Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Jan 8;12(3):1444-1464.
doi: 10.1002/fsn3.3873. eCollection 2024 Mar.

The impact of ketogenic diet on some metabolic and non-metabolic diseases: Evidence from human and animal model experiments

Yaseen Galali  1 , Salih M S Zebari  2   3 , Ahmed Aj Jabbar  4 , Holem Hashm Balaky  5   6 , Bashdar Abuzed Sadee  1   2 , Hamed Hassanzadeh  7
Affiliations
Review

The impact of ketogenic diet on some metabolic and non-metabolic diseases: Evidence from human and animal model experiments

Yaseen Galali et al. Food Sci Nutr. .

Abstract

The ketogenic diet (KD) is recognized as minimum carbohydrate and maximum fat intakes, which leads to ketosis stimulation, a state that is thought to metabolize fat more than carbohydrates for energy supply. KD has gained more interest in recent years and is for many purposes, including weight loss and managing serious diseases like type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, many believe that KD has safety issues and are uncertain about the health drawbacks. Thus, the outcomes of the effect of KD on metabolic and non-metabolic disease remain disputable. The current narrative review aims to evaluate the effect of KD on several diseases concerning the human health. To our best knowledge, the first report aims to investigate the efficacy of KD on multiple human health issues including type 2 diabetes and weight loss, cardiovascular disease, kidney failure and hypertension, non-alcoholic fatty liver, mental problem, oral health, libido, and osteoporosis. The literature searches were performed in Databases, PubMed, Scopus, and web of Science looking for both animal and human model designs. The results heterogeneity seems to be explained by differences in diet composition and duration. Also, the available findings may show that proper control of carbohydrates, a significant reduction in glycemic control and glycated hemoglobin, and weight loss by KD can be an approach to improve diabetes and obesity, hypertension, non-alcoholic fatty liver, PCOS, libido, oral health, and mental problem if isocaloric is considered. However, for some other diseases like cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, more robust data are needed. Therefore, there is robust data to support the notion that KD can be effective for some metabolic and non-metabolic diseases but not for all of them. So they have to be followed cautiously and under the supervision of health professionals.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease; diabetes and weight loss; keto diet; metabolic and non‐metabolic diseases.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There is no conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Elucidates the impact of KD on overall metabolic disorders including non‐alcoholic fatty liver, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and polycystic ovary syndrome through reducing inflammation, increasing energy expenditure and satiation, and reducing weight. KB, ketone bodies; TEF, thermo‐effect of food.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The impact of KD on lipid profile of two different models. In general, the studies have shown that in animal model total cholesterol and HDL and HOMA‐IR/QUICKI are decreased, no effect of ALT, and LDL AST, liver diacetylglycerol, and triglyceride increased. However, in human model except LDL, other biomarkers like Hb1Ac, tryglyceride, total cholesterol, fasting glucose, insulin, and HOMA‐IR/QUICKI decreased.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Elucidates the impact of KD non‐alcoholic fatty liver.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abboud, M. , AlAnouti, F. , Georgaki, E. , & Papandreou, D. (2021). Effect of ketogenic diet on quality of life in adults with chronic disease: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Nutrients, 13(12), 2–18. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Albanese, A. , Prevedello, L. , Markovich, M. , Busetto, L. , Vettor, R. , & Foletto, M. (2019). Pre‐operative very low calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) vs. very low calorie diet (VLCD): Surgical impact. Obesity Surgery, 29(1), 292–296. 10.1007/S11695-018-3523-2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Andersen, R. E. , Wadden, T. A. , & Herzog, R. J. (1997). Changes in bone mineral content in obese dieting women. Metabolism, 46, 857–861. - PubMed
    1. Bakris, G. L. (2005). Preventing hypertensive kidney disease: The critical role of combination therapy. American Journal of Hypertension, 18(4 SUPPL), 93–94. 10.1016/j.amjhyper.2004.11.016 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Banerjee, T. , Crews, D. C. , Wesson, D. E. , Tilea, A. M. , Saran, R. , Ríos‐Burrows, N. , Williams, D. E. , Powe, N. R. , & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Chronic Kidney Disease Surveillance Team . (2015). High dietary acid load predicts ESRD among adults with CKD. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 26(7), 1693–1700. 10.1681/ASN.2014040332 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources