Carbohydrate reduction for metabolic disease is distinct from the ketogenic diet for epilepsy

Abstract

Recent reviews of using therapeutic carbohydrate reduction to treat metabolic disease in paediatric patients have consistently made errors in the form of bias against recommending this nutrient-dense eating pattern despite strong evidence for its use in adults and emerging evidence in paediatric patients. The purpose of this perspective is to review these errors, which include conflating 4:1 ketogenic diets with well-formulated ketogenic diets and the needless medicalisation of using therapeutic carbohydrate reduction in paediatric populations.

Keywords

• type 1 diabetes
• type 2 diabetes
• obesity
• paediatrics
• low carbohydrate
• ketogenic