conclusions. As well, his book left bodybuilders with more questions than it provided answers.
A few years later, bodybuilding expert Dan Duchaine released the book “Underground
Bodyopus: Militant Weight Loss and Recomposition” (21). Bodyopus addressed numerous topics
related to fat loss, presenting three different diets. This included his approach to the CKD, which
he called BODYOPUS. BODYOPUS was far more detailed than the Anabolic Diet, giving specific
food recommendations in terms of both quality and quantity. As well, it gave basic workout
recommendations and went into more detail regarding the physiology of the diet.
However, “Bodyopus” left many questions unanswered as evidenced by the numerous
questions appearing in magazines and on the internet. While Duchaine’s ideas were accepted to
a limited degree by the bodybuilding subculture, the lack of scientific references led health
professionals, who still thought of ketogenic diets as dangerous and unhealthy, to question the
diet’s credibility.
A question
Somewhat difficult to understand is why ketogenic diets have been readily accepted as
medical treatment for certain conditions but are so equally decried when mentioned for fat loss.
Most of the criticisms of ketogenic diets for fat loss revolve around the purported negative health
effects (i.e. kidney damage) or misconceptions about ketogenic metabolism (i.e. ketones are made
out of protein).
This begs the question of why a diet presumed so dangerous for fat loss is being used
clinically without problem. Pediatric epilepsy patients are routinely kept in deep ketosis for
periods up to 3 years, and occasionally longer, with few ill effects (3,5). Yet the mention of a brief
stint on a ketogenic diet for fat loss and many people will comment about kidney and liver
damage, ketoacidosis, muscle loss, etc. If these side effects occurred due to a ketogenic diet, we
would expect to see them in epileptic children.
It’s arguable that possible negative effects of a ketogenic diet are more than outweighed by
the beneficial effects of treating a disease or that children adapt to a ketogenic diet differently
than adults. Even then, most of the side effects attributed to ketogenic diets for fat loss are not
seen when the diet is used clinically. The side effects in epileptic children are few in number and
easily treated, as addressed in chapter 7.
References cited
- “The Epilepsy Diet Treatment: An introduction to the ketogenic diet” John M. Freeman, MD ;
Millicent T. Kelly, RD, LD ; Jennifer B. Freeman. New York: Demos Vermande, 1996. - Berryman MS. The ketogenic diet revisited. J Am Diet Assoc (1997) 97: S192-S194.
- Wheless JW. The ketogenic diet: Fa(c)t or fiction. J Child Neurol (1995) 10: 419-.
- Withrow CD. The ketogenic diet: mechanism of anticonvulsant action. Adv Neurol (1980)
27: 635-642. - Swink TD, et. al. The ketogenic diet: 1997. Adv Pediatr (1997) 44: 297-329.
- Kwan RMF et. al. Effects of a low carbohydrate isoenergetic diet on sleep behavior and
pulmonary functions in healthy female adult humans. J Nutr (1986) 116: 2393-2402.