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This Simple, Effective Ab Workout Will Shred Your Six-Pack
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This Simple, Effective Ab Workout Will Shred Your Six-Pack

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'Keto Crotch' Is A Thing You Should Probably Know About

'Keto Crotch' Is A Thing You Should Probably Know About

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There's One Major Downside To The Keto Diet That No One Is Talking About

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How Do You Know You're In Ketosis?

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5 Keto Diet Myths That You Need To Stop Believing

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"I Tried The Keto Diet For A Week – Here's What Happened"

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How Kourtney Kardashian Cheats On The Keto Diet Without Gaining Weight

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Halle Berry Says She's Really Into Intermittent Fasting On The Keto Diet

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This Is Exactly How Much Fibre You Should Be Eating Daily

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The Keto Diet Could Be Wreaking Havoc With Your Gut Health

We knew it was too good to be true. - by Lucy Bode
  • 28 Sep 2018
The Keto Diet Could Be Wreaking Havoc With Your Gut Health
Getty

It seems everyone from Kourtney Kardashian to Gwyneth Paltrow is jumping on-board the keto bandwagon right now. But as far as new research is concerned, they could be doing their bodies more harm than good.

First, a refresher on the low-carb, high-fat diet - it’s great for weight loss, boosts the metabolism and improves cardiovascular and cognitive function. Now, for the catch:

Eating like this can do serious damage to the gut.

To conduct the study (published in the journal Applied And Environmental Microbiology,) scientists designed an artificial intestine and used donor faecal matter to recreate the bacterial environment found inside the human colon. Next, they added nutrients from a balanced Western diet as well as one that was rich in fact and involved no carbs or protein.

RELATED: This Groundbreaking Test Can Tell You How Good Your Gut Health Is

omelet
Getty

They also applied cutting-edge tech to measure the composition of metabolites before and after the change in nutrients.Their findings?

The high-fat, low-carb diet increased the prevalence of certain strains of bacteria that metabolise fatty acids. It also lowered the number of good bacteria needed to break down protein and carbs.

“[This] led to a substantial decrease in the production of [short-chain fatty acids] and antioxidants in the colonic region of the gut, which might potentially have negative health consequences on the host,” explained Dr Oleg Paliy, associate professor at Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine and the study’s lead author.

keto diet
Getty

Said short-chain fatty acids and antioxidants help fight DNA damage and ageing, while “intestinal microbes mediate many dietary effects on human health.”

“There, most of these compounds are fermented by gut bacteria. This happens because a significant proportion of dietary carbohydrates, proteins and fats escape digestion in the small intestine and reach the colon, a section of the gut housing a dense population of microbes.”  

RELATED: 'I Tried The Keto Diet For 3 Weeks – Here's What Happened'

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Lucy Bode
Lucy Bode
Lucy is Women Health’s digital editor, social media specialist and the go-to girl for all things holistic wellness. Her background as a journalist and passion for food, fitness and integrative medicine has led her to write for some of Australia’s leading publications over the course of her career.

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