Can a Low-Carb Diet Reverse Brain Aging?

A study in PNAS suggests a low-carb diet may prevent or reverse the effects of aging in the brain, reports Futurity . The researchers looked at the presymptomatic period when prevention may be most effective, demonstrating that functional communication between brain regions destabilizes with age, usually in the late 40s — and correlates with poorer cognition and ramps up with insulin resistance. Glucose was found to undermine the stability of brain networks, while ketones boost stability. Dietary changes and an orally ingested fuel-specific calorie-matched supplement could replicate both effects, with negative and positive implications. "The bad news is that we see the first signs of brain aging much earlier than was previously thought," said Stony Brook University Professor Lilianne R. Mujica-Parodi. "However, the good news is that we may be able to prevent or reverse these effects with diet, mitigating the impact of encroaching hypometabolism by exchanging glucose for ketones as fuel for neurons."