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Review
. 2020 Dec 14;12(12):3822.
doi: 10.3390/nu12123822.

Ketogenic Diet: A Dietary Modification as an Anxiolytic Approach?

Adam Włodarczyk  1 , Wiesław Jerzy Cubała  1 , Aleksandra Wielewicka  1
Affiliations
Review

Ketogenic Diet: A Dietary Modification as an Anxiolytic Approach?

Adam Włodarczyk et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Anxiety disorders comprise persistent, disabling conditions that are distributed across the globe, and are associated with the high medical and socioeconomic burden of the disease. Within the array of biopsychosocial treatment modalities-including monoaminergic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and CBT-there is an unmet need for the effective treatment of anxiety disorders resulting in full remission and recovery. Nutritional intervention may be hypothesized as a promising treatment strategy; in particular, it facilitates relapse prevention. Low-carbohydrate high-fat diets (LCHF) may provide a rewarding outcome for some anxiety disorders; more research is needed before this regimen can be recommended to patients on a daily basis, but the evidence mentioned in this paper should encourage researchers and clinicians to consider LCHF as a piece of advice somewhere between psychotherapy and pharmacology, or as an add-on to those two.

Keywords: GABA; anxiety; gut microbiota; ketogenic diet; ketosis; low-carbohydrate; mental health; nutrition; nutritional psychiatry.

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Conflict of interest statement

Adam Włodarczyk has received research support from Actavis, Eli Lilly, Minerva Neurosciences, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, KCR, Janssen, Otsuka, Apodemus, Cortexyme, and Acadia. Wiesław Jerzy Cubała has received research support from Actavis, Alkermes, Allergan, Angelini, Auspex, Biogen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cephalon, Eli Lilly, Ferrier, Forest Laboratories, Gedeon Richter, GW Pharmaceuticals, Janssen, KCR, Lundbeck, Orion, Otsuka, Sanofi, and Servier; he has served on speakers’ bureaus for Adamed, Angelini, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celon, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Krka, Lekam, Lundbeck, Novartis, Orion, Pfizer, Polfa Tarchomin, Sanofi, Servier, and Zentiva; and he has served as a consultant for GW Pharmaceuticals, Janssen, KCR, Quintiles, and Roche. Aleksandra Wielewicka: n/a.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ketogenic diet mechanisms of action.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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