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Can The Keto Diet Diminish Aging Of The Brain?

July 13

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brain function, brain health, keto, ketosis

A lot of attention given to the keto diet recently. There’s evidence that shows the keto diet is beneficial for weight loss, cardiovascular health, and improved brain health. Now, there’s a new study to determine; “Can the keto diet diminish aging of the brain”?

Related reading: “How A Ketogenic Diet Benefits Your Body And Mind”

Stony Brook University professor Lilianne Mujuca-Parodi, who led the study, indicated signs of early aging in the brain can be prevented with the low-carb keto diet.

The keto diet puts a person into the state of ketosis where ketones use stored fat for energy instead of blood sugar from carbohydrates.

The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb, with moderate amounts of protein diet. Typically including meats, eggs, cheese, butter, avocado, and oils. The keto diet excludes nearly all the common carbohydrates like bread, rice, and other grains.

How ketosis affects the brain

The Stony Brook study was developed to see the effects of the keto diet on people showing early signs of aging, yet still presymptomatic.

The researchers first found that brain aging in the form of destabilized communication between different regions of the brain usually begins in our late forties, especially near to 47. Destabilized communication between regions of the brain is associated with weaker cognition.

The researchers established brain network stability is a biomarker of aging. The research team also learned having type 2 diabetes increased the destabilization of the brain networks. Lastly, the team tested the way network stability reacted to changes in diet.

The study’s participants were divided. One group was put on a standard diet metabolizing glucose for energy. The other group was put on a keto diet where their energy came from ketosis, not sugar.

One of the results was that the participants eating the keto diet had increased brain activity and stabilized communication networks.

Diminish aging of the brain

“The bad news is that we see the first signs of brain aging much earlier than was previously thought. However, the good news is that we may be able to prevent or reverse these effects with diet, mitigating the impact of encroaching hypometabolism by exchanging glucose for ketones as fuel for neurons”, Mujica-Parodi said in a news release.

After a while of depending on ketones, the brain isn’t able to use glucose for its energy. So by increasing the energy that’s available to the brain, the hope is the brain will restore itself to be more youthful.

In the world of Alzheimer’s research, ketones are being looked at as a therapeutic way of treating the disease. A different study at the National Institute of Aging found that an increased amount of ketones might help to fight Alzheimer’s Disease.

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Dark Chocolate and Keto Dieting?

by Ryan Roberts

July 6

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Brain Health, Keto Diet, Keto Snacks

brain function, brain health, keto, keto and diet, keto meal planning

High-quality dark chocolate is a very nutritious, slightly sweet, delicious treat for the keto dieter.

Dark chocolate is loaded with minerals and antioxidants and includes a fair amount of fiber.

But with so many carbohydrates (11.6g per 100g serving) how can dark chocolate have a place in the keto diet? Here we’re going to talk about enjoying dark chocolate as part of the keto diet.

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First, what is dark chocolate?

Dark chocolate is a mixture of cocoa, fat, and sugar. It’s different from milk chocolate. Milk chocolate is made with milk solids, more sugar, and more cocoa.

Some sugar is used in the production of dark chocolate to offset the cocoa’s bitterness. But far less sugar is used than what’s used in milk chocolate.

However, not all dark chocolate is the same. Each bar of dark chocolate can vary in how much cocoa and sugar are used. The amount of cacao found in a bar determines how dark the chocolate will be and its quality.

Related reading: “Cocoa and Chocolate in Human Health and Disease“

Generally speaking, a quality bar of dark chocolate will contain at least 70% cocoa, usually producing a bar with less sugar as well. These higher-quality bars are especially rich in flavonoids. Flavonoids are a strong antioxidant and dark chocolate contains more of it than red wine, black tea, or apples.

Related reading: “Flavonoids: an overview“

Because dark chocolate is so full of flavonoids it has been associated with many health benefits. These benefits include a lower risk of heart disease and improved brain functions.

Related reading:

“Chocolate consumption is inversely associated with a calcified atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries: the NHLBI Family Heart Study“

“The effect of flavanol-rich cocoa on the fMRI response to a cognitive task in healthy young people“

The carbohydrates in dark chocolate

Most sweets contain a lot of carbohydrates and have to be radically restricted by the keto diet. But in comparison, high-quality dark chocolate contains fewer carbs. For example, an ounce of 70-80% dark chocolate may have 13g of carbs with 3g of fiber, resulting in about 10g of net carbs.

Fiber is a carb we can’t fully digest. Because of that, we can subtract it from the listed carbohydrates.

Are dark chocolate and keto dieting compatible?

You can enjoy the delights of high-quality dark chocolate so long as it doesn’t exceed your daily carb limit. The standard keto diet limits your carb intake to just five percent of your calorie intake. Therefore you would be limited to 25g of carbs on a 2000 calorie/day diet. So one ounce of chocolate would be about 40% of your daily carbohydrates for the day.

Related reading: “How To Make A Keto Meal Plan“

It really depends on what else you eat during the day. If you want to have some dark chocolate you’ll have to plan your food for the day accordingly.

It’s imperative that you choose high-quality dark chocolate containing at least 70% cocoa. The greater the amount of cocoa the healthier the chocolate will be, but also the more bitter it will taste. Start with a 70% bar then buy chocolate with greater amounts of cocoa until you find your “bitterness limit”.

Having said that, keep in mind that portion control is key. Because an ounce of chocolate isn’t a whole lot you can easily find yourself eating too much chocolate and knocking yourself out of ketosis.

Wrapping it up

Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants. It’s made from cocoa, fat, and sugar and contains less sugar than milk chocolate. The higher the cocoa percentage the better the quality.

An ounce of 70-80% dark chocolate may have 13g of carbs with 3g of fiber, resulting in about 10g of net carbs.

There’s room for dark chocolate and keto dieting if your dark chocolate is at least 70 percent cocoa in a keto diet. But portion control is key to avoid consuming excessive carbs.

Are you ready to start your Keto Diet? One way to get started with a Keto Diet is to have an 8-week “Custom Keto Diet Plan” created for you based on your height, weight, age, level of physical activity, and personal weight goals. Click the banner to learn more about your customized keto diet plan, or click here to go straight to your custom keto diet meal planner.

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The Keto Diet Over 40

by Ryan Roberts

April 29

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Brain Health, Keto Diet, Weight Loss, Wellness

brain function, brain health, keto, keto and diet, wellness

Many people associate pain and illness with aging. But aging doesn’t mean you have to become sickly, or shouldn’t. In this article, we’ll talk about aging and health as well as how lifestyle and diet contribute to living a long and healthy life.

Health over 40 and keto

Aging does include some diminishment in our body’s functions, but it doesn’t need to be debilitating or create isolation for us. Unfortunately, for many of us aging is debilitating to various degrees. The processed, high-carb, food of the standard American diet doesn’t help either.

Instead of viewing aging as an unfortunate reality, we can live our best life in terms of physical and mental health and any age with a good diet. There are a lot of advantages to eating the keto diet over 40.

Ketogenic diet benefits

For many people, aging includes becoming overweight and having to deal with insulin-related conditions such as diabetes. Diabetes can lead to other serious conditions like kidney disease, loss of vision, etc. A benefit of the keto diet is how it improves our insulin resistance.

When we’re over forty we need to start thinking about osteoporosis which affects our bone density making them more fragile and brittle. Increasing our intake of calcium through consuming more milk products isn’t the right answer. Curiously, the countries with the highest levels of dairy consumption are also the countries with the greatest occurrence of osteoporosis. It’s better to follow the keto diet which is inherently low in toxins that hinder the absorption of nutrients, it’s also rich in micronutrients instead of overloading on a specific nutrient (i.e., calcium in this case).

Aging brings with it more pain from injuries compared to injuries when we were younger and sometimes problems with our joints like arthritis. When we are in the state of ketosis production of cytokines is reduced reducing the effects of inflammation.

Aging adults often have deficiencies in important nutrients like B complex vitamins, vitamin D, iron, and fats. The more highly nutritious foods included in a keto diet provide an excellent source for these nutrients.

Blood sugar control

Doctors know there is a relationship between poor blood sugar and brain-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia, etc. Some of the contributing factors may be:

- Excess carbohydrate consumption
- Insufficient dietary fats and cholesterol
- Oxidative stress

Following a keto diet will help to control your blood sugar and improve your nutritional intake. This in turn improves your insulin response and helps to protect you from the memory problems that come with aging.

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Keto and aging

The foods consumed in a keto diet are highly nutritious per calorie consumed. That’s important since the metabolic rate decreases as we age, meaning we need fewer calories as we age, but we have the same nutrient requirements as to when we were younger.

A person over 40 will find it more difficult to live on junk food compared to someone in their twenties. So it’s even more critical for an older person to consume food that supports health and fights disease. It can literally be the difference between enjoying your golden years or living with pain and suffering.

The standard American diet, which most people choose and are also what is provided by hospitals and retirement/nursing homes, is a high-carb diet loaded with grains and sugar.

A diet that is low-carb and rich in fats and protein is much better at controlling insulin sensitivity, reduces cognitive decline, and promotes overall health and wellness.

Longevity and ketosis

Improving our chances of feeling good and functioning well for the remainder of our life is never a bad idea. We can start doing better at any time, although the sooner we start the better, it’s never too late to start. Even people who have neglected their health for many years can begin a keto diet and repair or reverse some of the damage done to their bodies.

Having said that, the earlier we start making changes to improve our health and longevity, the better.

In summary

Every one of us knows we’re getting older and death is inevitable. However, we now have the knowledge to control our quality of life to some degree. Even though we are living longer than ever now, we are also getting sicker by following the standard American diet. The keto diet helps to improve our health as we age beyond 40 allowing us to flourish instead of getting sick and enduring pain in our later years.

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How A Ketogenic Diet Benefits Your Body And Mind

by Ryan Roberts

April 19

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Brain Health, Weight Loss, Wellness

brain function, cancer fighting with keto, keto and weight loss, keto benefits, ketosis, working out

You’re seeing “Keto” everywhere. It’s the latest buzzword and favorite thing for people wanting to lose weight and get fit as well as the newest target for the mainstream medical industry that favors the grain-dominant food pyramid. Though not the cure for cancer, the keto diet shows potential for healing many terrible health conditions. So let’s separate fact from fiction, get through the science, and take a look at how a ketogenic diet benefits your body and mind.

3 Benefits A Keto Diet Offers

1 – Weight loss

This probably isn’t news to you, but it’s possibly the most common reason people switch to the keto diet. An often asked question is, “Why is weight loss typically so easy on a ketogenic diet?”. Well, here a couple of the top reasons:

- Ketogenic diets contain about 75% fats, 20% proteins, and no more than 5% carbohydrates. The high fat and lack of sugars diminishes cravings, reduces swings in blood sugar and binging, and increases the dieter’s feeling of satiation. The greater your level of satiation the less you’ll want to eat. Because so many people have sensitivities to grains, including gluten-free grains, eliminating them can lead to better absorption of necessary minerals like magnesium, potassium, and others, helping your body to be better nourished with fewer cravings.
- Ketones. When you start running low on blood sugar your body starts to use the glycogen it has stored as an energy reserve. Our bodies typically store about 2000 calories in glycogen for backup energy for when we use up the glucose in our blood. If our bodies use up the glycogen stores it will start converting stored fats to the energy that our bodies can use to keep going.

THIS IS IMPORTANT: Being on a keto diet does not give you permission to eat all the proteins and fats you want to willy nilly. If you eat too many calories, you won’t lose weight. So be mindful of the keto dairy, desserts, and sweets. Focus on eating quality, fatty, grass-fed meats, butter, eggs, and avocados as well as a lot of green and cruciferous vegetables.

2 – Brain functions

A brain that is functioning poorly leads to lessened productivity, an unhappy boss, lack of job satisfaction, cravings for energy-producing sweets, and depression. It’s a terrible chain reaction.

Dr. Russell Wilder developed the original ketogenic diet to treat epileptics in the early 20th century. He has a phenomenal success rate and the keto diet is still used today for treating epilepsy and some other neuro/brain-related disorders. Research reported by the National Center for Biotechnology Information shows that ketones are a more efficient fuel for our brains than glucose.

3 – Cancer-fighting potential

Another study which was also reported by the National Center for Biotechnology Information shows a ketogenic diet can lead to a dramatically improved survival time and slower tumor growth.

In Summary

If you’re reading this article it’s likely you are in some kind of pain or anguish. Whether your pain is physical or mental (overweight, an autoimmune disorder, thyroid disease, fatigue, a foggy brain, depression, etc.) you can use this information, don’t just skim over it and think that’s nice for someone else. Motivate yourself to change!

If you find information like this useful, why not request our FREE eBook “Deliciously Easy Keto Recipes” and learn more about the ketogenic diet?