Tell us about your personal journey to learning about the ketogenic diet.

I have been in healthcare for many years and always advised my patients to eat a low-fat, high-carb diet, avoid red meat, and exercise a minimum of three times per week. I too followed this advice for most of my life. In 2013, I ended up with five major medical conditions and was on five medications. I had chronic fibromyalgia preventing me from doing many tasks, as well as severe obstructive sleep apnea which had me on CPAP for over eight years. I was on three medications for hypertension, chronic supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) and heart arrhythmias. I also had occasional asthma, osteoarthritis, pre-diabetes, and was chronically overweight. My ability to exercise was declining and even simple tasks became increasingly difficult. I finally came to the end of my rope and ended up at the Mayo Clinic. It was there that the revelation of the ketogenic diet came to me.

I then googled the ketogenic diet during the 2014 World Low Carb Summit from Cape Town, South Africa and I tuned in. As I listened to all the talks, frankly, I became very angry at the advice I had followed and had given my patients about diet for many years! I had followed the advice, and look what it got me: five chronic health conditions.

Being the 110% personality that I am, I returned home from the Mayo Clinic visit and went “cold turkey” onto a ketogenic diet (70% fat/25% protein /5% carbs) and went off all sugar and almost all carbohydrates, except for an occasional salad. Within six months I was off all medications. Within one year I had no medical conditions and began daily exercise. Today, I am mostly a carnivore after almost 10 years of strict adherence to this lifestyle. I teach dance aerobics classes three times per week and power lift heavy weights two times per week. I teach for four university doctoral programs, and am a Clinical Researcher for the Colorado Parkinson Foundation. Since 2014 I have read almost every book written on the ketogenic/low-carb approach, listened to almost every podcast, and read dozens of research studies. At 65, I feel I am in the best shape of my life.

How did that impact and guide you as an Occupational Therapist working with patients who have Parkinson’s Disease?

For over 40 years, I have witnessed the devastation caused by Parkinson’s Disease (PD) including the tremors, rigidity, and gradual loss of independence. By viewing lectures through the Nutrition Network, Diet Doctor, and Low Carb USA and participating in various low-carb conferences, I have learned a great deal about the science of inflammation and its effects on the biochemical and mitochondrial processes in the body and brain. I have seen the use of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction (TCR) and the ketogenic diet produce a reduction in inflammation and bring about vast changes in symptoms of PD in my patients including greater control over tremors and improved independence in activities of daily living.

In addition, due to the improvement in brain energy through the production and usage of blood ketones, I have seen improvements in symptoms of anxiety and depression in my patients with PD. Depression and anxiety are common problems in PD due to the deficits seen in dopamine production which I call the “feel good” neurochemical.

Additionally, patients with PD develop chronic metabolic conditions as they seek pleasure from sweet food items and junk foods to compensate for the loss of dopamine-producing neurochemicals that help them to feel good. By increasing the production of blood ketones (specifically BHB), patients report they feel better and have better brain function, cognition and memory with fewer cravings for sweet foods and junk foods.

What lead you to become a Certified Metabolic Health Practitioner?

I was so excited to see the formation of the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners. Finally, an organization where those of us practicing TCR with our patients can have a “home.” We can receive ongoing support, training, and recognition as we seek to support each other along with encouraging ongoing research endeavors addressing the need to fill the gaps in research and add to the body of evidence for the use of TCR in chronic disease.

What inspired you to start research using a LCHF diet for Parkinson’s Disease patients?

This is an interesting story. I was camping with some friends who are on the board of the Colorado Parkinson Foundation (CPF). They were talking about some of their medical conditions and how as they grew older, they were experiencing more and more chronic health concerns. I taught them about LCHF/KD and worked with them over the course of a year. Their health improvements were impressive. As a result, they asked me to present the approach to the entire Board of CPF. Many of the board members were so impressed, that they too adopted the LCHF approach and witnessed vast improvements in their health.

I approached the Board about the possibility of conducting research on the LCHF/KD and TCR on Parkinson’s Disease. They were overwhelmingly enthusiastic! They provided the funding needed and we recruited our study participants from their membership rolls.

How do you educate patients with Parkinson’s to adopt a LCHF diet? What has been your biggest challenge?

I have not found a website with more educational materials and videos for my patients and participants needing to adopt the TCR lifestyle than the Keto-Mojo website. I use the videos on the website for training on blood glucose and ketone testing to teach my participants and patients how to use the Keto-Mojo meter. I find the resources to be incredible and direct my patients to the site to answer any questions they might have.

My biggest challenge in PD is the apathy associated with reductions in dopamine levels as the disease progresses. It is difficult to encourage patients with PD to initiate and follow-through, especially on dietary changes that reduce the sugar, something they use to “self-medicate,” if you get my meaning. Many persons with PD struggle with sugar in their diet. So little in their experience gives them the “highs” they crave and sugar often fits the bill.

Another challenge with the ketogenic diet is the abundance of meat in the diet. Many persons with PD have issues with chewing and swallowing so adjustments need to be made to be able to keep the high fats and moderate proteins without sacrificing safety when eating.

What were the most surprising results from the pilot study?

To tell the truth, I anticipated a few of the variables improving, but I never imagined that every single variable we tested would improve significantly over 12 weeks! Every one! This, in my experience, is rather unheard of, even for a small, short-term study like this one.

All biomarkers, and I mean all of them, improved significantly (Triglycerides, HDL, Fasting Insulin, C-Reactive Protein, Waist Measurements, Weight, HgA1C). Of course, I knew these would improve somewhat but did not expect them to show statistically significant changes in 12 weeks.

More surprisingly were the changes in the UPDRS scores. The UPDRS is a scale used to assess symptoms of PD. There were significant improvements in Behavior, Mentation, and Mood scores in 12 weeks. Additionally, improvements in scores on the Depression and Anxiety scales were also seen in 12 weeks, even in the midst of COVID isolation. This was surprising.

Many of my 16 participants reported improvements in quality of life including increased willingness to socialize with others. Persons with PD often isolate themselves due to feelings of embarrassment over their symptoms or speech difficulties. Many said they were more willing to get out into society and participate (once the COVID restrictions were eased). They reported improvements in cognition and a reduction in brain fog, which is a common complaint in PD.

Based on your experience, how are the current protocols for treating Parkinson’s Disease symptoms missing the mark in terms of improving anxiety and depression symptoms?

Well, I could really write a book here! The most common treatment we have for PD is the administration of a Carbo-Levodopa medication to replace the missing dopamine neurochemical. Unfortunately, this medication has many side effects, a short half-life, variability with interference from dietary ingredients, and the schedule for dosing vary from day to day. I also feel the treatment of anxiety and depression in PD uses all the common medications used for patients who do not have PD but have depression or anxiety diagnoses. Therefore, these medications often exacerbate the symptoms and cause severe side effects like lethargy, suicidal ideation, loss of appetite, etc. There has to be a better way!

Why do you think there isn’t much evidence yet with using KD for neurodegenerative diseases? What else needs to happen for other practitioners to adopt this treatment modality?

This is a really good question and one that baffles me. With PD and Alzheimer’s Disease on the rise in our world, why are there very few research studies or talks online regarding the effects of TCR and KD on persons with neurodegenerative diseases? This, in my opinion, is a large gap. I have kept track, and for all the conferences on the LCHF/KD lifestyle I have attended in the past five years, there has not been one talk on the management of neurodegenerative diseases using this approach. Why is this? It seems the focus has been largely on diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, which is good to establish the benefits. However,  Pringsheim (2014) estimates that 50 million people worldwide suffer from neurodegenerative diseases (NDDS), and that by 2050 this figure will increase to 115 million people (para.6). This is in comparison with type 2 diabetes where according to an article by Khan (2020), the author estimates that “Globally, an estimated 462 million individuals are affected by type 2 diabetes (T2D), corresponding to 6.28% of the world’s population” (para.7).

So 115 million are affected with NDDS versus 462 million affected by T2D….maybe this is why? Nonetheless, NDDS are a significant problem and they are on the rise, especially as the population lives longer. However, longevity is not the only factor. I had one participant in my study with Young Onset Parkinson’s Diseases (YOPD). She developed PD in her early 30’s. Perhaps NDDS like T2D will become increasingly an issue in the young due to our poor diet and lifestyle starting at such a young age.

I sincerely appreciate the work of Dr. Matthew Phillips in New Zealand who encouraged me in the design of my study and allowed me to use some of his patient materials with my participants. His work in PD is ongoing and I consider him to be one of the few experts on the use of TCR and KD with PD.

You used a similar approach to a continuous remote care model with your subjects; specifically measuring dietary compliance through ketone tracking. Do you think checking blood ketones was a helpful measure for adherence to the prescribed diet?

 I sincerely appreciated the ability to Zoom with my participants as much as they needed for support and education and to encourage them to monitor their blood glucose and ketones. I only wish, in retrospect, I had had them test daily. Some of them did, but the study requirement was once a week just to monitor nutritional ketosis. This was probably not as accurate as daily testing would have been. My next study, already in the works, will use daily testing. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) felt that daily testing could possibly be “too invasive or arduous” so I had to change this to once a week. Now that I know the importance of daily testing, I will push to include daily testing in my next study.

My next study will test the effects of the ketogenic diet on cognition, various types of memory, and also include biomarkers of health. I will add the variable of the use of MCT oil. I hope to make this a randomized controlled trial (RCT) with a control group and an intervention group. I hope to once again collaborate with Keto-Mojo on securing blood glucose and ketone meters for my participants and have them test daily. Exploring more of the research resources available through Keto-Mojo will be helpful as well. I am thankful for their continued focus on supporting research on this highly effective nutritional approach.

The post Meet Dr. Melanie Tidman – Researching the Effects of a Ketogenic Diet on Parkinson’s appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

However, the evidence pointing to the ketogenic diet being a possible effective treatment for bipolar disorder (BD) does not stop there. Some published case studies show some profound improvements in people suffering from bipolar disorder. And a current pilot study is recruiting participants at Stanford University Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences by Shebani Sethi, M.D. and Diane E Wakeham, Ph.D.

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterized by episodes of mania or hypomania (periods of abnormally elevated, extreme changes in mood, behavior, activity, and energy level) that cycle into sometimes severe depressive episodes. Manic and hypomanic episodes are generally considered well-controlled for most patients using combinations of psychiatric medication options. However, depressive episodes and prodromal symptoms are still very common and difficult to live with even when medicated. This poor control of prodromal symptoms by the current standard of care leads to dangerous depressive episodes that increase suicide risk and fails to stop the progression of neurodegeneration and loss of function we see in these patients.

How Does the Ketogenic Diet Help Bipolar Disorder?

Several biological mechanisms have been proposed as potential underlying causes of BD. These include mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and neurotransmitter disruption. Increasing numbers of genetic, biological, and neuroimaging studies have begun to address these hypotheses in recent years. When there is a dysfunctional biological mechanism, energy metabolism, cellular signaling, and circadian rhythms are some of the major processes shown to be impacted.

Biological mechanisms that have been proposed as underlying the disease process in bipolar disorder include mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and neurotransmitter disruption. Ketogenic diets have been found to exert effects in improving all these areas. Ketones upregulate the number and functioning of mitochondria (the powerhouses of nerve cells) which improves energy metabolism in the brain. Ketones have also been found to improve the health of cell membranes which improve neuronal firing, the storing of nutrients needed to make important enzymes and provide precursors for neurotransmitter production. This increased mitochondrial function allows neurons to upkeep general cell health and functioning.

Ketones also increase the function of endogenous antioxidant systems, such as the glutathione production. Glutathione upregulation, as seen on a ketogenic diet, helps reduce oxidative stress. And there are several documented enhancements in neurotransmitter balance and production that occur with ketogenic diets. Some of those include those neurotransmitter systems implicated in bipolar disorder pathology and include the dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine pathways as well as glutamate and GABA production.

Why do neuroinflammation and oxidative stress matter in the bipolar brain? Because they cause levels of neuronal damage that an already energy-starved brain (hypometabolism) cannot deal with. They change the environment in which neurotransmitters are made. A brain with high levels of inflammation and oxidative stress cannot maintain cell membrane health, which impairs all the things a neuron needs to do to stay healthy and work right. One of those is having enough nutrients to be able to make important enzymes required to make neurotransmitters in the first place. Poor membrane function and high inflammation contribute to this nutrient depletion, causing a worsening of disease processes and contributing to bipolar disorder.

In Summary, Why is Ketosis Beneficial in Treating Bipolar Disorder?

We don’t know exactly, but we have some good guesses coming from research on the effects of ketones on the brain.

Ketones appear to improve cell membrane function and health. The improved energy brain cells get from burning ketones as fuel may be providing more energy for this outcome. It could also be ketones’ ability to reduce levels of inflammation as a signaling body and its ability to disrupt inflammatory pathways on the molecular level. Ketones have also been shown to increase the amount of an important substance called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) which can promote cellular repair and even help improve memory function through its effects on the hippocampus. This may help reduce some of the effects of neurodegenerative processes that are seen in bipolar disorder.

And if all that is not enough, there is evidence to suggest that ketogenic diets upregulate the production of glutathione, which is our own bodies’ powerful antioxidant system, having a direct and favorable impact on levels of oxidative stress in the bipolar brain.

What I See in My Practice

As a mental health counselor who helps patients use ketogenic diets to treat mental illnesses like bipolar disorder, I only have anecdotal information on what my clients report to experience, coupled with what I observe as a clinician. What I see in people who use ketogenic diets consistently is an improvement in symptoms and functioning that they report they were unable to get from psychopharmacology alone.

I have bipolar patients who use the ketogenic diet consistently and exclusively to manage their bipolar disorder, and I have bipolar patients who use the ketogenic diet for mood stability and choose to stay on medications that include lithium. Often, but not always, my bipolar patients are able to titrate down their dosages of all medications with the help of their prescriber. But regardless of whether they are able to go down or off their medications, what I always see with consistent use is improved mood and functioning than they had prior to attempting ketogenic dietary therapy.

A Word of Caution

First, if you want to do a ketogenic diet for bipolar disorder and you are currently on medications, you really MUST have a prescriber available for medication management. Please do not attempt to do it alone. You deserve medical care. And ketogenic diets are powerful metabolic therapies that affect your medications. You can get serious side effects or a temporary worsening of symptoms that needs to be monitored by a healthcare team that includes a prescriber.

Why Ketone Levels Matter

When doing a ketogenic diet, ketones are your source of brain energy. People with psychiatric disorders are exquisitely sensitive to deficits in brain energy and it can cause a worsening of symptoms. So regular testing with a blood ketone monitor can be very helpful.

It can help patients begin to make connections between their ketone level and their mood and functioning. Ketone testing can help patients decide if they need to eat more healthy fats or supplement with MCT oil. A diabetic patient will test blood glucose and ketones in order to monitor and hopefully treat their illness. Testing is just as important for the bipolar individual using ketogenic dietary therapy to treat their symptoms.

About Nicole Laurent, LMHC

Nicole is a seasoned psychotherapist based in Vancouver, Washington who is passionate about reducing psychiatric and neurological symptoms with powerful dietary interventions. She completed her B.A. in Psychology and Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Argosy University (formally Washington School of Professional Psychology). She has additional post-graduate level education in functional nutrition and specifically in therapeutic carbohydrate restriction as a mental health intervention.

Learn more about Nicole here: www.mentalhealthketo.com

The post Can the Ketogenic Diet Help with Bipolar Disorder? appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

The History of Keto as a Treatment for Epilepsy

Fasting (restricting eating) has been used to treat epilepsy as early as 500 BC with good reason. If you fast (don’t eat anything for a period of time), your body will, in turn, produce ketones from stored fat. These ketones are neuroprotective, meaning they help protect the myelin (sheath that protects nerves) in your brain, and apparently, also result in less epileptic seizures.

But in 1923, a doctor named Russell Wilder, from The Wilder Clinic, recognized the dangers of fasting, particularly for children. Children have different metabolic needs and a growing brain, and can easily become weak, confused, and angry if their specific nutritional needs are not met. Consequently, Wilder studied many different nutritional therapies to see if he might find a diet that would elicit a similar response as fasting, without the potential dangers.

He soon learned that you can mimic the effects of fasting by avoiding all forms of sugar and eating a high-fat diet. He tested this diet on people with epilepsy, and it ended up becoming the main epilepsy treatment for many years. 

Wilder’s discovery was the birth of the ketogenic diet, but this intervention for epilepsy was short-lived. In the 1930s, doctors were presented with new anticonvulsant seizure drugs. Because prescribing these medications was easier than making their patients follow a strict diet, drugs became the primary treatment for epilepsy. At least for the time being. 

The Charlie Foundation and a Return to Keto

In 1993, a young boy named Charlie struggled with severe epilepsy. He was on several different daily medications. His parents were willing to try anything and read about the ketogenic diet as a therapy for epilepsy. They gave it a try and it worked for Charlie. Within a month, he was off medications and seizure-free. He remained seizure-free on keto for five years and has not had another seizure since. 

The Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies was founded in 1994. It provides information about diet therapies for people with epilepsy, other neurological disorders, and select cancers. It also explains that anecdotally, and by four randomized controlled studies, the keto diet reduced seizures by at least 50 percent in half of the people who trialed it, and 15 to 25 percent are cured of seizures.

Since the formation of The Charlie Foundation, keto has remained an adjunct therapy for epilepsy, and there are several clinical trials studying keto for epilepsy, both completed and underway, including:

• • Efficacy and Safety of Ketogenic Diet as Adjunctive Treatment in Adults With Refractory Epilepsy
  • Effect of Outpatient Classic Ketogenic Diet in Epileptic Children and Adolescent
  • RCT of the Efficacy of the Ketogenic Diet in the Treatment of Epilepsy
  • Ketogenic Diet vs. Antiepileptic Drug Treatment in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

Benefits of Keto for Epilepsy

So just how does keto benefit epilepsy? Ketone bodies produced from fat on the keto diet, somehow cause a change in metabolism that leads to a strong anticonvulsant effect. A team at Emory University School of Medicine wanted to further understand why keto works so well for brain-related conditions. These researchers discovered that the keto diet:

• Raises your number of mitochondria (the “powerhouse” of your cells) in portions of your brain 
• Enhances energy production leading to improved neuron stability
• Alters genes involved in energy metabolism in the brain
• Enhances the brain’s ability to withstand metabolic challenges
• Causes a change in metabolism leading to a potent anticonvulsant effect

According to celebrity trainer and keto expert, Thomas Delauer, most of the science leads us to believe that it has to do the GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid) and glutamate (both neurotransmitters) within the brain. GABA is relaxing whereas glutamate is excitatory. Excess glutamate can trigger a seizure. On a keto diet, we have higher levels of GABA, the relaxing neurotransmitter. Also, ketone bodies actually compete with the glutamate and the body uses ketones instead of glutamate. Delauer explains, “Ketones bump the glutamate out of the brain.” This decreases the risk of seizure for epileptics. Learn more in this video.

Keto Modifications for Children with Epilepsy

As we mentioned above, children have different metabolic needs than adults do, and may need dietary modification in order to get their energy needs met, depending on their age and stage of development. It’s important to work with a doctor or dietician when trying keto as a therapeutic intervention for your child. 

The Final Word

The keto diet has a long history of use as a treatment method for people with epilepsy, starting in the 1920s, but it died down due to pharmaceutical discoveries. Thanks to the Wilder Clinic established in the 1990s, keto has had a big comeback in the treatment of epilepsy and reducing seizures, and is now a well-researched and established modern complementary therapy for both children and adults with epilepsy. 

The post The Ketogenic Diet for Epilepsy appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

However, how carbohydrate restriction benefits each disease (and even each case of each disease) can vary. For example, weight loss and reversal of diabetes are primarily driven by the absence of dietary carbohydrates, rather than the presence of ketones.

However, conditions that affect the brain may benefit directly from the presence of ketone bodies. This makes sense because ketones are, first and foremost, a fuel for the brain. There is now evidence that ketogenic diets can improve at least some cases of epilepsy, mental illnesses, and even neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Therefore, in circumstances where a healthcare provider and patient agree that targeting deeper states of ketosis may provide therapeutic benefit, it is reasonable to entertain the 3:1 and 4:1 ketogenic diet options.

What are 3:1 & 4:1 Ketogenic Diets?

Typical ketogenic diets aim to include moderate protein and about 70% of calories from fat. This strategy usually promotes nutritional ketosis, defined as having blood ketone levels above 0.5 mmol/L. However, in circumstances where ketone bodies – and in particular the main ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) – may serve as the acting therapeutic agent, this might not be enough ketosis to ‘get the job done.’

3:1 and 4:1 ketogenic diets are stricter ketogenic diets. A 4:1 ketogenic diet contains 4 grams of fat for every 1 gram of protein and carbs combined or 80% fat by weight in grams  (4÷5=80%). Likewise, a 3:1 ketogenic diet contains 3 grams of fat for every 1 gram of protein and carbs combined or 75% fat by weight in grams (3÷4=75%).

However, as a percentage of calories, the ratio changes a bit. That’s because fat provides more calories per gram than protein and carbohydrates. A gram of fat provides the body with 9 calories, while each gram of protein or carbohydrate provides the body with 4 calories. The 4:1 ketogenic diet is 80% fat by weight but 90% by calories and 3:1 ketogenic diet is 75% fat by weight but 87% fat by calories.

If you are curious about how we get the percentages from the ratios, here is the math. Remember, each gram of fat contains 9 calories and each gram of either protein or carbs contains 4 calories.

Ketones, how much is enough?

I wish I could tell you that “for disease X you need to achieve βHB levels of Y to see benefit.” Unfortunately, we do not have enough data to suggest what the threshold level of benefit might be for any individual suffering from a disorder that could be improved by a 3:1 or 4:1 diet. We also do not have enough data to say that ketogenic diets will help in all circumstances.

As time passes and more data are collected, it is likely we will be able to offer more precise guidelines. But, for now, the 3:1 or 4:1 ketogenic diet exists primarily as therapeutic options for patients to explore with their physicians. They are one more tool in the toolbox that may be worth a try for patients looking for a natural option or for those suffering with unremitting diseases.

In brief, there is no prescription level of βHB that medical experts can recommend. However, 3:1 or 4:1 ketogenic diets that raise βHB levels into the 2.5 – 6.0 mmol/L range are certainly more likely to help a patient pass any therapeutic “threshold” than less strict diets in which βHB increases only above 0.5 mmol/L.

Whereas typical ketogenic diets elevate βHB levels above 0.5 mmol/L, 3:1 and 4:1 diets can elevate βHB far more, usually between 2.5 – 6.0 mmol/L. This means there is more βHB available to fuel and reprogram the brain and, potentially, help to improve neurological and neurodegenerative conditions.

How do ketones support brain function?

We said earlier that ketones, specifically βHB, are an excellent fuel for the brain’s neurons. Therefore, as ketone body levels rise on a 3:1 or 4:1 ketogenic diet, more fuel is available to support brain function. This is particularly important when glucose metabolism in the brain is impaired, which may be a common feature of neurological diseases.

For example, glucose metabolism is decreased in the brains of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and major depressive disorder. Correspondingly, randomized controlled trials have shown ketogenic diets can improve the former and case series suggest ketogenic diets may be an emerging therapeutic option for the latter.

It is also important to note that βHB is not just a fuel, but a powerful signaling molecule. βHB binds receptors on cells surfaces, change phosphorylation cascades, inhibits histone deacetylases to change the way DNA is read into proteins, and itself modifies over 1,000 different proteins within cells. In this way, βHB and 3:1 or 4:1 ketogenic diets have the potential to rewrite brain metabolism and improve neurological and neurodegenerative disease states and mental illnesses.

Can I use exogenous ketones?

An alternative strategy for entering into deeper states of ketosis, without adhering to 3:1 or 4:1 diets, is to attempt a more moderate ketogenic diet and boost ketone levels with exogenous ketones. For example, one could try a 2:1 ketogenic diet and supplement with a ketone salt or ester. This could provide more dietary flexibility and improve quality of life for the individual.

However, we do not know if exogenous ketones provide the same benefits as those made inside your body by your liver and brain’s support cells. Furthermore, we do not know the long-term consequences of using an exogenous ketone while on a standard diet, which is why I generally suggest – if a person does experiment with exogenous ketones – they do so as a booster on top of a standard ketogenic diet.

Lastly, if a patient and practitioner agree to try exogenous ketones, it’s important to use only those that contain pure “D-βHB.” Molecules in nature often have a property called chirality, which means they exist in left (L) and right (D) handed forms. The body is like a right-handed glove and is best able to use the right-handed D form of βHB. So, if you try an exogenous ketone supplement, go for the pure D.

Side Effects

There are sometimes side effects of a 3:1 or 4:1 diet. Most of these include moderate gastrointestinal symptoms, like diarrhea or occasionally nausea. Sometimes, these side effects go away on their own as a person adapts to the diet, and a well-informed practitioner or keto-coach may be able to help troubleshoot any unpleasant symptoms.

Getting Practical: What does a 3:1 and 4:1 ketogenic diet look like?

Simply, a 3:1 ketogenic diet will typically include a small amount of a protein – perhaps the side of half a fist – along with enough fat to meet an individual’s caloric needs. Minimal carbohydrates can enter the diet as included in healthy high-fat foods, like avocado (3 grams of net carbs per fruit) or macadamia nuts (1.5 g net carbs per 10 nuts), or as a carrier for healthy fats, like 100 grams of spinach (1.5 g net carbs) stir fried in a liberal amount of ghee, tallow, or avocado oil.

A three-meal day of eating a 3:1 ketogenic could look something like this:

• • 50 grams of salmon and a medium Hass avocado drizzled with 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for breakfast (Ratio = 3.25:1; Protein = 16 grams; Calories = 655).
  • 1 large egg and 2 large egg yolks and 50 grams of bacon fried in 2 Tablespoons of ghee for lunch (Ratio = 3.1:1; Protein = 20 grams; Calories = 636).
  • 60 grams of Roquefort cheese and 20 crushed macadamia nuts over a spinach salad drizzled with 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil for dinner (Ratio = 3.1:1; Protein = 20 grams; Calories = 770).

A 4:1 ketogenic diet simply decreases the calories from carbs and protein, or adds in extra fat. The above breakfast, lunch, and dinner options could be modified as follows:

• • Add an extra Tablespoon of oil to breakfast. 50 grams of salmon and a medium Hass avocado drizzled with 3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for breakfast (Ratio = 4:1; Protein = 16 grams; Calories = 780).
  • Remove the whole egg from lunch. 2 large egg yolks and 50 grams of bacon fried in 2 Tablespoons of ghee for lunch (Ratio = 4.3:1; Protein = 13 grams; Calories = 551).
  • Reduce the portion of cheese by 20 grams at dinner and add in a Tablespoon of oil. 40 grams of Roquefort cheese and 20 crushed macadamia nuts over a spinach salad drizzled with 2 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil (Ratio = 4.1:1; Protein = 16 grams; Calories = 821).

Obviously, this is not your 3:1 or 4:1 prescribed menu. It’s just included to give you a sense of what eating a 3:1 or 4:1 diet could look like in terms of the relative amount of real food sources of protein, fat, and carbs.

Shopping List

Here is a list of foods that one could consider including in a 3:1 or 4:1 diet.

Proteins:

• • Fatty cuts of meat (ideally 100% grass-fed)
  • Bacon and fatty pork (ideally pasture raised)
  • Eggs and egg yolks (ideally pasture raised)
  • Rich cheeses, like Roquefort (ideally sheep and goat cheeses)
  • Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring)

Cooking Fats:

• • Ghee
  • Tallow
  • Suet
  • Lard
  • Virgin coconut oil
  • Avocado oil
  • Macadamia nut oil

Dressing Fats:

• • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Hazelnut oil
  • Sesame oil
  • Flax oil

Nuts and Seeds:

• • Macadamia nuts
  • Pili nuts
  • Pecans (not too much)
  • Brazil nuts (not too much)
  • Walnuts (not too much)
  • Flax seeds
  • Chia seeds
  • Sesame seeds

Dairy:

• • Rich cheeses
  • Heavy whipping cream

Vegetables:

• • Arugula
  • Asparagus
  • Bok choy
  • Eggplant
  • Lettuces
  • Mushrooms
  • Nori
  • Spinach
  • Zucchini

Try Some 3:1 and 4:1 Recipes 

4:1 Hummus

3:1 Taverna-Style Greek Salad

4:1 Chocolate Hazelnut “Powerhouse” Truffles

3:1 On-the-Go Savory Granola Bars

Disclaimer

The 3:1 and 4:1 ratio ketogenic diets are usually used to treat serious medical conditions. As such, diet initiation should be done with the help of a trained clinician, not on your own.

Dr. Nicholas Norwitz received his Ph.D. in Ketogenics and Metabolism from Oxford University and is now pursuing his MD at Harvard Medical School. He is a new shining star in nutrition science with a research expertise in ketosis and brain aging.  He has also published scientific papers on topics such as neuroscience, heart disease, gastrointestinal health, genetics, bone health, and diabetes, and is a co-author of The New Meditteranean Diet Cookbook. 

The post 3:1 & 4:1 Therapeutic Ketogenic Diets appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

What Is This Study About?

In a state of ketosis, the brain uses more ketones and less glucose. This “metabolic switch” may improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of neurodegeneration. Here, researchers examined the effects of a ketogenic diet on Alzheimer’s disease risk factors. 

How was this Study Conducted?

In this study, researchers put 20 older adults with mental impairments on two diets: a modified Mediterranean-ketogenic diet and a low-fat diet. The study used a randomized crossover design, so all participants ate both diets in separate trials. At baseline and after 6 weeks, researchers measured ketone levels, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), cerebral perfusion (brain blood flow), and brain ketone utilization.

Study Results

Compared to the low-fat group, the keto group had increased blood-ketone levels, cerebrospinal fluid, cerebral perfusion, and ketone uptake in the brain—all positive changes in Alzheimer’s risk. Interestingly, both groups improved on a memory test, though the researchers believe this could be due to practice effects. 

Conclusions and Insights 

Perhaps the most important finding was the increase in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) among keto dieters. During deep sleep, CSF helps flush the brain of amyloid beta and tao—two proteins linked to the development of Alzheimer’s. Ketones, the researchers believe, may also block amyloid beta from entering brain cells. More research is needed, however, before recommending the ketogenic diet as Alzheimer’s therapy.  

The post Research Alert: Keto Diet Improves Alzheimer’s Risk Factors In Older Adults appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

Dr. Newport shares much of her expertise in her various books, including Alzheimer’s Disease: What If There Was A Cure? The Story of Ketones (2011); The Coconut Oil and Low-Carbohydrate Solution for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Other Diseases (2015); and The Complete Book of Ketones: A Practical Guide to Ketogenic Diets and Ketone Supplements (read the full Keto-Mojo book review here).

Here she answers questions about her pioneering research:

Your husband, Steve, was diagnosed with early-onset dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. What inspired you to treat him with coconut oil and MCT oil?

In May 2008, I was online looking at the risks and benefits of two clinical trial medications that Steve was going to screen for. By accident, I came across a press release about a medical food that was progressing towards FDA recognition and claimed to improve memory and cognition in almost half of people with Alzheimer’s who took it in two clinical trials. I found out from their patent application that it was MCT oil (C8) and learned that MCT oil is usually extracted from coconut oil or palm kernel oil. It seemed reasonable to try coconut oil and MCT oil as a strategy to help him.

What were the most memorable or surprising improvements in Steve’s thinking or behavior, both scientifically and personally, after adopting a more ketogenic diet?

There were several surprising improvements after Steve adopted a more ketogenic diet. Basically, we started giving him two tablespoons of coconut oil at breakfast, quickly increased it to several times per day, then added MCT oil, gradually working up to nine to 11 tablespoons per day over several months. He was already on a Mediterranean-type diet for about two years at that point, but we gradually removed the bread, pasta, cereal, rice, and most other carbs, which would have resulted in a more ketogenic diet, though we did not have handheld monitors available at the time to measure levels. 

The first big surprise was that he increased his [mini-mental status exam aka MMSE] score enough from the day before to the day he started coconut oil to qualify for a clinical trial period. The next surprise was an amazing improvement in his clock drawing [a simple test requiring him to draw] over just 14 days, from just a few random circles and numbers to a complete circle with all of the numbers in the right order. Steve said it felt like a light bulb came on in his head the day he started coconut oil, and his mood went rather quickly from chronically depressed to feeling like he had a future. 

One of the biggest surprises occurred about three to four months after starting coconut oil. Steve announced that he could read again and explained to me that the words would shake on the page when he would try to read lately, but that had stopped. At about nine months, Steve told me details about an article he had read in Scientific American on Einstein several hours earlier, indicating that his memory was improving significantly. He improved so much that he was able to start volunteering in the supply warehouse at the hospital where I worked.

How did your background as a neonatologist influence your ability to help Steve? 

When I learned the medical food in the press release was MCT oil, I knew right away what that was. We used MCT oil in the feedings of our extremely tiny premature newborns to help them grow faster back in the early 1980s. Then companies began adding MCT oil to infant formulas, which is still occurring today. In fact, coconut oil is added to virtually every commercial infant formula in the world to mimic the naturally-occurring MCTs found in human breast milk.

You’ve said that Steve’s AD came out of nowhere. He was healthy, active, and young. Are there signs, symptoms, or other medical conditions people should watch out for to catch AD early and start treatment ASAP? 

Yes, some memory problems are very common, such as misplacing one’s wallet or keys, and may not necessarily indicate that someone is headed towards Alzheimer’s. Many people have the experience that they will walk into a room and forget what they went after, but most people will eventually remember, whereas someone with dementia will likely not remember. If someone begins repeating the same question or story several times in a given day, that is a common early symptom. If someone has been able to find their way around and follow a map their whole life and now is unable to do that, it could be a tip-off. 

In Steve’s case, he was only 51 when he began having symptoms, and the biggest tip-off to me was that he could not remember if he had been to the bank and post office. He would often misplace important mail in odd places, like out in the garage. Putting objects in unusual places, like a DVD in the microwave or refrigerator, for example, is not normal!

Stats show 70 percent of people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) go on to develop Alzheimer’s, which is now known as type 3 diabetes. Based on your experience and research, how are the current protocols for preventing and treating these failing? What could help address these costly health issues in a significant way? 

Yes, people with type 2 diabetes have a much higher chance of going on to develop dementia. It would seem logical that high blood sugar is the underlying problem. So a simple answer would be to reduce sugar in the diet.

Education on avoiding excessive sugar should begin in early childhood. People look to their pediatricians to give them advice on feeding their children and look to their own doctors for guidance on nutrition for themselves. A big part of the problem is that doctors receive minimal education in nutrition and medical schools focus mainly on treating with pharmaceuticals. I only received instruction on nutrition one afternoon for about three hours during my entire medical school enrollment, and it is not much better these days. Most doctors don’t have dieticians in their practice. As a result of all this, most diabetics do not get proper training in nutrition. 

I do home visits with people that have chronic medical conditions including diabetes, and most of them do not have a clue what a carbohydrate is. They still consume sugary drinks and sweets while taking two or three oral medications and sometimes insulin as well. Inexplicably, and up until very recently, the American Diabetes Association has encouraged a diet that is low-fat and high-carb (around 65 percent of calories). Most people do not seem to be aware that wheat and rice are converted to nearly 90 percent glucose after they are digested.  

Doctors Eric Westman and Steven Phinney have done much to study and publish on the low-carb/higher-fat approach to treating type 2 diabetes, and they have had tremendous success in getting thousands of people into remission and off their medications. Now the American Diabetes Association is starting to acknowledge that there may be a role for a low-carb diet to treat diabetes, but it is not the mainstay of their guidance as of yet. I believe the best thing we can do is to become messengers for this much more successful approach to diabetes as a grassroots effort since it does not seem to be coming from the top down.

How do you convince people with type 2 diabetes or Alzheimer’s to adopt a low-carb diet? What’s the biggest selling point? What’s the biggest challenge? 

I think the biggest selling point is to consider what sugar does to the body. When someone eats too much sugar, advanced glycation end products (AGEs) form, and these sticky, harmful substances can damage many tissues and cause inflammation, eventually resulting in the various chronic diseases that are associated with diabetes. Another selling point that may hit home with some people is that they will likely experience markedly fewer sugar cravings if they go low-carb. 

The biggest challenge is that most people are not able to make a very drastic change to their diets, let alone sustain a very strict ketogenic diet for extended periods. I think a better approach for many people, especially diabetics and the elderly, is to help them make gradual, reasonable changes in their diet, such as eliminating sugary drinks and obvious sweets, working toward eating a more whole-food type of diet instead of processed foods, adding more healthy fats to their diets such as olive oil and coconut oil, changing from refined to unrefined grains, and eating more vegetables and low-sugar fruits, such as strawberries and avocados. I also suggest that they try low-carb snacks such as cheese or nuts in place of cookies or other high-carb snacks. Instead of expecting people to eliminate certain carbs right away, such as bread, rice, and pasta, encourage them to cut their portions in half. When they are used to that, cut it in half again. 

While my second book, The Coconut Oil and Low-Carbohydrate Solution for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Other Diseases, is all about how to move towards a reasonable low-carb diet and is geared toward people who are elderly and/or have neurological conditions, my latest book, The Complete Book of Ketones: A Practical Guide to Ketogenic Diets and Ketone Supplements, goes much further into how to plan ketogenic diets, varying from mild to deep ketosis, and how to incorporate other ketogenic strategies into the plan.

Should healthy people with a family history of T2D and Alzheimer’s use more coconut oil and MCT oil for prevention? 

Dr. Stephen Cunnane from Sherbrooke University in Canada has done considerable work on this using ketone and glucose PET scans. He has been able to show that MCT oil does increase energy to the brain as ketones, and that ketones are taken up normally in the Alzheimer’s brain. In his studies, people with memory impairment improved while taking MCT oil for six months, and this is supported by other studies. Dr. Cunnane has been able to demonstrate that the more MCT oil consumed, the higher the ketone uptake is in the brain. In their studies, they use two tablespoons and then three tablespoons per day, so this would be a good place to start. 

There is an Alzheimer’s study currently underway in Australia in which they are planning to slowly increase to six tablespoons per day of a product called CocoMCT, which is an MCT oil with about 32 percent lauric acid (C12). Lauric acid, which makes up 50 percent of coconut oil, has been shown to stimulate ketone production directly in brain cells called astrocytes that nourish nearby neurons. This is just one good reason why I encourage people to also use whole coconut oil in their diet.

In The Complete Book of Ketones, you mention that babies transition from a high-fat to high-carb diet as they progress through childhood. Do you support putting kids and teens on a low-carb or modified keto diet? Would this support better dietary decision-making in adulthood to prevent insulin resistance issues?

I do not think that a strict ketogenic diet with very low carbohydrates is a good idea for younger children unless they have a medical condition that warrants it (such as epilepsy) and they are supervised closely by their physician and dietitian. This type of diet can result in slower growth and affect bone development, so it is a risk versus benefits situation for those children. 

I think the best approach with healthy children is to avoid sugary drinks and obvious sweets and encourage them to eat a whole-food diet with small amounts of whole grains. Encourage healthy fats and protein-rich foods like eggs and cheese and introduce them to a variety of vegetables when they are very young. I think a good guideline is to look at the macronutrient ratio in breast milk; this is about 40 percent to 50 percent fat, 30 percent to 40 percent carbohydrates, and the rest is protein. This is very important for a growing child. 

For overweight teenagers, I would take the same approach, but perhaps go a little bit lower in carbs and higher in fat, which may help them grow into their weight. Studies show that children who ate full-fat dairy were less likely to be obese adults than children eating low-fat or fat-free dairy. Full-fat milk, cheese, and yogurt are great snacks for children and adults who tolerate lactose, in my opinion. I do firmly believe that helping children establish sound eating habits in childhood and during their teen years would go a very long way towards continuing good habits in adulthood and avoiding diabetes (and potentially lowering the risk for AD).

Why do you think trusted institutions, like the American Heart Association, vilify healthy fats like coconut oil? 

I think the biggest problem is that there are corporate interests heavily involved on the boards of directors for these types of organizations, especially the soybean oil and sugar industries. There is a heavy bias as to what they put out in their advisories, and their recommendations are mostly based on very old, small studies, many of them flawed, while ignoring much larger, more recent studies. 

I have written extensively about this issue in my books and feel like I am fighting it often when the media puts out yet another misinformed news item. I can’t resist writing copious comments in response to such news items. If they would closely read the articles they report on and analyze the information, they might not put out so much misleading information. Many doctors are also guilty of only reading summaries instead of the whole article and not scrutinizing the information carefully.

Besides coconut, which foods or ingredients are the most powerful for brain health and the prevention of AD? Which foods or ingredients are the most dangerous for your brain? 

I encourage people to eat whole foods — organic whenever possible — to avoid the many different synthetic chemicals that appear in packaged, processed foods and could be harmful to the brain. I believe it is important to become a label reader when buying food. 

Cumin, blueberries, and dark chocolate contain antioxidants that seem to have benefits for brain health. Eggs are rich in many nutrients, such as phosphatidylcholine and other phospholipids, that are very important to the brain. Getting enough DHA, the main form of omega-3 used by the brain, is very important too. Eating DHA-rich foods like salmon or taking a supplement is ideal. Eating a variety of types and colors of vegetables will provide important nutrients to the brain as well.

I believe the most dangerous foods or ingredients for the brain are excessive sugar, which is highly inflammatory, and nitrates and nitrites, which have been shown to produce insulin resistance in the brain by the same researchers who coined the term “type 3 diabetes” for Alzheimer’s. Nitrates and nitrites are found in many foods, such as refined flour and rice, deli meats and processed cheeses, certain beers and liquor, and tobacco products. 

Another dangerous group of foods: oils that contain trans fat. Fortunately, these are being phased out in the US (and have already been banned in several European countries). However, manufacturers are still allowed to include trans fats without reporting them on the label if the food contains less than half a gram of trans fat per serving. I advise people to look at the ingredients list for the words “partially hydrogenated,” which would indicate an ingredient with trans fats.

Your latest book mentions exogenous ketones as one of the ways to increase ketone levels. When and how often is the best time to consume exogenous ketones for boosting mental health?

I believe most people would benefit from having a serving of exogenous ketones in the morning and then perhaps one or two more times a day after that, particularly if they are dealing with a problem like cognitive impairment. The brain needs ketones 24 hours a day, so it stands to reason that maintaining a high level of ketones for as much of the 24 hours as possible would be beneficial. 

Ketone levels after consuming exogenous ketones stay elevated for four to six hours. If you also add MCT oil and coconut oil to your diet or to your food, which also raise ketone levels, you may be able to maintain a steadier baseline of ketones throughout the day. Exogenous ketones can then be used to further boost the levels for a period of time as needed.

Is there anything else you would like to address that we have not touched on?

I have been attending the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference every year for the past few years, and they now recognize that modifiable lifestyle risk factors may explain about 30 percent of dementia cases. Poor diet is at the top of that list, and they also stress getting adequate sleep (between seven and eight hours a night), evaluating and treating sleep apnea (a well-known cause of dementia), getting regular exercise and staying active, evaluating for and controlling high blood pressure, and encouraging people to maintain social connections rather than becoming isolated. 

At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in 2017, they held the first-ever session on ketones for Alzheimer’s disease through a ketogenic diet and MCT oil. Another session is planned for the 2020 conference. And they are currently funding studies of MCT oil, ketogenic diets, and ketone esters in people with Alzheimer’s. 

It is gratifying to me that the Alzheimer’s Association is finally recognizing that a ketogenic approach may help with symptoms, or may even prevent progression to Alzheimer’s.

You’ve authored three books based on your experience and research with coconut oil, MCT oil, and Alzheimer’s. What are your current and future projects focused on, and what can we expect to learn?

I have several other books up my sleeve. I plan to write a book for parents about feeding their children better and also plan to write a book directed to teenagers about how to eat a healthier diet, of course stressing lower sugar and more high-quality foods. I want to explain to them not just what to do, but why it is so important. I want to include some history for them about how people used to eat before all of the overly processed packaged foods came into existence, which has resulted in an epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and dementia.  

I would also like to write a book about the keto approach focused on helping people with diabetes. It’s my goal to increase awareness of the damage chronically-elevated sugar can cause and highlight the benefits of the low-carb, higher healthy fat approach to avoiding diabetes and all of its many serious complications.  

Read the Keto-Mojo book review on Dr. Mary T. Newport’s book, The Complete Book of Ketones: A Practical Guide to Ketogenic Diets and Ketone Supplements, here.

Shop Dr. Newport’s books:

• The Complete Book of Ketones: A Practical Guide to Ketogenic Diets and Ketone Supplements (2019)
• The Coconut Oil and Low-Carbohydrate Solution for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Other Diseases (2015)
• Alzheimer’s Disease: What If There Was A Cure? The Story of Ketones(2011)

The post Meet Dr. Mary T. Newport – Neonatologist and Advocate for Treating Alzheimer’s with Ketones appeared first on KETO-MOJO.

About the Author

Dr. Mary T. Newport, M.D., had 30 years of experience as a neonatologist (a pediatrics subspecialty focused on the medical care of newborn infants), but after her husband, Steve’s, diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease, she switched her focus to caring for him and researching ways to alleviate his symptoms. Her important discoveries on the positive effects of medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) from coconut oil were unprecedented. 

As a result, Dr. Newport is now considered a pioneer in the research of using coconut oil, MCT oil, and ketones for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like AD. She’s written two previous books, Alzheimer’s Disease: What If There Was A Cure? The Story of Ketones (2011) and The Coconut Oil and Low-Carbohydrate Solution for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Other Diseases (2015). 

What’s Inside

The Complete Book of Ketones begins with Dr. Newport detailing Steve’s declining mental state, his eventual AD diagnosis, and her attempts to get him into trials for upcoming AD drugs to slow the progression of his disease. She admits that she learned almost nothing about nutrition during medical school but found herself focusing intensely on how diet affected Steve’s condition. This brought her to the world of ketones and MCT oil. After Steve’s incredible story, Dr. Newport delivers:

• The story of her first-hand experience with the healing powers of MCT and coconut oil on someone with AD. It’s quite a story. Dr. Newport was familiar with MCT oil since it’s typically added to formula for at-risk babies in her Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), so she decided to see if it could help her husband. She heard of trials using MCT oil for patients with AD but could not get Steve into them, so she began experimenting by supplementing Steve’s Mediterranean diet with a 4:3 ratio of MCT oil – 100 percent MCTs – to coconut oil, which contains 50 to 60 percent MCTs. Ultimately, this had dramatic positive results.
• A brief rundown of research on how ketones (and MCTs) work. Dr. Newport interviewed 16 researchers in the ketone field, including experts like Dr. Theodore VanItallie, M.D., and Dr. Sami Hashim, M.D., who have been studying ketones since the 1950s, to current rising stars like Dominic D’Agostino, Ph.D., and Thomas Seyfried, Ph.D. She not only covers all the science behind how ketones work but also highlights the best and most groundbreaking results discovered in these expert case studies.
• A Q&A about coconut oil, MCT oil, and exogenous ketones. This helps readers learn what exogenous ketones are, what they do, whether to add them to your diet, what to look for, and what to expect when supplementing with them. (Hint: Dr. Newport believes supplementing with them may be preventative and keep you in better health – ketones are anti-inflammatory, after all. She supplements with coconut oil herself and is a strong advocate for adding coconut oil to your dog and cat food too.)
• Information on how to start a ketogenic diet or add more ketones to your current diet. Readers will learn how to calculate their daily macros, find the right amount of coconut oil to take daily, and build meal plans. You’ll find over 60 keto recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert, plus Newport’s famous MCT oil and coconut oil mixture she used successfully with her husband.

What You’ll Learn

Dr. Newport calls The Complete Book of Ketones Steve’s “legacy to the world,” so it focuses heavily on how ketones work to power brain cells, both healthy and those affected by Alzheimer’s. There are two main takeaways in the book worth noting: 

• Glucose uptake issues in the brain may cause AD, but ketones feed starved brain cells. Dr. Newport explains that people with AD and dementia experience insulin resistance in their brains. Consequently, their brains struggle to process sugar as fuel. Neurons starve and stop working correctly, then they eventually die. This causes memory loss, cognitive decline, and trouble performing everyday routines. Brain cells may struggle with insulin resistance ten to 20 years before symptoms of cognitive decline even appear. Insulin resistance is a classic symptom of type 2 diabetes (T2D), and over half of people with T2D later develop AD, so many experts now call Alzheimer’s “type 3 diabetes.”However, Dr. Newport’s research shows that brain cells may “wake up” when they receive a different source of fuel: ketones. This alternative energy source is produced by the body when it’s deprived of glucose (i.e., carbs and sugar). Ketone bodies can cross the blood-brain barrier, so they’re a direct line of fuel for brain cells. Besides a keto diet, the best ways to increase the body’s ketone levels is to directly consume MCTs and take exogenous ketones.
• Exogenous ketones may also benefit people with AD. Steve’s results with coconut oil and MCT oil garnered the attention of prominent ketone researchers. Dr. Newport got Steve into a trial for exogenous ketones, or those made outside of your body, which, when ingested, can raise ketone levels. Although he gained ground with coconut and MCT oil, the exogenous ketones further reversed the adverse effects of her husband’s disease in profound ways. Dr. Newport saw improvements in Steve’s thinking, speech, and memory immediately. He was able to shower, dress, and shave on his own, thanks to higher ketone levels. Steve’s experience with exogenous ketones was published in the Alzheimer’s and Dementia journal, a prestigious collection of research focused on neurodegenerative diseases.

What We Like

Dr. Newport’s guide to ketones comes from a unique perspective. For many years she wore doctor, researcher, and caregiver hats simultaneously. She’s able to easily explain how Steve responded to the extra ketones in his diet and the science behind why it works as she shares his miraculous story. Steve lived for 15 years with Alzheimer’s symptoms when the average lifespan after a diagnosis is just seven. 

Room for Improvement

The Complete Book of Ketones includes recipes, but they do not contain photos. Also, astute readers will notice a few typos. 

The Final Word

Dr. Mary Newport has been studying ketones, coconut oil, and MCT oil for the last 10 years. She’s eager to share what she’s learned about how ketones provide an alternative fuel for brain cells to use, which is invaluable if you or someone you love has a family history of Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s, epilepsy, and autism. Steve said it was like a “light switch had come on” in his brain after supplementing with coconut oil, MCT oil, and exogenous ketones. Don’t be surprised if you feel similarly after finishing The Complete Book of Ketones.

Check out our Q&A with Dr. Mary T. Newport, M.D. and learn more about her story, and Steve’s, here!

Shop for The Complete Book of Ketones: A Practical Guide to Ketogenic Diets and Ketone Supplements here.

The post The Complete Book of Ketones: A Practical Guide to Ketogenic Diets and Ketone Supplements appeared first on KETO-MOJO.