Research
Hormonal
Ketogenic diets reduce perceived hunger and food intake primarily through hormonal mechanisms, specifically by suppressing the orexigenic hormone ghrelin and maintaining anorexigenic cholecystokinin (CCK) secretion, rather than solely through caloric restriction.
To reduce hunger, try a ketogenic diet with less than 20g of carbs daily. This works by lowering ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and keeping CCK (the fullness hormone) active. Don't confuse this safe state with diabetic ketoacidosis; your blood pH remains normal.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
During the ketogenic period subjects reported less hunger... During ketosis the increase of ghrelin (a strong stimulator of appetite) was suppressed... ketosis maintains post-prandial secretion of CCK
Why this rating
The paper is a review citing multiple studies (Sumithran, Ratliff) but notes mechanisms are not fully understood.
Source
Ketosis, ketogenic diet and food intake control: a complex relationship
Antonio Paoli et al. · Frontiers in Psychology · 2015
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00027
narrative_reviewCited 256×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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