Related: The Keto Diet
Neurological/Neurodegenerative Disease As mentioned previously, the ketogenic diet provides significant therapeutic benefits to epileptic patients. The glucose stabilizing effects of keto prevent dramatic shifts in blood sugars, which can induce neuronal firing in epileptic patients more sensitive to such swings in energy substrate. Greater glucose regulation and reduction in overall blood glucose can also help decrease the formation of advanced glycation end-products—metabolic byproducts identified as contributing factors in neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease (2). Growing evidence suggests that variations of the ketogenic diet provide a host of benefits in neurodegenerative patients including improvements to memory and cognitive performance (1, 3).Related: Keto May Improve Memory
Diabetes Echoing the same enhancements to blood glucose homeostasis noted above, ketogenic diets appear to positively influence diabetic patients. Therapeutically, the reduction in carbohydrate intake reduces blood glucose load, resulting in improvements to insulin receptor sensitivity and insulin response. Research demonstrates the ketogenic diet improves glycemic control in diabetics and is associated with significant weight loss, which attenuates dysglycemia and improves related metabolic dysfunction (4, 5).Related: Diet During Pregnancy Could Protect Children from Alzheimer’s Disease
Future Perspectives and Feasibility As new evidence emerges, clinicians will need to address the challenges of implementation and maintenance of the diet in patients. One of the greatest barriers may be long-term adherence to the dietary intake, as many patients report difficulty in consuming adequate dietary fat on a daily basis (upwards of 75-80% daily caloric intake should be derived from fats). One solution to overcome food-based limitations of fat consumption would be to supplement with a high-quality, high-fat formulation that mimics keto macronutrient balance.Related: Vitamin Shoppe Goes Keto, Partners with Dr. Axe
Clinical evaluation into the therapeutic benefits of keto continues, with conditions such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) (13), obesity (14), and migraine (15) being examined as potential targets for the metabolic dietary therapy.
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