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VOL. 2, ISSUE 1 (2026)
Extreme diet trends and cardiovascular risk: an overview
Authors
Madhushree Bhowmik, Indira Ganguly, Jagannath Ghosh
Abstract
The increasing
prevalence of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and lifestyle-related disorders has
fueled the popularity of extreme dietary patterns as rapid strategies for
weight loss and disease management. Diets such as ketogenic, carnivore,
prolonged fasting, intermittent fasting, very-low-calorie diets, detox diets,
raw food diets, fruitarian diets, and high-protein regimens have gained
widespread attention through social media and celebrity endorsements. While
many of these diets demonstrate short-term benefits, including weight
reduction, improved glycemic control, and decreased body fat, their long-term
cardiovascular safety remains controversial. Extreme dietary restriction may
influence cardiovascular health through alterations in lipid metabolism, blood
pressure regulation, endothelial function, inflammation, oxidative stress,
insulin sensitivity, gut microbiota, and nutrient balance. Emerging evidence
suggests that certain restrictive dietary patterns may increase low-density
lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), promote nutritional deficiencies, impair
vascular function, and elevate cardiovascular risk in susceptible individuals,
whereas evidence-based dietary approaches such as the Mediterranean and DASH
diets consistently demonstrate cardioprotective effects. This review summarizes
the current evidence regarding the physiological mechanisms, metabolic
consequences, cardiovascular benefits and risks, clinical applications, and
future research needs related to extreme diet trends. Understanding the balance
between potential therapeutic benefits and adverse cardiovascular outcomes is
essential for clinicians, dietitians, and public health professionals to
provide evidence-based dietary recommendations.
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Pages:54-59
How to cite this article:
Madhushree Bhowmik, Indira Ganguly, Jagannath Ghosh "Extreme diet trends and cardiovascular risk: an overview". World Journal of Current Research, Vol 2, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 54-59
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