Study: Low Carb Diet May Prevent, Reverse Age-Related Effects Within the Brain • Hacker News Board

Re: Study: Low Carb Diet May Prevent, Reverse Age-Related Effects Within the Brain

#21

Post by throwaway_tech » Fri, Mar 06, 2020, 2:32 PM UTC

tryptophan wrote: post #11

tiffanyh wrote: post #6

This isn’t new. Doctors have seen a link between sugar (carbs) and Dementia / Alzheimer’s https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/551528/

No, they saw a link between HIGH carbs in blood over long periods of time associated with dem\alz. Eating normal ammounts of carbs isn't going to kill you, it's literally our main energy source.

>Eating normal ammounts of carbs isn't going to kill you, it's literally our main energy source.

Its only the main energy source because its the main dietary intake. If you change your dietary intake consistent with dietary ketosis then carbs/glucose will not be the main energy source, ketones will become the main energy source.

Consider two things: 1) when in a fasted state, the body will begin to produce ketones and begins to run off of ketones instead of glucose (which our body can continue to make without eating carbs) suggesting ketones are the default energy source until we introduce dietary carbs that spike insulin; and 2) as the study notes ketones are the more efficient fuel source for the brain only because our modern diets carb laden and insulin spiking our brains are contantly using glucose instead of ketones.

Re: Study: Low Carb Diet May Prevent, Reverse Age-Related Effects Within the Brain

#22

Post by newscracker » Fri, Mar 06, 2020, 2:34 PM UTC

tejohnso wrote: post #18

Noted that the underlying cause for the improvement comes from ketones. This should indicate that intermittent fasting would also show similar results. Low carb diet, keto diet, intermittent fasting, they're all just different ways to switch the fuel source from glucose to ketones.

Would a time restricted feeding type of intermittent fasting, with a 16/8 schedule, really result in the production of ketones? I thought that it would take about a day and a half or longer to exhaust carbs and start the switch to ketones. Then it’s only the longer fasts (like 5/2 days) that could help.

Re: Study: Low Carb Diet May Prevent, Reverse Age-Related Effects Within the Brain

#23

Post by jniedrauer » Fri, Mar 06, 2020, 2:36 PM UTC

tejohnso wrote: post #18

Noted that the underlying cause for the improvement comes from ketones. This should indicate that intermittent fasting would also show similar results. Low carb diet, keto diet, intermittent fasting, they're all just different ways to switch the fuel source from glucose to ketones.

Wouldn't just plain calorie restricting also result in ketosis at night? The way I read the headline is "Not overeating might make you healthier"

Re: Study: Low Carb Diet May Prevent, Reverse Age-Related Effects Within the Brain

#24

Post by matwood » Fri, Mar 06, 2020, 2:40 PM UTC

tejohnso wrote: post #18

Noted that the underlying cause for the improvement comes from ketones. This should indicate that intermittent fasting would also show similar results. Low carb diet, keto diet, intermittent fasting, they're all just different ways to switch the fuel source from glucose to ketones.

> This should indicate that intermittent fasting

I came to comment the same thing. First an aside that I agree with Peter Attia that IF is a confusing term, and instead Time Restricted Feeding (TRF) should be used. The current thought seems to be that many of the benefits from TRF (ie, skipping breakfast) come from causing the body to start generating ketones.

Re: Study: Low Carb Diet May Prevent, Reverse Age-Related Effects Within the Brain

#25

Post by uptownfunk » Fri, Mar 06, 2020, 2:40 PM UTC

IF has really saved my life. I definitely feel like i reverse aged a few years as a result of it. I enjoy food more now, weight is in check, I look younger.. hard to beat the benefits.

Re: Study: Low Carb Diet May Prevent, Reverse Age-Related Effects Within the Brain

#26

Post by carlmr » Fri, Mar 06, 2020, 2:40 PM UTC

toomuchtodo wrote: post #14

davidweatherall wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Couldn't you also argue that stakeholders who profit off low carb / sugar diets would also have a vested interest to push biased media about the benefits of low carb / fat diets?

One could, but the health benefits of low carb diets are observable to both layman ( https://reddit.com/r/keto | https://www.reddit.com/r/ketoscience/ ) and in controlled studies ( https://www.google.com/search?q=pubmed+keto ), and the underlying macros are hard to gatekeep (I can get butter for my coffee anywhere). Who are the stakeholders in "low carb"? Influencers? Sure, there are always going to be folks selling…

>Who are the stakeholders in "low carb"?

Arguably the meat industry, since most low carb people eat more meat. Yes, vegetarian is possible, but I don't know any vegetarian low carbers, while I know a lot of vegetarians and a lot of low carbers eating bacon for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The meat industry probably has a similarly big lobby as the sugar industry.

I've dropped 8Kg in the last half year by going mostly vegetarian and lowering my dairy intake. I eat more carbs than before. I don't think keto is the whole truth.

Re: Study: Low Carb Diet May Prevent, Reverse Age-Related Effects Within the Brain

#27

Post by snarf21 » Fri, Mar 06, 2020, 2:40 PM UTC

ropiwqefjnpoa wrote: post #8

Sugar, not fat is the killer. Incredible how for decades bad research and the likes of Ancel Keys and Phil Sokolof put the health of millions at risk.

Well, to be fair, it was on purpose. The food pyramid in the US is created by the USDA, whose sole job is to produce and sell food at massive scale. Remember, they are the ones that subsidize crops and pay farmers not to grow corn and soybeans to keep the price up. If things were sensible, it would be produced by the Department of Health & Human Services. Fat may have more calories per gram than carbs but our real problem is insulin control and resistance and that is what those low fat diets turbo charge.

Re: Study: Low Carb Diet May Prevent, Reverse Age-Related Effects Within the Brain

#28

Post by toomuchtodo » Fri, Mar 06, 2020, 2:42 PM UTC

carlmr wrote: post #26

toomuchtodo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One could, but the health benefits of low carb diets are observable to both layman ( https://reddit.com/r/keto | https://www.reddit.com/r/ketoscience/ ) and in controlled studies ( https://www.google.com/search?q=pubmed+keto ), and the underlying macros are hard to gatekeep (I can get butter for my coffee anywhere). Who are the stakeholders in "low carb"? Influencers? Sure, there are always going to be folks selling…

>Who are the stakeholders in "low carb"? Arguably the meat industry, since most low carb people eat more meat. Yes, vegetarian is possible, but I don't know any vegetarian low carbers, while I know a lot of vegetarians and a lot of low carbers eating bacon for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The meat industry probably has a similarly big lobby as the sugar industry. I've dropped 8Kg in the last half year by going mostly…

As always, the "truth" is a moving target and is going to be highly variable depending on circumstance. You should do what works best for you. If that's practicing vegetarianism, awesome. If that's being mostly a carnivore and eating chicken and bacon every meal, go for it. Somewhere in the middle works too (mostly vegetarian, occasional meat, majority of protein sourced from eggs and whey protein). But refined sugars are not your friend. Put that soda down!

Industry lobbying is deplorable, but inevitable. Consumer education (see my comment above) is paramount (with a helping hand of government regulation) in mitigating its impact on consumer behaviors.

Re: Study: Low Carb Diet May Prevent, Reverse Age-Related Effects Within the Brain

#29

Post by collyw » Fri, Mar 06, 2020, 2:51 PM UTC

throwaway_tech wrote: post #17

The title is terrible, it should read ketosis/ketones may prevent, reverse age-related effects within the brain. "Low carb" as the title currently reads does not necessarily result in ketosis and your body/brain running on ketones, which appears to be the scope of this study. There is more to dietary ketosis than low carb, just as an example carnivore or paleo diets are low carb, but those will generally not result i…

I was about to ask if intermittent fasting would have the same effects as I get the impression that its a healthier way of getting into ketosis.

(When I look, I don't see negative effects associated with IF, and I do with keto diets. The research changes a lot and the conclusions don't seem definitive, but I thought someone on here might have an educated opinion on the matter).

Re: Study: Low Carb Diet May Prevent, Reverse Age-Related Effects Within the Brain

#30

Post by collyw » Fri, Mar 06, 2020, 2:52 PM UTC

ropiwqefjnpoa wrote: post #8

Sugar, not fat is the killer. Incredible how for decades bad research and the likes of Ancel Keys and Phil Sokolof put the health of millions at risk.

Is this definite and scientific consensus?

Nutrition research seems to change as often as JavaScript framework of the month. I saw one Ted talk that essentially said "everyone is different and no rules apply to everyone".