Ketogenic Diet and Intermittent Fasting May Relieve Anxiety and Depression

Is it possible?

We all know that low-carb, high-fat diet can help lower blood pressure, reduce your risk of heart disease, and help you lose weight. Depression is a mental disorder that affects more than 350 million people of all ages. Depression is not the same as mood swings and it is not the same as crying for a day over an unfortunate life event. Depression is a poison for someone who is suffering and contributes to many other diseases. 

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, worry, nervousness, and uneasiness about something and it is often recurrent in those who have chronic anxiety disorders. Feeling a little anxious on certain occasions like the first day of school, a job interview, or public speaking, is considered normal and most people experience that.

There are studies that show that ketogenic diet can help fight depression and anxiety too. Many stories are coming out about people sharing how they do not feel depressed or anxious anymore on the ketogenic diet.

Your diet can absolutely have an effect on your mood and many studies have shown a link between diet and a person’s state of mind. When you’re on ketogenic diet, your body produces more GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which is a valuable anti-anxiety neurotransmitter that helps the brain function properly. If your GABA levels are low, there is higher risk for anxiety and depression.

Weight loss may also help relieve symptoms of depression, especially if one of the reasons a person is depressed is linked to being overweight. If you are at a healthy weight consistently it is linked to better sleep and happier moods.

Science backs up the mental health claims of the keto diet with improvement in stress, depression, and anxiety.

Ketogenic and Mood. Keto acts as a mood stabilizer because of its anticonvulsant properties, positive energy changes in brain profiles. A study tested the mood stabilizing properties of the keto diet on rats. The results revealed that rats in the keto group spent less time immobile and they stated that this result is like how rats treated with antidepressants would react.

Ketogenic and Energy Levels. The ketone bodies on a ketogenic diet have been found to produce more ATP for energy than glucose, and they are metabolized faster. Glucose must go through glycolysis first. High carb diets are associated with fatigue and sluggishness. On keto it is reduced significantly which leads to overall improved energy. Lack of energy to participate in activities is one of the symptoms of depression, and the keto diet can help reduce those symptoms by increasing energy levels.

Ketogenic and Inflammation. It is well-known that high carb diets increase the risk of inflammation, especially in overweight and obese people. Chronic inflammation and oxidative stress are two huge factors of many diseases including depression and anxiety. Keto diet helps to eliminate inflammation in the body and there’s good reason. Aside from being great for weight loss, the keto diet is naturally anti-inflammatory. When on keto diet, you are reducing food that feed inflammation. One of the first things that happen when you go on keto is your drop some initial weight quickly. You get reduced bloat which accompanies inflammation

The neurological benefits of the keto diet are continuously being studied and we are already seeing plenty of evidence that supports keto benefits such as improved cognitive function, improved memory, and brain function.

The current evidence shows the positive effects of the ketogenic diet on depression and anxiety. For example, people who have lost weight on the keto diet never fail to say how great and confident they feel again.