India, Nov. 17 -- A study published in Science Advances by University of Utah Health researchers sheds light on the long-term effects of the ketogenic diet, raising important questions about its safety and efficacy for improving metabolic health.

While the ketogenic diet was historically used to treat epilepsy, it has recently gained popularity for weight loss and management of conditions like obesity and type 2 diabetes.

A ketogenic diet is a very high-fat, very low-carbohydrate diet. The idea is that the ketogenic diet induces ketosis, a metabolic state that produces ketone bodies, which act as an alternative brain fuel, stabilizing neuronal activity and reducing seizures. In this way, the diet mimics starvation, where reduced glucose...