The ketogenic diet has gained popularity for a simple reason- it works! While it is well known in the health and wellness community, it isn’t a new diet at all. In fact, the ketogenic diet was discovered in the 1920s. Yes, that’s correct… keto has been around for 100 years! The most interesting part of keto is not only the weight loss that comes with the lifestyle change, but the health benefits as well. These health benefits are the sole reason keto was discovered in the first place!

HOW KETO STARTED

Physicians treating epilepsy in the 1920s were aware that fasting worked for the patients they were treating but wasn’t always sustainable. The ketogenic diet was developed to provide an alternative to non-mainstream fasting because of how the diet triggers the ketones in our bodies to begin burning stored fat as it mimics the effects of fasting by depleting the body of sugar. The keto diet was a success in epilepsy therapy but was dismissed when new emerging medications achieved epileptic control in 70% to 80% of patients. It was still used as an effective treatment for seizures, but was not mainstream until the 1970s, when Robert Atkins published his first diet book.

THE PROGRESSION

The Atkins diet was introduced in 1972 by cardiologist Robert Atkins. The Atkins diet is similar to the ketogenic diet due to the carb restrictions to send your body into ketosis, however it is broken up into four phases, the first one containing the most restrictive rules. The discussion of ketones and ketosis made Stephen Phinney, a PhD nutritional biochemist, began researching this way of eating for endurance sports. 

In 1976, the Last Chance Diet, which consisted of drinking a fat and protein rich mixture until you lost your desired amount of weight, took off. The only problem with this was people were only drinking this concoction and were severely lacking necessary minerals and vitamins. This forced Phinney to conduct further studies, in which he discovered that that liquid ketogenetic diets with adequate minerals don’t cause heart problems. So, in 1988, Opti fast emerged, and it took off immediately with the help of celebrity endorser Oprah Winfrey. Keto research boomed in the 90’s and that’s when it was adopted by the body building community as a way for bodybuilders to drop fat quickly for a competition. 

WORTH THE HYPE

The rediscovery of the Atkins diet in the early 2000s came about and a study was published in January of 2013 about the benefits of keto. The research discussed in the article stated that there were powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory genes that are activated by a ketone body called beta-hydroxybutyrate, when you limit calories or carbs. The press release stated that the keto diet could allow scientists to one day better treat or prevent age related diseases such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s, etc. because it slows the aging process. The research was able to combine not only weight loss benefits, but long-term health improvements making keto a saving grace for a large group of individuals.

Keto’s popularity continued to increase after this, and now has multiple cookbooks and social media platforms for those that live the keto lifestyle and enjoy it. The ketogenic diet is more than just a diet and has the history to back it up!  

So happy 100th anniversary to the keto diet, and here’s to 100 more years!