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The best meal plan for weight loss combines lots of nutrient-rich produce, unprocessed meat and fish and heart-healthy fats. A recent study found that people who followed the paleo diet lost more weight than those who followed other healthy eating plans, including vegan, Mediterranean and DASH.
A new study conducted by scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine indicates that a Mediterranean-based ketogenic diet, rich in healthy fats and protein with low carbohydrates, could lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers found that this diet led to significant changes in the gut microbiome and in a biological pathway related to Alzheimer’s disease, notably reducing the levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and GABA-producing microbes, while increasing the levels of GABA-regulating bacteria, suggesting potential benefits for brain health and dementia prevention.
Scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have published a study suggesting that adhering to a Mediterranean-style ketogenic diet could potentially reduce The researchers conducted a comparison between a low-fat diet and a modified Mediterranean ketogenic diet, which consists of healthful fats/protein and a lower carbohydrate intake. Their findings revealed that this modified diet brought about significant alterations in a biological pathway associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
The findings were recently published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 6.5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and 1 in 3 seniors die with the disease or another form of dementia.
“We hope that better understanding this complex relationship between diet, cognitive status, and gut health will lead to new interventions to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease,” said Suzanne Craft, Ph.D., professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Suzanne Craft, Ph.D., professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Credit: Wake Forest University School of Medicine
This study builds upon previous research from Craft’s team showing that a modified ketogenic diet may prove beneficial in the prevention of cognitive decline.
The randomized, single-site study involved 20 adults, nine diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 11 with normal cognition. These participants were randomly assigned to follow either the low-carbohydrate modified Mediterranean-ketogenic diet or a low-fat, higher carbohydrate diet for six weeks then, after a six-week “washout” period, to switch to the other diet.
Stool samples were collected from participants at the beginning and end of each diet period, and six weeks after the washout of the second diet to analyze changes in gut microbiome—the good and bad bacteria that live in the gastrointestinal tract.
Researchers found that participants with MCI on the modified Mediterranean ketogenic diet had lower levels of gamma-aminobutyric
Reference: “Effects of a ketogenic and low-fat diet on the human metabolome, microbiome, and foodome in adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease” by Amanda Hazel Dilmore, Cameron Martino, Bryan J. Neth, Kiana A. West, Jasmine Zemlin, Gibraan Rahman, Morgan Panitchpakdi, Michael J. Meehan, Kelly C. Weldon, Colette Blach, Leyla Schimmel, Rima Kaddurah-Daouk, Pieter C. Dorrestein, Rob Knight, Suzanne Craft and the Alzheimer’s Gut Microbiome Project Consortium, 5 April 2023, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
DOI: 10.1002/alz.13007
The study was funded by the Wake Forest Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, the Hartman Family Foundation, Roena B. Kulynych Center for Memory and Cognition Research, and the National Institute on Aging.
Source: scitechdaily.com
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