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Scientific evidence underlying contraindications to the ketogenic diet: An update.

Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
October 1, 2020
Mikiko Watanabe et al. (9 authors)
Journal ArticleReviewHuman Study
Extracted Claims (13)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
ketogenic diet
neutral
intractable epilepsy
-
-
feasible treatment
#1
ketogenic diet
increase
applications
-
-
gained popularity
#2
ketogenic diet
neutral
weight loss
-
-
applications
#3
ketogenic diet
neutral
NAFLD
-
-
applications
#4
ketogenic diet
neutral
cancer
-
-
applications
#5
ketogenic diet
neutral
neurologic conditions
-
-
applications
#6
ketogenic diet
neutral
chronic pain
-
-
applications
#7
ketogenic diet
decrease
treatment appropriateness
every individual
-
might not be an appropriate intervention
#8
ketogenic diet
neutral
safety
clinical practice
-
contraindications have been proposed
#9
ketogenic diet
decrease
benefit
patients that could benefit from its use
-
excluding de facto many patients
#10
ketogenic diet
neutral
safety
fragile populations
-
concerns were expressed due to absence of clinical studies
#11
ketogenic diet
decrease
safety evidence
-
-
assessment of lately emerged evidence relative to KD safety is currently lacking
#12
ketogenic diet
neutral
therapeutic intervention
subjects with an indication to the KD and a borderline safe situation
-
possible use should be assessed on a patient-to-patient basis
#13
Abstract

First identified as a feasible treatment for intractable epilepsy, the ketogenic diet (KD) has recently gained popularity thanks to growing evidence on applications such as weight loss, most importantly, but also NAFLD, cancer, neurologic conditions and chronic pain. As with any treatment, whether pharmacologic or not, the KD might not be an appropriate intervention for every individual, and a number of contraindications have been proposed, now deeply rooted into clinical practice, excluding de facto many patients that could benefit from its use. However, many of these concerns were expressed due to the absence of clinical studies conducted on fragile populations, and an assessment of lately emerged evidence relative to KD safety is currently lacking and much needed. We herein provide a critical revision of the literature behind each safety alert, in order to guide through the treatment options in the case of subjects with an indication to the KD and a borderline safe situation. Based on available evidence, the possible use of this diet as a therapeutic intervention should be assessed on a patient-to-patient basis by adequately skilled medical doctors, keeping in mind current recommendations, but reading them through the knowledge of the current state of the art.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
ContraindicationsDiet, KetogenicHumansWeight Loss
Study Links
Citation Metrics
Total Citations66
Citations/Year13.2
Relative Citation Ratio4.67
NIH Percentile92.3%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.95
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