[troutman]

Ketogenic diet – what does the scientific evidence say about it?

https://www.skepticalraptor.com/skep...ific-evidence/

Summary

There does not appear to be overwhelming evidence that the ketogenic diet actually has any advantage over any other diet for weight loss other than it may actually reduce calorie consumption and increase adherence to the diet. It has no magical properties to make the weight loss mechanism any better or worse than any other fad diet.

Furthermore, it does not prevent or cure cancer. I do wish this particular trope would go away, but I have no power over that.

Finally, there are some big risks to the ketogenic diet, including potential links to cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality. In other words, the benefits of weight loss, which is important, may be outweighed by the risks. But if it works for certain individuals who are younger and at lower risk to cardiovascular diseases and other mortality events, then maybe the benefits do outweigh the risks, especially if the weight loss is significant and long-term.

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Low-ca...Ketogenic_diet

There is little evidence to suggest the ketogenic diet has beneficial long-term effects on weight maintenance.[18][19][20][21]

The British Dietetic Association (BDA) included the ketogenic diet in their list of "Top 5 worst celeb diets to avoid in 2018".[28] According to the BDA:

A carefully dietitian-planned ketogenic diet can be a very effective treatment for people with epilepsy. For weight loss, there's no magic, the diet works like any other by cutting total calories and removing foods people tend to overeat. Initial side effects may include low energy levels, brain fog, increased hunger, sleep problems, nausea, digestive discomfort, bad breath and poor exercise performance. It can be an effective method of weight loss in the short term with careful planning but it is hard to sustain for many in the long term and most of the initial weight loss seen is often associated with water/fluid losses. It is never a good idea to ‘over-restrict’ any one food group (including carbohydrate), as this can mean it is more difficult to achieve a balanced diet overall with respect to vitamins, minerals and fibre in particular.[28]

In the popular press, keto is associated with a variety of unpleasant side-effects, including keto flu, keto breath, keto diarrhea, and keto crotch (an unpleasant vaginal odor). As yet there aren't any scientific studies into the phenomena, but biochemistry indicates that the keto diet causes the body to increase its production of a variety of foul-smelling chemicals including acetoacetate, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and acetone (mmm, nail polish remover).

https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4664