The keto diet: short-term benefits, long-term risks
The keto diet garnered 25.4 million unique Google searches in 2020. And while it's lost a bit of its trendiness since then, it's estimated that 13 million Americans still spend a couple of billion dollars annually on "keto foods."
Are they getting the weight loss and health benefits they think they are? Well, that depends if you look at the short-term or long-term results of eating a high-fat, low-healthy-carb diet. In the short term, a keto diet has been shown to help with weight loss and there are indications that it helps folks stabilize blood sugar. But a new lab study published in Science Advances found that when mice stick with a keto diet for a long time, they develop impaired insulin secretion that leads to elevated levels of lousy LDL cholesterol, fatty liver disease and dysfunction (especially in male mice), and glucose intolerance. Seems that excess fat intake blocks insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas from functioning as they should.
This is on top of the very clear risks that come from eating a lot of saturated fat in red and processed meats, full-fat dairy and ultra-processed foods -- heart disease, dementia, liver problems and more. On top of that, one study conducted by the Mays CANCER Center at UT Health San Antonio found that adherence to the keto diet kills off cells in multiple organs, including the heart and kidney, promoting premature aging.
For a healthy diet you can sustain for the rest of your life, check out the "waist-loss" coaching program at 4YOUngevity.com.
Health pioneer Michael Roizen, M.D., is chief wellness officer emeritus at the Cleveland Clinic and author of four No. 1 New York Times bestsellers. Check out his latest, "The Great Age Reboot: Cracking the Longevity Code for a Younger Tomorrow," and find out more at www.4YOUngevity.com. Email your health and wellness questions to Dr. Mike at questions@4YOUngevity.com.
(c)2026 Michael Roizen, M.D.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
(c) 2026 Michael Roizen, M.D. Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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