Short answer: potentially.
"There's a real mix of results when it comes to cholesterol and the ketogenic diet," said Nikki Stamp, MBBS(Hons), FRACS, a cardiothoracic surgeon based in Australia. That said, "there seems to be good science to suggest that total cholesterol, as well as low-density lipoprotein (also known as bad cholesterol), increases on the ketogenic diet."
Why? "In general, keto diets involve high intake of animal products, which contain a lot of saturated fat and animal protein," said Nicole Harkin, MD, a board-certified cardiologist and lipidologist and clinical instructor of cardiology at NYU Langone. Saturated fats are known to increase bad cholesterol, putting you at greater risk for cardiovascular disease.
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