Parkinson’s And Keto Diet

Neuroprotective Functions Of The Ketogenic Diet On Cognition In Neurological Disease

As mentioned, the ketogenic diet plays a major role at the metabolic and neuronal levels, whereby its therapeutic properties are relevant for certain diseases. According to scientific literature, important therapeutic evidence exists about this diet in certain diseases and, thanks to recent findings, evidence is also emerging about the ketogenic diet as applied to new neurological diseases, placing special emphasis on the cognitive benefits of this type of diet.

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Existing Literature On Nutritional Ketosis As Clinical Therapy In Parkinsons Disease

Phillips et al. addressed some of these knowledge gaps by comparing two randomized groups using a comparatively less stringent ketogenic diet vs. a low-fat diet. The diets were prescribed by meal plans, each by kilocalories approximately 18% protein and either 79% lipid/3.7% net carb or 23% lipid/59% net carb , the latter also with greater dietary fiber, stratified by estimated daily energy expenditure. The 8-week study involved daily participant ketosis monitoring by AM fasting beta-OHB levels using a validated fingerstick ketone meter. Dietary monitoring relied on participants to check off each meal from the plan outlined for the study period. Investigators reported reduced MDS-UPDRS-I scores , particularly urinary, pain/sensory disturbance, fatigue, daytime sleepiness, and cognitive impairment subscores. However, this study also had some limitations including infrequent data capture and diet monitoring relying upon self-report, which precludes correlative analysis between ketosis value and clinical rating scale that was performed only pre- vs. post-intervention. Another possible weakness was the relatively low mean beta OHB level in the KD group. It is probable that greater benefit could be seen with a greater degree of ketosis.

Table 1 Improvements in non-motor symptoms found in studies of ketogenic diet in Parkinsons disease

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Treating Parkinsons Disease With Ketogenic Diet

Treating Parkinsons Disease with Ketogenic Diet: A Deep-dive Analysis

Parkinsons disease is a progressive neuro-degenerative disorder that affects neurons that produce dopamine in the substantia nigra portion of the brain. The symptoms for PD usually takes years to develop.Advertisements

The reduced production of dopamine leads to symptoms such as tremors, difficulty in movement, depression, confusion, and pain. It considerably reduces the quality of life of the patient.

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How Can Ketogenic Diet Treat Pd

The Ketogenic diet helps the brain cells to shift from glucose, its usual source of energy, to ketones, produced in the liver due to restricted carb intake.

Ketones are proven to boost antioxidant activity in the brain and control the production of free radicals. This further reduces the stress and damage to brain cells and its ability to produce dopamine.

Considering the impact of ketones on the mitochondrial function of brain cells, Ketogenic diet has been considered an alternative treatment to reduce the conditions associated with PD.

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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 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.

We Dont Know The Long

While it is certainly the case that clinical trials evaluating the long-term effects of KD are yet to be conducted, the long-term effects of the current dietary recommendations appear to be clear. In the United States, for nearly 40 years, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans which strong evidence suggests people have been adhering to, has likely contributed to the doubling the obesity rate, with nearly 75% of adults either overweight or obese . In addition, this eating pattern associates strongly with the development of the spectrum of chronic metabolic diseases that continue to increase in prevalence .

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Can The Ketogenic Diet Help Parkinsons

Emerging evidence supports the use of the ketogenic diet against a variety of neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis and Alzheimers. But what about Parkinsons? Is there a potential place for the ketogenic diet and could following this pattern of eating improve symptoms of Parkinsons and your quality of life? Before looking at the evidence lets first take a closer look at the ketogenic or keto diet.

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Are There Other Methods Of Treatment

Medications are the best option for the treatment of Parkinsons. There are complementary therapies that can help curb symptoms and slow the diseases progression. Acupuncture, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy are a few of the therapies used to help. Nutrition is another and That my friend is where Keto comes in.

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Neuroprotective Mechanisms Of The Kd

Various molecular mechanisms have been associated with neuroprotective effects of the KD and ketone body administration. Most studies report correlations between cellular pathways and neuroprotection, such as changes in oxidative stress or inflammatory proteins, but whether these pathways are altered as primary or secondary effects of the diet is not determined in many studies and remains controversial. Recently, several elegant studies using inhibitors and mouse knockout strains have provided evidence for direct contributions of specific cellular pathways in mediating neuroprotective effects of the KD. These studies are summarized below.

What Is The Ketogenic Diet

The Ketogenic diet uses fat as the largest nutritional component of the diet. High amounts of fat will break down into ketones in the bloodstream, and your body will then be able to use ketones as a fuel source. Limiting carbohydrates and sugar intake will minimize the glucose in the blood, leaving cells with no choice but to use ketones as fuel. However, there is one crucial element to the ketogenic diet that is often missed.

What is imperative about the ketogenic diet is that the purpose is to produce ketones. When anyone implements the ketogenic diet, blood ketone levels must be checked to ensure the body is in ketosis. If blood ketones are not measured, the full benefit of the ketogenic diet may not occur.

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Am I A Candidate For The Ketogenic Diet

While the short answer is yes for the majority of people consuming a western diet, we urge you to consult your general practitioner prior to making the switch to Keto. The Charlie Foundation will provide you with the information and tools necessary to adopt the diet, and partnering with your doctor during this process will ensure the most therapeutic outcome. We also suggest that you connect with a diet professional who can help you form a plan in collaboration with your doctor, who may be less familiar with the diet.

Why Do You Think There Isnt 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 Alzheimers 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 estimates that 50 million people worldwide suffer from neurodegenerative diseases , and that by 2050 this figure will increase to 115 million people . This is in comparison with type 2 diabetes where according to an article by Khan , the author estimates that Globally, an estimated 462 million individuals are affected by type 2 diabetes , corresponding to 6.28% of the worlds population .

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.

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Keto And Parkinsons: Is The Ketogenic Diet Useful For Parkinsons Disease

Research suggests that damage to a specific mitochondrial complex may cause the death of dopaminergic neurons. This leads to impairments in energy production, causing neurons to starve. Since the uptake of ketone bodies utilize a completely different transport system, as compared to glucose, they may be able to provide neurons with an alternative fuel source.

Furthermore, research suggests ketones improve mitochondrial health and may help protect from further damage. Studies show that supplementation with exogenous ketones may also improve symptoms of Parkinsons disease.

For more information about the therapeutic benefits of a ketogenic diet for Parkinsons disease, check out the Parkinsons disease Doctors Guide in Keto Club.

Can A High Fat Diet Be Healthy

According to David Diamond PhD, Saturated fat does not clog the arteries: Coronary heart disease is a chronic condition, the risk of which can be effectively reduced from healthy lifestyle interventions. We have known for 150 years that a high carbohydrate diet contributes to fat in the blood and contributes to obesity. He goes on to say, the poor science that was used to support the idea that increased fat intake increases cholesterol and damages arteries was authored by Ancel Keys who had no background in nutrition, but did have a BA in Economics and a PhD in Fish Physiology. Keys theory that fat in diet causes increased risk for high cholesterol and heart attack was based on extremely flawed science and became dogma without ever being rigorously assessed. A generation of citizens has grown up since the Diet/Heart Hypothesis was launched as official dogma. They have been led by the greatest scientific deception of our times: the notion that consumption of animal fat causes heart disease. George Mann MD, Nutrition Today, 1985. The belief that atherosclerosis is due to high cholesterol has been perpetuated by powerful forces using tactics to preserve the profits and reputations of those who promote them. Paul Rosch M.D, Scandinavian Cardiovascular Journal, 2008. The diet heart hypothesis is sustained by social, political and financial institutions which have little to do with science and established success in public health. Uffe Ravnskov MD PhD, 2008.

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I Am Overweight What Can I Do

Its easy to gain weight if you become less active but are eating the same amount of food.

If you are trying to lose weight, here are some tips to start with:

• Dont eat fried food regularly grill, dry fry, microwave, bake, steam, poach or boil, without adding fat or oils. Instead, use marinades, adding extra herbs, stock and spices for flavour.
• Use skimmed or semi-skimmed milk instead of full fat.
• Try eating healthier snacks like diet yoghurts, nuts, fruit, crumpets or teacakes.
• Have sugar-free, no added sugar or low-calorie drinks and use artificial sweetener instead of sugar.

If you have other health conditions as well as Parkinsons, such as circulation problems, high cholesterol, heart disease or diabetes, and are concerned about being overweight, speak to your GP, specialist, Parkinsons nurse or ask to see a registered dietitian.

Primary And Secondary Outcomes

Primary outcomes were within and betweengroup changes in MDSUPDRS Parts 1 to 4 from the mean of the two baseline clinical visits to week 8 after commencing the diet intervention. Secondary outcomes were within and betweengroup changes in metabolic parameters, including weight, BMI, HbA1C, triglycerides, HDL, LDL, total cholesterol, urate, and CRP.

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Effects On Programmed Cell Death

The ketogenic diet may also protect against various forms of cell death. For example, the diet was protective against apoptotic cell death in mice induced by the glutamate receptor agonist and excitotoxin kainate, as evidenced by reductions of markers of apoptosis, including terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-biotin nick-end labeling and caspase-3 staining, in neurons in the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus . Activation of caspase-3, a member of a larger family of cysteine proteases, has been implicated in neuronal cell death produced by different brain insults including seizures and ischemia . Apoptosis in seizure models can proceed via a number of molecular pathways . One molecule that may play a role is calbindin, which is increased in mice on the ketogenic diet . Calbindin is believed to have neuroprotective activity through its capacity to buffer intracellular calcium, which is a mediator of cell death . Further, protection by the ketogenic diet may be mediated by the prevention of kainic acid-induced accumulation of the protein clusterin , which can act as a prodeath signal .

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Ready To Get Started Learn The Basics

The Ketogenic Diet, also referred to as the ketosis diet, or Keto for short, is a way of eating that mimics the effects of fasting. By consuming a diet rich in quality fats, adequate in protein, and low in net carbohydrates , the bodys metabolism begins to utilize fat as its main source of fuel, rather than carbs. This shift has profound effects on metabolism for both the sick and healthy alike. The diet shows promise for improving or reversing many neurological conditions and metabolic disorders. For the healthy, the diet represents a tool for preventing chronic disease, as well as optimizing cognition and body composition .

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Study Selection And Features

We identified 63 publications in the bibliographical search that met the criteria inclusion for the present review . Scientific studies included in the systematic review were also included and described .

The aim of the 25 scientific studies was to ascertain the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet or low-carbohydrate diet in refractory epilepsy, GLUT1-DS, AD, and PD, although 6 experimental studies on new methods parallel to ketone-state induction were included the methods were triheptanoin therapy, the AAV-hSLC2A1 compound, the AC-1202 oral ketogenic compound, the oral administration of ketone monoester, diet with enantiomeric precursor of ketone bodies, and carbohydrate isocaloric diet and drink with emulsified MCT.,,,,,

Overall, 5 studies focused on refractory epilepsy, 8 focused on GLUT1-DS, 9 on AD, and 3 on PD. The studies selected included between 1 and 152 participants, which, although making it difficult to generalize the results, once again highlights that this is an emerging field of research that might perhaps provide major benefits.

The systematic reviews we used also ruled out the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet in the aforementioned diseases owing to the underlying neurophysiological processes that appear to be linked to mitochondrial function, oxidative stress, and inflammation. They also highlighted the need for more in-depth research into the subject.,,,

Environmental Toxins And Als

We recently spent 3 days at Shell Harbour just south of the Wollongong area and we loved it!

As beautiful as it was I couldnt help but be concerned about the toxins being released into the air from the steel production plants. Dr. Yerbury lives in the area and is conducting his research at the University of Wollongong. I know toxins play a role in many diseases and wondered about an ALS connection. I found this paper: Association of Environmental Toxins With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

I also shared that Im a total research geek and pretty passionate about the power of nutrition, lifestyle and environmental factors because this was how I was able to eliminate my own anxiety and panic attacks.

You can learn more about Dr. Yerbury and his publications here. We appreciate the work him and his research team are doing and thank him for sharing his story.

It would be wonderful if some of this information can help Dr. Yerbury and even be considered for future research by his very passionate research team. I also hope this information will be helpful for you or a loved one suffering with ALS or MND.

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