Scientific Study Warns Against the Keto Diet Despite Its Benefits.. It May Increase the Risk of Small Intestine Cancer

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A new study conducted by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and published in the journal "Nature" revealed that the keto diet, which is widely popular for weight loss and improving metabolism, may be associated with an increased risk of small intestine tumors, despite previous studies showing potential benefits in preventing colon cancer.

The keto diet relies on consuming high amounts of fats while drastically reducing carbohydrates, which drives the body to shift from using glucose as a primary energy source to burning fat and producing what are known as ketone bodies.

Omar Yilmaz, director of the Stem Cell Initiative at MIT and the lead researcher of the study, stated that the research findings confirm that the effects of diets may vary from one tissue to another within the digestive system itself, emphasizing the need for caution when generalizing the health benefits of any diet.

The keto diet was originally developed in the 1920s to treat epilepsy before later spreading as a means of weight loss and possibly extending lifespan. A previous study published in 2022 in the journal "Nature" showed that one of the ketone bodies known as "beta-hydroxybutyrate" (BHB) may help protect against colon cancer.

However, the new study focused on the small intestine, where researchers tested the effect of the ketogenic diet on genetically modified mice that are more susceptible to intestinal cancer. The results were compared with groups that received a regular diet or a diet rich in fats and calories.

The results showed that the mice following the keto diet developed small intestinal tumors at higher rates than the mice that consumed the traditional diet. They also recorded similar, and sometimes higher, tumor rates than those observed in obese mice resulting from the high-fat diet.

Subsequent experiments revealed that the cause of this effect was not the ketone bodies themselves, but rather the process of "fatty acid oxidation" that intestinal cells use to extract energy from fats. Activating this process stimulates proteins known as PPAR, which in turn accelerates the division of intestinal stem cells.

Researchers point out that increased activity of stem cells may be beneficial in repairing the intestinal lining after injuries and diseases, but at the same time, it may raise the chances of mutations and cancerous transformations leading to tumor development.

Interestingly, the study observed an opposite response in the colon; while the ketogenic diet promoted tumor growth in the small intestine, it helped reduce tumor formation in the colon, reflecting the complexity of this diet's effects in different parts of the digestive system.

The researcher Fangtao Chi stated that one of the main questions the team seeks to answer in the future is why the same diet causes contradictory results within two adjacent organs.

The researchers pointed out that the results do not necessarily apply to commercial ketone supplements or drinks containing ketones, as the observed effects were associated with fat metabolism within the intestines and not with the ketone bodies themselves.

The scientific team believes that these results are particularly significant in light of the noticeable increase in the rates of small intestine tumors over recent decades, especially among individuals with genetic disorders that increase susceptibility to bowel cancer, such as "familial adenomatous polyposis."