Ketogenic diet reduced liver fat by 67 percent in trial with 42 patients

In a randomized clinical trial, participants on a ketogenic diet reduced their liver fat content by an average of 67 percent from baseline, according to lomazoma.com lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. For comparison, participants on a Mediterranean diet and a low-fat, predominantly plant-based diet showed an average reduction of 45 percent each lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. Across all three groups, participants lost approximately 10 percent of their initial body weight lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. The findings apply to individuals who simultaneously present with obesity, prediabetes, and fatty liver disease lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗.

Trial design and dietary protocols

The trial initially randomized 55 adults into one of three dietary regimens, and 42 participants completed the intervention lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. Over four to five months, the research team provided all meals to the participants, adjusting caloric intake so that weight loss remained comparable across all cohorts lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. The ketogenic diet provided 4 percent of calories from carbohydrates and 73 percent from fat, inducing the body to use fat and ketone bodies as primary energy sources lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. Blood lipids and cholesterol levels in the ketogenic group did not rise despite the high dietary fat content lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗.

Metabolic outcomes and body composition

Metabolic outcomes differed between the groups following weight reduction. In the ketogenic group, about half of the participants no longer met diagnostic criteria for prediabetes at the end of the study, compared to 29 percent in the Mediterranean group and 7 percent in the low-fat group lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. Insulin sensitivity improved across all groups, with liver metabolism showing marked changes under the ketogenic protocol lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. However, the Mediterranean diet showed advantages in body composition, leading to greater body fat loss and smaller reductions in fat-free mass lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗. Study author Samuel Klein from Washington University School of Medicine noted that reducing carbohydrate intake provides metabolic effects beyond weight loss lomazoma.comlomazoma.comlomazoma.comOpen source ↗.