Diet against insanity?

Ketogenic diet slows down brain aging

Sergey Kolenov, Hi-tech+

The connection between brain function and digestion is much more complicated than previously thought, scientists say. According to new data, a certain diet can affect intelligence or reduce the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases.

Experts in the biology of aging from the University of Kentucky have published two scientific articles in which they demonstrated how the diet affects the cognitive health of animals. In the first study, mice were put on a ketogenic diet – high in fat and low in carbohydrates. 

In nature, the house mouse is a typical seed eater; seeds of various wild and cultivated plants serve as its food. Does it make sense to study the effect of a meat-and-fat diet on a mouse model? The authors know better... – VM.

As reported by Science Daily, the experiment lasted 14 weeks. After its completion, the researchers found that the mice who followed the diet, compared with the control group, improved the balance of the microbiome, decreased blood glucose levels and activated the processes that cleanse the brain of beta-amyloids – harbingers of Alzheimer's disease. In addition, the change in diet strengthened the vessels of the brain.

According to scientists, the positive effects of the ketogenic diet are associated with the inhibition of the mTOR protein (the target of rapamycin).

The ketogenic diet has an ambiguous reputation, so researchers note that a similar effect can be achieved by fasting or taking rapamycin.

In the second study, the team used neuroimaging techniques to study the effects of the ketogenic diet and its analogues on the brains of young and old mice. It turned out that limiting calories consumed significantly improves metabolism and vascular function in aging animals. Some of them even looked healthier than their young relatives, who receive unlimited calories.

Of course, discoveries made on mice cannot be automatically transferred to humans. However, rapamycin and other mTOR inhibitors have already been approved by the FDA, and this allows for human trials in the near future.

The researchers intend to identify a possible link between the gut microbiome and vascular function in patients over 50 years old, and then begin searching for drugs and diets that can slow down brain aging.

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