What happens to your body when you eat more protein or fat for a month?
Diets high in protein or saturated fat do not affect insulin sensitivity or plasma concentrations of lipids and lipoproteins in overweight and obese adults.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
High saturated fat from dairy didn’t harm cholesterol or insulin sensitivity.
For decades, saturated fat has been blamed for heart disease and metabolic dysfunction. This study shows no negative effects—even at 15% of calories—in just 4 weeks.
Practical Takeaways
If you're eating a high-protein diet (like keto or low-carb), include some healthy fats to avoid unintended blood sugar increases.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
High saturated fat from dairy didn’t harm cholesterol or insulin sensitivity.
For decades, saturated fat has been blamed for heart disease and metabolic dysfunction. This study shows no negative effects—even at 15% of calories—in just 4 weeks.
Practical Takeaways
If you're eating a high-protein diet (like keto or low-carb), include some healthy fats to avoid unintended blood sugar increases.
Publication
Journal
The Journal of nutrition
Year
2014
Authors
S. Chiu, Paul T. Williams, Taylor Dawson, R. Bergman, D. Stefanovski, S. Watkins, R. Krauss
Related Content
Claims (6)
If you're overweight and eat a lot of protein—especially from whey—for a month, your blood sugar might go up a bit, but only if you're also eating very little saturated fat. If you eat more saturated fat, that same high-protein diet doesn't seem to affect your blood sugar.
If you're overweight, eating more saturated fat from dairy — like cheese or butter — for a month probably won't hurt your blood sugar control or cholesterol levels compared to eating less of it.
If you're overweight or obese and eat the same number of calories, boosting protein or saturated fat from dairy for a month doesn't seem to hurt your blood sugar control or cholesterol levels.
In people who are overweight or obese, higher levels of certain amino acids in the blood during diet changes are linked to the body clearing insulin more slowly and releasing more insulin when blood sugar rises — which might mean these amino acids affect insulin in ways not related to how sensitive the body is to it.
If you're overweight, eating a lot more protein — especially from whey — for a month won't help your body use insulin better unless you're also losing weight.