Keto diet shows real promise for anorexia recovery

• 01A study of 22 women with anorexia followed a ketogenic diet (high fat, moderate protein, very few carbohydrates) for 14 weeks under supervision by a dietician, psychiatrist, and peer support counselor
• 0218 women completed the full 14-week study; 13 of them (72 percent) improved enough to drop below the clinical diagnosis threshold for both anorexia and depression
• 03The 18 women who completed the diet showed significant improvement in anorexia symptoms and depression scores, and all remained in a healthy to slightly underweight BMI range without relapse
• 04Guido Frank at the University of California, San Diego stated: 'Perhaps if you create that state that they crave while giving them enough food, it can be beneficial'
• 05Frank said: 'The level of recovery was far better than what we see in other anorexia treatments'
• 06The ketogenic diet was invented in the 1920s as a treatment for epilepsy, not for weight loss, because fasting could reduce seizures but was unsustainable
• 07Sahib Khalsa at UCLA cautioned that close monitoring by an eating disorder treatment team is important and that it is too early to change how anorexia is typically treated pending larger randomized controlled trials

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A small study found that 72 percent of women with anorexia nervosa who followed a supervised ketogenic diet for 14 weeks improved enough to no longer meet clinical diagnostic criteria for the eating disorder, with researchers suggesting the diet may restore malfunctioning energy release in brain cells. Researchers attributed the results to the diet creating a metabolic state similar to what patients crave while ensuring adequate food intake, though an independent eating disorder expert cautioned that larger trials are needed before changing standard treatment approaches.