A new study from researchers at the University of California, Davis, shows a ketogenic diet significantly delays the early stages of Alzheimer’s-related memory loss in mice.
A new study from researchers at the University of California, Davis, shows a ketogenic diet significantly delays the early stages of Alzheimer’s-related memory loss in mice. This early memory loss is comparable to mild cognitive impairment in humans that precedes full-blown Alzheimer’s disease. The study was published in the Nature Group journal Communications Biology.
The ketogenic diet is a low-carbohydrate, high fat and moderate protein diet, which shifts the body’s metabolism from using glucose as the main fuel source to burning fat and producing ketones for energy. UC Davis researchers previously found that mice lived 13% longer on ketogenic diets.
Slowing Alzheimer’s
The new study, which follows up on that research, found that the molecule beta-hydroxybutyrate, or BHB, plays a pivotal role in preventing early memory decline. It increases almost seven-fold on the ketogenic diet.
Read more at University of California - Davis
Image: A molecule found in the keto diet plays a key role in preventing early memory decline in mice. The memory loss is comparable to mild cognitive impairment in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease in humans. (UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine)
