Meta-analysis shows ketogenic diet improves cancer outcomes by reducing fat mass and blood glucose, highlighting its potential benefits over standard diets.
The ketogenic diet, characterized by high fat, moderate protein, and extremely low carbohydrate intake, has been widely used as a medical treatment for various conditions and has gained increasing attention in recent years due to its health benefits. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a ketogenic diet on outcomes in cancer patients compared to conventional non-ketogenic diets. Studies that assigned cancer patients to either a ketogenic diet or a standard diet control group were included. Two reviewers independently extracted and analyzed the data. This meta-analysis revealed that the ketogenic diet significantly reduced fat mass, visceral fat, insulin levels, blood glucose, fatigue, and insomnia compared to a non-ketogenic diet while improving low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, total cholesterol, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, protein uptake, ketosis events, emotional function, and social function. Furthermore, the ketogenic diet induced ketosis by increasing β-hydroxybutyrate levels. The ketogenic diet was found to improve cancer patients' outcomes more effectively than non-ketogenic diets. Notably, C-reactive protein levels showed greater improvement when the intervention lasted more than 12 weeks, with a diet composition of 2-4% carbohydrates, 16-18% protein, and 80-85% fat. (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42024553878) PROSPERO CRD4202455387.
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