What is the Ketogenic Diet?
The ketogenic diet is a type of diet that is predominantly high in fat and protein, but low in carbohydrates. It has been shown to benefit a number of diseases and health problems such as Alzheimer’s and epilepsy, diabetes and cancer. It has also been shown to help with weight loss. It is applied for blood sugar control to lose weight. However, its long-term use is not recommended for health reasons.
What is the content of the Ketogenic Diet?
It follows the high-fat and low-carbohydrate diet. They are divided into 3:1 and 4:1 ketogenic diets. In a 3:1 ketogenic diet, 3 grams of fat is equivalent to 1 gram of carbohydrates and protein. In the 4:1 ketogenic diet, on the other hand, 1 gram of carbohydrate and protein per 4 grams of fat is equivalent, which means that about 90% of the diet should consist of fat. Ketogenic diets with a ratio of 3:1 and 4:1 are more stringent than the regular ketogenic diet because patients with cognitive health problems can use it because it can provide therapeutic benefit. As for the foods consumed; Seafood, rich in B vitamins, potassium and selenium, which are necessary for brain health, foods such as meat and poultry are very important for muscle preservation, since carbohydrate intake is low in the ketogenic diet. It can protect your cells from damage, and studies have found that people who eat 1 avocado a day experience improvements in heart health risk factors, including lower LDL (bad cholesterol) levels. Nuts (almonds, chia seeds, walnuts, hazelnuts) are a food used in the ketogenic diet, especially hazelnuts are known to have effects on reducing the risk of heart disease, certain types of cancer, depression and other chronic diseases. Red fruits (strawberries, raspberries) are low-carb and high-fiber products. It has antioxidant properties and reduces the risk of getting diseases. Dark chocolate and cocoa are also used in ketogenic diets because they are good for heart ailments caused by low blood pressure and are known to keep arteries healthy, and are rich in antioxidants. Finally, oils that cover a very large part of the diet (olive oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, corn oil, hazelnut oil)
It provides burning of excess fat in the body, lowering blood sugar values and increasing insulin sensitivity.
Effect of the ketogenic diet on cognitive health?
Epilepsy; In a study on epileptic seizures between the ages of 2-18, a ketogenic diet suitable for their age and weight is applied. At the end of a period of 3 months, there is a decrease in seizures, and an increase in total cholesterol, LDL, and triglyceride values has been observed. A decrease in Ca, albumin, hemoglobin values was detected. In this study, ketogenic diet can be used as an alternative treatment method to show that the ketogenic diet can lead to an increase in blood lipids.
Cancer; He tried to keep the cancer under control with many treatment methods such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgical operations. Recently, nutrition plans have come to the fore. Successful results have been obtained in a single type of cancer in the treatment of the ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet has emerged as a new cancer treatment in both animal models and humans. It has been shown to reduce tumor growth and have an effect on prostate, colon, and stomach cancer in animal models.
Autism; Autism spectrum disorder is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with many symptoms such as social interaction and communication disorder, obsession, repetitive behaviors and sensory processing disorder. Since there is no definitive treatment for autism patients, they were directed to non-drug treatments. Among these, ketogenic or gluten-free and casein-free diet therapy has been used for individuals. In studies conducted, it was associated with epilepsy in childhood and 40% of children with autism were diagnosed with epilepsy. In studies, it has been determined that the microbial profile in autism is very different compared to healthy individuals.
Alzheimer’s; It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by memory loss and decreased cognitive function. Various dietary interventions have been used to prevent the devastating problems of glucose hypermetabolism in its pathogenesis, to reduce increased oxidative stress and inflammatory response, and to improve mitochondrial functions. One of them is the ketogenic diet. With the ketogenic diet, high fat and low carbohydrate content, energy is supplied to the body from fats. It has been suggested that it can be used as a treatment method in neurodegenerative patients such as Alzheimer’s. One of the most important reasons for this is that it can create an alternative energy source that will reduce the brain’s dependence on glucose. After a while, ketone bodies are formed and they are used as an alternative energy source in the absence of glycox, which is the main source of the brain.
What is the difference between the Ketogenic Diet and the Mediterranean Diet?
Mediterranean diet; Protein sources such as fish, poultry, legumes are consumed, and red meat is occasionally consumed. Sugar and processed food intake, soda, sweet tea and sports drinks consumption is limited. Sugar-sweetened ingredients should be avoided. It is known to reduce the risk of heart health, heart disease and heart attack.
ketogenic diet; red meat and fat consumption is quite high. The carbohydrate content is very low. The body is focused on using fat instead of using carbohydrates. It reduces the level of LDL (bad cholesterol) but can increase the level of LDL, which can contribute to plaque buildup in the arteries and block blood flow to the heart.
What is the relationship between the Ketogenic Diet and Microbiota?
According to researches, intestinal microbiota plays an important role in human health and diseases. Intestinal microbiota is a very dynamic structure that can be affected by environmental and nutritional behaviors. It has been shown that the frequency of seizures decreased in infants with epilepsy following a ketogenic diet, while Bacteroides and Prevotella increased, the level of Cronobacter decreased by approximately 50% and the composition of the intestinal microbiota changed towards the healthy control group.
Ketogenic Diet and MCT relationship?
Since the diet is high in fat, it has 17% carbohydrate 10% protein and the remaining 73% fat content. 30-70% of these oils consist of medium chain fatty acids (MCTs). The reason why fats are so important in this diet is that while long chain fatty acids need carnitine to be transported to the mitochondria, there is no such requirement in MCT oils, so there is a hotter and more fat burning.
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