Ketogenic Diet

[Matthew Capowski]

This thread will be used to organize information about the ketogenic diet.

On September 19, 2015, Paul Bergner made the following summary of findings regarding the ketogenic diet:

What I have learned in the last few years that is important:

1) This is not just a diet for losing weight. It is of general benefit for anyone who can follow it.
2) It can profoundly increase endurance exercise performance.
3) It profoundly lowers markers of systemic inflammation and oxidation.
4) Going too high with protein can blunt the effects of the diet - at high level (>1.5 grams/kg of body weight) can be antiketogenic. It needs to be high fat, with protein in the range of 1 to 1.5 grams per Kg of body weight.
5) Urine strips are not an accurate measure of ketosis beyound the first few weeks; the kidney adapts to high ketosis and conserves ketones, and it is possible after keto-adaptation to be in ketosis with negative urine ketones. This is a frequent cause of demoralization in some following the diet. There are now meters, as simple and as inexpensive as a blood glucose meter, to measure serum ketones.

Ketosis in an evolutionary context: http://caloriesproper.com/ketosis-in-an-evolutionary-context/

Reduced Mass and Diversity of the Colonic Microbiome in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Their Improvement with Ketogenic Diet http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01141/full#pq=BRiNE0

Colonic biofermentative function is markedly impaired in MS patients. The ketogenic diet normalized concentrations of the colonic microbiome after 6 months.

Long-term effects of a ketogenic diet in obese patients https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2716748/

The present study shows the beneficial effects of a long-term ketogenic diet. It significantly reduced the body weight and body mass index of the patients. Furthermore, it decreased the level of triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and blood glucose, and increased the level of HDL cholesterol.

Ketone Body Supplementation—A Potential New Approach for Heart Disease

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2781359

As consumer and scientific interest in the very low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic (“keto”) diet continues to boom, some cardiovascular researchers are turning their attention to ketone bodies. The liver converts stored fatty acids into these metabolites—which various organs then use for extra fuel—during conditions including carbohydrate restriction, prolonged fasting, or extreme exercise. Ketone bodies are the body’s main energy source during the fat-burning state of ketosis that ketogenic dieters aim to achieve.