Ketogenic diet method

Obesity is a common phenomenon in modern life and has a significant impact on people's lives. Once obesity occurs, it will affect people's body coordination and the perfection of their body shape. Therefore, losing weight is imperative for most obese people. Among contemporary weight loss methods, a method called the ketogenic diet has emerged. Let’s take a look at how to follow the ketogenic diet.

The ketogenic diet is a diet with a high proportion of fat, a low proportion of carbohydrates, and an appropriate amount of protein and other nutrients. This therapy has been used for decades to treat intractable epilepsy in children in the last century.

●Fasting or not fasting

Fasting is not necessary during the start-up phase of the ketogenic diet. It just allows the patient to reach ketosis faster. Fasting can be completely omitted if clinically necessary.

Fluid restriction

Early literature suggested the importance of restricting fluid intake on a ketogenic diet, but its role is not yet fully understood. And it may increase the risk of kidney stones, so most epilepsy centers do not recommend fluid restriction, but recommend drinking small amounts of water multiple times a day.

●Carnitine supplementation

L-Carnitine is an essential cofactor for fatty acid metabolism. It promotes and participates in the body's fat metabolism, protects the stability of cell membranes, has many important physiological functions, and is one of the special amino acid vitamins recommended by the World Health Organization. There have been literature reports of secondary carnitine deficiency on a ketogenic diet, resulting in symptoms such as weakness, powerlessness, and decreased muscle tone. Although the number is small, most epilepsy centers routinely monitor carnitine concentrations or routinely supplement them (100 mg/kg/d).

●Issues related to combined use with other anti-epileptic drugs

Not much is known about the interaction between the ketogenic diet and anti-epileptic drugs. There have been no reports of significant interactions between the ketogenic diet and anti-epileptic drugs, and the ketogenic diet will not affect the blood concentration of anti-epileptic drugs. Phenobarbital and benzodiazepines may enhance the efficacy.

However, when starting a ketogenic diet, it is generally required to continue taking the original anti-epileptic drugs.

Theoretically, it is believed that valproic acid, as a short-chain fatty acid, may enhance the oxidation of fatty acids and increase the risk of liver damage, but recent clinical studies have confirmed that the combination of the two is safe.