AI Insight
A small clinical trial found that approximately 75% of participants with anorexia nervosa showed recovery when following a ketogenic diet, which severely restricts carbohydrate intake. This approach appears counterintuitive for treating an eating disorder characterized by extreme food restriction, yet the results suggest potential therapeutic benefit. The study represents preliminary evidence that dietary composition, rather than just caloric intake, may play a role in anorexia treatment.
Why it matters
Current treatments for anorexia nervosa have limited success rates, making new therapeutic approaches critically needed. If validated in larger studies, ketogenic dietary interventions could provide an additional treatment option for a disorder that has among the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric condition.
Restricting carbohydrates may sound like an unlikely approach to treating anorexia, but following a ketogenic diet was linked to recovery in 3 in 4 people with the eating disorder in a small trial