Therapeutic Use of the High-Fat Low-Carb Ketogenic Diet in Autism Spectrum Disorders
A new study published in Frontiers in Pediatrics has concluded that the high-fat low-carb ketogenic diet may improve mitochondrial function in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The ketogenic diet was originally developed at John Hopkins Hospital in the 1920s to treat children with epilepsy. The diet has proved successful over a long period of history of stopping seizures in children where drugs fail. The diet fell out of favor in recent years, due to the bias against saturated fats. However, with several meta-studies being published in recent years showing that there is no scientific basis of linking saturated fat consumption to heart disease, the ketogenic diet is being studied in many disease applications, including cancer, diabetes, and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and ALS. There have also been studies conducted and published regarding the ketogenic diet's effect on ASD. One study published last year (2013) in France showed a ketogenic diet improves multiple autistic behaviors.