How the ketogenic diet improves healthspan and memory in aging mice

The ketogenic diet has a scientifically documented impact on memory in mice. Scientists identified a new molecular signaling pathway that improves synapse function and helps explain the diet's benefit on brain health and aging.

The findings provide new directions for targeting the memory effects on a molecular level, without requiring a ketogenic diet or even the byproducts of it.

"We now know that being able to manipulate lifespan is not about specifically eating less," said Newman, but actually is related to signals inside cells that turn on and off specific pathways in response to available nutrients. Many of those pathways are related to aging, such as controlling protein turnover and metabolism.

Some of those signals are the ketone bodies, which consist of acetoacetate (AcAc), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and to a much lesser extent, acetone. These molecules are routinely produced in the liver. They ramp up when glucose is in short supply, such as with a ketogenic diet.

The test mice, of "advanced age" of more than two years old, received one week of the ketogenic diet, cycled with one week of the control diet.

"Surprisingly, we saw that the ketogenic diet caused dramatic changes in the proteins of the synapse," said Schilling. Even more surprising, she said, was that the changes started after a relatively brief exposure to the diet (tested after only one week on the diet) and only became more pronounced over time (tested again after six weeks and a year).

Further testing indicated that in synapses, a particular signaling pathway (protein kinase A, which is critical to synapse activity) was activated by the ketogenic diet. In isolated cells, the team then showed that it appears that BHB, the main ketone body produced in a ketogenic diet, is activating this pathway.

I think Keto and Low Carb are among the strategies the public has attempted to cope with bad nutritional advice from the FDA. Below, I bounce around some bad advice from the FDA and note that low carb and Keto people might be on to the problem of 'enriched' foods (looking at you, FDA).

My comments stem from an article by Brian Cates titled:
What If Everything They've Been Telling You About Food Is...WRONG?
"Have Our Trusted Health Authority Figures Led Us Astray? And If So...What Can We Do About It?"
ransomnote: Cates's article features the 'food pyramid' and other nutrition topics which seem to indicate that we've been deceived across the board. I've posted some information from his article below. According to him,
You were given bad information by government and medical authority figures on 7 dietary subjects:
1. Cholesterol levels
2. Salt/mineral levels
3. Protein levels
4. Animal Fats
5. Fiber
6. Seed oils
7. Meal frequency
ransomnote: here's a tweet from him.
Cates makes the case that researchers discovered in 1918 that seed oils are bad for rat health, and by extension bad for human health.
Cates: "Government 'health' experts working hand-in-glove with Big Food corporations convinced most Americans to stop cooking their food with butter, lard, and tallow, and instead use the new 'Crisco' and other highly processed seed oils and margarine. Because they claimed these new processed products were 'healthier'."
ransomnote: I came across this issue with inflamation - a hand I injured in my teens really hurt until I stopped using seed oils. For some this could mean whole body aches and pains. I read up on Soybean oil and discovered most of the mayonaise in the supermarket (and many other foods e.g., salad dressing, marinades etc.) has soybean oil, and if the jar is more than a week old, the soybean oil in it is rancid. They 'deodorize' rancid soybean oil for consumption with an industrial process.I now try to use olive oil and avocado oil whenever possible. But soybean oil and other seed oils are everywhere. By chance (/s), the government has been subsidizing soybean oil for years.
Back then I read up on Omega 3's and Omega 6's and how both are needed in proper proportion. Omega 6's are pro-inflammatory, which is beneficial to the immune system in proper amounts. Then I discovered that seed oils can have excessive amounts (50,000 units_ of inflammatory Omega 6's. Compare that to the average 500 units of Omega 3's in a fish oil capsule. I tried to find a seed oil I could cook with, or purchase in mayo, are use in salad dressing but they all had 20 to 50 times the inflammatory Omega 6's compared with the Omega 3's in the American diet. I no longer buy safflower, sunflower, canola, soybean oil, rapeseed oil etc. And inflamation in my hand went away. WHy hasn't the FDA ever advised the public on these nutritional (excess) sources of inflammation. A life time of inflamation would be expected to result i disease, wouldn't it?
That set me looking through other FDA findings and I found some 'controversy' over the addition of synthetic folic acid to the foods we eat. Starting in the late 1990s, the FDA began spraying grains (white rice, wheat, oats etc.) with synthetic folic acid. Some milk products 'fortify' their products with synthetic folic acid. I went back to Cates' article to check his diagram (below) again.
I see that the diabetes levels ramped up in the late 90s around the same time the government started 'fortifying' our foods with synthetic folic acid. So I read up on folic acid and found that somewhere between 40 to 70 percent of the population has at least one methylation gene problem (defect) and can't use synthetic folic acid. I also found that doctors advise against testing the public for that genetic defect because it's 'usually' not a problem.
Eating synthetic folic acid can make some of those people with some methylation gene defects sick (including diabetes), but more importantly it deprives them of nutrients needed for key biological processes, and can result in disease (including diabetes). For those with sensitivities, synthetic folic acid displaces folate - and the person can be folate deprived.
So I tried reading up on that defect and found that there are 'herds' of people with that problem gathering in information sharing boards, learning not to eat wheat, rice, sugar etc. (there are different kinds of that gene defect - my information is from just from reading up on a few of them). Doctors say that most people only have one of a pair of such genes (heterozygous) and therefore have nothing to worry about, but those with more than one (homozygous, compound homozygous) often exhibit symptoms. But other articles say stress can exaggerate that single gene defect (epigenics). Aren't our children 'stressed' after the Plandemic? The list of resulting diseases and mental health issues is staggering (depression, anxiety, cancer, diabetes, cardiac issues, infertility Borderline Personality Disorder, autism, ADHD etc.)
Comments by users made me think of the 'low carb craze' also starting in the late 90s, wondering if people in that group couldn't tolerate synthetic folic acid sprayed on their foods (wheat, rice, fortified milk etc.) starting around that time? Those with certain genetic makeup, who consume 'too much' folic acid, can have synthetic folic acid toxicity.
I turn my eyes to kids cereal aisles.....all of it 'fortified' and none of the kids tested for that gene defect.
The rationalization for spraying those foods with synthetic folic acid was to prevent pregnant women from giving birth to babies with spina bifida. Guess what disease is one of those resulting from that gene defect and intollerance: spinal bifida. WHy spray that stuff on kid's cereals when we don't expect them to be pregnant anyway, and 'serious' cases (one or more pairs of genetic defects) for some who can't handle that stuff can result in autism, ADHD, emotional problems and in some instances weight gain?
So I wonder if KETO addresses Cate's content (no seed oils, use animal fats) and low carbers (no wheat, rice, refined sugars).
It's overwhelming when you start prodding the topic but I think various groups are detecting something very wrong with virtually all of the prominent nutritional information coming out of the FDA.
Oh and as I walked away from the topic I came across an article saying it's time to stop messing around because we need to dramatically increase the amount of synthetic folic acid added to foods.
If they had added folate to foods instead of synthetic folic acid, it wouldn't hurt those tribes of people and there's no folate 'toxicity' if a person consumes too much. Does anyone know how much synthetic folic acid a kid eats in a day? Crackers, hot dog buns, bread, rice, cereal, milk - if they are enriched? The medical establishment is against testing the public - shouldn't they have opted for a natural version like folate because that would be tolerated by all?
I know there was a scandal when healthcare systems were caught selling DNA results to China, so anyone wanting to test for that ('methylation gene defect') must be careful, and won't be humored by doctors who parrot 'the science'. Maybe it doesn't matter if you do or don't have that genetic mutation since it probably would be a good idea for all to avoid the FDA's folic acid 'enrichment' when possible as they aren't trustworthy sources of information.
Instead, one could look through vitamins and food products and make some changes to see if they are impacted. Supposedly 'organic' wheat products are not sprayed with synthetic folic acid. Some types of rice (brown is one example) is not sprayed. The few methyl gene defect profiles I read said to avoid wheat but there are several more types of those genetic mutations which perhaps use wheat without problem. One could look at supplements (daily vitamins) and will likely find synthetic folic acid. For those seeking to 'test' their tolerance, they may want to switch brands next time they buy to get 'folate' instead. If a food has been enriched with synthetic folic acid, it should say it's enriched and have 'folic acid' on the label. It 'should'.
For more information you can join one of the boards where people have this problem.
But in general, the more I read, the more I don't believe the FDA ever gave anybody good advice about nutrition. It can get complicated and people doing Keto or low carb or whatever are going to be targeted for ridicule.
PS: There seems to be intentional naming convention issues. Folate is an umbrella term encompassing sub products, synthetic folic acid and (natural) folate. SO you see how that could help marketers deceive the public? The herds of people with the defect take 'methylfolate' specifically but I imagine there are multiple natural kinds of natural folate and the literature always urges obtaining (natural) folate from foods.
PSPS: Oh and another head turner. Folate 'works' in tandem with B-12 and some people are B-12 deficient - hmmmm the FDA didn't spray that? WAIT! It's best the FDA not spray B-12 on our foods because they'd use the common type, cyanocobalmain, found in supplements (daily vitamins etc.) and THAT one breaks down to form cyanide in 'tiny' amounts. The FDA assures the public the 'tiny' amounts are harmless. I checked my daily vitamins and threw them out because I don't WANT to take anything every day that breaks down to form cyanide, even in small amounts.I later found cyanocobalmain in some 'health foods' (sports nutrition).

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