It has always been known that eating healthy has benefits for health: weight loss, maintaining low cholesterol, regulating blood sugar levels, and sleep cycles. These are just a few of the benefits. However, eating well is not just about eating lettuce, fruit, salads, and maintaining a caloric deficit.

The body needs nutrient-rich foods to function properly. At the same time, diets are not universal; there is no magic formula for nutrition that works for everyone. Instead, nutrition should be tailored to each person, their lifestyle, the amount of physical activity they engage in, pre-existing conditions, etc.

One of the diets that has gained popularity over the years and through social media is the keto diet: a way of eating that consists of consuming few carbohydrates (noodles, rice, bread) and many healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, olives, among others) to induce a state called ketosis, where the body burns fat for energy, resulting in weight loss. Although this type of diet has generally generated controversy, especially on social media, a recent study published in Nature Communications revealed that this popular diet could be very beneficial for people suffering from high blood sugar levels. The research was conducted by a group of experts from various scientific institutions across the United States.

To carry it out, they conducted experiments on mice with hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels) and subjected them to a strict and extreme ketogenic diet. After just seven days, the blood sugar levels of the animals returned to normal (and healthy), said physiologist Sarah Lessard, who participated in the study. Furthermore, when the scientists had the rodents exercise, the diet appeared to help improve their physical capabilities and endurance.

Their muscles also became stronger against fatigue and had a higher oxygen content in the tissue. While the findings on…

Additionally, the mice that participated in the study already had high blood sugar levels. The influence of this diet on healthy mice has not been studied. The researchers also admitted that the diet followed by the mice was very extreme.

Therefore, that version that benefited the rodents may not be healthy to apply to humans. For people suffering from hyperglycemia, different approaches regarding diet and physical activity may be necessary to maintain good health and aerobic performance. However, the researchers stated that trials are already planned to be tested on humans, which could reveal more specific and relevant data for people's health.

Animal studies are a good guide, but they do not provide a complete picture.