The Keto diet is a low-carb lover’s dream.
In a new study from the University of Virginia, researchers found the popular eating plan may also improve some symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS).
MS is an autoimmune disease that occurs when your body attacks the insulation wrapped around its nerves, causing numbness, fatigue, bladder problems, mood issues, and mobility problems that can interfere with daily life.
There is no cure for MS. But there may be a way to ease symptoms.
In the study, 65 participants with MS ate a keto diet for six months, they reported less fatigue and depression and improved overall quality of life.
Those who followed the diet had less body fat and showed about a 50% decline in fatigue and depression scores after six months. What’s more, their quality of life and mental health scores improved over the course of the study.
They also performed better on tests measuring MS disability. Specifically, study patients walked an average of 1,631 feet on a six-minute walking test at the start of the study, compared to 1,733 feet after six months on a keto diet.
The findings provide evidence that medically supervised ketogenic diets are safe and tolerable when studied over a six-month period and convey clinical benefits to persons living with MS.
Keto diets restrict your intake of carbs while increasing fats and protein. The goal is to shift from burning blood sugar for energy to a fat-burning state (ketosis), producing weight loss.
Exactly how a keto diet improves symptoms of MS isn’t fully understood yet, but the researchers have their theories, starting with the weight loss it induces given the emerging role of obesity in MS.
Ketogenic diets may also reduce inflammation and help re-balance the bacteria in the guts of people with MS.
Certain gut bacteria create more inflammation in the body and this has been observed in some people with MS.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies about common eating habits that may harm your kidney health, and eating this fruit every day can improve your heart health.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies about diet that could help reduce high blood pressure, diabetes, and results showing that low-protein diets may help you live longer, preventing chronic diseases.
The study is published in the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting and was conducted by Dr. J. Nicholas Brenton et al.
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