Keto Diet Shows Promise for Depressed College Students (But It's a Small Study!)

Overview

Paper Summary › Explain Like I'm Five › Conflicts of Interest › Identified Limitations › Rating Explanation › Good to know › Topic Hierarchy › File Information ›

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title

This small pilot study (n=16) suggests that a ketogenic diet, combined with standard counseling/medication, may help reduce depression symptoms in college students with major depressive disorder. Participants saw a significant reduction in depression scores and improved well-being after 10-12 weeks on the diet. However, the lack of a control group and the small sample size limit the strength of these findings.

Explain Like I'm Five

A very low-carb, high-fat keto diet seemed to help some depressed college kids feel better, but it's too early to say for sure if it works for everyone.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

JSV is a co-founder and shareholder of Virta Health, and has authored books that recommend a ketogenic diet. The funding source, Baszucki Brain Research Fund, is not noted to have influenced the study.

Identified Limitations

Lack of a control group

Without a control group, it's impossible to determine if the observed improvements were solely due to the ketogenic diet or other factors like counseling and medication, or simple regression to the mean.

Single-arm design

This study design inherently limits the ability to draw causal conclusions, making it difficult to isolate the specific effects of the ketogenic diet.

Small sample size

With only 16 participants completing the study, the results may not be generalizable to a wider population.

Potential for selection bias

Participants volunteered for the study, which may mean they were already motivated to try dietary changes or had certain characteristics that influenced the results.

Potential for demand characteristics

Participants knew the study's purpose, which could have influenced their self-reported outcomes.

Lack of detailed information on counseling

The study lacked detailed information about the type and frequency of counseling participants received, making it difficult to determine the combined impact of diet and therapy.

Rating Explanation

This pilot study provides some promising initial findings, but significant methodological limitations, including the small sample size, lack of a control group, and potential conflicts of interest, prevent a higher rating. Larger, randomized controlled trials are needed to confirm these results.

Good to know

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Topic Hierarchy

Domain: Health Sciences

Field: Medicine

Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health

File Information

Original Title: A pilot study examining a ketogenic diet as an adjunct therapy in college students with major depressive disorder

Uploaded: September 10, 2025 at 02:29 PM

Privacy: Public