Scientists from the Sapienza University of Rome and elsewhere found that a very low-calorie keto diet could treat obesity and metabolic diseases.
The research was published in Frontiers in Nutrition and was conducted by Ilaria Ernesti et al.
A diet called the Very Low-Calorie Ketogenic Diet, or VLCKD for short, is being studied as a way to help people who are struggling with metabolic diseases like obesity.
Researchers wanted to see what factors might affect how well this diet works for people, so they looked at a molecule called Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21) and other factors that could predict how much weight people would lose on the diet.
The VLCKD is a very strict diet that limits the number of calories you can eat each day to less than 800.
You also have to eat very few carbohydrates, only about 50 grams per day, and you need to eat 1.2-1.5 grams of protein per kilogram of your ideal body weight.
You can only eat 15-30 grams of fat per day. The researchers studied 34 people with obesity who followed this diet for 45 days.
They measured things like weight, body composition, and blood and urine chemistry before and after the diet.
The researchers found that the VLCKD was effective in helping people lose weight and improve their metabolic health.
They also found that the levels of FGF21 in the blood decreased significantly after the diet.
People who had lower levels of FGF21 when they started the diet tended to lose more weight than those who had higher levels of FGF21.
Men who had central obesity (which means they carried most of their weight around their belly) also tended to lose more weight than women or people who carried their weight in other places.
The researchers say that this study shows that the VLCKD can be a safe and effective way to help people lose weight and improve their metabolic health.
They also suggest that people who have lower levels of FGF21 and central obesity might benefit more from this diet than others.
However, they say that more studies are needed to see if this is true for other diets or if it is specific to the VLCKD.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies that pomace olive oil could help lower blood cholesterol, and honey could help control blood sugar.
For more health information, please see recent studies that blueberries enormously benefit people with metabolic syndrome, and results showing eggs in a plant-based diet may help people with type 2 diabetes.
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