Beneficial Effects of Carbohydrate Restriction in Type 2 Diabetes Can Be Traced to Changes in Hepatic Metabolism.

Context: Carbohydrate restriction benefits metabolic health in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), possibly through changes in hepatic metabolism.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that the ketogenic diet (KD) would decrease de novo lipogenesis (DNL) and liver fat, which would be associated with restored beta-cell function.

Methods: Participants were 57 adults with mild T2D. A hyperglycemic clamp was used to assess acute C-peptide response (ACP), and magnetic resonance imaging to assess hepatic fat fraction, at baseline and after 12 weeks of either a eucaloric KD (∼9% energy from carbohydrate, 65% energy from fat) or a eucaloric low-fat diet (LFD) (∼55% energy from carbohydrate, 20% energy from fat).

Results: The KD led to decreases in pyruvate (-23%, P<0.001) and palmitoleic acid, a marker of DNL (-32%, P<0.01). Participants on the KD had higher fasting glucagon (25%, P<0.05) and lower liver fat (28%, P<0.05) at week 12 than those on the LFD. In all combined, the change in liver fat was positively associated with the change in pyruvate (r = 0.45, P=0.05), and inversely associated with changes in glucagon (r = -0.34, P<0.05), the glucagon to C-peptide ratio (r = -0.44, P<0.01), and ACP (r = -0.34, P<0.05). The change in ACP was inversely associated with the change in pyruvate in the KD group (r = -0.5, P<0.05), but not in the LFD group.

Conclusions: A shift in hepatic metabolism to favor fat oxidation over DNL may underlie the beneficial effects of carbohydrate restriction on hepatic steatosis and glucose-induced insulin secretion.