This is how healthy people should feel

2023-06-14 10:40:23

Conference on ketogenic nutrition opens with impressive achievements in mental illness

Berguen (ots) – Cheering sky high – saddened to death, that is, to put it simply, what people with bipolar disorder experience. And while the “sky high” phases can also include periods of great creativity and activity, the depressive phases of this illness keep some bedridden for months. The suffering is great, both for those affected and for their families, and for many the available medications do not provide effective and sustainable help. That is exactly what the ketogenic diet, a high-fat, low-carbohydrate form of eating, could do. However, there has not yet been a study in Europe that has examined its effectiveness and safety in people with bipolar disorder.

Now it exists – and it delivers promising results: At the opening of the 3rd Keto Live Conference in Bergün in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, Dr. Iain Campbell from the University of Edinburgh presented his pilot study. She had shown that it is possible to motivate patients to follow this diet and that it is safe. Of 27 recruited participants, 20 adhered to the ketogenic diet for six to eight weeks. Not only did they lose weight and improve their blood sugar and blood pressure levels, what was particularly impressive was the reduction in their bipolar symptoms: They reported significantly more energy and a better mood, while their impulsivity and anxiety decreased. On a ketogenic diet, the brain is evenly energized and, to a certain extent, calms down. How much this helps to lead a normal(er) life, Dr. Campbell only too well: He suffers from bipolar disorder himself, but has managed it well with the ketogenic diet for years. When he started, his first thought was: This is how healthy people must feel.

At the 3rd Keto Live Conference in Bergün, physicians and researchers from all over the world gather to discuss the possibilities and effects of ketogenic nutrition in mental and neurological diseases, insulin resistance and diabetes as well as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The conference runs until Friday 16.6, further information at www.European-keto-live-Centre.com

The study presented at the opening is still being reviewed, but there is a prior publication (https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.05.28.23290595v1) and a Twitter account of the author (https://twitter.com/iaincampbellphd?lang=de), in which those affected also have their say.

Text: Ulrike Gonder