What is the Ketogenic Diet?

The ketogenic diet is a type of high-fat and low-carbohydrate diet that was used in the 1920s by Johns Hopkins Medical Center staff to treat epilepsy. For a diet to be ketogenic, the daily amount of carbohydrates must be less than 50 g.
Fats are the energy source of the ketogenic diet, and they form ketone bodies by β-oxidation in the liver with insufficient carbohydrate intake and depletion of glycogen stores. Glucose is a monosaccharide formed by the digestion of carbohydrates and is the main source of energy for human brain energy. Ketone bodies formed in the absence of glucose are used as an alternative energy source.

Types of Ketogenic Diets

Classic Ketogenic Diet

In the classical ketogenic diet, the ratio of fat to the sum of protein and carbohydrates is 4:1. While 80-90% of the energy is met from fats, the rest is composed of protein and carbohydrates to meet the body’s needs. It is very important to limit carbohydrates in order to create a state of ketosis in a short time. It is only used for the treatment of epilepsy, as it is a very strict and difficult diet type.

Atkins Diet

Dr. It is a type of diet developed by Robert Atkins for use in the treatment of epilepsy. 60% of the energy comes from fats, 30% from proteins and 10% from carbohydrates. It consists of 4 phases:

Phase 1: The consumption of 20 grams of carbohydrates per day is allowed and the state of ketosis is only seen in this phase.
Phase 2: Daily carbohydrate intake is increased to 25-50 grams.
Phase 3: Daily carbohydrate intake is increased to 80 grams and is applied until the person reaches the ideal body weight.
Phase 4: In this phase, it is aimed to maintain body weight and a daily intake of 100 grams of carbohydrates is allowed.

Modified Atkins Diet (MAD)

The Modified Atkins Diet aims to maintain the state of ketosis by using phase 1 of the Atkins diet indefinitely. 60-65% of dietary energy comes from fats, 30% from proteins and 5-10% from carbohydrates. It is planned to take less than 20 grams of carbohydrates daily without restriction in protein intake and dietary energy.

Medium Chain Triglyceride Diet (MCT)

It is a type of diet based on the use of medium chain triglycerides. With medium chain triglycerides, more efficient ketone production is observed in the body, and with this diet, less fat intake is sufficient to reach the ketosis level in the classical ketogenic diet. 65% of dietary energy comes from medium chain triglycerides.

Low Glycemic Index Diet (LGI)

It is based on the fact that the glycemic index of foods that are sources of carbohydrates in the diet is below 50. 75% of dietary energy comes from fats, 15% from carbohydrates and 10% from proteins. Low glycemic index carbohydrate intake is planned as 40-60 grams per day.

Effect of Ketogenic Diet on Resistant Epilepsy

In most epilepsy patients, seizures can be controlled by using anti-epileptic drugs. In the type of epilepsy known as resistant epilepsy, drugs are not effective on seizure control, so a ketogenic diet is recommended as an alternative treatment method. It is known that ketogenic diet types show positive long-term results in the treatment of resistant epilepsy.