The Study
Effect of a ketogenic diet on hepatic steatosis and hepatic mitochondrial metabolism in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
This study watched 10 people before and after they ate a special low-carb diet for 6 days. It shows what changed in their bodies during that time, but we can't be sure the diet caused all the changes because there was no comparison group eating a normal diet.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
When people with too much fat in their liver eat very few carbs for just 6 days, their liver starts burning fat instead of storing it, making energy molecules called ketones and cleaning out the fat quickly.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 538 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes, these changes are meaningful — the liver gets healthier fast, even without much weight loss.
- 2Liver fat went down 31%, insulin worked better by 58%, the body made 232% more ketones, liver energy use changed by 38%, and liver cell batteries shifted by 167%.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Year
2020
Authors
P. Luukkonen, S. Dufour, Kun Lyu, Xian‐Man Zhang, A. Hakkarainen, T. Lehtimäki, G. Cline, K. Petersen, G. Shulman, H. Yki-Järvinen
Related Content
Claims (6)
Eating too many carbs and calories — especially from sugary or processed foods — is what mainly causes fatty liver, not eating fat. Cutting out carbs or going on a carnivore diet might help reverse it.
Even though fat levels in the blood go up, a super low-carb diet for just 6 days seems to dramatically improve how well the liver responds to insulin in people with fatty liver and extra weight — which goes against what doctors usually expect.
If you're overweight and have fatty liver, going on a keto diet for just 6 days might cut the fat in your liver by over a quarter—even if you barely lose any weight.
If you're overweight and have fatty liver, going on a keto diet for just 6 days might make your liver burn fat for fuel way more—like over 3 times as much—instead of storing it.
If you're overweight and have fatty liver, going on a keto diet for just 6 days might reduce how your liver burns fuel, pushing your body to make more ketones instead.
If you're overweight and have fatty liver, going on a keto diet for just 6 days might supercharge your liver's energy system and shift it into fat-burning mode, possibly helping your body make more ketones.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.