The Weekly Digest
Discover the latest in nutrition – from reliable research to practical tips and wholesome recipes dished out by registered dietitians. Whether you're seeking science-backed insights, expert advice, or delicious ways to nourish your body, we've got you covered!
The Ketogenic Diet and Epilepsy: A Difficult Balance
As far back as ancient Greece, physicians noticed that fasting could reduce seizure activity. In the 1920s, doctors at the Mayo Clinic developed the ketogenic diet to reproduce the benefits of fasting without complete food deprivation. By sharply limiting carbohydrates and emphasizing fats, the body shifts from using glucose for energy to burning fat and producing ketones, molecules that may help calm overactive nerve cells (Rho, 2017).
For nearly a century, the ketogenic diet (KD) has served as a powerful medical tool for treating epilepsy. For people whose seizures don’t respond to medication, it offers another path that can be life changing when it works, though not without its challenges.
Keto Promises Fast Weight Loss—But at What Cost?
The ketogenic diet, commonly known as “keto,” has exploded in popularity over the last decade, largely for its promise of quick weight loss. But before keto became a trendy diet, it was actually developed as a medical therapy. Originally used in the 1920s, the ketogenic diet was designed to help manage epilepsy in children who didn’t respond well to medication. In this context, it works by shifting the body into a state called ketosis through a high-fat, very low-carbohydrate eating pattern, altering brain metabolism in a way that helps reduce seizure frequency and severity.