Ketogenic Diet as Medical Nutrition Therapy

Abstract

Medical nutrition therapy is a therapeutic approach to treat medical conditions and their associated symptoms via using a specifically tailored diet devised under the supervision of a doctor and a registered dietitian or nutrition professional. Ketogenic diet primarily consists of the high amount of fats, a moderate amount of proteins, and very low carbohydrates. It is known to stimulate the metabolic effects of starvation by forcing the body to use primarily fat as a fuel source. Ketogenic diet was developed in the 1920s. Nowadays, it is gaining considerable attention as a potential weight-loss strategy because of the low-carb diet. However, it is being considered for use in several diseases/disorders also because of the beneficial effects on the metabolic health and nervous system. This review revisits the therapeutic potential of ketogenic diets in many pathological conditions and its role as a medical nutrition therapy. It also talks about the ill effects that the keto diet can have in case of self-usage and monitoring.

A Machine-Generated View of the Role of Blood Glucose Levels in the Severity of COVID-19

“…The strong link between COVID-19 severity and diabetes and obesity has led to consideration of nutritional interventions in the treatment of the disease ( 387 ), as for example the use of low-carbohydrate diets or ketogenic diet (low-carb, high fat diet) The basic principle is to diminish the intake of carbohydrates, providing fat instead of carbohydrates for the body to switch on ketosis and produce ketones as the primary energy source ( 388 , 389 ). Indeed, there is growing evidence of therapeutic benefits of a ketogenic diet for severe pathologies ( 390 ) such as cancer ( 391 , 392 ), diabetes ( 393 , 394 ), and pharmaco-resistant epilepsy ( 395 , 396 ), and for the prevention of Alzheimer disease ( 397 , 398 ) and other neurodegenerative disorders ( 399 ). It is also the first line therapy for the management of the Glut1DS (Glut1 deficiency syndrome) rare disease ( 400 ) and there is evidence that a ketogenic diet decreases comorbidities linked to hyperglycemia ( 401 , 402 ).…”

“…The diet is difficult to set-up properly to ensure nutritional, electrolyte and fluid balance. Beneficial effects of this diet, that has been found in the management of other diseases, are also usually expected over the long-term ( 390 ). The time needed for the body to enter ketosis also varies for different groups and the reasons are unclear.…”

Elevated Blood Glucose Levels as a Primary Risk Factor for the Severity of COVID-19

“…The strong link between COVID-19 severity and diabetes and obesity has led to consideration of nutritional interventions in the treatment of the disease (386), as for example the use of low-carbohydrate diets or ketogenic diet (low-carb, high fat diet) The basic principle is to diminish the intake of carbohydrates, providing fat instead of carbohydrates for the body to switch on ketosis and produce ketones as the primary energy source (387, 388). Indeed, there is growing evidence of therapeutic benefits of a ketogenic diet for severe pathologies (389) such as cancer (390, 391), diabetes (392, 393), and pharmaco-resistant epilepsy (394, 395), and for the prevention of Alzheimer disease (396, 397) and other neurodegenerative disorders (398). It is also the first line therapy for the management of the Glut1DS (Glut1 deficiency syndrome) rare disease (399) and there is evidence that a ketogenic diet decreases comorbidities linked to hyperglycemia (400, 401).…”

“…The diet is difficult to set-up properly to ensure nutritional requirements. Beneficial effects of this diet, that has been found in the management of other diseases, are also usually expected over the long-term (389). The time needed for the body to enter ketosis also varies for different groups and the reasons are unclear.…”

Ketogenic diet and the risk of kidney stones

“…: gwałtowną utratę masy ciała, zwiększenie wrażliwości organizmu na insulinę, długie zapewnienie sytości, stała się jedną z najpopularniejszych diet wśród osób dążących do redukcji tkanki tłuszczowej [35]. Liczne badania sugerują skuteczność diety ketogenicznej w redukcji masy ciała, cukrzycy typu 2, chorobach układu sercowo-naczyniowego, działaniu przeciwnowotworowym, chorobach neurodegeneracyjnych, epilepsji, migrenie, zespole policystycznych jajników, trądziku pospolitym [36,37].…”