The Science of Keto Metabolic Therapy
Many people misunderstand ketogenic foods and the ketogenic diet. While often seen as a weight-loss trend from the 1980s, similar to the Atkins Diet, ketogenic metabolic therapy has a much longer history.
It originated over a century ago as a highly effective treatment for epilepsy and seizures, especially in children. Beyond epilepsy, clinical trials show ketogenic metabolic therapy can help manage various health issues, including:
Pre-diabetes or insulin-resistant diabetes
Arthritis
Parkinson's disease
Migraine headaches and
More recently, bipolar disorder and anorexia
A 2024 study, “Therapeutic Ketogenic Diet as Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa”, by two of our Medical and Scientific Advisory Board members, Guido Frank, MD, and Barbara Scolnick, MD, explores the medical basis for anorexia treatment with keto metabolic therapy.
Front. Nutr., 03 September 2024
Volume 11 - 2024 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1392135
The treatment approach used by AnorExit® is now being studied in an ongoing clinical trial led by Dr. Guido Frank at UCSD using PET brain scans to study the effects of a therapeutic ketogenic diet on anorexia nervosa.
Ketogenic metabolic therapy involves eating a diet high in good fats, with enough protein, and very few carbohydrates. When you eat this way, your body stops using glucose (from carbs) for energy. Instead, it switches to burning fat as its primary fuel source, converting it into ketones.
It's important to note that while many people go keto to lose weight, the specific coaching provided by Vanessa Aldaz and Caroline Beckwith for this therapy is not about weight loss.