Health Farm

 --  Early signs of indicative bone loss detected in race walkers on keto diet

Ketogenic diets might be popular with Instagram-loving dieters, but a new study of low-carbohydrate, high-fat eating has raised concerns about bone health, with researchers uncovering early signs of indicative bone loss in athletes.

Some endurance athletes follow a ketogenic diet to improve their performance, since fat, as fuel, is ample, slow-burning and long-lasting.

However, researchers have questioned the long-term health consequences of the high-fat diet, including its link with heart disease.

Scientists in Australia tested a group of world-class race walkers training for a world championship.

Half the group committed to strict low-carbohydrate, high-fat eating and the remainder stuck to a high-carbohydrate diet.

Blood drawn from the athletes before and after working out established baseline bone health and other markers of health and fitness.

Bone, an active tissue, constantly breaks down and remodels itself in response to physiological demands.

Following three-and-a-half weeks of intense training, scientists discovered that markers of bone breakdown increased among athletes on the keto diet, while markers indicating bone formation and overall metabolism dropped.

The same markers were generally unchanged in high-carb athletes.

In other words, athletes on the ketogenic diet showed signs of impaired bone health.

Potatoes are your friends.