Over the last several years we have come to learn more and more about the role nutrition plays in not only the creation of Cognitive Decline conditions including Alzheimer’s, but also in their reversal. Based on research at UCLA and The Buck Institute, we have discovered at least 36 different conditions which are at the Root Cause of developing Cognitive Decline of all types. These 36 conditions can be grouped into the following six categories:
- Inflammation
- Blood Sugar Regulation (Diabetes)
- Trophic (Optimal Nutrition and Hormone Support)
- Toxins (Mercury, Lead, Mold, etc.)
- Vascular (Stroke)
- Trauma
By the time the average person begins forgetting a word here and there, they can have 10 or more of these 36 “drivers” actively damaging their brain. A Ketogenic diet can profoundly impact all of these factors, especially inflammation, blood sugar regulation, detoxing toxins, and reaching optimal nutrition levels.
What is a Ketogenic Diet?
It’s fascinating to see all the recent interest in ketogenic diets in the form of books and social media. While many people think “Eating Keto” is something new and innovative, we have been using ketogenic eating to assist in conditions like Cancer and Epilepsy for thousands of years.
The ketogenic diet as we know it today involves a significant reduction in carbohydrates, keeping proteins at a moderate level, and a simultaneous increase in healthy, good quality fat. Healthy fats convert to an energy form called “Ketones”, and your brain will use whatever quantity of Ketones you produce. Ketones are a clean form of energy and your brain loves them.
Switching to a Ketogenic way of eating, is a lifestyle change you can make which can have a profound effect on all six of the types of Cognitive Decline. Your brain is made up of approximately 60% healthy fats, so feeding it what it is made up of makes sense.
How Does Eating a Ketogenic Diet Help the Brain?
- Ketogenic diets dramatically reduce inflammation, which is the fundamental mechanism underlying all of our chronic degenerative conditions. Inflammation is primarily driven by high carbohydrate diets. Carbohydrate is a fancy word for sugar. Sugar of all types is inflammatory.
- Ketogenic diets increase GI or digestive efficiency. When our bodies are inflamed, the inflammation spreads into all of our systems including the GI system. Gut inflammation leads to a decreased ability to absorb nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from our food, which can ultimately lead to the Trophic type of Cognitive Decline.
- Ketogenic diets increase insulin sensitivity and lowers blood sugar. Decreased insulin sensitivity sets the stage for Type 2 Diabetes, coronary artery disease, and Dementia including Alzheimer’s. Going aggressively low carb and increasing healthy fats has a dramatic effect on lowering blood sugar and increasing insulin sensitivity.
- Ketogenic diets help increase energy levels. Shifting brain cell metabolism away from sugar in favor of burning ketones is one of the most effective ways of improving cognitive function, energy levels though out the day, and even sleep quality.
- Ketogenic diets help people lose unhealthy weight and is far superior to a low-fat program in terms of controlling hunger, regulating appetite, and weight loss.
- Ketogenic diets keep our genes healthy by reducing free radicals. Free radicals are the by-product of energy production by the mitochondria, which is the energy powerhouse within our cells. When mitochondria are burning sugar, the amount of damaging free radicals produced is significantly greater then when mitochondria are burning ketones for fuel. Free radicals are molecules which can damage protein, fat, and even our DNA.
As you already know, mainstream medicine largely considers Cognitive Decline including Dementia to be unpreventable, incurable, and progressive based upon years of clinical observation and hundreds of failed pharmaceutical trials. Alzheimer’s is currently one of the top causes of death globally. Conventional medicine has spent billions of dollars, and still currently only have a handful of medications which do nothing to stop the progression of the disease process and may even hasten Cognitive Decline, despite a short-lived improvement in symptoms.
By adopting a Ketogenic Diet, you can have an active role in effectively addressing Inflammation, balancing Blood Sugar Regulation and optimizing your Nutrition. Also, by eliminating sugar as a toxin, you support the detoxification process of all other toxins out of the body.
