Fats can do wonders to your skin: Study

A new study has revealed that consuming oil in a well-balanced ketogenic diet is beneficial for one’s skin.
“This study leads to a broader understanding of possible effects of ketogenic diets with a very high-fat content on skin inflammation and underlines the importance of the composition of fatty acids in the diet,” said co-lead investigator, Barbara Kofler, PhD, Research Program for Receptor Biochemistry and Tumor Metabolism, Department of Pediatrics, Paracelsus Medical University, Austria.
“We have found that a well-balanced ketogenic diet, limited primarily to long-chain triglycerides (LCTs) like olive oil, soybean oil, fish, nuts, avocado, and meats, does not exacerbate skin inflammation,” explained Kofler.
“However, ketogenic diets containing high amounts of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs), especially in combination with Omega-3 fatty acids should be used with caution since they may aggravate pre-existing skin inflammatory conditions,” added Kofler.
Ketogenic diets are increasingly popular because of their promise to treat a number of diseases and promote weight loss.
They are currently being evaluated as a potential therapy in a variety of diseases and have been suggested to act as an anti-inflammatory in certain conditions.
Dietary products containing coconut oil (high in MCTs) or fish oil (high in Omega-3 fatty acids), consumed as part of a ketogenic diet, are marketed and used by the general population because of their reported health-promoting effects.
The study showed an LCT-based ketogenic diet does not worsen skin inflammation.
Co-lead investigator Roland Lang, PhD, Department of Dermatology, Paracelsus Medical University, elaborated on the study’s results: “Ketogenic diets supplemented with MCTs not only induce the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines but also lead to an accumulation of neutrophils in the skin resulting in a worse clinical appearance of the skin of the mice.”
“Neutrophils are of particular interest since they are known to express a receptor for MCTs and therefore a ketogenic diet containing MCTs may have an impact on other neutrophil-mediated diseases not limited to the skin,” he added. (ANI)