(NewsNation) — A one-year study has found that high cholesterol from the ketogenic diet does not predict heart disease.
The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and researchers from multiple institutions collaborated on the study, which rebuked the widespread belief that high cholesterol is related to or a direct cause of coronary artery disease or the build-up of plaque in the arteries.
Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Advances on Apr. 7, the study analyzed 100 people who followed a low-carb keto diet and found that high cholesterol was not a direct marker for increased cardiovascular plaque or risk.
In addition to high levels of cholesterol, the individuals were considered by researchers to be lean as well as “metabolically healthy.”
As such, researchers concluded that “alternative markers or tests should be used to establish metabolic health in some cases,” according to co-lead researcher Dr. Dave Budoff.
“It is important that clinicians, along with the general public, are made aware that personalized, data-driven approaches to assessing risk should be considered based on individual conditions,” he added.