Cardiologist Luiza Petre, MD, told POPSUGAR that the keto diet can help lower blood pressure, albeit not directly. Since obese individuals have a greater chance of developing high blood pressure, she says, losing weight with the keto diet could lower your risk.
"The bottom line is the ketogenic diet will improve blood pressure, but not as a direct effect; it's through its indirect weight-loss benefits," she says. "If the keto diet is done without a weight-loss goal, basically on a high-fat diet without a calorie deficit, it might not impact blood pressure at all. Losing weight remains the number-one intervention followed by lowering salt and exercising to improve blood pressure."