Abstract
Obesity has become a serious chronic disease worldwide. It is generally believed that high fat diets may lead to thedevelopment of obesity and several other diseases such as coronary artery disease, diabetes and cancer. Current nutritionalapproaches to obesity generally rely on reduction in dietary fat andhave failed to show sustained long-term effects. Contraryto the common notion, a high intake of carbohydrates was found to increase the levels of triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, andlow-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and decrease the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. A high ratioof triacylglycerols to HDL is an important predictor of heart attack and may be associated with hyperinsulinemia. Elevatedinsulin levels are associated with an increased risk of ischemic heart disease in men and increases the risk of type II diabetesmellitus. Moreover, Hyperinsulinemia is an important contributor to the development of fatty liver.Few studies investigated thelong-term effect of a ketogenic diet in obesity-associated diseases as hyperinsulinimea. Ketogenic diet is a diet that consists ofhigh –quality high fat, moderate protein and very low concentrations of carbohydrate (20–50 g/d).Such diet has been referredto as low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (LCKD). Ketosis is a statethat occurs as a result of general shift of metabolism from a“glucocentric” (glucose) to an “adipocentric” (ketone bodies, fatty acids) metabolism. Thus, a ketogenic diet is a good regulatorof the body’s calorie intake and mimics the effect ofstarvation in the body.The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of long term use ofketogenic diet as a natural therapy forobesity, onregulating insulin level and also its effect on reducing the risk factors for heart disease in hyperinsulinemicnondiabeticobesepatients. Our results support our hypothesis that maintaining an adequate level of insulin sensitivity and lowplasma insulin concentrations through ketogenic diet may be of value in losing weight, preventing type II diabetes, loweringserum level of glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), improving lipid profile and reducing the risk of heart disease.