Registered Dietitian & Certified Nutrition Specialist — 15+ years in clinical nutrition and ketogenic therapy.
The ketogenic (keto) diet may seem like a recent trend, but its origins date back nearly a century. The diet was first introduced in the 1920s as a therapeutic approach to treat epilepsy, particularly in children who didn’t respond well to medication.
In 1921, Dr. Russell Wilder at the Mayo Clinic discovered that a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet could mimic the effects of fasting, which had been known for centuries to reduce epileptic seizures. He coined the term “ketogenic diet,” because the diet produced ketones—compounds the body creates when burning fat for fuel in the absence of carbohydrates.
For several decades, the keto diet was widely used to manage epilepsy, especially in children. However, with the advent of more effective anti-seizure medications in the 1940s and 1950s, the diet’s use declined significantly. It wasn’t until the 1990s that the keto diet experienced a resurgence, thanks in part to a high-profile case. Charlie Abrahams, the son of Hollywood producer Jim Abrahams, successfully controlled his epilepsy through the ketogenic diet after failing to find relief from medications. This led to the creation of the Charlie Foundation, which raised awareness of the keto diet as a treatment for epilepsy.
In the early 2000s, researchers began to explore the ketogenic diet’s potential beyond epilepsy. Studies revealed its benefits for weight loss, improving blood sugar control, and enhancing metabolic health, which propelled the diet into the mainstream.
Today, the keto diet is popular not only for its medical applications but also as a weight-loss and lifestyle strategy, with millions of people embracing its high-fat, low-carb approach for a variety of health benefits.