A recent study claiming keto doubles heart risk misdefines low-carb as under 25% of calories, used only one dietary recall that showed no risk when a second was added, and found just a 3.48 mg/dL difference in LDL cholesterol between groups. The low-carb group also had higher diabetes and obesity rates, confounding the results.
A keto-like diet is linked to a doubling of heart disease risk. Sounds scary, and that's the punchline according to the headlines and abstract of a paper that linked people eating a low-carb, high-fat diet to higher LDL "bad cholesterol" compared to those eating a standard diet and a 2.2-fold increased risk of cardiovascular events. But let's take a closer look, and you're gonna wanna listen all the way through for this one because it is stunning. First, the low-carb group wasn't that low carb. It definitely wasn't keto-like. The definition was under 25% of calories from carbs, so by that definition, I could eat a McDonald's Big Breakfast with pancakes, syrup, hash browns, and a biscuit and still have room for some Dunkin' Donuts Munchkins while being low carb. But that wasn't the worst part. The data were drawn from just one 24-hour dietary recall, which the authors themselves admit doesn't reflect long-term intake, and when they use just 2 dietary recall questionnaires, the significance disappeared. What's more, the low-carb group, which wasn't even that low-carb, had more diabetes and obesity, and the best part, although this detail was buried, the actual difference in LDL, bad cholesterol, was tiny. 3.48 mg/dL. That's like seeing a chihuahua and yelling "dragon." So here's the hard truth: a lot of science is storytelling. And the story behind these headlines? Pure fantasy.
