WHENEVER THE KETO diet is discussed, there’s going to be beef. But this time it’s different. A new research paper on the diet’s effects has whipped the nutrition field into a frenzy. Researchers behind the study say it supports keto’s health credentials; opponents claim the research shows the exact opposite. Cue public spats on social media, questions about the study’s rigor, and calls for it to be withdrawn. “It’s a collective mess,” says Kevin Klatt, an assistant research scientist and instructor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences and Toxicology at UC Berkeley.
Published on April 7 in JACC: Advances, the paper examines the relationship between cholesterol and the ketogenic diet—the practice of consuming low-carb, high-fat foods to try to push the body into “ketosis,” where cells burn fat instead of carbs for energy. Keto diets have become a popular strategy used by millions for losing weight, though detractors have questioned how healthy it is to consistently consume high amounts of fat.
The study, by getting to the heart of this question, has received a significant amount of attention. Altmetric, which measures the attention a publication receives in the press and on social media, puts it in the top 5 percent of the papers it tracks—more than 24 million pieces of research. The majority of attention has come from X.
