The ketogenic diet has its origins in the 1920s. At the time, doctors were actively looking for a solution to relieve children suffering from severe epileptic disorders . After having mixed results on a treatment based on fasting, they decided to carry out several studies to analyze the consequences of a ketogenic diet. Thus, from year to year, scientists carry out numerous conclusive studies. In 1998 in particular, a study was carried out on 51 children suffering from an average of 230 monthly seizures. This revealed very positive and encouraging results.

 Nearly half of the children could control more than 90% of their seizures and almost 40% had control over 50 to 90% of their seizures. During the same year, a study was conducted on children aged between 1 and 16 who were subject to more than 400 seizures per month. After a year on the keto diet, 7% of them no longer had any attacks and almost 30% of subjects were able to reduce their frequency by almost 90%.

Even today, this diet is used to help reduce the frequency and control epileptic seizures in children. But its reputation has been created for several years and it is used for many other reasons which we will describe below.

What is the keto diet?

The keto diet is a so-called strict and even restrictive diet . The latter offers a completely different nutritional model compared to the usual recommendations that we know. It consists of drastically reducing the proportion of carbohydrates ingested daily . To enter a state of ketosis, it is necessary to respect a specific ratio of macronutrients. This is composed of 70-80% fat, 20-25% protein and 5-10% carbohydrates. For comparison, a more traditional diet is composed of 55% carbohydrates, 30% lipids and 15% proteins.

This very significant reduction in carbohydrates is intended to allow the body to enter a state of ketosis .  Being in a state of ketosis is a metabolic state that requires a specific diet. During this time, the body will no longer get its energy from sugar as it used to. On the other hand, it will draw it from fats, thanks to ketone bodies.

To summarize, the state of ketosis consists of forcing your body to draw on fat reserves for energy, depriving it of its usual source, carbohydrates.

In other words, the foods to favor are fatty fish, nuts and low-carbohydrate vegetables such as a large majority of green vegetables, tomatoes and even peppers. On the other hand, you must eliminate wheat-based cereals, white pasta, white rice, a large part of fruits, and sugary drinks.

If you want to know more about the state of ketosis and how to achieve it as quickly as possible, check out this article !

The advantages and benefits of the keto diet: why adopt it?

At the heart of numerous scientific research, the ketogenic diet is today attributed with numerous advantages and benefits. Some even confirm the benefit of this diet regarding the prevention and treatment of many diseases.

However, scientific research on the subject is incessant. Even if there are many who demonstrate a certain interest in this diet, it must be kept in mind that many studies are still in progress and that the results are therefore not yet 100% reliable. We have therefore put together a short summary of this research for you, so that you can find out a little more about these benefits!