The History of Keto as a Treatment for Epilepsy

Fasting (restricting eating) has been used to treat epilepsy as early as 500 BC with good reason. If you fast (don’t eat anything for a period of time), your body will, in turn, produce ketones from stored fat. These ketones are neuroprotective, meaning they help protect the myelin (sheath that protects nerves) in your brain, and apparently, also result in less epileptic seizures.

But in 1923, a doctor named Russell Wilder, from The Wilder Clinic, recognized the dangers of fasting, particularly for children. Children have different metabolic needs and a growing brain, and can easily become weak, confused, and angry if their specific nutritional needs are not met. Consequently, Wilder studied many different nutritional therapies to see if he might find a diet that would elicit a similar response as fasting, without the potential dangers.

He soon learned that you can mimic the effects of fasting by avoiding all forms of sugar and eating a high-fat diet. He tested this diet on people with epilepsy, and it ended up becoming the main epilepsy treatment for many years. 

Wilder’s discovery was the birth of the ketogenic diet, but this intervention for epilepsy was short-lived. In the 1930s, doctors were presented with new anticonvulsant seizure drugs. Because prescribing these medications was easier than making their patients follow a strict diet, drugs became the primary treatment for epilepsy. At least for the time being. 

The Charlie Foundation and a Return to Keto

In 1993, a young boy named Charlie struggled with severe epilepsy. He was on several different daily medications. His parents were willing to try anything and read about the ketogenic diet as a therapy for epilepsy. They gave it a try and it worked for Charlie. Within a month, he was off medications and seizure-free. He remained seizure-free on keto for five years and has not had another seizure since. 

The Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies was founded in 1994. It provides information about diet therapies for people with epilepsy, other neurological disorders, and select cancers. It also explains that anecdotally, and by four randomized controlled studies, the keto diet reduced seizures by at least 50 percent in half of the people who trialed it, and 15 to 25 percent are cured of seizures.

Since the formation of The Charlie Foundation, keto has remained an adjunct therapy for epilepsy, and there are several clinical trials studying keto for epilepsy, both completed and underway, including:

• • Efficacy and Safety of Ketogenic Diet as Adjunctive Treatment in Adults With Refractory Epilepsy
  • Effect of Outpatient Classic Ketogenic Diet in Epileptic Children and Adolescent
  • RCT of the Efficacy of the Ketogenic Diet in the Treatment of Epilepsy
  • Ketogenic Diet vs. Antiepileptic Drug Treatment in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

Benefits of Keto for Epilepsy

So just how does keto benefit epilepsy? Ketone bodies produced from fat on the keto diet, somehow cause a change in metabolism that leads to a strong anticonvulsant effect. A team at Emory University School of Medicine wanted to further understand why keto works so well for brain-related conditions. These researchers discovered that the keto diet:

• Raises your number of mitochondria (the “powerhouse” of your cells) in portions of your brain 
• Enhances energy production leading to improved neuron stability
• Alters genes involved in energy metabolism in the brain
• Enhances the brain’s ability to withstand metabolic challenges
• Causes a change in metabolism leading to a potent anticonvulsant effect

According to celebrity trainer and keto expert, Thomas Delauer, most of the science leads us to believe that it has to do the GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid) and glutamate (both neurotransmitters) within the brain. GABA is relaxing whereas glutamate is excitatory. Excess glutamate can trigger a seizure. On a keto diet, we have higher levels of GABA, the relaxing neurotransmitter. Also, ketone bodies actually compete with the glutamate and the body uses ketones instead of glutamate. Delauer explains, “Ketones bump the glutamate out of the brain.” This decreases the risk of seizure for epileptics. Learn more in this video.

Keto Modifications for Children with Epilepsy

As we mentioned above, children have different metabolic needs than adults do, and may need dietary modification in order to get their energy needs met, depending on their age and stage of development. It’s important to work with a doctor or dietician when trying keto as a therapeutic intervention for your child. 

The Final Word

The keto diet has a long history of use as a treatment method for people with epilepsy, starting in the 1920s, but it died down due to pharmaceutical discoveries. Thanks to the Wilder Clinic established in the 1990s, keto has had a big comeback in the treatment of epilepsy and reducing seizures, and is now a well-researched and established modern complementary therapy for both children and adults with epilepsy. 

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1. Weight Loss

Weight loss is probably the most commonly cited health benefit of the ketogenic diet, and it’s not one to overlook. With keto, weight loss is real and effective for one simple reason: it helps people convert from a carb-heavy diet, carb-burning diet to a fat-heavy, fat-burning diet. A diet high in carbs induces bloating, weight gain, and poor health and relies on carbs for energy. A high-fat, moderate-protein, and very low carb diet curbs your appetite, allows you to eat until you’re satiated, and burns fat from your body and your foods for energy. 

Whether you’re fit, a little out of shape, or obese, a ketogenic diet can do more than help you reach or maintain your goal weight through dieting; it can reduce your risk factors for obesity-related diseases and disorders, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. (We’ll talk more about that later in this article.)

The best part? You don’t have to starve yourself to get there. On a keto diet, you get to eat your fill of satiating foods loaded with good fats, which triggers a fat-burning metabolic process known as ketosis. Once you’re body is acclimated, this leads to increased energy and ability for physical activity. 

2. Reduced Appetite

Imagine not feeling those food crashes and carb cravings. That’s the keto life. You eat, then you’re satisfied…for a long time! Once your body has settled into the diet, it works more efficiently, burning the fats in your food and your body and never embarking on the wild ride that is the highs and lows of a carb/sugar laden diet. Without the sugar peaks and crashes, cravings disappear, and you feel satisfied. 

Why, you wonder? Isn’t a calorie just a calorie. The answer is no. Here’s why: 

As we mentioned above, the ketogenic diet is one that’s very low in carbohydrates, moderately low in protein, and high in fat. But it’s more specific than that. Each day on a keto diet, you eat to your macronutrients (“macros”) or the total amount of calories of fat, protein, and carbs you should eat per day based on your height, weight, activity level, age, and goals. But not all macros are the same. Each has a specific amount of energy or calories:

• Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram
• Protein has 4 calories per gram 
• Fat has 9 calories per gram

Clearly, fats are more satiating (keep you feeling satisfied longer) because they provide you with the same energy per gram as both protein and carbohydrates combined! 

That’s not the only reason your appetite is reduced on a keto diet. As we mentioned earlier, once you get into ketosis, you generally don’t experience the blood sugar level peaks and valleys – and the consequent hunger pangs – that you do on a carbohydrate-heavy diet. Hormones, in this case insulin, cholecystokinin, ghrelin, and leptin, play a strong role in the lack of hunger, because they influence the feeling of being satiated. 

Ketosis has been shown to suppress ghrelin (a strong appetite stimulator). In fact, in a study where participants were put on a ketogenic diet for eight weeks and then reintroduced to a standard diet, participants in ketosis experienced a reduction of circulating concentrations of several hormones and nutrients that influence appetite.

3. Inflammation

Inflammation is the body’s natural immune response to help heal and fight infection. But too much and persistent inflammation can cause unpleasant symptoms, such as pain, joint stiffness, swelling, fatigue, and more acute physiological results. 

When you’re on a keto diet and regularly in a state of ketosis, your body produces ketones, specifically BHB (ß-hydroxybutyrate), which is a strong anti-inflammatory chemical. BHB helps to inhibit the inflammatory pathways (NF-kB and COX-2) and also activates the AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) pathway, which assists in inhibiting the inflammatory NF-kB pathways. Additionally, BHB has been shown to exhibit effects similar to pain-relief drugs, such as NSAIDs, by inhibiting the COX-2 enzyme. 

Another anti-inflammatory influence is the ketogenic diet itself; the keto diet helps promote the consumption of anti-inflammatory foods, such as eggs, olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, and other foods high in omega-3s, all of which are heralded for their anti-inflammatory effects. The diet plan also promotes the avoidance of inflammatory foods. Not sure which is which? See our lists below, which feature some popular anti-inflammatory and inflammatory foods. 

Anti-inflammatory Foods

• • Eggs
  • Olive oil
  • Coconut oil
  • Avocados
  • Fatty fish
  • Spinach
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Blueberries
  • Bone broth
  • Garlic
  • Nuts

Inflammation-Causing Foods

• • Processed foods
  • Refined sugar
  • Grains
  • Fruits
  • Starchy vegetables
  • Omega-6
  • Processed oils (canola, corn, safflower)
  • Soda

4. Cholesterol

When people think of high-fat diets, they almost instantly think of high cholesterol levels. It’s a reasonable response considering we’ve been told for years that the low-fat diet is heart healthy and the high-fat diet is not. Yet more and more research showing that fat is not to be feared but rather it has been the scapegoat for the real culprits of cardiovascular and obesity issues among Americans today: processed carbohydrates and diets high in sugar. 

On a ketogenic eating plan, many people experience a decrease in total cholesterol, a decrease in triglycerides, and an increase in HDL. Although some people may see a rise in cholesterol on a ketogenic diet, those people would likely see an increase regardless because rapid weight loss, be it water weight or body fat, can lead to a temporary, short-term rise in LDL cholesterol. Consequently, it’s often recommended to wait six months after starting a ketogenic diet to test your lipid panels, or to wait until your weight loss has tapered off.

We have several articles and videos that dive deeper into the Cholesterol/Keto diet relationship here: 

• • What is Oxidized LDL Cholesterol?
  • Does Keto Raise Cholesterol?
  • Meet Dave Feldman & Cholesterol Code
  • The Keto Diet and Cholesterol: Digesting the Facts

5. Diabetes & Blood Sugar Control

Since you eliminate sugar and most carbohydrates on a keto diet, it’s not hard to understand why it’s great for blood-sugar control. The less sugar and carbs you eat, the less sugar in your bloodstream. This is why, after starting a keto diet, most people will notice a decrease in their blood sugar almost immediately. In fact, the effects are so immediate, it’s recommended that diabetics beginning a ketogenic diet work with their health care provider so they can adjust their medication as needed while their glucose levels become lower and more stabilized. 

When you’re eating carb-heavy high-glycemic foods, you experience a blood-glucose spike immediately after eating, followed by a subsequent drop in blood-glucose. On a ketogenic diet, you reduce your sugar and carbohydrate intake and thus naturally keep your blood glucose levels from rising and falling drastically. There will still be a small natural rise in blood glucose when you eat low-glycemic foods, but you won’t experience the high and low glucose level variations of a high-carbohydrate diet. 

Plus, as we mentioned, by reducing your carbohydrates, you deprive your body of glucose stores, so your body begins using fats for fuel versus carbohydrates/glucose. This causes your insulin levels to lower, because your body is no longer being tasked with managing a lot of sugar. 

Even people with insulin resistance benefit from the ketogenic diet. With insulin resistance, your body doesn’t respond to insulin as it should. This often translates into higher blood-glucose levels and, over time, can lead to diabetes and increase your risk for heart disease. Studies following participants with diabetes who implemented a ketogenic diet show that participants saw drastic reductions in their glucose-lowering medications and fasting glucose levels.

6. Blood Pressure

Anyone with high blood pressure will appreciate the positive blood pressure control that results from a keto diet. 

In studies following obese patients, those on a ketogenic diet experienced a more drastic reduction in their blood pressure than those on low-fat diets. Simultaneously, these same subjects following a keto diet had comparable weight-loss and triglycerides results as study subjects who followed a low-fat diet and received a weight-loss drug. Additionally, the systolic blood pressure in the ketogenic group decreased (which is good for lowering high blood pressure), while it increased among the low-fat/diet-drug-medication participants.

7. Heart Health

The term “heart health” conjures images of little heart icon that appears on whole grains and cereals and promotes carbs/low-fat foods. But, in fact, a diet low in carbohydrates and higher in fats has been shown to drastically improve the biomarkers associated with heart disease. 

In a recent study of a group of normal-weight normolipidemic men (men with normal lipid amounts in their blood) who were put on a ketogenic diet for six weeks, 22 out of 26 biomarkers for cardiovascular disease risk improved significantly. 

While some people experience a small increase in LDL cholesterol on a keto diet, it’s now suggested that LDL is not the “make it or break it” factor in determining heart health it was once believed to be. In fact, current research shows that LDL is a very small piece of the puzzle; in a 2.7-year randomized study looking at the influence of the Mediterranean diet on people who had previously had a heart attack, there was a significantly dramatic reduction in repeat heart attacks and overall mortality. Most remarkable, there was no difference in LDL changes between the two groups. 

Now, it’s widely known that it’s the particle size of LDL that plays a larger role in determining heart health risks. Circulating LDL particles are actually quite diverse in size, and smaller, denser particles (which carry proportionately less triglyceride) are the ones associated with vascular damage and heart disease. 

In fact, in a recent study of ketogenic diet participants where LDL increased, there was a shift in the size of the particles; average particles increased while the small, dense particles associated with vascular damage drastically decreased.

8. Brain Health

The brain loves keto just as much as the heart. The ketogenic diet was initially implemented as a therapeutic treatment in the Mayo Clinic in 1924 to treat neurological conditions, specifically epileptic seizures. In a randomized clinical trial, researchers started the ketogenic diet with pediatric patients suffering from two or more weekly seizures while on anti-seizure medications. Within three months of initiating the diet, 34 percent of the participants had a 90 percent decrease in seizures!

But the research doesn’t stop with epilepsy. In recent years, the ketogenic diet has begun to be studied as complementary intervention for various neurological disorders. And while many scientists within the neurological field state that the brain prefers glucose over ketones, the brain does over time (with age) lose its ability to efficiently fuel itself with glucose alone. This is where ketones come into play. 

Ketones are a natural neuroprotective antioxidant that has been shown to prevent harmful reactive oxygen species from damaging the brain. Ketones have been shown to increase mitochondrial efficiency and production, which helps to protect brain cells from strokes and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Finally a ketogenic diet has been shown to help regulate glutamate (a dominant neurotransmitter in our brain) which can cause nerve cell damage if over stimulated. 

While much of the research around the ketogenic diet and the brain is in its infancy, the research that has been done is promising and shows a need for further exploration to fully understand the scope of benefits and clinical uses.

Here are some additional articles and videos on this topic on our site:

• • The Ketogenic Diet for Neurological Disorders
  • Keto As a Treatment & Prevention for Alzheimer’s
  • Keto Has a Long History in Treating Epilepsy
  • How the Ketogenic Diet Increases Mental Performance

9. Acne

While genetics plays a large role in acne, it has been suggested that a ketogenic diet may help to improve skin clarity. 

Specific research on a ketogenic diet and acne occurrence has not yet been published, but there have been studies that have looked at a ketogenic diet in regards to hormonal balancing, specifically PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). Women suffering with PCOS often deal with insulin resistance, hormone imbalances, fatigue, unwanted hair, infertility, and acne. Current studies have looked at the ketogenic diet and low-carbohydrate diets in women with PCOS and have found that they were able to reduce their insulin levels, and reduce their body mass. 

But how does this translate to acne? Well, a recent study, where researchers looked at the benefits of a low-glycemic diet on acne, showed that as insulin levels went down, the physical appearance of acne seemed to lessen. Additionally, as we discussed above, keto has been proven to aid against inflammation, which in turn helps to lessen the inflammation associated with acne (red and swollen pustules).

10. Migraines

Migraines, a recurring type of headache that can cause severe pain, plagues nearly 12 percent of Americans. So naturally, those that suffer with migraines are willing to try most solutions to rid themselves of them. While migraines may not have been their primary reason for starting the ketogenic diet, many migraine sufferers on the keto diet have reported a significant decrease in migraines, including, in some cases, becoming migraine free!

There have been a handful of studies that have looked at the relationship between a ketogenic diet and migraines. In one study, participants in the ketogenic diet group reported a reduction in headache frequency and drug consumption. It was hypothesized that the success may be modulated by keto’s enhancement of brain mitochondrial metabolism and the inhibitory effects on neural inflammation and cortical spreading depression. Ketogenic VLCD (very low-calorie diet) could find a transient role in antagonizing the ponderal increase, a common side effect among prophylactic migraine treatments.

For more information on keto and migraine’s, read our book review on Fighting the Migraine Epidemic: How to Treat and Prevent Migraines Without Medicine, and learn more about the author Angela Stanton, Ph.D. here.

11. Cancer Treatment

When you hear of keto as a cancer treatment, most people are referring to the Warburg effect, whereby cancer cells prefer to use anaerobic (without oxygen) glycolysis to produce energy. 

This is much less efficient than aerobic glycolysis, and it means that cancer cells have a much higher requirement for glucose for energy. That’s the basis for the PET scan where glucose is injected into the body to help detect cancer.  Since cancer takes up glucose far more rapidly than normal cells, the test tracks the activity and location of cancer in the body by noticing what happens with the injected glucose. 

But here’s the most interesting part: some cancers lack the ability to metabolize ketone bodies. This means that if such a cancer has no access to sugar for energy, it cannot thrive. In these cases, a ketogenic diet essentially “starves” the cancer cells. Unfortunately, not all cancers respond the same way, and the Warburg effect is not universally seen in all cancer. 

Still, there is promising research on the role of a ketogenic diet as an effective complementary intervention for cancer treatment. In one study on neuroblastoma, a cancer that most commonly affects children, the ketogenic diet significantly reduced tumor growth and prolonged survival of the study subjects (in this case mice).  

We’re seeing an increasing number of preclinical studies evaluating the ketogenic diet as an adjuvant therapy in cancer treatment, either alone and/or in combination with classic therapy.  In addition to neuroblastoma, the strongest evidence for the tumor-suppressing effect of a ketogenic diet has been reported for glioblastoma (a brain tumor), prostate, colon, pancreatic and lung cancer. 

Read more about cancer and keto here.

The Final Word 

Bottom line: the ketogenic diet has significant health benefits in a variety of areas, from metobolic health to heart and brain health, and more. As studies continue and more is understood about the body’s reaction to the ketogenic diet and how it can be leveraged for a variety of wellness initiatives, there will surely be more discoveries of the benefits of the high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb ketogenic lifestyle. Regardless, always check with a dietitian or your primary care physician before making dramatic dietary changes. 

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What are Neurological Disorders?

Neurological disorders are a class of diseases that impact the brain, spine, and nerves. There are over 600 different diseases of the nervous system, many of which are increasing in frequency and lacking in effective treatment modalities.

Brain Diseases and Glucose 

While every disease of the brain has its own characteristics, one theme that most have in common is impaired cerebral glucose metabolism, or the inability for the brain to get enough energy from glucose. 

There are several key contributors to impaired cerebral glucose metabolism, but aging is one of the biggest. 

However, glucose is not the only fuel source that can be used by the brain. Ketones, created via carbohydrate restriction or severe calorie restriction, can also be used by the brain. In fact, research shows that ketone bodies are the preferred fuel source of the human brain, meaning that when both glucose and ketones are present, the brain will preferentially take in ketones. Additionally, ketones can provide more fuel for the brain compared to glucose, and they are considered a “cleaner” fuel source because they produce less oxidative stress when they are metabolized compared to glucose. Finally, research has demonstrated that brain ketone uptake does not diminish with age, meaning this superior fuel source can still provide energy to the brain when glucose cannot.

While leveraging ketones for energy is not the only way that keto can impact brain diseases, it’s a huge mechanism that makes a compelling case for considering the use of the ketogenic diet in several different neurological disorders. 

Keto and Epilepsy

Many people don’t realize that the ketogenic diet was created for its ability to treat pediatric epilepsy. 

Epilepsy is one of the most common serious neurological conditions in the world and is characterized by abnormal brain cell activity resulting in recurrent seizures. 

Interestingly, fasting recommendations for health were first recorded back in 500 BC and eventually became the primary therapeutic approach for epilepsy. But in the 1920s, it was found that a diet high in fat and low in carbs was able to mimic the effects of fasting on seizure control, only with the ability to still eat food. Just like that, the ketogenic diet was born.

However, as the creation and use of anti-epileptic drugs increased, the ketogenic diet became a forgotten option. Now the most popular treatment options for epilepsy are pharmaceutical medications, surgery, and vagal nerve stimulation, two of which are more medically invasive.

But using such treatments, especially medication, comes at a cost, specifically the side effects that accompany their use such as dizziness, nausea, vertigo, and fatigue among many others. Additionally, 25 percent of children do not respond to antiepileptic drugs, and those who do typically build up resistance to the drug, requiring frequent switching of medication, only to develop resistance and have to switch again.

This begs the question, how successful is the ketogenic diet for epilepsy? Medical literature suggests a nearly 60 percent success rate in patients utilizing the keto for seizure control. This is especially good news considering the ketogenic diet is not met with the same side effects and resistances to anti-epileptic drugs. 

It’s not completely understood why the ketogenic diet helps prevent seizures, but the belief is that the change in metabolism that occurs on the diet plays a big role in the anti-convulsant effect. Additionally, along with creating more available energy for the brain, the keto diet has demonstrated the ability to increase the synthesis of GABA, a neurotransmitter in the brain that reduces excitability of brain cells thus reducing seizure risk.

As a result, it’s believed that keto may also help manage other conditions that result in seizures such as Rett syndrome, infantile spasms, Dravet syndrome, and tuberous sclerosis complex, GLUT1 deficiency syndrome, and Doose syndrome; however, much more research is needed in these specific cases.

Keto and Alzheimer’s Disease

An estimated 5.8 million Americans currently have Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by a decline in memory and language. Those suffering from AD demonstrate an accumulation of amyloid plaques (clumps of beta-amyloids, which destroy connections between nerve cells) and tau protein tangles (a neurofibrillary tangle and common AD marker) within the brain; together, they play a big role in the progression and symptoms of the disease. It’s currently thought that AD can be a result of environmental, lifestyle, and genetic factors. It’s also believed that a ketogenic diet can have positive effects on AD patients. 

One of the most common and earliest signs of AD is an energy deficit in the brain. Those suffering from AD have insulin resistance of the brain, which causes impaired glucose metabolism, leading to that energy deficit. This characteristic of AD has led many to refer to the disease as “type III diabetes.”

This characteristic of AD is also one of the biggest reasons why a ketogenic diet should be considered for people with Alzheimer’s. As mentioned above, ketones are able to provide energy for the brain through pathways that are independent of insulin’s action. That means these ketones can provide fuel even to the insulin-resistant brain.

However, the power of a ketogenic diet for AD is not just a result of mitigating the energy deficit. Animal research has demonstrated that the ketogenic diet can reduce levels of the aforementioned amyloid plaques that also characterize AD; however, much more research is needed to determine if this occurs in humans. We also know that ketones are neuroprotective, meaning they can help reduce inflammation, which is important for preventing or slowing mental deterioration over time.

Keto first gained traction for the treatment of Alzheimer’s thanks to Dr. Mary Newport, author of The Complete Book of Ketones, who found that inducing ketosis through a keto diet and the use of coconut oil, MCT oil, and exogenous ketones, all drastically improved her husband’s AD symptoms. 

Since then, the ketogenic diet has been used in research much more frequently and has demonstrated a strong correlation between levels of ketosis and improvements in cognitive performance in individuals suffering from AD.

It’s important to note that we need much more human research to determine the best use of the keto diet and ketogenic compounds for reducing the risk of and/or treating Alzheimer’s disease. It’s also not fully understood if the ketogenic diet can demonstrate improvements for all individuals since research hasn’t produced the same results in AD subjects who have the ApoE4 gene, which is associated with the greatest risk for Alzheimer’s. 

Keto and Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is another neurodegenerative disease that manifests through impaired movement and affects 1 to 2 percent of people over the age of 65.

PD is caused by the death of neurons in the substantia nigra (a layer of midbrain gray matter) and creates immense motor problems affecting daily life, including slow jittery movement and disruption to the basal ganglia (thalamus-linked structures in the base of the brain involved in movement coordination).

Early symptoms of PD include rigid motions, trembling or shaking, and slow movement. Advanced symptoms include dementia, depression, and impaired walking and talking.

The basal ganglia control the “autopilot” functions of the brain, such as walking or basic motor tasks, thus explaining many of the symptoms of PD. The death of neurons in the substantia nigra is caused by the impairment of mitochondrial complex 1 activity, which compromises mitochondrial activity and results in an energy deficit.

Impaired mitochondrial activity and lack of brain energy allow the ketogenic diet to again be considered as a viable treatment option.

While the research is still limited, a study published in 2005 demonstrated that the subjects who were able to adhere to the ketogenic diet for 28 days experienced significant improvements on the unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale.

While the study shows a very small sample size, it offers promising hope in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and gives reason to further explore the use of the ketogenic diet.

Keto and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting motor neurons and ultimately leading to paralysis and death. 

Death from ALS typically occurs 2 to 5 years from symptom onset and currently, the only FDA approved therapy for ALS extends survival by a measly 2 to 3 months.

About 6,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with ALS each year, and so far, no cure has been found. Symptoms of ALS include loss of motor function, impaired breathing, loss of or difficulty speaking, trouble eating, and muscle wasting. 

While researchers are still working to determine the exact cause of ALS, it appears that like epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease, dysfunctional brain metabolism plays a big role.

While the available research here is also slim, keto’s ability to reduce inflammation and improve energy balance in the brain gives reason to consider its use in the treatment of ALS.

One animal study investigated the effects of a ketogenic diet on ALS. The results demonstrated an improvement in physical performance, mitochondrial function and ATP production, however it did not increase survival time. For this reason, a great deal of research is needed to see if there are adjustments that can be made to the diet to help improve survival time. 

Keto and Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) has traditionally been viewed as an autoimmune-mediated inflammatory disease resulting in damage to the myelin (protective sheaths that cover nerve cells) of neurons. Myelin damage is thought to be a primary contributor to the symptoms of MS, which are numbness, impaired muscle function and coordination, impaired speech, poor vision, and severe fatigue. 

Those suffering from MS typically experience symptoms in cycles, meaning the symptoms appear, disappear, then come back, usually getting a little worse each time they return.

Researchers have identified that mitochondrial dysfunction plays a role in the progression of MS. Unfortunately, there’s a lack of data assessing the effects of the ketogenic diet on MS. However, there is now ongoing research by Dr. Terry Wahls, and a recent review article highlighted several theoretical mechanisms by which the ketogenic diet can improve symptoms of MS, including limiting neurodegeneration, improving mitochondrial function, promoting mitochondrial biogenesis, increasing ATP production, and reducing oxidative damage.

Keto and Autism

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects the nervous system. While there is a spectrum of symptoms for autism, the disorder is most notably characterized by repetitive and compulsive behaviors. Additionally, people with autism display impaired mitochondrial function and glucose metabolism. This again gives reason to consider the ketogenic diet as an effective treatment.

A 2002 study examining the effects of a ketogenic diet on 30 children with autism, ages 4 to 10, displayed very promising results. While 7 of the children had difficulties tolerating the diet and 5 were only able to adhere for 2 months, 18 children were able to follow the ketogenic diet for 6 months. This study found that 2 of the patients experienced significant improvements on the childhood autism rating scale, 8 patients experienced average improvements, and 8 patients experienced mild improvements.

Despite the study’s small sample size, the results indicate that we should conduct more research on the use of keto for autism, especially since keto can improve gut health, which is also often impaired in children with autism. 

Keto and Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are common in contact sports as well as car and workplace accidents. TBI is associated with impaired cerebral energy production as well as with increased free radical production. As with the other conditions listed in this article, TBI, too, can be positively treated with a ketogenic diet. 

When head trauma occurs, it creates a major energy deficit in the brain. To compensate for the loss, the brain upregulates glycolysis and metabolizes glucose at an accelerated rate. This eventually leads to insulin resistance in the brain, which creates both an energy deficit and stimulates inflammation.

But research has demonstrated that ketone transporters are elevated after a TBI, almost as if the brain is requesting ketones during this time. While research around the subject has only been conducted in animals, there’s good reason to believe the keto diet and the use of ketone supplements could be beneficial here, especially since ketones can meet the energy demand of the brain during this time, prevent insulin resistance, and reduce neuroinflammation.

Keto and Migraines

Migraines are characterized by recurrent neurovascular pain attacks triggered by genetic or environmental factors or both. While the exact cause of migraines is not known, it is believed that over excited neurons, lack of adequate energy, and an imbalance in brain chemicals all play a role.

Most of the evidence for the use of the ketogenic diet to combat migraines is anecdotal, but there are a few mechanisms that give this evidence credibility: Besides improving energy to the brain, keto can help calm over excited neurons and block neurotransmitters like glutamate, which is found in high amounts in those suffering from migraines and is often targeted by medications prescribed to those suffering from migraines.

Recently, one review analyzed 7 studies examining the effects of a ketogenic diet on migraines in over 150 patients and found that 6 out of the 7 studies demonstrated the ketogenic diet was effective at reducing the frequency and intensity of migraines. The researchers involved suggested that more research is needed but that preliminary data suggests that the stabilizing effects of the ketogenic diet may improve migraine-related symptoms.

While the research is still in its infancy, there are some individuals who are not waiting to start making an impact with the ketogenic diet, including Dr. Angela Stanton, who has developed her own migraine protocol that includes a modified ketogenic diet.

The Final Word

There’s a lot of evidence that suggests the ketogenic diet could be promising in the treatment of neurological disease, but we need a lot more research before it becomes part of the standard of care or adjuvant therapy. 

The mechanisms by which keto can insert its benefits into the many conditions we mentioned in this article are great for getting the conversation started; however, it will take many more clinical trials before physicians will start prescribing the diet for these various disorders. We look forward to more research and results to better spread awareness on the increasingly popular topic of the ketogenic diet for neurological disorders. 

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Early Beginnings: Fasting

If you fast or intermittent fast (don’t eat anything for a period of time), your body will start to produce ketone bodies (ketones) from stored fat to make up for the lack of sugar/carbohydrate energy. Our ancestors recognized the metabolic health benefits of fasting as early as about 500 BC, unwittingly instigating a state of ketosis (when you limit carbohydrate intake and your body uses ketones as its primary fuel source) and leveraging it for a variety of conditions. Following are just a few known historical instances of fasting as medical treatment.

• Ancient Greek doctors used fasting to treat diseases. 
• Hippocrates recorded fasting as the only treatment for epilepsy and managing epileptic seizures/seizure control. 
• Benjamin Franklin said, “The best of all medicines is resting and fasting.”
• Mark Twain wrote, “A little starvation can really do more for the average sick man than can the best medicines and the best doctors. I do not mean a restricted diet; I mean total abstention from food for one or two days.”
• In 1914, fasting was used for treating type 1 and type 2 diabetes. 
• In 1922, an osteopath named Hugh Conklin fasted a number of children with epilepsy for up to 25 days, providing only limited liquids. 

The Birth of Keto: A Less Restrictive Treatment for Epilepsy

In the early 1920s, a doctor named Russell Wilder from The Wilder Clinic recognized the dangers of fasting for children and explored different diets to see if something else might elicit a similar response as fasting. He discovered that you can mimic the effects of fasting by avoiding sugar and eating a higher fat, low-carb diet. He tested this diet on children with epilepsy (with a very positive outcome) and his diet became the main pediatric epilepsy treatment for many years. Wilder’s discovery was the birth of the ketogenic diet.

In the 1930s, new anti-convulsion seizure drugs were developed. Patients and doctors found taking medication easier than making diet changes, so these new drugs became the primary treatment of epilepsy.

The Keto Diet’s Second Coming

It wasn’t until the 1970s, when consumers expressed interest in weight loss and dieting, that the ketogenic diet was reborn. But its comeback wasn’t immediate. The following timeline showcases the slow but steady growth in keto popularity and uses.

• 1972: A cardiologist named Dr. Atkins publishes the book Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution expounding his years of medical research on low-carb dieting for weight loss and heart health. This puts the higher fat/low-carb way of eating on the map.
• 1977: Dr. Phinney, a physician and scientist who spent his life studying nutrition, authored The Last Chance Diet— a book promoting a fat and protein drink diet that he developed. However, this drink he created lacked necessary minerals and people became  sick, some even dying.
• 1988: Dr. Phinney creates The Optifast Diet—a nutritional program centered around fat and protein drink products he created, but with minerals in it this time. Oprah endorses it and keto research picked up.
• 1990: U.S. television network NBC airs a show about the positive outcome of the ketogenic diet on a two-year-old boy suffering from severe seizures. The show instigates a big spike in PubMed publications relating to keto.
• 1992: An update of Dr. Atkins 1972 book is published. Called Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution, it inspires other doctors to publish dieting books based on similar low-carb principles and marks the beginning of the “low-carb craze.”
• 1996: The story of the boy from NBC’s 1990 TV special is made into a movie starring actress Meryl Streep and sparking a renewed scientific interest in the ketogenic diet.
• 2000s (early): The Atkins Diet is rediscovered and the low-carb movement gains momentum.
• 2013: A study published in Science magazine shows the anti-aging and health benefits of a ketogenic diet. This creates a big curiosity towards keto in the paleo and biohacking communities.
• 2015: Famous podcaster Tim Ferriss interviews Dr. D’Agostino,PhD, a keto research scientist, on “Fasting, Ketosis, and the End of Cancer,” pushing the ketogenic diet to the top of Google diet searches, where it has remained ever since. 

The Keto Diet Today

There’s been an explosion in the keto low-carbohydrate diet over the past several years, both for personal use and in scientific inquiry. The six-year google search term trend has climbed steadily and continues to climb. 

Why is keto so much more than a fad diet? Because the health benefits are mounting far beyond its seizure-free antiepileptic beginnings. There are three big reasons people are going keto: 

Weight loss:

One major reason many people switch to keto is the weight loss benefit. In the absence of starchy carbs which converts to blood sugar (glucose), your body burns fat as fuel (both dietary fat and body fat). Fat as your primary energy source keeps you stable and satiated throughout the day, and craving less food. Consequently, it’s become a popular diet for battling everything from the bulge to obesity. If you meal plan and eat within your daily recommended macros (aka macronutrients or daily calorie intake broken down into a ratio of fat, protein, and carbs), it also burns excess fat and helps you lose weight fast.

Brain Health:

The brain loves ketones. Outside of epilepsy, a keto diet supports other neurological disorders and conditions, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Keto also helps with concentration, memory, focus, cognition, and decreased brain fog. 

Cancer:

Researchers are studying keto as an adjunctive dietary treatment for cancer. So far, results are promising. In recent research, keto significantly increased survival time and slowed tumor growth. Tumor types were pancreatic, prostate, gastric, colon, brain, neuroblastoma and lung cancers.

The Final Word

Although originally used as a treatment for seizures and exploring neurology, our predecessors knew the health benefits of a ketogenic diet. Today, keto research is mounting and we are continuously uncovering new, positive side effects and ways in which the keto diet can benefit health and well-being. 

Regardless of your reason for interest in the classic ketogenic diet, always consult with your physician or dietitian or nutritionist before beginning a new dietary regimen.

The post The History of the Keto Diet  appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

The journal Neurology published a broad scale study that took a look at the effects of the keto diet on epilepsy and it was found that there was a 50% reduction in epileptic seizures in 32% of the patients that went on a keto diet. This is a broad scale study that looked at a multitude of other studies and aggregated the data to come to the conclusion. Hey, I’m Thomas DeLauer with Keto-Mojo and today I want to explain how the keto diet affects epilepsy.

What is Epilepsy?

So, what is epilepsy? Well, epilepsy is a condition where the patient suffers from seizures. Sometimes totally random and sometimes with long periods of time between them. But the fact is, for one reason or another, patients with epilepsy suffer from either partial or general seizures. General seizures are where the full brain ends up going into some form of seizure. Whereas a partial seizure is where only one small portion of the brain might go into a seizure. But either way, not something you want to deal with. Now, here’s the crazy thing, fasting has been used to treat epilepsy since 500 B.C. Yes, they found that when people would abstain from food, seizures would diminish, they would reduce. But they also found in 1921, that it was the beta hydroxybutyrate and the aceto acetate, the ketone bodies, that actually had the effect on epilepsy. Meaning, it was actually the ketones that prevented epilepsy in the first place when it came down to fasting. From that they were able to find that when you deprive the body of carbohydrates, you still created those ketone bodies just like you did when fasting. Therefore, you’re able to help prevent epileptic seizures with the keto diet.

Understanding the Science

Here’s how it works. Although some of it is ambiguous, most of the science leads us to believe that it has to do with the GABA and glutamate cycles within the brain. GABA is a relaxing neurotransmitter while glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter. If we have excess levels of glutamate, we have extra energy going into the brain, which would make sense that could trigger a seizure in someone that is epileptic. Inside our brain, in our nervous system, we have these things called synaplosomes and inside these synaplosomes we can either have GABA or glutamate. Well, what studies have started to find is that on a keto diet we have higher levels of GABA in these synaplosomes. So, if we were to have glutamate instead of GABA, it would cause this hyperactive response. But since we end up having GABA in this situation, we end up having a more relaxed response, obviously being more prevalent with the keto diet.

The other thing we have to look at is something known as a vesicular glutamate transporter. These vesicular glutamate transporters actually transport the glutamate to the synaptic cleft. We have these things called presynaptic vesicles. Right before a nervous system actually makes an impulse response, we have neurotransmitters or different things that flood to this presynaptic vesicle. It’s like a storage area that is sort of the staging area before a neural response. Well, believe it or not, normally we would have glutamate that would go into that synaptic vesicle and wait to be used and trigger an energetic response. But in the case of ketosis, beta hydroxybutyrate or acid acetate, the primary ketone bodies, actually end up taking place of the glutamate. So, you end up having sort of a competitive inhibition there. Because the ketones compete with the glutamate inside the synaptic vesicle, we end up having the body use the ketones instead of the glutamate. This is all a very complicated way of saying that ketones sort of bump the glutamate out of the way.

Cell Cycle Journal Study

Another area to look at is the hippocampus portion of the brain and the altering gene expression that occurs with the keto diet. The keto diet triggers a more widespread, diversified energy system throughout the brain, and this is centered at the hippocampus. The keto diet makes it so the brain can have an overall even level of energy, less instance of hyper amounts of energy going to one portion of the brain, potentially eliciting a seizure. Now, where this really starts to get interesting is with a study that was published in a journal Cell Cycle. The keto diet is now being shown to affect seizures by a way of our gut bacteria and this could be the reason that the keto diet has been so beneficial all along, believe it or not. What this study took a look at was the effect of specific kinds of gut bacteria that increased when someone was on a keto diet. They took mice that had no gut bacteria whatsoever and they gave them these two specific kinds of bacteria that are prevalent when someone’s on a keto diet. And guess what? These mice that were epileptic didn’t have seizures anymore. It was found that literally just by adding the kinds of bacteria that are produced when you’re on a keto diet could stop seizures. Once that bacteria were removed again, the seizures came back. Pretty darn powerful stuff.

Why You Should Test with the Keto-Mojo Meter

So, when it comes down to the keto diet’s effect on epilepsy, when it comes down to the specific ketone bodies, like beta hydroxybutyrate, we should be measuring with the Keto-Mojo meter. We know that it has to do with the GABA and glutamate cycle, but we’re starting to uncover so much more in the world of the keto diet. Talking about the gut bacteria, talking about the overall senses of being calm in general. So much more than what meets the eye, and we’re uncovering more every day as to why the keto diet might not just be good for epilepsy, but for all kinds of neuro diseases as well. Make sure that your keeping it locked in here with Keto-Mojo and leave all the guess work out of the equation and start testing with the Keto-Mojo meter. I’ll see you in the next video.

The post Keto Has a Long History in Treating Epilepsy appeared first on KETO-MOJO.