The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the
ketogenic diet through 3 weeks on oxidative stress and antioxidative capacity markers in Taekwondo athletes. The participants selected for this research were 18 high school taekwondo contestants aged 15-18 who had at least 5 yr of career as contestant. The subjects were randomly assigned to the
ketogenic diet (KD) group and the Non
ketogenic diet (NDK) group. Body composition and oxidative stress and antioxidative capacity markers (LDH, MDA, ROS, HDL, and SOD) were analysed before and after 3 weeks of
ketogenic diet. No significant difference was found between the groups in body composition, ROS and SOD level. The KD group showed an elevated HDL level and NKD group showed an elevated LDH and MDA level after
ketogenic diet by 3 weeks. This result suggests that
weight loss by 3 weeks of calorie restriction and exercise can cause oxidative stress, and that
ketogenic diet can be effective for preventing it. It could also be inferred that
ketogenic diet can be effective for increasing blood antioxidative capacity.