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Nutrients
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The Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Human Health and Disease
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The Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Human Health and Disease

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Clinical Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2025 | Viewed by 39542

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giuseppe Cerullo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Interests: sport nutrition; ketogenic diet; body composition; exercise physiology
Prof. Dr. Antonio Paoli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, 35131 Padova, Italy
Interests: resistance training; metabolism; fat loss; skeletal muscle physiology; fitness; muscle hypertrophy; fasting; ketogenic diet; time-restricted eating; ketones; low carbohydrate diet
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ketogenic diet was originally used for treatment of refractory epilepsy. After several decades, the ketogenic diet is now considered a popular strategy for losing weight and improving metabolic disorders as well. However, beyond “simple” weight loss, many other applications are emerging, including neurodegenerative disorders, fatigue, and cancer. At the same time, although it is considered generally safe, more research should explore the relationship between the keto diet and blood pressure, kidney stones, and increased risk of heart disease. Furthermore, several symptoms, such as an upset stomach, dizziness, decreased energy, and mood swings caused by your body adapting to ketosis, are also common.

Thus, the aim of this Special Issue is to gather high-quality evidence on the potential role played by ketone bodies and their impact on health and medical conditions.

Original research as well as literature reviews and meta-analyses are welcome. Based on this, the primary goal of the work should be to explore the effects of a ketogenic diet and, consequently, ketosis (achieved through a ketogenic diet or exogenous ketones) on various aspects of human health, ranging from athletic performance to aging, and medical conditions such as obesity, diabetes, palliative care, autoimmune conditions, neurodegenerative disease, and cancer, among others.

Dr. Giuseppe Cerullo
Prof. Dr. Antonio Paoli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nutritional ketosis
  • obesity
  • fatigue
  • exogenous ketosis
  • metabolic syndrome
  • body composition

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 1469 KiB  
Article
Impact of a Fish-Based Restrictive Ketogenic Diet on Body Composition and Strength Capacity: A Pre–Post Study
by Katarzyna Siedzik, Kamil Góral, Ewa Rodziewicz-Flis, Robert A. Olek and Wiesław Ziółkowski
Nutrients 2025, 17(8), 1297; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17081297 - 8 Apr 2025
Viewed by 385
Abstract
Background: The ketogenic diet (KD) is becoming a popular nutritional model for athletes. One limitation of this diet is the use of animal-meat products, which may be unacceptable to some people. Moreover, the relationship between this diet’s use, body composition, and strength [...] Read more.
Background: The ketogenic diet (KD) is becoming a popular nutritional model for athletes. One limitation of this diet is the use of animal-meat products, which may be unacceptable to some people. Moreover, the relationship between this diet’s use, body composition, and strength capacity has not been thoroughly investigated. This study aimed to assess the effects of a two-week fish-based restrictive KD on body composition, strength capacity (isometric muscle strength), and somatic disorders in healthy adults. Methods: Participants were recruited through advertisements, posters displayed at the university, and information shared among colleagues. Ultimately, 14 individuals qualified for this study. For two weeks, they followed a designated ketogenic diet enriched with fish and omega-3 fatty acids, with a calorie reduction of −500 kcal/day. The study was designed and conducted as a single-group pre–post study. Before and after completing the diet, participants’ body composition (body mass, body fat, fat-free mass, and visceral fat) and strength capacity (knee extensor peak torque [KEPT] and knee flexor peak torque [KFPT]) were measured. The survey also analyzed participants’ somatic disorders such as nausea, vomiting, energy level, diarrhea, constipation, drowsiness, sleep problems, hunger, thirst, and bad breath. The average results of both trials obtained before and after the diet were compared using the paired Student’s t-test or non-parametric test. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results: After two weeks of a fish-based restrictive KD, significant increases in ketone bodies were observed in both the blood (pre: 0.21 mmol/L ± 0.15 vs. post: 2.20 ± 1.19, p < 0.001) and urine (pre: 0.00 mmol/L ± 0.00 vs. post: 4.64 mmol/L ± 3.24, p < 0.001). Body composition changes included significant reductions in total body mass (pre: 76.66 kg ± 11.06 vs. post: 73.77 kg ± 10.76, p < 0.001), fat mass (pre: 21.34 kg ± 7.36 vs. post: 19.73 kg ± 7.20, p < 0.001), and visceral fat (pre: 708.50 g ± 627.67 vs. post: 603.21 g ± 567.82, p = 0.0012). Skeletal muscle mass decreased by 2% (pre: 27.75 kg ± 5.80 vs. post: 27.03 kg ± 5.47, p = 0.01), though no significant changes were seen in muscle strength when adjusting for body mass or skeletal muscle mass. No major adverse effects were noted in relation to somatic disorders, although some participants reported increased thirst and bad breath. Conclusions: After 14 days of a fish-based restrictive KD, a significant reduction in body mass and changes in body composition were observed, with no loss of muscle strength. This type of diet may serve as an effective method for rapid body mass reduction in sports with weight categories, while preserving muscle strength, which is crucial for athletes. It could also be an alternative means for individuals to eliminate animal meat from their diet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Human Health and Disease)
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Review

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40 pages, 5510 KiB  
Review
Ketogenic Diets for Body Weight Loss: A Comparison with Other Diets
by Damian Dyńka, Łukasz Rodzeń, Mateusz Rodzeń, Anna Pacholak-Klimas, Georgia Ede, Shebani Sethi, Dorota Łojko, Karolina Bartoń, Ken Berry, Adam Deptuła, Żaneta Grzywacz, Peter Martin, Jen Unwin and David Unwin
Nutrients 2025, 17(6), 965; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17060965 - 10 Mar 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 38655
Abstract
With the prevalence of obesity and overweight increasing at an alarming rate, more and more researchers are focused on identifying effective weight loss strategies. The ketogenic diet (KD), used as a treatment in epilepsy management for over 100 years, is additionally gaining popularity [...] Read more.
With the prevalence of obesity and overweight increasing at an alarming rate, more and more researchers are focused on identifying effective weight loss strategies. The ketogenic diet (KD), used as a treatment in epilepsy management for over 100 years, is additionally gaining popularity as a weight loss method. Although its efficacy in weight loss is well documented, the areas where it may be beneficial to other dietary approaches need to be carefully examined. The objective of this paper is to identify the potential benefits of the KD over alternative dietary weight loss strategies based on a comprehensive literature review. It has been shown that the KD may be more bioenergetically efficient than other dietary strategies, inter alia owing to its effect on curtailing hunger, improving satiety and decreasing appetite (influence on hunger and satiety hormones and the sensation of hunger), inducing faster initial weight loss (associated with lower glycogen levels and reduced water retention), and controlling glycaemia and insulinemia (directly attributable to the low-carbohydrate nature of KD and indirectly to the other areas described). These effects are accompanied by improved insulin sensitivity, reduced inflammation (through ketone bodies and avoidance of pro-inflammatory sugars), reduced need for pharmacological obesity control (the diet’s mechanisms are similar to those of medication but without the side effects), and positive impacts on psychological factors and food addiction. Based on the authors’ review of the latest research, it is reasonable to conclude that, due to these many additional health benefits, the KD may be advantageous to other diet-based weight loss strategies. This important hypothesis deserves further exploration, which could be achieved by including outcome measures other than weight loss in future clinical trials, especially when comparing different diets of equal caloric value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Human Health and Disease)
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