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New Research on Binge Eating & Food Addiction

"Liberate", a new way to approach Binge Eating and Food Addiction.


A new paper highly relevant to the metabolic psychiatry community has just been published. I’m proud to share that I am the second author on this work, having contributed to the program design, delivery, and research.


The dietary intervention "Liberate" used:

• a real-food, low-carbohydrate approach

• addiction-informed principles

• full abstinence from ultra-processed foods


And the results were significant:

• binge eating symptoms reduced substantially

• severe binge eating rates halved

• the number of people with no binge eating increased from 18.8% to 54.7%



For many people struggling with binge eating and food addiction, abstinence works better than moderation.


Repeated exposure to trigger foods can keep cravings, loss of control, and binge/restrict cycles alive. Stabilising blood glucose, reducing and removing hyperpalatable foods, and using a low carbohydrate, ketogenic-style real-food approach can help to calm the biology driving the behaviour.


This is one more piece of evidence showing many of you are on the right path with ketogenic therapy.


Why is this research important?


  • Binge eating symptoms reduced substantially after this treatment

  • Mean scores on the Binge Eating Scale (BES) fell from 26.5 at baseline to 18.0 after the 8 week intervention. This reduction was statistically significant

  • Improvements were largely maintained at six months

  • Follow up scores remained improved at 19.2, with no significant deterioration after treatment ended. This suggests possible maintenance of gains over time

  • Severity of binge eating shifted markedly

  • The findings challenge a common eating disorder assumption that 'all foods fit'

  • Conventional approaches often argue that restricting carbohydrates may worsen disordered eating. The authors found no evidence that the low-carbohydrate component increased symptoms and suggested that, within a psychologically supportive framework, it may help some individuals with binge eating and UPFA. They stress, however, that controlled trials are still needed.


Useful Links

At IKRT, we offer a range of programs designed to educate and support you in ketogenic metabolic therapy. If you are interested in learning more, please visit:


If you’d like, you can visit and read for free, the full open access paper here:


If you want to make sure you are eating the right foods for ketogenic metabolic therapy, you can start here:



 
 
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