Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet primarily used to treat difficult-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet mimics aspects of starvation by forcing the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates.

What is the Ketogenic Diet?

The ketogenic diet is a special diet designed to help children with epilepsy that fails to respond adequately to routine anti-epileptic medications. A typical ketogenic diet is made up of the following...

Ketogenic Diet and Epilepsy

History of the Ketogenic Diet

Ketogenic Diet Efficacy

Ketogenic Diet Indications and Contra-Indications

Ketogenic Diet Mechanism

Ketogenic Diet Side Effects

Ketogenic Diet Types

Ketosis and the Keto Diet

Best and Worst Foods to Eat on the Ketogenic Diet

Ketogenic Diet and Aging

Does the Keto Diet Increase the Risk of Diabetes?

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Is the Ketogenic Diet Good or Bad for Migraines?

Latest Ketogenic Diet News and Research

Ketogenic metabolic therapy could work synergistically with IDH1-mutant glioblastoma

A British man who rejected the standard of care to treat his brain cancer has lived with the typically fatal glioblastoma tumor growing very slowly after adopting a ketogenic diet, providing a case study that researchers say reflects the benefits of using the body's own metabolism to fight this particularly aggressive cancer instead of chemo and radiation therapy.

11 Jun 2021

Low-calorie ketogenic diet can increase testosterone levels in overweight men

New research reveals that a low-calorie ketogenic diet can help testosterone levels in overweight men, reducing overall levels of obesity.

24 May 2021

Effects of low-fat, plant-based diet compared to low-carb, animal-based diet

People on a low-fat, plant-based diet ate fewer daily calories but had higher insulin and blood glucose levels, compared to when they ate a low-carbohydrate, animal-based diet, according to a small but highly controlled study at the National Institutes of Health.

19 Jan 2021

Could the keto diet help prevent or mitigate severe COVID-19?

A new study published in the journal of Translational Medicine reports that the ketogenic diet (KD) may be useful in this area, with its track history of effectual reduction of fat mass, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects, and consequent improvement of cardiovascular health.

30 Nov 2020

Study: Ketogenic diets can prevent or reverse heart failure caused by metabolic process

Research from Saint Louis University finds that high fat or "ketogenic" diets could completely prevent, or even reverse heart failure caused by a metabolic process.

27 Oct 2020

Maternal gut microbiota can promote healthy fetal brain development

During pregnancy in mice, the billions of bacteria and other microbes that live in a mother's intestines regulate key metabolites, small molecules that are important for healthy fetal brain development, UCLA biologists report Sept. 23 in the journal Nature.

24 Sep 2020

Keto diet could be beneficial for elderly COVID-19 patients

A recent study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine, New York University Langone Health and Washington University School of Medicine, claims that the ketogenic diet (high fat, low carbohydrate diet) is capable of mitigating clinical outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in elderly people by improving immune-metabolic functions and reducing inflammation. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

14 Sep 2020

Mediterranean ketogenic diet can help alter fungi in the gut linked to Alzheimer's risk

Specific fungi in the gut associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease and found in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can be altered in a beneficial manner by eating a modified Mediterranean diet, researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine have found.

31 Aug 2020

Buck researchers investigate ketone bodies as possible therapeutic against COVID-19

Given the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 has on older adults in terms of death and lasting disability, and the impact of common aging-related comorbidities like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, Buck Institute professor and practicing geriatrician John Newman, MD, PhD, can make a compelling argument that those infected with the SARS-CoV2 virus are suffering from an aging-related disease, no matter how old they are when they get infected.

15 Jul 2020

New vitamin K-based drug eliminates medication-resistant epileptic seizures in mice

In the cover article of the June 11 issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, a team of researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, led by Sherine Chan, Ph.D., and James Chou, Ph.D., reports that a new vitamin K-based drug has proved effective in mouse models of medication-resistant seizures.

6 Jul 2020

A special diet can help in certain cases of asthma, study suggests

Can a special diet help in certain cases of asthma? A new study at the University of Bonn at least points to this conclusion. According to the study, mice that were switched to a so-called ketogenic diet showed significantly reduced inflammation of the respiratory tract.

7 Apr 2020

Reports of flu-like symptoms seen with Keto diet

A new study has shown that those starting on a keto diet could develop certain flu-like symptoms in the initial weeks. The study titled, “Consumer Reports of “Keto Flu” Associated With the Ketogenic Diet,” was published in the latest issue of the journal Frontiers in Nutrition.

15 Mar 2020

As VA tests keto diet to help diabetic patients, skeptics raise red flags

A partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Silicon Valley startup Virta Health Corp. is focusing attention on the company's claim that it provides treatment "clinically-proven to safely and sustainably reverse type 2 diabetes" without medication or surgery.

3 Feb 2020

OMA’s 2020 Obesity Algorithm updated with new information for clinicians

The Obesity Medicine Association today announced the immediate availability of the 2020 OMA Obesity Algorithm, with new information for clinicians including obesity myths, polycystic ovary syndrome, obesity and psychiatric disease, ketogenic diet, as well as many other updates.

31 Jan 2020

Keto diet produces health benefits in the short term, Yale study finds

A ketogenic diet -- which provides 99% of calories from fat and only 1% from carbohydrates -- produces health benefits in the short term, but negative effects after about a week, Yale researchers found in a study of mice.

27 Jan 2020

Ketone monoester drinks may help control blood sugar

With more people with diabetes and pre-diabetes looking for strategies to help control blood sugar, new research from UBC's Okanagan campus suggests that ketone monoester drinks--a popular new food supplement--may help do exactly that.

7 Jan 2020

Diet significantly influences mental health and wellbeing, review confirms

A new expert review confirms that diet significantly influences mental health and wellbeing, but cautions that the evidence for many diets is comparatively weak.

3 Jan 2020

Collaborative Frontiers grant to help predict behavior of the brain under metabolic stress

More than 30 million Americans have diabetes, with the vast majority having Type 2 disease. Characterized by insulin resistance and persistently high blood sugar levels, poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes has a host of well-recognized complications: compared with the general population, a greatly increased risk of kidney disease, vision loss, heart attacks and strokes, and lower limb amputations.

11 Dec 2019

Ketogenic diet wards off flu, study finds

The ketogenic diet has gained immense popularity over the past years because it helps lose weight speedily, with a wide range of health benefits. Similar to the Atkins diet, the ketogenic diet may not only help people shed off extra pounds but also boosting the immune system and warding off flu.

19 Nov 2019

Keto diet may cause skin problems

Researchers from Austria have found that ketogenic diets could affect psoriasis-like skin inflammation in mice. They noted that keto diets including medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) such as coconut along with omega-3 fatty acids obtained from nuts and seeds and fish oil could be a recipe for psoriasis exacerbation. They speculated that this could be true for humans as well. The study titled, “The Influence of Ketogenic Diets on Psoriasiform-Like Skin Inflammation,” was published this week in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

17 Oct 2019