The Keto-Dementia Diet
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Welcome to our series investigating dementia and the science of ketosis. This series offers much well-referenced information but is not medical advice. Before using any of this information, ask your doctor.
The Keto-dementia Diet, usually known as the ketogenic diet for people with dementias such as Alzheimer’s, is based on the science of ketosis. Ketogenic diets have been in clinical use for over 80 years.
Glucose
Glucose is our brains' primary energy source. Like an athlete too weak to run due to hunger, a brain with too little glucose can experience cognitive decline. That means a person will have problems thinking and remembering.
As our brains age, they "burn" glucose less efficiently. Furthermore, research has shown that a drop in glucose metabolism usually occurs in people with dementias such as Alzheimer's. This glucose-drop often occurs years before people begin to exhibit symptoms.
To address this problem, scientists began studying ketones as an alternative energy source to glucose.
Ketones
In 2008, the medical journal "Neurotherapeutics" published the study, Ketone Bodies as a Therapeutic for Alzheimer's Disease. The groundbreaking research demonstrated the brain's apparent ability to use ketones as an alternative energy source.
With this new evidence regarding ketones' benefits for the ailing brain, scientists began taking a closer look at the "Ketogenic Diet." The ketogenic diet activates the "ketosis" process in our bodies, generating these energy-giving ketones.
Indeed, researchers found the ketogenic diet to have neuroprotective effects, breathing new life into brain cells. In uncontrolled clinical trials and animal studies, the ketogenic diet provided "symptomatic and disease-modifying activity in a broad range of neurodegenerative disorders."(1) This includes:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Traumatic brain injury
- Stroke (Vascular dementia) (1)
- Huntington's Disease(2)
- Lewy Body Dementia(3)
Axona®
The ketogenic diet is complex, usually involving a professional nutritionist, such as when it is administered for its proven benefits for epileptics. When not strictly supervised or adhered to, it can have undesirable side effects.
To make its benefits more accessible to the millions of people with dementias such as Alzheimer's, the biotechnology company Accera introduced Axona®.
Axona® is a brand-name high-quality FDA-recognized prescription-only medical food. It comes in clean, easy-to-use one-a-day packets. For those who can afford it, clinical trials have shown it to be a promising supplement. At about a hundred dollars a month, though, it is not for everyone.
MCT
The most important ingredient in both the ketogenic diet and Axona® seems to be MCTs (Medium Chain Triglycerides). MCTs are one of the quickest and easiest molecules for our liver to convert into ketones. Fortunately, they are available in a variety of foods.
We will explore foods rich in MCTs, as well as concentrated MCT oil, in an upcoming article, as they are full articles unto themselves. The remainder of this article will explore what is arguably the least expensive concentrated source of dietary MCTs.
Coconut Oil
Virgin coconut oil is available at health food stores, food co-ops, many grocery stores and even on Amazon.com
The most famous advocate of coconut oil for dementia is Dr. Mary Newport. Dr. Newport almost gave up hope on treating her husband's Alzheimer's. After doing her own research, she began giving him a daily dose of coconut oil. He showed immediate improvement. After two years of regular use, she has carefully documented that he:
- improved dramatically
- jogs once more
- reads again and remembers what he read
- gets distracted less
- has had a stable MRI for the entire two-year period.
Dr. Newport says, "I do believe that, overall, the use of coconut oil has taken us back in time at least two years. I don't know if we will beat it, but we have at least gotten a reprieve from this disease."
Coconut oil dissolves easily in anything from coffee to hot breakfast cereal. Although it is an ordinary food that does not need a prescription, taking a lot of anything can have side-effects or interactions, so be sure to ask your doctor.
Upcoming Articles on Dementia & Ketosis
In the weeks ahead, we will explore topics such as:
- What Foods Offer the Brain-Benefits of Ketosis?
- 10 Advantages of Axona®
- The Research Behind Ketosis & Dementia
-
Ketogenic Diet, Coconut Oil, MCT Oil and Axona®:
Tables Comparing Costs, Benefits and Servings
Related Videos & Articles
More Information
To read more, see the thread " Coconut Oil and Alzheimer's " on the Ask Nurse Dina Forum.
See our Prevention Library for more information about prevention and slowing the progression of dementia.
Source:
Footnotes:
(1) Maciej Gasior, Michael A. Rogawski, and Adam L. Hartman, Neuroprotective and disease-modifying effects of the ketogenic diet, Author manuscript; available in PMC 2008 May 5. PMCID: PMC2367001 Published in final edited form as: Behav Pharmacol. 2006 September; 17(5-6): 431–439.
(2) S.A Masino, M Kawamura, Jr, C.D. Wasser, L.T Pomeroy, and D.N Ruskin, Adenosine, Ketogenic Diet and Epilepsy: The Emerging Therapeutic Relationship Between Metabolism and Brain Activity, Current Neuropharmacology. 2009 September; 7(3): 257–268.
(3) Yoshihiro Kashiwaya, Takao Takeshima, Nozomi Mori, Kenji Nakashima, Kieran Clarke, and Richard L. Veechd , D-β-Hydroxybutyrate protects neurons in models of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, May 9, 2000 vol. 97 no. 10 5440-5444
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