Keto is a diet that was introduced in the 1900’s in order to control epilepsy symptoms in both children and adults. When anti-seizure medications developed and their usefulness was fully understood, the keto diet was abandoned in favor of them. It somewhat recently came under the spotlight again when James S. Abraham, the director of Airplane! And Naked Gun used the diet to help his son with his epilepsy. It proved to be so effective that he set up the Charlie Foundation to spread awareness of the diet and how it could help others. That is when research began again, and it was discovered how well it was suited to help people lose weight and lead more energetic lives.
The Keto diet is mostly the same whether it is used for losing weight or managing epilepsy. The diet calls for reduced carbs and instead uses proteins and, more importantly, fats to give the body energy. The reason why this diet is so difficult is because it removes most of the staples such as bread, rice, and noodles, and instead focuses on other items such as meat, dairy, and fish. These foods are high in fat and protein which is why they are used more readily.
The keto diet is also very strict when it comes to the consumption of sugar. Sugar is the most direct form of glucose, which is what this diet seeks to eliminate. It instead wants the body to utilize ketone bodies which are made from fats. These ketone bodies can be used to fuel the body instead of glucose and thus help in burning fat at a much faster rate. As with all diets, the specifications vary but most keto diets are comprised of high fat, medium protein, and little to no carbs.