Low-Carb Diet May be the Key to Weight Loss and Increased Lifespan: Study

If you planning to lose weight by following a diet, you must know how helpful it would be. It’s always a bit confusing to choose the right weight loss diet.The good news is that according to a study, published in journal Cell Metabolism, switching to a ketogenic diet, which is high fat, low protein and low carbohydrates may not only help in losing weight, but also increase longevity and improve physical strength. The study that was carried out using an animal model and it shows around 13 percent increase in median life span for the mice on a high fat versus high carbohydrate diet.

The study had mice split into three groups- a regular rodent high carbohydrate diet, a low carbohydrate/high fat diet and a ketogenic diet, which had 89-90 percent of total calorie intake. According to this study, the ketogenic diet increased memory and motor function (strength and coordination) and prevented an increase in age-related markers of inflammation. It also indicated an impact on the incidence of tumours as well.

“In humans, that would be seven to 10 years. But equally important, those mice retained quality of health in later life,” said nutritionist Jon Ramsey from the University of California – Davis. “The older mice on the ketogenic diet had a better memory than the younger mice, which is really remarkable,” the researchers said.

According to researchers, this diet ramps up the production of the ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate acid (BHB) that helps improve memory and increases lifespan. “This study indicates that a ketogenic diet can have a major impact on life and health span without major weight loss or restriction of intake. It also opens a new avenue for possible dietary interventions that have an impact on ageing,” Ramsey said.

As per the researchers, the ultimate aim was to find out a way for humans to attain benefits from BHBs without having to go on a restrictive diet.
 
With Inputs from IANS