Total Pageviews

Saturday 24 August 2013

Beyond weight loss: a review of the therapeutic uses of very-low-carbohydrate (ketogenic) diets.

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2013) 

Abstract.

Very-low-carbohydrate diets or ketogenic diets have been in use since the 1920s as a therapy for epilepsy and can, in some cases, completely remove the need for medication. From the 1960s onwards they have become widely known as one of the most common methods for obesity treatment. Recent work over the last decade or so has provided evidence of the therapeutic potential of ketogenic diets in many pathological conditions, such as diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, acne, neurological diseases, cancer and the amelioration of respiratory and cardiovascular disease risk factors.

The possibility that modifying food intake can be useful for reducing or eliminating pharmaceutical methods of treatment, which are often lifelong with significant side effects, calls for serious investigation. This review revisits the meaning of physiological ketosis in the light of this evidence and considers possible mechanisms for the therapeutic actions of the ketogenic diet on different diseases. The present review also questions whether there are still some preconceived ideas about ketogenic diets, which may be presenting unnecessary barriers to their use as therapeutic tools in the physician’s hand.

Full paper here. 

Great article highly recommended Eddie.

3 comments:

Lowcarb team member said...

Cheers Eddie!

Great article and good find!

High protein was mentioned as a risk although that doesn't enter the equation on LCHF as many of us are following.
It's quite disappointing that despite the many positives of this regime and the fact that some of this information is over 80 years old that todays HCP's dismiss ketogenic diets as dangerous or cannot differentiate between simple dietary ketosis and Diabetic Ketoacidosis.*sigh*

Paul

Galina L. said...

I already commented about using ketosis for infections and migraines, but the list could be quite long. I would add to it hot flashes, PMS, allergies, smoking cessation (to curb weight gain and irritability), after stroke care, high blood pressure.

Lowcarb team member said...

I don't know about anyone else but I would much prefer to go back to a system with fewer but more knowledgeable Diabetes experts than to be seen more often by HCP's who know very little about the condition and have only a list of boxes to be ticked and very little support from above. I speak as a T2, of course.

Kath