Association of ketogenic diet with glycemic control and hematological and biochemical parameters in Yemeni patients with primary hypertension.

Abstract

Introduction: Hypertension is associated with metabolic and hematological alterations that increase cardiovascular risk. Nutritional interventions, such as ketogenic diets, may improve these parameters. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the ketogenic diet and glycemic, hematological, and biochemical markers in patients with primary hypertension over two months.

Method: The repeated-measures study was carried out on 80 diagnosed primary hypertension patients who followed the keto diet program. They were followed during three periods: baseline, before starting the keto diet program, after one month, and after two months of using the keto diet. The results were analyzed using
SPSS for statistical analysis.

Results: The results showed that random blood sugar, alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, urea, cholesterol, and triglycerides were significantly decreased (p= 1x10−11, 0.003, 0.029, 0.0002, 0.0003, 7.2x 10−13, 2.3x 10−13 ,respectively), but LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol levels were significantly increased (p= 0.00004, 0.00001, respectively) and hemoglobin, total white blood cell, and platelet count were significantly increased (p= 0.004, 0.073,and 0.023). There were no significant changes in creatinine, Na, K, Mg, Ca, and HbA1C in the hypertensive patients when comparing baseline with one and two months after using the ketogenic diet.

Conclusion: This study concluded that the ketogenic diet positively influenced hematological and biochemical markers without adverse effects on liver or kidney function. These changes collectively suggest that the ketogenic diet may serve as an effective adjunctive strategy for managing hypertension, especially among individuals exhibiting features of metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance.