blog-2024-01-30

## Random Links of the Day

* [Patients say keto helps with their mental illness. Science is racing to understand why](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/27/1227062470/keto-ketogenic-diet-mental-illness-bipolar-depression) ^[HN](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39186770#39188189)^  
  [Keto] (as in the ketogenic diet) is a curious thing. Effective for weight loss, but _probably_ only for the reason that it drastically limits the options for snacking and junk food. The magical medical properties are still a bit of a mystery. Some may stem from the improved gut health from all the leafy greens that are typically part of the ketogenic diet, some might be from the changed insulin responsiveness. There might be other - poorly known and less well understood - factors at play.  
Additionally, research is often complicated by the fact that many diets, not just keto, have a range of positive health effects just due to the weight loss (if the patient used to be overweight in the first place).