For decades Americans have been told bacon and butter are bad for our health – as well as too many eggs.
The reason? They are high in fat and cholesterol, which have been demonized for their apparent links to heart disease and weight gain.
But a doctor from Georgia who ate the breakfast trio for 30 days straight claims they actually made him healthier.
Dr Sten Ekberg saw his bodyweight and body fat go down, as well as his levels of insulin, glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol and indicators of liver damage.
Dr Sten Ekberg ate bacon, butter and eggs for 30 days straight – and claims they made him healthier
The breakfast trio have been demonised because they’re high in fat and cholesterol
Ekberg, a registered nutritionist, regularly conducts diet-related experiments on himself.
In March 2023, he ate nothing but junk food for ten straight days to see how it impacted his health.
At the end of that experiment, he decided to try a ketogenic diet to see if it could reverse the damage.
He ate what he called a ‘clean’ keto diet, which included a lot of bacon, butter and eggs, but also leafy greens and vegetables and other meats like steak, fish and chicken for 30 days.
After ten days of eating nothing but junk food, Ekberg’s bloodwork was alarming.
Not only had he gained 10lb in little more than a week, but his levels of insulin, glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol and biomarkers for liver damage increased between 19 per cent and 125 per cent.
For several of these health markers – including insulin and VLDL, which indicates risk of plaque buildup in the arteries – this was the first time he had ever exceeded normal levels, he said.
He wondered whether the keto diet – a high-fat, low-carb diet that helps the body use fat instead of sugar for energy – could reverse this damage.
Dr Ekberg is a functional nutritionist who conducts diet-related experiments on himself
Over the 30 days, his typical meals might include salads topped with protein, seeds, bacon bits, olive oil and vinegar dressing.
His first meal might include omelets with sausage, bacon, avocado, onion and tomato or steak with a side of steamed broccoli or cauliflower and topped with béarnaise sauce – which is made from eggs and butter.
He also did intermittent fasting, which is an eating plan that alternates between periods of eating and fasting.
Over the course of the 30 days, he ate either one or two meals per day, generally fasting for 16 to 24 hours at a time.
The idea behind this kind of diet is that it helps your body achieve ketosis – a metabolic state that occurs when your body burns fat for energy.
By day three of sticking to the keto diet, Ekberg’s bloodwork indicated he had achieved ketosis, and he maintained this metabolic state for the remainder of the 30-day period.
At the end of the 30 days, he weighed himself and did his blood work again to see how his body had changed.
Firstly, he found that his weight had fallen back into what he considers the normal, healthy range for his body.
After ten days of eating junk food, he weighed 203lb.
But after 30 days of keto, he weighed just 189lb – dropping 14lb over the course of one month.
And where his bloodwork had previously shown dangerously high levels of every health indicator he measured, it now showed that everything had returned to healthy levels.
His insulin, glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol and indicators of liver damage had all fallen significantly, suggesting that 30 days of eating a clean keto diet with intermittent fasting had repaired the damage caused by ten days of eating junk food.
| Measurement, (healthy range) | After 10 days of junk food | After 30 days of keto |
|---|---|---|
| Weight (185-190) | 203 | 189 |
| Cholesterol (180-280) | 222 | 220 |
| Insulin (2-5) | 5.7 | 3.4 |
| Triglycerides (50-90) | 101 | 60 |
| VLDL (5-15) | 17 | 10 |
| HOMA IR (0.5-1.5) | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| AST (12-25) | 31 | 23 |
| ALT (13-22) | 25 | 16 |
| LDH (140-180) | 335 | 170 |
Ekberg said in his YouTube video: ‘What I hope you take away from this is how adaptive your body is.’
‘You can do serious damage in ten days, but your body is very resilient – it will bounce back if you do the right things.’
But that’s not to say that the keto diet doesn’t come with risks, or that it will work for everyone.
The keto diet could cause low blood pressure, kidney stones, constipation, nutrient deficiencies and an increased risk of heart disease due to high cholesterol and saturated fat intake, according to UChicagoMedicine.
And studies have shown that if your insulin levels are lower, or if your body is resistant to insulin and already struggles to balance glucose intake, you probably won’t lose weight on the keto diet.
But if your concerns about cholesterol and saturated fats are keeping you from trying this diet, Ekberg says you should consider the facts. Keto is a high fat diet, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should be eating more fat, he says.
The key is to stick to intermittent fasting, cut carbs to less than five per cent, and balance your fat intake with moderate protein consumption and plenty of leafy greens and vegetables, he said.
This will keep your insulin levels low and allow your body to metabolize the fat and cholesterol you are consuming.
The World Health Organization has also classified bacon as a Group 1 carcinogen, meaning the food has been linked to an increased risk of cancer.
The nitrates and nitrites used to preserve the color and flavor in the meat can form the known carcinogen nitrosamine when cooked at high temperatures.
The preservatives have also been found to raise the risk of type 2 diabetes by 50 per cent or more, according to a study published in January of last year.
Additionally, researchers have reported that the high fat content in bacon can elevate your cholesterol if consumed frequently, leading to heart problems.
Despite the fact that bacon, butter and eggs are considered high-fat and high-cholesterol foods, Ekberg reported that his cholesterol level fell slightly – from 222 to 220 – and his triglycerides decreased from 101 to 60, putting him back in the healthy range for both these health indicators.
Additionally, his insulin level fell from 5.7 to 3.4, and his insulin resistance – indicated by HOMA IR levels – decreased from 1.3 to 0.8.
He was particularly surprised to see his LDH level fall so dramatically after they had climbed to dangerously high levels during his 10-day junk food experiment – roughly twice as high as they should be.
After 30 days on keto, his LDH was back in the healthy range at just 170.
The World Health Organization and US National Cancer Institute advise people do not eat read meat like bacon often because of its links to cancer.
