Ketogenic Diet for cognition
What is Ketogenic Diet
Ketogenic diet, as known as keto diet, ketones diet, it is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. Currently, the main ketogenic dietary supplement on the market are Beta Hydroxybutyrate (BHB) Salts and MCT oil/powder. For high carbohydrate diet, the body will use glucose as the main form of energy, the fats are not needed and are therefore stored .But if low carbs diet, body eventually runs out of fuel (glucose) quickly, and you’ll start to break down protein and fat for energy, which can make you lose weight. That’s why Ketogenic diet is more and more popular now, people use a ketogenic diet most often to lose weight. But do you know the benefits of Ketogenic Diet for cognition?
Ketogenic Diet for cognition
Recently, a study published in the Nutrition insight refreshed our understanding. This study found that ketogenic diet can improve neurovascular function in mice and may help prevent cognitive decline in mice,and the research team hope that the study would offer the possibility of a better understanding of the relationship between microorganisms and neurological disorders.
The integrity of nerve vessels, including cerebral blood flow and blood-brain barrier function, plays an important role in cognitive ability. As for the original idea of the study, Ai-Ling Lin, an aging research center at the University of Kentucky, said that recent scientific studies have shown that bacteria may regulate the integrity of nerve blood vessels in the intestine, therefore, they tried to explore further that whether Ketogenic diet can enhance cerebrovascular function and reduce the risk of neurodegeneration in healthy young mice.
The researchers divided the mice aged 12 to 14 weeks into two groups of 9 each, and gave them a ketogenic diet (KD) and a regular diet for 16 weeks. After the experiment, researchers found a significant increase in brain blood flow in the ketogenic diet group. Also, the balance of intestinal microbial flora was improved, the blood sugar value and weight were reduced as well for the mice that took keto diets. Meanwhile, researchers also found the process of removing beta-amyloid from the brain had been added, everyone knows that beta-amyloid is the symbol of Alzheimer’s disease.
Professor Lin said although the ketogenic diet has been shown to be effective in treating certain diseases, it was the first time to show that ketogenic diet can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The reason for this may be that ketogenic diet inhibits a nutritional sensor called mTOR, which has been shown to affect longevity and health promotion. Besides, mTOR can also be suppressed by simple calorie restriction or the drug of rapamycin.
Although more studies are still being done, current researches and clinical trials have shown that the benefits of Ketogenic Diet for cognition, ketogenic diets may improve memory and brain function in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
