The keto diet remains controversial, despite all the research out there on it. Many use it to lose weight, while others prefer it to reduce carbohydrate intake. Until now, almost no one had wondered if the effects would be different in men and women. Differences exist?
UC Riverside scientists have conducted A study to learn how the popular ketogenic and intermittent fasting diets work on a molecular level, and whether both genders benefit from them equally. The idea behind the keto diet is that low levels of carbohydrates and very high levels of fat and protein will force the body to use fat for fuel, resulting in weight loss.
Instead, intermittent fasting it works on a similar principle, restricting eating to a small window of time during the day. During hours without food, the body depletes sugar stores and begins to burn fat. Fat is converted to ketone bodies that the brain can use for fuel.
Is it different in women and men?
Despite their popularity, scientists have yet to identify the genes or proteins that allow diets to work. So this new research thinks you already know how they work. The key is likely to be a protein, called HNF4, which is found at high levels in the liver. It is a transcription factor, which converts DNA into RNA, which is then converted into new proteins, and it comes in two forms, P1 or P2.
Scientists originally investigated P2 as a pro-cancer protein. They did not find a link to cancer, but did note that mice with high levels of P2 in their livers also had different genes for metabolism. They also found that P2 appears in greater amounts later in the day, which could explain why the mice did not gain as much weight if the time they eat was restricted; even if they ate too much.
It is suspected that an energy sensitive enzyme could cause the switch between P1 and P2, which could allow the process of burning fat for energy. In this study, particular attention was paid to the ways in which male and female mice respond to ketogenic and intermittent fasting diets.
Eating too much fat makes women fat
The keto diet doesn't seem to work too well for women, because metabolize fat differently and we have different genes turned on and off in response to fasting. But we really don't know why or how it happens; that is what we hope to learn.
If the diet is effective for either sex, the researchers caution that No diet should be taken to the extreme. It is not clear if all the fat is metabolized on a keto diet or fasting, or if a large amount simply accumulates in the body. Standard Japanese diets contain 20% fat, American diets average 35%, and ketogenic diets can contain as much as 70 or 80%, which is probably a very high amount.
if we eat greasy, will make us fat eventually. Just like eating too much of anything will make us fat, including zucchini. The most important thing is the amount we eat, what we eat and the time of day.