Ketogenic Diet, Physical Activity, and Hypertension—A Narrative Review

Abstract

Several studies link cardiovascular diseases (CVD) with unhealthy lifestyles (unhealthy dietary habits, alcohol consumption, smoking, and low levels of physical activity). Therefore, the strong need for CVD prevention may be pursued through an improved control of CVD risk factors (impaired lipid and glycemic profiles, high blood pressure, and obesity), which is achievable through an overall intervention aimed to favor a healthy lifestyle. Focusing on diet, different recommendations emphasize the need to increase or avoid consumption of entire classes of food, with only partly known and only partly foreseeable consequences on the overall level of health. In recent years, the ketogenic diet (KD) has been proposed to be an effective lifestyle intervention for metabolic syndrome, and although the beneficial effects on weight loss and glucose metabolism seems to be well established, the effects of a prolonged KD on the ability to perform different types of exercise and the influence of KD on blood pressure (BP) levels, both in normotensives and in hypertensives, are not so well understood. The objective of this review is to analyze, on the basis of current evidence, the relationship between KD, regular physical activity, and BP.

New Insights in Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease

“…New advances in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of main cardiovascular disease as well as CV risk factors are required in order to improve the ability to (1) identify patients at higher risk early on; (2) identify early markers of subclinical cardiovascular disease; (3) improve treatment algorithms for the different clinical syndromes; (4) assess residual risk and follow-up optimization; (5) prevent recurrences. This is the challenge of the forthcoming decades, and the clinicians of the future must be ready to meet it.…”

“…A comprehensive intervention that promotes a healthy lifestyle in an individual (abolition of cigarette smoking, regular physical activity, body weight control, adoption of a Mediterranean diet, etc.) would allow a cross-sectional health benefit that would go well beyond CVD improvement and control [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. A healthy diet, especially the Mediterranean diet, has been demonstrated to significantly influence CV risk, actively contributing to the control of major risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, high BP, diabetes and obesity [ 5 , 8 , 14 ].…”

“…would allow a cross-sectional health benefit that would go well beyond CVD improvement and control [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. A healthy diet, especially the Mediterranean diet, has been demonstrated to significantly influence CV risk, actively contributing to the control of major risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, high BP, diabetes and obesity [ 5 , 8 , 14 ].…”

Association of ALDH2 rs671 and MTHFR rs1801133 polymorphisms with hypertension among Hakka people in Southern China

“…Risk factors for hypertension include genetic factors, age and a variety of adverse lifestyle [ 8 ]. Worldwide studies have demonstrated that the genetic tendency of hypertension is very obvious, with 30% ~ 50% of an individual's risk of hypertension attributable to genetic factors [ 9 ].…”

Ketogenic diet: a therapeutic alternative in pediatric refractory epilepsies

“…KD is a high-fat (providing a range of 55 to 90% calories as fat), adequate protein (accounts for 30-35% of the daily caloric requirement supplied; minimum of 1 g/kg of protein), lowcarbohydrate diet (only 5-10% of total calorie intakes are provided by carbohydrates, less than 50 g/day) 5 . The term KD currently refers to any dietary therapy which results in a metabolic ketogenic state.…”