Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, very-low-carbohydrate eating pattern. According to the StatPearls clinical reference hosted by the National Library of Medicine (NCBI Bookshelf), a typical ketogenic diet restricts carbohydrate to roughly 20–50 g per day, with fat providing the majority of calories. With carbohydrate this low, the liver produces ketone bodies from fat, which tissues use as an alternative fuel — the state called nutritional ketosis. The diet was originally developed in the 1920s as a treatment for epilepsy in children.

What published research reports

StatPearls reports that studies of ketogenic diets have shown short-term reductions in body weight, and improvements in triglycerides, HDL cholesterol and glycaemic markers in some populations, while noting that long-term adherence is a common difficulty and that longer-term comparative data against other diets are more limited. Commonly reported short-term effects listed there include the so-called "keto flu" (headache, fatigue, nausea) during the first weeks. The reference also lists situations in which medical supervision is advised, including diabetes treated with insulin or oral hypoglycaemics, kidney disease and pregnancy.

References

• Masood W, Annamaraju P, Khan Suheb MZ, Uppaluri KR. Ketogenic Diet. In: StatPearls [Internet]. National Library of Medicine, NCBI Bookshelf. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov