Fast-paced Diet strategies, particularly fasting and low-carb regimens, combat infection and aging processes.
Why's the Keto Diet and Intermittent Fasting Gaining Popularity?
It's all about reshaping your metabolism, my friend! By following low-carb diets like the keto diet, your body adjusts the way it processes energy, resulting in weight loss, increased energy reserves, and improved overall health.
See, when you deprive your body of carbohydrates, it gets scrambled because it loses its primary energy source – glucose. So, in a rush, your body starts burning fat molecules called ketones for energy instead. This state, called ketosis, can do wonders for your body, especially when it comes to one major aspect – reducing inflammation. Here's how:
Ketosis: The Secret Weapon Against Infections
Remember the 2016 study published in Cell that examined the impact of fasting on mice suffering from viral or bacterial infections? Researchers discovered an interesting twist.
When they force-fed a mouse infected with a viral infection, it recovered. It needed the glucose it received through food to help it cope with the stress caused by the virus. But the mouse with a bacterial infection didn't fare so well. The glucose from the food actually prevented the ketogenesis process, which is the method your body uses to produce ketones. The researchers believe that ketogenesis could counteract the oxidative stress caused by a bacterial infection. It seems that cutting off the glucose supply during a bacterial infection may be advantageous, and the same appears to hold true for parasitic infections, as well.
One 2018 study found that cutting off the glucose supply to mice infected with malaria made them more resistant to the disease.
Ketosis: The Key to Fighting Aging and Age-Related Diseases
If you've heard the saying, "Inflammation is the root of all evil," then you're on the right track. As the body enters ketosis, it produces a special ketone metabolite called beta-hydroxybutyrate to fuel the brain. Guess what? Research shows that beta-hydroxybutyrate can block a protein called the NLRP3 inflammasome, which contributes to chronic inflammation and the age-related diseases that arise from it.
In fact, in one study, researchers gave beta-hydroxybutyrate to mice with inflammation caused by NLRP3. The result? Beta-hydroxybutyrate blocked NLRP3, and those mice didn't develop the age-related diseases they would have otherwise.
Keto and Intermittent Fasting: Worth a Shot?
Plenty of people are giving the keto diet and intermittent fasting a whirl and reaping impressive rewards. But neither option is a walk in the park.
The standard ketogenic diet consists of about 75 percent fat, 20 percent protein, and 5 percent carbs. Compare that to the typical healthy diet, which consists of about 45 to 65 percent carbs, 20 to 35 percent fat, and 10 to 35 percent protein. That's quite a difference.
Most of your calories on the keto diet come from healthy fats like grass-fed meat, free-range poultry, pasture-raised eggs, wild-caught fish, full-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, and oils. You also eat low-carb veggies and small amounts of low-glycemic fruits like berries.
If you're considering going keto and could use a more in-depth guide to the benefits and rules, check out The keto diet in a nutshell.
As far as intermittent fasting goes, there are a variety of ways you can approach it. You can try alternate-day fasting, where you eat anything you want one day and nothing at all the next. You could also try a modified alternate-day fast schedule, where you eat 500 calories on fast days. Or, there's a more moderate form of intermittent fasting where you limit your daily eating window to eight hours and fast for 16 hours, although this type of fast won't send your body into ketosis.
The keto diet and alternate-day fasting are safe for most people, but make sure to consult your doctor before you start either, just to be cautious.
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Sources:
- Ketostasis: Nature's Sweet Spot - Technology.org
- 10 Health Benefits of Low-Carb and Ketogenic Diets - Healthline
- Alternate-Day Fasting: A Comprehensive Beginner's Guide - Healthline.
- The keto diet, by shifting the body's metabolism towards ketosis, has been linked to reduced inflammation, a benefit witnessed in various medical-conditions, chronic-diseases, aging processes, and even cancer.
- In ketosis, the body produces a metabolite called beta-hydroxybutyrate, which can block the NLRP3 inflammasome, contributing to chronic inflammation and age-related diseases.
- A study found that repressing glucose supply to mice infected with malaria made them more resistant to the disease, potentially implying that the same principle could be applicable to other parasitic infections.
- The standard ketogenic diet, with just 5% carbs, is notably different from conventional, healthy diets, which typically have a higher carbohydrate content.
- Keto dieters primarily consume healthy fats, low-carb veggies, and small amounts of low-glycemic fruits, making up the majority of their caloric intake.
- CBD, a compound found in cannabis plants, has shown promising potential in reducing inflammation, further emphasizing the importance of wellness, nutrition, and overall health-and-wellness when considering fitness-and-exercise regimes, such as the keto diet and intermittent fasting.
