Ketosis, ketoacidosis and very-low-calorie diets: Putting the record straight

Nutrition Bulletin

Volumn 36, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 397-402

  Mullins, G ^a   Hallam, C L ^a   Broom, I ^a  

^a Lighterlife UK Ltd   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Diabetes; Insulin; Ketoacidosis; Ketogenic diet; Ketosis; Very low calorie diets (VLCDs)

Indexed keywords

EID: 80051586843     PISSN: 14719827     EISSN: 14673010     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-3010.2011.01916.x     Document Type: Article

References (28)

1. Adam-Perrot A, Clifton P & Brouns F (2005) Low-carbohydrate diets: nutritional and physiological aspects. Obesity Reviews 7: 49-58.
2. Avenell A, Broom J, Brown TJ etal. (2004) Systematic review of the long-term effects and economic consequences of treatments for obesity and implications for health improvement. Health Technology Assessment 8: 1-182.
3. Cahill GF (2006) Fuel metabolism in starvation. Annual Review of Nutrition 26: 1-22.
4. Cahill GF & Veech RL (2003) Ketoacids? Good medicine? Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association 114: 149-61.
5. Cahill GF, Herrera MG, Morgan AP etal. (1966) Hormone-fuel interrelationships during fasting. Journal of Clinical Investigation 45: 1751-69.
6. Cahill GF, Oaki TT & Ruderman NB (1973) The Jeremiah Metzger Lecture: ketosis. Transactions of the American Clinical and Climatological Association 84: 184-202.
7. Clifton PM (2008) Dietary treatment for obesity. Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology & Hepatology 5: 672-81.
8. Codex (1995) CODEX STAN 203-1995. Standard for formula foods for use in very low energy diets for weight reduction. Available at: (accessed June 2011).
9. Diabetes UK (2011) Diabetic ketoacidosis. Available at: (accessed May 2011).
10. Foresight (2007) Tackling Obesities: Future Choices - Project Report, 2nd edn. Government Office for Science: London.
11. Hallam CL, Mullins G, English L etal. (2011) Reporting on 3-year outcome for weight maintenance in a cohort of 179 patients after a mean weight loss of 24.3kg on the LighterLife Total VLCD. Obesity Reviews 12 (Suppl. 1): 226.
12. Havel PJ & Taborsky GJ Jr (2003) Stress-induced activation of the neuroendocrine system and its effects on carbohydrate metabolism. Ellenberg and Rifkin's Diabetes Mellitus, 6th edn, (D Porte. RS Sherwin, A Baron eds), pp. 127-50. McGraw-Hill Medical.
13. Hoffer LJ (2006) Metabolic consequences of starvation. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 10th edn, (ME Shils, M Shike, AC Ross etal. eds), pp. 730-48. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins: Philadelphia, PA.
14. Johnstone AM, Horgan GW, Murison SD etal. (2008) Effects of a high-protein ketogenic diet on hunger, appetite, and weight loss in obese men feeding ad libitum. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 87: 44-55.
15. Keller U, Lustenberger M, Müller-Brand J etal. (1989) Human ketone body production and utilization studied using tracer techniques; regulation by free fatty acids, insulin, catecholamines, and thyroid hormones. Diabetes/Metabolism Reviews 5: 285-98.
16. Krebs HA (1966) The regulation of the release of ketone bodies by the liver. Advances in Enzyme Regulation 4: 339-53.
17. Manninen AH (2004) Metabolic effects of the very-low-carbohydrate diets: misunderstood 'villains' of human metabolism. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 1: 7-11.
18. McGarry JD & Foster DW (2003) Ketogenesis. Ellenberg and Rifkin's Diabetes Mellitus, 6th edn, (D Porte, RS Sherwin, A Baron eds), pp. 15-22. McGraw-Hill Medical.
19. NHS Direct (2009) Ketosis. Available at: (accessed May 2011).
20. NHS Information Centre (2011) Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet: England. The Health and Social Care Information Centre: London.
21. Nordli DR & De Vivo DC (1997) The ketogenic diet revisited: back to the future. Epilepsia 38: 743-9.
22. Rolland C, Hession M, Murray S etal. (2009) Randomized clinical trial of standard dietary treatment versus a low-carbohydrate/high-protein diet or the LighterLife Programme in the management of obesity. Journal of Diabetes 1: 207-17.
23. Saris WHM (2001) Very-low-calorie-diets and sustained weight loss. Obesity Research 9: s295-301.
24. Savage MW & Kilvert A (2006) ABCD guidelines for the management of hyperglycaemic emergencies in adults. Practical Diabetes International 23: 227-231.
25. VanItallie TB & Nufert TH (2003) Ketones: metabolism's ugly duckling. Nutrition Reviews 61: 327-41.
26. Veech RL (2004) The therapeutic implications of ketone bodies: the effects of ketone bodies in pathological conditions: ketosis, ketogenic diet, redox states, insulin resistance, and mitochondrial metabolism. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 70: 309-19.
27. Voet D, Voet JG & Pratt CW (2006) Fundamentals of Biochemistry; Life at the Molecular Level. John Wiley and Sons Inc: US.
28. Volek JS & Westman EC (2002) Very-low-carbohydrate weight-loss diets revisited. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine 69: 849-62.