LAUSR

Ketogenic diets (KDs) consist of very low carbohydrate intake with a variable amount of fat. During a KD, the insufficient supply of carbohydrate for metabolic needs (20 g/d or 5% of total daily energy intake) forces the body to use fat primarily as a fuel source. Although the original KD had a 4:1 lipid/nonlipid ratio, with a very high percentage of daily energy intake from fat (ffi 80%) (1), many different schemes have been used to lower the lipid/nonlipid ratio, such as no restrictions in daily energy intake, with ad libitum fat and a relatively high amount of protein (up to 1.8 g/kg of body weight per day). KDs have become popular in recent decades (mainly after Atkins’ book was published (2)) as effective tools for weight loss (3).