- The ketogenic, or keto diet, is one that focuses on meats, fats, and non-starchy vegetables.
- Researchers say the low carb diet may help ease depression and fatigue for people with multiple sclerosis.
- Other experts say the diet can possibly help with symptoms of an inflammatory disease such as multiple sclerosis, but they say more research is needed.
- They also note the keto diet is difficult to maintain long-term.
The ketogenic diet — or one involving meats, fats, and nonstarchy vegetables — may be safe for people with multiple sclerosis and may even help them feel less fatigued and depressed.
That’s according to new research scheduled to be presented during the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting next month in Seattle, Washington.
The new study adds to a growing body of research that seeks to explore how a diet with an emphasis on fewer carbs and even fewer sugars can help people lose weight, improve their mental health, and even lessen the symptoms of certain diseases.
The high fat, low carb keto diet was first studied and developed in the 1920s to help children prone to seizures because it pushes the body into a state of ketosis, or a fasting state when it converts available fat, not sugar, into energy.
Since then, the keto diet has been explored in an effort to help manage conditions from obesity and diabetes to inflammation-related conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS).