Ketone diet could help in Parkinson’s
By Ben Harder
Long before the low-carb diet became a weight-loss fad, doctors used a stricter version of it to treat people with epilepsy. Now, researchers are tailoring that therapy to fight Parkinson’s disease.
Fats account for 90 percent of the new diet’s calories, whereas carbohydrates make up only 2 percent. That ratio forces the body to produce fat-derived molecules, called ketones, that then serve as a substitute fuel for the carbohydrate-starved brain. Researchers suspect that ketones might ward off brain disorders that stem from malfunctions in how cells use carbohydrates (SN: 12/13/03, p. 376: Available to subscribers at Ketones to the Rescue).