Keto diet, the good and the bad

What is keto diet?

The ketogenic diet is a very high-fat, moderate-protein, very low-carbohydrate meal plan in which you get 70-75 percent of your calories from fat, 15-20 percent from protein, and 5-10 percent from carbohydrates.

The purpose of this diet is to get your body into ketosis, the state in which your body shifts its primary fuel source from glucose to fatty acids and ketone bodies. Once on ketosis, you should experience outstanding weight loss and a positive effect on your blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

The ketogenic diet is used in children with drug-resistant epilepsy. A randomized, controlled trial showed that the number of seizures fell by more than 50% in approximately half of children after 1 year on the diet (class II evidence).

The diet seems to be effective for all seizure types. The major problem is adherence to the restrictive (and unpleasant) dietary regimen. Therefore, a modified Atkins diet is under evaluation as a potential alternative in adults and for environments in which strict supervision is unavailable (class IV evidence).

Keto diet also has long term positive effects on Obesity according to a research conducted in 2004.

References:

1: Neal EG, Chaffe H, Schwartz RH, et al. The ketogenic diet for the treatment of childhood epilepsy: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet Neurol 2008;7:500-6.

2: Kossoff EH, Dorward JL. The modified Atkins diet. Epilepsia 2008;49:Suppl 8: 37-41.

3: Brehm, B. J., Seeley, R. J., Daniels, S. R., & D’alessio, D. A. (2003). The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 88(4), 1617-1623.