Tag: Ketogenic diet origin

While now a popular weight-loss trend, the modern ketogenic diet was originally developed in 1921 by Mayo Clinic physician Russell Wilder to treat epilepsy, and he also coined the term 'ketogenic diet'. Understanding when did the keto diet start reveals its deep medical roots, predating its current fame by a century.

The ketogenic diet, commonly known as 'keto,' was originally developed in the 1920s as a medical treatment for children with epilepsy, not as a weight-loss trend. Its modern popularity is the result of nearly a century of research, decline, and eventual revival for broader health and wellness applications.

While the modern ketogenic diet has been around since the 1920s, the linguistic roots of the word 'keto' stretch back to ancient Greece. The word 'keto' in Greek does not refer to a diet, but rather to a primordial sea goddess and the terrifying sea monsters under her domain.

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.