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A Ketogenic Diet Extends Longevity and Healthspan in Adult Mice

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Highlights

•A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet extends longevity in adult male mice
•Motor function, memory, and muscle mass are preserved in aged ketogenic mice
•Protein acetylation is increased in the liver and skeletal muscle of ketogenic mice

Summary

Calorie restriction, without malnutrition, has been shown to increase lifespan and is associated with a shift away from glycolysis toward beta-oxidation. The objective of this study was to mimic this metabolic shift using low-carbohydrate diets and to determine the influence of these diets on longevity and healthspan in mice. C57BL/6 mice were assigned to a ketogenic, low-carbohydrate, or control diet at 12 months of age and were either allowed to live their natural lifespan or tested for physiological function after 1 or 14 months of dietary intervention. The ketogenic diet (KD) significantly increased median lifespan and survival compared to controls. In aged mice, only those consuming a KD displayed preservation of physiological function. The KD increased protein acetylation levels and regulated mTORC1 signaling in a tissue-dependent manner. This study demonstrates that a KD extends longevity and healthspan in mice.

Full text: http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism...4131(17)30490-4

Even Sir Mike Jagger follows the Keto diet, and he recently became a new father at 72.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/... _to_his_life/

Study covered in medical news services, not just popular press.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017...-high-diet.html

https://www.dietdoctor.com/keto-die...ity-memory-mice

Thanks for posting.

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Calorie restriction, without malnutrition, has been shown to increase lifespan and is associated with a shift away from glycolysis toward beta-oxidation.

I remember a thread, this probably in my first year or two on the forum, about Dwarf Snell mice, they burn much more fat vs. glucose compared to wild-type mice, and have longer lifespans. Also the methionine-restricted mice--there was a study showing a greater proportion of their energy coming from mitochondrial respiration vs. glycolysis. There are also studies showing that methionine restriction reduces fat trapping by adipocytes, that could increase availability of fat for oxidation. And there's the very obvious periods of increased fat oxidation that comes with intermittent fasting, increased fat oxidation-->increased longevity seems to be a fairly constant theme.

Some of those things the ketogenic animals did better with, like grip strength, time to explore novel objects--it would be interesting to see what would happen, towards the end of the lifespan, if some control animals were switched to the ketogenic diet. How much is the result of the extended period on the diet, how much just the effect of being currently in ketosis?

IMHO, the good effects of calorie restriction are actually the good effects of carb restriction. I am backed up by the worm researcher who switched to low carb.

I dunno. I sort of like the pro-fat metabolism as opposed to the anti-carb metabolism for this. It might amount to the same thing, since those are pretty much the options--but it also leaves room for observations where protein restriction without calorie restriction--which in rodent studies generally means that carbohydrate intake remains quite high--is fairly effective. Carbohydrate is obviously a big deal, but various amino acids have roles in the recycling of glucose. It's an entirely reasonable possibility that, say, decreasing protein or methionine by 20 percent, could have a bigger effect on the percentage of calories derived from glycolysis vs. mitochondrial respiration than replacing 20 percent of carbohydrate calories with fat.

If you read a calorie restriction study, sometimes they'll suggest that intermittent fasting works because the animals eat less. If you read an intermittent fasting or meal timing study--sometimes the suggestion is that calorie restriction works because the animals tend to binge when they are fed--which makes for a longer fasting window until the next meal. Calorie restriction people will say, but our animals live slightly longer. But I'd argue that if they go in a bit underfed, their fast might actually be said to be a little deeper than the ad-lib fed IF animals. I guess we all have our biases. :)