Many of us with high cholesterol are advised to lose weight to lower it. Typically, for every pound of weight loss, cholesterol drops by one point.

However, people who choose to lose weight with a keto diet are often shocked when their cholesterol levels increase. Why does this happen? Because not all diets are equal.

Keto is a high-fat, low-carb diet, meaning the main sources of calories are animal protein and fats. Because of this, it is safe to assume that everyone on a Ketogenic diet is boosting their cholesterol levels. Why?

Animal products are the ONLY source of cholesterol. Every time you eat chicken, meat, eggs, or any other animal product, you are effectively consuming cholesterol. Your body already makes 100% of the cholesterol it needs. Eating cholesterol creates an excess, causing levels to rise and increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke.

Even though saturated fats in oils or nuts don’t contain cholesterol, our liver converts the fat into cholesterol. This is why many vegans also have high cholesterol and are at risk of heart disease.

The Keto diet is similar to the Atkins diet. They’re both low in carbs and encourage people to eat as much animal protein and fats as they want.

The creator of the Atkins diet was Dr. Robert Atkins. Can you guess what caused his death? Heart disease! Why? Because he consumed the very foods that increase cholesterol. He had a long history of heart attacks, congestive heart failure, and hypertension.

People on a Keto, Atkins, or any high-fat diet increase their cholesterol and risk dying of heart disease every single day.