Ketosis is safe, its keto-acidosis which is dangerous. I would have been worried, too.When my son was around 2, he was a very fussy eater and skinny as an urchin. Twice when he caught a stomach bug, he almost immediately went into ketosis and the doctor was very concerned about it. His breath smelled so strong of ketones I thought he had swallowed nail polish remover. That's exactly what it smelled like. The doctor said at least an ounce of fluids had to stay down every hour or kiddo was going in the hospital.(this is all just for jim's food for thought..the links im firing off)
The effects of the ketogenic diet on behavior and cognition
Neuroprotective capacity of the ketogenic diet
Data are available that suggest that the KD has neuroprotective effects that could be applied beyond its treatment for epileptic conditions. Several studies have demonstrated that KDs can enhance cognitive function in both pathophysiological and normal healthy experimental animal systems (Appelberg et al., 2009; Xu et al., 2010). For example, KDs were able to improve the motor coordination and cognition recovery in young rats suffering from traumatic brain injury (Appelberg et al., 2009). Pro-cognitive and memory enhancement effects of KDs have been demonstrated in normal, healthy, aged rats and to a lesser extent in young rats, suggesting that age may not be a confound for KD use (Xu et al., 2010). In a murine model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in which mice express a mutated human amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgene, KDs have been shown to attenuate the production and accumulation of the cytotoxic proteolytic products of APP, i.e. amyloid-β 40/42, that are thought to underlie the etiology of AD (Van dA et al., 2005). Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS; Lou Gehrig’s disease), like AD, is a neurodegenerative disorder often linked to oxidative stress of neurons. Murine models of ALS, in which transgenic mice possess a human mutation of an enzyme that protects from oxidative damage (superoxide dismutase 1), KDs can delay the onset of motor coordination loss and reduce motor neuron loss in the spinal cord (Zhao et al., 2006). KDs have also been demonstrated to reduce neuronal cell death and the generation of seizure activity in experimental models of stroke and cerebral ischemia (Tai and Truong, 2007; Tai et al., 2008). While animal studies have demonstrated many beneficial effects of KDs, due to variation in animal husbandry and experimental design, conflicting data can be obtained. For example, KD has been implicated in deficiencies in spatial learning and memory, as well as impaired brain growth (Zhao et al., 2004), although it is possible that these negative effects may be due to uncontrolled malnutrition in the KD regimen (Cunnane and Likhodii, 2004). Even with this caveat however, overall, the findings presented by various research groups certainly encourages the therapeutic use of the KD beyond epilepsy, as it offers neuroprotective effects in normal animals, and has beneficial effects in multiple murine models of neurological disorders.
So ketosis has always scared me to death. Apparently there are degrees of it.