Keto Diet Cuts Liver Fat 67% and Reverses Prediabetes in 50% of Trial Patients
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 3
Keto Diet Cuts Liver Fat 67% and Reverses Prediabetes in 50% of Trial Patients
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 3
Summary
A 42-person randomized trial in Cell Metabolism found a ketogenic diet delivered the biggest metabolic gains in adults with obesity, prediabetes and excess liver fat despite similar weight loss across all three diets.
Liver fat fell about 67% in the keto group versus roughly 45% on Mediterranean and low-fat plant-forward diets, while liver insulin sensitivity improved two to three times more as the liver made less new fat.
About 50% of keto participants no longer met prediabetes criteria by the end of the study, compared with 29% on the Mediterranean diet and 7% on the low-fat diet; muscle insulin sensitivity improved about 50% in all groups.
Researchers said the findings are limited by the study's short duration and small size—about 14 people per diet group—but suggest diet composition can shape metabolic outcomes beyond weight loss alone.
Dietitian Ilana Muhlstein said keto may be useful as a short-term option for some patients with fatty liver or prediabetes, while favoring a later shift toward a Mediterranean-style diet for long-term heart and overall health.
Since keto outperformed other diets for prediabetes short-term, could transitioning to a Mediterranean diet later actually reverse these rapid metabolic gains?
If weight loss was identical across all groups, why did the high-fat keto diet uniquely trigger the liver to stop producing new fat?
If keto drastically reverses fatty liver when calories are equal, what hidden dangers lurk when patients try this without provided meals?