Five months of Keto can put diabetes into remission – diet outperforms Mediterranean, new study suggests

A low-carb diet is more effective than the much-hailed Mediterranean diet for fighting type 2 diabetes, scientists have found.

The eating style, popular with celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow, also trumps a low-fat diet for beating the chronic disease.

Low-carb also lowers the risk of deadly fatty liver disease – a condition that’s risen five-fold in a decade and is widely underdiagnosed. 

However, experts from Washington University School of Medicine identified that the low-carb diet resulted in the same amount of weight loss as low-fat and Mediterranean diets. 

Still, the scientists say a low-carb diet could be a simple and effective way for type 2 diabetics to put their condition into remission, slashing the risk of heart disease and stroke. 

Half of those with prediabetes following a low-carb diet no longer met the criteria for the condition after just five months, according to the new study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

This was true for just a third of prediabetics eating a Mediterranean diet, and only seven per cent of people in a low-fat group. 

Speaking of the findings, Dr Samuel Klein, the study’s lead author, said: ‘If you have prediabetes, reducing carbohydrate intake can have important effects on metabolism beyond just weight loss alone.’  

Low-carb diets, also known as ketogenic diets, have previously been studied for their  potential benefits in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. 

The regime can result in significant weight loss and better blood sugar control, although some people also experience a rise in cholesterol, due to the diet’s high fat content. 

Up to 6.3 million people in the UK have prediabetes – high blood sugar levels that put them at high risk of type 2 diabetes, which can bring serious health problems. 

Around one in three adults in England are now living with obesity, a key driver of type two diabetes.  

Low carb, low fat and Mediterranean diets are often recommended by healthcare providers to those who need to lose weight for their health. 

The three eating styles differ enormously in their composition, with a keto diet sourcing as much as 70 per cent of its energy from fat. 

A Mediterranean diet, meanwhile, champions fish, healthy fats such as olive and nuts and fibrous fruits and vegetables. 

But until now, it has not been clear which of these diets offers the greatest health benefits, especially for those at high risk of diabetes.  

For the study, the US scientists tracked 42 people who had obesity, prediabetes and fatty liver disease. 

Participants were randomly assigned one of three diet plans: a keto diet, a Mediterranean-style diet, or a low-fat diet mainly made up of plant foods. 

The participants received all of their meals from the research team, and met weekly with a dietician to  help them stick to their assigned meal plan. 

In the study, the keto diet was comprised of 73 per cent fat, and allocated just four per cent of daily calories to carbohydrates. 

 The low-fat diet championed carbohydrates, with participants following this plan getting 70 per cent of their daily calories from carbs like lentils, rice and potatoes. 

By the end of the study, all participants had lost around 10 per cent of their starting body weight, which took between four and five months. 

All three diets also led to significant improvements in blood sugar control, decreasing the risk of diabetes. 

Diabetes occurs when the body becomes resistant to or does not make enough of the hormone insulin – which helps move sugar our of the blood and into cells for energy.

But those on the keto diet plan experienced the greatest improvements in several marks of liver and metabolic health. 

For these participants, liver fat dropped by around 67 per cent, compared with just 45 per cent in the two other groups. 

When researchers tracked participants’ blood over 24 hours, they found the keto diet also led to the biggest increase in glucagon, a hormone that helps the liver burn fat. 

Together, they said, these changes many help explain why the keto diet group saw the greatest reduction in liver fat compared with other diets. 

After losing around 10 per cent of their bodyweight, around half of those following a keto diet also no longer met the criteria for diabetes, compared to less than a third in the Mediterranean group and just 7 per cent in the low-fat group. 

‘The most surprising finding was that participants in the keto diet group didn’t experience an increase in blood fat or cholesterol levels, despite consuming the most fat,’ Dr Klein said.

‘Weight loss drugs have revolutionised the treatment of obesity, helping users achieve significant weight loss, 

‘But in addition, our study shows that the specific composition of a diet can give you added benefits.’ 

Experts who were not involved in the current study have welcomes its findings.

‘In summary, the study emphasises that achieving meaningful weight loss is crucial,’ Dr Adam Collins, a professor of Nutrition at the University of Surrey said. 

‘Although the ketogenic diet offers unique benefits for liver metabolism, it shows little evidence of a broader metabolic advantage over other diets in terms of fat loss and  cardiovascular risk. 

‘The primary driver of improved health was losing 10 per cent of body weight.’

It comes as Britain is in the midst of a hidden epidemic of fatty liver disease, with millions of cases going undetected.

Scientists behind new research warned yesterday of an exponential rise in the condition, which can cause cancer and lethal liver failure – with diagnoses surging fivefold in a decade. 

Frequently dubbed a ‘silent killer’ fatty liver disease, rarely causes symptoms in its early stages of the illness – and is only diagnosed when it is too late, and little can be done to treat it. 

But, it can often be slowed, halted or even reversed through weight loss and lifestyle changes – such as diet – before serious damage develops.