A study from UC Davis shows that a ketogenic diet delays early-stage Alzheimer’s in mice by enhancing memory and cognitive functions through increased levels of beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB). This could offer insights into managing mild cognitive impairment in humans. UC Davis research indicates that a ketogenic diet could delay early Alzheimer’s symptoms in mice by boosting beta-hydroxybutyrate levels, improving memory and cognitive functions.
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. Previously, UC Davis researchers discovered that mice lived 13% longer on ketogenic diets. In a new study, which follows up on their previous research, they found that 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. Their findings were recently published in the Nature Group journal Communications Biology . Key Findings on Alzheimer’s and Ketogenesis The researchers found that the molecule beta-hydroxybutyrate, or BHB, plays a pivotal role in preventing early memory decline.
It increases almost sevenfold on the ketogenic diet. “The data support the idea that the ketogenic diet in general, and BHB specifically, delays mild cognitive impairment and it may .
