METRO DETROIT (WXYZ) — New research suggests a keto diet may do more than help people lose weight: it could also ease depression in college students.
Watch Keenan's report below
I spoke to one of the lead researchers of a small pilot study from Ohio State University, that followed 16 students with diagnosed Major Depressive Disorder. The students followed a well-formulated keto diet for at least 10 weeks. The keto diet is low in carbohydrates — typically fewer than 50 grams a day — and emphasizes higher fat and moderate protein, shifting the body into a state of nutritional ketosis, where it burns fat for fuel.
Researchers found a roughly 70 percent decrease in depression symptoms, nearly triple the usual improvement seen with medication or counseling alone. They also told me that students starting seeing a decrease in depression symptoms in just two weeks.
I asked Ryan Patel for his thoughts on the results.
"I was surprised by the size of the result," Patel said. "We had thought that, well, if people eat the kinds of foods we should all be eating anyways, that perhaps we should see an improvement. The surprise was the effect size, like how much better people got. That was surprising to me."
Students also reported a better overall well-being, sharper thinking, and most of them lost weight in the process. However, the study didn't include a control group, and experts caution that more research is needed. The next step is a larger randomized trial, comparing the keto diet to other eating patterns like the Mediterranean diet, to see which approach works best.
Still, Patel said the takeaway is clear.
"What you eat affects how you feel" he said.
And with nearly 40 percent of U.S. college students reporting depression symptoms, researchers say nutrition could become an important add-on to more traditional treatment.
The work is published in the Journal Translational Psychiatry, and can be found at this link.
