Tag: Keto history

In 1921, Dr. Russell Wilder of the Mayo Clinic first coined the term “ketogenic diet” for a nutritional therapy designed to treat epilepsy. Far from its modern popularity as a weight-loss trend, what was the keto diet originally used for was mimicking the metabolic state of fasting to control seizures in patients, particularly children, who didn't respond to medication.

In 1921, Dr. Russell Wilder of the Mayo Clinic coined the term and introduced the ketogenic diet for the treatment of epilepsy. This innovative dietary therapy was created to mimic the metabolic effects of therapeutic fasting, which had long been observed to reduce seizure frequency.

In 1921, Dr. Russell Wilder of the Mayo Clinic first used the term “ketogenic diet” to describe a nutritional therapy designed for a medical purpose, not weight loss. It was created to mimic the metabolic benefits of fasting, a practice observed for millennia to help control seizures in individuals with epilepsy.