Page 39 - Summer 2019 Journal

Ordinarily, the liver produces a small amount of ketones in the morning following an overnight fast when glucose has been depleted. Ketone production by the liver from fatty acids can be increased by maintaining a high-fat, low- carbohydrate ketogenic diet or by consuming medium-chain triglycerides derived from coco- nut oil. The ketogenic diet, which was developed nearly one hundred years ago as a treatment for epileptic seizures, shifts energy production from primarily glucose to primarily ketones. In the classic ketogenic diet, carbohydrate and protein consumption are restricted to 20 to 30 percent of calories, while 70 to 80 percent of calories comes from fat.
CLEANING OUT DAMAGED CELLS Autophagy is a detox process your body undergoes when glucose is depleted to clean out damaged cells and regenerate new ones. The ketogenic diet promotes starvation-induced autophagy that takes place in the liver and kidney and plays an essential role in ketone production to maintain energy balance.2 A protein called p62 becomes activated to induce autophagy. Increasing lines of evidence suggest that autophagy is required for many mechanisms that mediate human lifespan extension, such as
caloric restriction.
In addition to helping to clear damaged cells
from the body, autophagy clears senescent cells
that serve no functional purpose but still linger inside tissues and organs. The reason it is so im- portant to remove both senescent and damaged cells is because they can trigger inflammatory pathways and contribute to various diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration, cardiomy- opathy, diabetes, liver diseases, autoimmune diseases and infections.
Stimulation of autophagy generally im- proves cardiac function by removing accu- mulated misfolded proteins, dysfunctional mitochondria and damaged DNA, thereby improving the overall cellular environment and alleviating aging-associated pathology in the heart. Considerable evidence also points to moderate up-regulation of neuronal autophagy as a rational strategy for prevention of neuro- degenerative disorders. Hence, autophagy may mediate some of the neuroprotective benefits of ketogenic diets.
While the ketone production and active autophagy that occur during a ketogenic diet are highly beneficial, continuously maintaining a very low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet—such as a carbohydrate intake as low as 5 percent of calories—can result in vitamin and mineral deficiencies due to inadequate intake of veg- etables. Thus, when undertaking a ketogenic diet, an extremely low carbohydrate intake of 5 percent of calories should be avoided. Keto- genic diets that contain around 20 percent of
The reason
it is so important to remove both senescent and damaged cells is because they can trigger inflammatory pathways and contribute
to various diseases.
ARTICLE SUMMARY
• Although glucose is the primary source of energy for the human body, ketones are an alternative energy source that is more efficient and can provide many health benefits.
• Small amounts of ketones are produced by the liver in the morning after depletion of glucose following an overnight fast.
• It is possible to significantly increase liver ketone production by maintaining a low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet or by consuming medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) derived from coconut oil. Daily consumption of two table- spoons of ketogenic caprylic and capric acid from coconut oil provide the equivalent of an estimated 8 to 9 percent of brain energy.
• Brain glucose absorption declines with age, but brain ketone absorption remains unchanged. The age-related decline in brain absorption of glucose can be offset by ketones from a ketogenic diet or MCT oils.
• Ketones improve cognitive function in the young and healthy as well as in the elderly and those with Alzheimer’s disease.
• A ketogenic diet or exercise can help the body clean out damaged and senescent cells and regenerate new ones. This process of cellular clean-up (called autophagy) is a key to preventing inflammation and improving one’s health and lifespan.
• The decline with age of NAD+ (an activated form of vitamin B3 essential for cellular energy production) plays a role in age-related disease. Ketone-based energy production results in significantly increased NAD+, which activates enzymes that have clinical potential in the treatment of many diseases of aging.
SUMMER2019
Wise Traditions
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