on our cholesterol levels greatly outweigh the negatives for most people.
However, some people may need to adjust their diets in order to meet optimal cholesterol levels. If you have a genetic predisposition, or a history of elevated cholesterol levels or heart issues, please undertake low carb diets with the supervision of your doctor.
Article Sources
List Of 105 Foods To Lower Triglycerides
Foods decrease cholesterol in different ways. Some of the foods listed below deliver soluble fiber, which traps cholesterol and its constituents in the digestive tract, preventing them from entering the bloodstream.
Polyunsaturated fats, found in some foods, can also decrease LDL cholesterol. Others contain plant sterols and stanols that inhibit the absorption of cholesterol by the body.
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What Happens To Hdl Levels On A Keto Diet
Though eating fat doesnt affect blood cholesterol levels in a standard carb-heavy diet, when carbs are restricted and fat becomes the basis of your diet, HDL levels ultimately improve.
So on a keto diet eating fat does affect your cholesterol levels, just in the opposite way weve been told!
Supporting these observations, A 2017 review of human and animal studies found keto diets to be generally associated with reductions in total cholesterol, increases in HDL decreases in triglycerides, and reductions in LDL .
A 2020 high quality randomized control study of 34 older adults with obesity found that over 8 weeks participants on the keto diet lost three times the body fat compared with a group eating a low-fat diet. The keto group also had greater improvement in insulin sensitivity, triglyceride levels, and HDL cholesterol
A 2013 meta-analysis of 12 high quality studies involving more than 1200 participants investigating the impact of very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diets vs. low fat diets, found that the average increase in HDL particles in the low carb group was double that of the low fat group .
Taken together these findings all affirm that differences in HDL are due to carbohydrate intake, not fat intake.
How Keto May Change Your Ldl Cholesterol
The impact of high-fat, very low-carb eating on your LDL isnt as clear. Again, as the AHA says, LDL is the type of cholesterol thats linked to atherosclerosis, which can increase your risk for heart disease and stroke. It may go up, go down, or stay relatively the same. Hypothetically speaking, if you have a normal triglyceride level and are doing keto to lose weight, LDL may remain stable, says Soffer. Similarly, if you have high triglycerides to start and that number decreases on keto, your LDL may still stay put.
The bottom line is that keto alone may not contribute to the cholesterol spike that some people report when starting the diet. Yet if you start eating more saturated fat because youre on keto, then your LDL will likely rise. An increase in saturated fat intake has been shown over and over again to increase LDL, he says.
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Read Also: What Is A Normal Cholesterol Level For A Diabetic
What Does A Customized Keto Diet Plan Strategy Entail
A tailored keto diet plan requires a lot of research study and knowledge about the food that you are eating. It likewise requires understanding how your body works and what it needs to work at its finest. This can be attained by comprehending your body type, how you respond to food, and what you are trying to find from your diet.
The Importance Of Ongoing Monitoring
People who follow the keto diet should consult their doctors to arrange .
If a doctor notices that LDL cholesterol levels are rising, the diet may no longer be appropriate.
People with high levels of fats, such as cholesterol and triglycerides, in their blood have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
People with high cholesterol should adopt a lifestyle that reduces these levels. This is because high cholesterol is associated with cardiovascular disease.
The keto diet emphasizes high amounts of fat, but not all fats have equal value. For example, replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the 20152020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans .
Saturated fats occur in foods such as cookies, cakes, and other snacks. Coconut oil, butter, and ghee contain high levels of saturated fats, whereas extra virgin olive oil and margarine are higher in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Fish such as salmon, tuna, and cod can be an excellent source of protein, and they contain unsaturated fat, such as omega-3 fatty acids, which can be beneficial for the body.
People with high cholesterol who follow the keto diet can snack on certain nuts and seeds that are generally low in carbs and rich in fiber and protein. Chia seeds have a higher content of polyunsaturated fats.
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