June 10, 2024

Is Ketogenic Therapy Safe for Children? - with Dr. Matthew Calkins

42 minutes

There is an escalating crisis of metabolic dysfunction in our youth, with growing rates of obesity, diabetes, and mental illness. Is it safe to use ketogenic therapy in children and teens for better management or reversal of these conditions? Dr. Matthew Calkins, an early career physician board certified in family and obesity medicine, argues it is. A 2023 paper published in the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) exaggerates risks associated with a ketogenic diet in pediatric patients. It also conflates a keto diet for epilepsy with a well-formulated keto diet that can be used to treat obesity, diabetes, and mental health conditions. Dr. Calkins co-authored a rebuttal paper in the Journal of Metabolic Health.

In this interview, Dr. Calkins shares more about the paper, as well as some of his experiences running a metabolic clinic at Atrium One Health. He shares his clinical, science-based perspective that ketogenic diets are nutrient-rich (not deficient) and that there is no evidence they trigger eating disorders. He helps patients of all ages make lifestyle changes and improve their health. He loves seeing them achieve dramatic outcomes like reducing BMI or being able to get off insulin. Seeing the explosion of research on ketogenic therapy for a variety of health conditions, Dr. Calkins is optimistic about the future of healthcare.

Experts in this video:

X: @MattCalkinsMD

https://www.wakehealth.edu/providers/c/matthew-william-calkins

Related Resources:

Carbohydrate reduction for metabolic disease is distinct from the ketogenic diet for epilepsy

https://journalofmetabolichealth.org/index.php/jmh/article/view/95

Low-Carbohydrate Diets in Children and Adolescents With or at Risk for Diabetes

https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/152/4/e2023063755/193955/Low-Carbohydrate-Diets-in-Children-and-Adolescents?autologincheck=redirected

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Learn more about metabolic psychiatry and find helpful resources at https://metabolicmind.org/

About us:

Metabolic Mind is a non-profit initiative of Baszucki Group working to transform the study and treatment of mental disorders by exploring the connection between metabolism and brain health. We leverage the science of metabolic psychiatry and personal stories to offer education, community, and hope to people struggling with mental health challenges and those who care for them.

Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications.

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