NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
A keto diet may help people with anorexia nervosa, new research from the UC San Diego School of Medicine suggests.
A small study, published in the journal Nature, enrolled 22 women between the ages of 18 and 45 years old with a history of anorexia nervosa and a BMI (body mass index) over 17.5.
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe mental disorder involving food restriction and low body weight, researchers explain. This is often followed by body dissatisfaction, extreme fear of eating, and preoccupation with body shape and size even after weight regain.
KETO DIET HAS SURPRISING EFFECTS ON MENTAL HEALTH, RESEARCHERS FIND
Participants followed a ketogenic therapy program for 14 weeks, aiming for a diet containing 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbohydrates, according to a press release.
Participants followed a ketogenic therapy program for 14 weeks, aiming for a diet consisting of 70% fat, 20% protein and 10% carbohydrates. (Stock)
The goal was to maintain weight while reducing nutritional ketosis – a metabolic state in which the body produces and uses ketones for energy because carbohydrate intake is low enough to switch metabolism to fat burning.
Researchers monitored participants with ketone tests, weekly weight checks, symptom questionnaires, and nutritional and psychological support.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLES
Among the remaining 18 participants, eating disorder symptoms were reported to have improved in several areas, including self-control, depression scores, and concerns about eating, posture and weight.
Overall scores on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) also improved, with 72% of participants scoring in the acquired or normal range.
Eating disorder symptoms were reported to have improved in many areas, according to the study results. (Stock)
The body weight of the participants did not change significantly, and no BMI fell below 17.5, according to the results.
Those who continued to follow the ketogenic treatment three months after the intervention had the best EDE-Q scores.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
The study authors concluded that ketogenic diet therapy was “well tolerated” and showed “probable efficacy” in reducing symptoms of anorexia nervosa in adults who are underweight or have regained weight.
Although the study was “sufficiently powered,” the authors noted that the small sample size of predominantly White women limited the scope of the findings.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR HEALTH PAPER
“Future research should replicate these findings in different populations and include targeted tests of brain function, such as PET imaging, to assess brain glucose metabolism,” they wrote.
Those who continued to follow ketogenic therapy three months after the intervention had slightly better scores on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire. (Stock)
Lead study author Guido Frank, MD, professor of psychiatry at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, who has studied and treated patients with anorexia for more than 25 years, presented the study to expand treatment options for this high-risk population.
Frank wrote in a statement that new methods of anorexia nervosa are “urgently needed”.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
“Our work with ketogenic therapy is looking beyond conventional treatments and possibly looking at the underlying physiology of the disease,” he continued.
“A growing body of evidence links anorexia nervosa to neurometabolic dysfunction, and we hope that specific metabolic interventions can regulate neural activity and address the psychological symptoms that patients experience.”
