Ketones vs. Neurodegeneration: Bombshell New Study

You may have seen reference in an Armageddon Prose article or elsewhere to “ketosis,” “ketones” and/or a “ketogenic diet” — and for good reason.

Over the last several years, the various health benefits of periodically inducing prolonged bouts of ketosis — the state of the body consuming stored fat for energy which results in a breakdown product called ketones — have been well-documented.

Previously, the consensus among people who study this stuff for a living was that the brain health benefits of ketosis resulted from a limiting of brain inflammation as well as a supply of “cleaner,” more consistent energy from burned fat.

While reduced inflammation and healthier energy supply are both true downstream effects of ketosis, it’s also true, we know now thanks to new research, that ketone bodies, or ketones for short — the acidic breakdown products of ketosis — actually directly act on the kinds of misfolded proteins implicated in various neurodegenerative brain conditions, including, most notably, Alzheimer’s disease.

Via Neuroscience News (emphasis added):

“Ketone bodies, produced by the body to provide fuel during fasting, have roles in regulating cellular processes and aging mechanisms beyond energy production.

Research at the Buck Institute shows that ketone bodies can best be understood as powerful signaling metabolites affecting brain function in aging and Alzheimer’s disease.

A new study demonstrates that ketone bodies and similar metabolites have profound effects on the proteome and protein quality control in the brain.”

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By modifying the structure of misfolded proteins in the brain, ketones earmark them for controlled demolition through the body’s natural recycling process of “autophagy,” or “self-eating,” so that fresh proteins that work as intended can replace them.

Continuing:

“Buck Institute scientists, working in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease and aging, and in the nematode C. elegans, reveal the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate interacts directly with misfolded proteins, altering their solubility and structure so they can be cleared from the brain through the process of autophagy…

Senior author John Newman, MD, PhD, an assistant professor at the Buck, says many theorized that the ketone body-based improvements were caused by increased energy to the brain or a reduction in brain inflammation, with reported improvements in amyloid plaques in mouse models being an indirect by-product.

“Now we know that’s not the whole story,” he said. “Ketone bodies interact with damaged and misfolded proteins directly, making them insoluble so they can be pulled from the cell and recycled.””

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So there you have it: reason #4,593 to periodically induce ketosis through fasting, a ketogenic diet, and/or supplementation with MCT oil and beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB).

Ben Bartee is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs.

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