On National Keto Day, January 5, we are reminded that people on ketogenic diets cut carbs out of their diet to an extent where the body starts to consume fat — instead of carbohydrates — for fuel. The obvious benefit of fat used for energy is weight loss, but it also helps epilepsy patients avoid seizures, and is shown to increase cognitive brain function.
For those wanting to start keto, be aware of possible side effects dubbed the “keto flu.” However, there are plenty of reliable resources online and celebrities like the Kardashians and Halle Berry also swear by it!
HISTORY OF NATIONAL KETO DAY
The ketogenic diet as a modern health strategy started in the 1920s, as a treatment for epilepsy in both children and adults. Later, with the introduction of effective anticonvulsant prescription drugs for seizures, keto fell out of favor with the medical community. However, some providers still recommended the regimen of the 4:1 fat to protein intake ratio and reduction in grain-based foods, sugars, and high-carb fruits, instead of the medicines.
Finally, in 1994, Hollywood producer Jim Abrahams, whose son’s epilepsy was controlled by the keto diet, established the Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies. This led to broad media coverage including an interview on “Dateline” and a made-for-TV movie starring Meryl Streep directed by Abrahams himself. Soon after, his foundation published a cutting-edge scientific study of ketogenics, and a renewed national and international interest began to grow.
So how did doctors in the early 20th century know that carb reduction would be of benefit to epileptics? The real history goes back to ancient Greece, where it was written by physicians in the “Hippocratic Corpus” that epilepsy was not supernatural as commonly believed, but a biological ailment that could be treated by severe fasting.
In 20th-century treatments and studies, it was discovered by neurologists that a starch and sugar-free diet could replicate the results of the total fasting version, and that fine-tuning and experimentation of course led to today’s version of keto, spurred on to a great extent by the national preoccupation with weight loss.
Today, the brain-health benefits of the keto diet are known to apply to Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, insomnia, and more. The Vitamin Shoppe founded National Keto Day on January 5, 2019, to educate and bring awareness to the ketogenic diet and further highlight the many health benefits a keto lifestyle offers.
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