Keto Clarity: Your Definitive Guide to the Benefits of a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet (51 page)

– Dr. Terry Wahls

There are currently no published studies on treating fibromyalgia, chronic pain, or migraines with a low-carb, high-fat, ketogenic diet. While many practitioners and patients who use this nutritional approach have reported improvement with all of these conditions, these anecdotal stories need to be supported by quality clinical research.

There was one study published in the December 2013 issue of the
Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain
that examined the effects of a non-ketogenic low-carb diet on fibromyalgia symptoms, including pain, mood, and energy levels, in thirty-three middle-aged women. The results? Their symptom scores were lower on the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and they had increased energy and less pain. Whether a ketogenic diet would have similar or even better results remains to be seen.

Traumatic Brain Injury and Stroke

Our lab is studying the ketogenic diet for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. In my traumatic brain injury clinic and my therapeutic lifestyle clinic, I push for a low-glycemic, nutrient-dense diet for everyone, and we offer a ketogenic version of it for patients who want to try it.

– Dr. Terry Wahls

A review of the ketogenic diet for treating traumatic brain injury and stroke published in the September 2006 issue of the journal
Behavioural Pharmacology
noted the role beta-hydroxybutyrate (the ketone body in the blood) plays in protecting the brain by reducing inflammation and protecting neurons. There was also a May 2009 study published in the journal
Brain Injury
that put the neuroprotective properties of a ketogenic diet to the test on sixty rats with traumatic brain injury. Although it was just an animal study, the results were very positive for the effects of the ketones in the treatment of brain injury.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, began recruiting study participants in November 2013 for a clinical trial into the effects of a ketogenic diet on acute stroke. The purpose of this controlled, randomized intervention is to investigate whether eating a low-carb, high-fat diet for one week has a positive effect on blood sugar, mortality, and function in patients hospitalized with acute stroke, compared to the effect of a typical diet. The hypothesis is that brain function will improve because of reduced glucose availability to brain cells.

Gum Disease and Tooth Decay

Because there are no grains or sugars in a ketogenic diet, gum disease and tooth decay virtually disappear. A story that aired on NPR on February 24, 2013, looked at the teeth of our early ancestors and found them to be very healthy despite the lack of toothbrushes, toothpaste, or dental floss. The story blames our consumption of sugar and carbohydrates for the cavities and gum disease we are plagued with today.

Personally, I noticed that years of tooth decay from crunching hard candy came to a complete halt once I embraced a low-carb, high-fat diet. Furthermore, the build-up of plaque and tartar is much less now than it was when I was consuming lots of processed grains and sugars. We definitely need more published research into this, since the health of our teeth and gums can play a negative role in other aspects of our health, including cardiovascular health—gum disease raises inflammation in the body, which in turn can increase the risk of a heart attack. (If you’re interested in this, check out Episode 364 of
The
Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show
podcast
,
in which holistic dentist Kevin Boehm explains more about the connection between dental health and cardiovascular health.)

Acne

A review of the research looking at the “therapeutic potential of ketogenic diets” in treating acne by Italian researcher Antonio Paoli was published in the April 2012 issue of the journal
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology.
He outlined the physiological and biochemical reasons why a low-carb, high-fat diet might be beneficial for treating acne—the theory is that acne is one manifestation of insulin resistance—but no long-term studies have been done. (
The Dietary Cure for Acne,
by well-known Paleo author Loren Cordain, explores this idea in detail.) Paoli joined Dr. Jeff Volek and other researchers in a review of the uses of a ketogenic diet beyond weight loss published in the May 29, 2013, issue of the
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
that calls for randomized clinical trials to examine this issue further.

Eyesight

While there is currently no published data about the effects of a ketogenic diet on eyesight, there is plenty of anecdotal evidence from people who began a low-carb, high-fat diet and noticed improvements in their vision. Because elevated blood sugar levels can lead to blurred vision, it may be that the normalization of blood sugar levels in ketosis brings about the improvements. My wife, Christine, who is blind in one eye and has had poor vision ever since she was given too much oxygen at birth, actually improved her eyesight for the first time in her life when she had it checked in October 2011 after getting serious about eating a low-carb, high-fat diet. Far too many people who get into ketosis report similar stories for the research community to continue to ignore this.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS; also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease)

In the search for a more natural treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, researcher Dr. Carl E. Stafstrom published an argument for considering a ketogenic diet in the April 9, 2012, issue of the journal
Frontiers in Pharmacology
. A study published in the April 3, 2006, issue of the journal
BMC Neuroscience
examining the ketogenic diet for treating ALS looked at how increased ketone levels affected mice with the disease. This was the first study of its kind to show improvements in ALS brought about through diet changes. Hopefully it spawns more research in the coming years.

The therapeutic role of ketones in several brain disorders is under investigation, including Alzheimer’s disease, brain cancer, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and multiple sclerosis.

– Dr. Keith Runyan

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Huntington’s Disease (HD)

There have been several animal studies in recent years looking at the effect of ketogenic diets on multiple sclerosis and Huntington’s disease, but no human studies have been done. A May 2, 2012, study published in the journal
PLOS ONE
found that in mice with MS, the ketogenic diet lowered brain inflammation and acted as a protective measure. And a study published in the July 6, 2011, issue of
Physiology & Behavior
showed that in mice, a ketogenic diet delayed the typical weight loss that occurs with HD. Whether these results would also be seen in humans is a question for future research to answer.

Pay close attention to the work of Dr. Terry Wahls, author of the 2014 book
The Wahl’s Protocol: How I Beat Progressive MS Using Paleo Principles and Functional Medicine
. Dr. Wahls overcame secondary progressive multiple sclerosis by going into a mild state of nutritional ketosis, allowing her brain and body to function well on fat and ketones. She is seeking funding for more thorough research into the precise mechanism through which ketosis may help MS.

In ketosis, I have more mental clarity and energy throughout the day. In our clinical trials we are comparing a low-glycemic, nutrient-dense diet (Wahls diet) to a nutrient-dense ketogenic diet (Wahls Paleo Plus diet) to see the difference in fatigue reduction, memory and recall, and endothelial (blood vessel) health. We will have that trial finished in December 2014.

– Dr. Terry Wahls

Aging

People are always looking for ways to slow down the aging process, and in yeast, worms, fruit flies, and mice, restricting the amount of calories in the diet can result in a longer lifespan. It appears that the lower the insulin level, the longer the lifespan, because of the decrease in oxidative stress, which reduces our ability to detoxify and repair cells. So, in theory, a diet that keeps the insulin level low—like the low-carb, high-fat, ketogenic diet—would lead to a longer lifespan.

I believe that what we are really doing with the ketogenic diet is slowing the rate of aging and, especially, increasing the rate of repair. Therefore all of the symptoms of aging, which we are calling the diseases of aging, can be very effectively treated if not totally reversed by this diet, and I believe it is currently the only way to do so.

– Dr. Ron Rosedale

In 2014, the Anti-Ageing & Aesthetic Medicine Conference in Melbourne, Australia, hosted by the AustralAsian Academy of Anti-Ageing Medicine, focused on the role that a ketogenic diet plays in obesity, metabolic syndrome, and aging. There is great worldwide interest in the impact of diet on the aging process, and human research could soon begin to look at this nutritional approach as an anti-aging therapy.

Kidney Disease

Neurologist and endocrinologist Dr. Charles Mobbs conducts research on lab mice using ketogenic diets at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. In an April 20, 2011, study published in the journal
PLOS ONE
, Dr. Mobbs noted that the low-carb, high-fat diet could possibly replace dialysis if the results he found in animals also appear in humans. Looking at mice with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and early-stage kidney disease, researchers saw significant improvement in the kidney disease as well as blood sugar and insulin levels (an expected outcome) among those that were on the ketogenic diet. It’s still very early in the research to extrapolate these findings to humans, but it certainly sets the stage for some potentially exciting developments.

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS)

No research exists looking at a connection between restless legs syndrome and a ketogenic diet. But one of my forum members reported that shifting to a ketogenic lifestyle and weight lifting regimen cured her RLS completely, and other anecdotal reports confirm that this is something that needs to be investigated further.