Health Conditions That May Benefit From A Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet has been around since forever and a lot of research has been going on as to how we could make the most of it. There are a few conditions that can be managed well by going on a ketogenic diet. While there is no hard evidence surrounding each and every claim made about keto, the nutrients and their proportions involved in this diet are promising enough for people to exploit the benefits of the keto diet.

Let’s move on to the topic and know about the conditions and disorders that could be managed well with the help of a keto diet.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

PCOS is a condition where women face hormonal dysfunction leading to irregular menstrual cycle and infertility. One of the significant hallmarks of PCOS is insulin resistance and hence women facing PCOS are often obese and have a tough time losing weight that in turn increases their risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A diet low on carbohydrates such as the keto diet can help lose excess body fat, regulate hormones and improve insulin levels.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a disorder characterised by insulin imbalance in the body ultimately raising your blood sugar levels. If you eat fewer carbs, your body will need less insulin to utilise the glucose for energy. In a ketogenic diet, the energy source for the body switches to ketones from glucose, and hence the insulin imbalance can be better managed. Research suggests that people with diabetes can lose weight, manage their blood sugar levels, and lower down their hba1c levels with a ketogenic diet. In fact, a keto diet has also reversed type 2 diabetes in some cases.

Obesity

A ketogenic diet helps you lose weight by putting your body in a state called ketosis. Carbs are strictly controlled in this kind of diet and ketones are used as the energy source during that time. These ketones are made by breaking down your own body fat. Hence, your body actually burns the fat and you lose weight via ketosis. However, it is advisable to lose weight under professional supervision if you are opting for a keto diet.

High Cholesterol

Since you would be consuming a lot of fat while on a keto diet, it is normal to worry about the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, the effect of keto on your body isn’t as straightforward as that. If your keto diet is well planned with good fats & other nutrients, along with reducing your body weight and BMI, a keto diet will also help you reduce your total cholesterol in a matter of months. It decreases the level of triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, and blood glucose, without any side effects even if followed for a longer duration.

Seizure Disorders And Epilepsy

There is strong evidence backing the claim that the keto diet helps minimise the frequency of seizures in children. For chronic seizures in drug-resistant epilepsy, the keto diet has been medically accepted as a treatment option. More than 50% of children facing the problem of seizures respond well to the keto diet and their seizures almost stop once they’re in ketosis. It is not clear if the same could be applied to adults yet. A lot of factors weigh in even when we’re speaking about how keto helps in reducing seizures in a child. It could be the presence of ketones, reduction in blood sugar levels, reduction in insulin secretion, or a combination of these factors. It could also be due to some completely different reasons.

Brain Cancer And Metastatic Cancers

Insulin is essentially a growth hormone and sugars can actually feed cancer and help it grow. By following a keto diet, you would be eliminating sugar and insulin altogether, thereby increasing your chances of fighting cancer even if you’re just kept under standard care. It is found that malignant cells of tumors might not be capable of adapting to using ketone bodies as their energy source, unlike normal cells that can adapt to ketosis just fine. However, there is some evidence suggesting that cancer cells might evolve to use ketones as their energy source. There is no strong evidence but if it is possible in theory, there are chances that it could be possible in reality as well.

Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s might render some areas of your brain incapable of using sugar as their energy source. That has led to research relating to diabetes and Alzheimer’s. A hypothesis says that diabetes causes too much sugar to stay in the bloodstream, thereby aiding the development of Alzheimer’s. But with keto, the body changes its energy fuel, and hence, there is significant research going on about how a keto dietary pattern could help in the treatment of Alzheimer’s.

Parkinson’s Disease

There is evidence that keto could help patients with Parkinson’s in combatting or relieving the condition. There is a chance that the keto diet improves the way your brain responds to dopamine. And if it does, it could help the patients reduce the symptoms of this disease.

Brain Injury

Whenever there is a traumatic injury to the brain, the patient starts having high blood sugars. The high level of blood sugars could completely inhibit the improvement from trauma and thereby worsen the situation. In such a situation, a keto diet could stop further damage by cutting off sugar metabolism.

Conclusion:

The ketogenic diet is one of the popular ways to lose weight and is considered to help with several disorders with its impressive results. Even though it has a promising potential to improve one’s health, it is advisable to get on to a keto diet only under expert supervision. If done under professional supervision, keto can work wonders.