Eat Fat to Live Longer?

Fat to Live Longer

Low-carbohydrate and high-fat diets increase longevity and strength in mice. This concludes a new study that points to a 13% increase in the average life expectancy of rodents with a high-fat diet versus a high carbohydrate.

For a few years now, the battle against extra pounds has had carbohydrates as its worst enemy . Hence, keto or ketogenic diets - low in
hydrated and focused on the consumption of natural fats, with adequate protein intake to reach the optimal ketosis state - have become popular as an alternative to lose weight.

However, little is known about exactly what happens during the ketosis process, ie when carbohydrate intake is so low that the body stops using glucose as the main source of fuel and begins to use ketone bodies to delivering energy to the heart and brain in certain exceptional situations.

This week, the journal  Cell Metabolism  publishes two independent studies in mice - the first one led by experts from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the second by the University of California, Davis (both in the US) - that affirm how a ketogenic diet improves the memory in the older specimens, as well as the possibilities of the animal to live until old age .

The findings reinforce the hope that these types of diets can increase both longevity, physical strength, and time spent in good health. But the authors emphasize that more human trials are needed to confirm this.

For Jon Ramsey, lead author of the American University article, the difference observed is striking: a 13% increase in the median life expectancy of mice on a high-fat diet compared to a high-carbohydrate. "In humans, that would be seven to ten years, but the most important thing is that these mice maintained their quality of life at that time," says the researcher.

"The two studies mutually reinforce each other because they both show the same overall health effect," says Eric Verdin, CEO of BuckInstitute. "While both studies showed improvements in the average life expectancy and in memory tests, in one of them it was also observed that a ketogenic diet preserves physical fitness, such as grip strength, in old age," he adds.

No major differences in humans

The mice in the study were divided into three groups according to their diet: high in carbohydrates, low in carbohydrates and high in fats and ketogenic regime, all with the same amount of calories.

In addition to considerably increasing the half-life of the mice within the study, the ketogenic diet enhanced memory and motor function(strength and coordination) and prevented the event of age-related inflammation markers. It conjointly had a sway on the incidence of tumors.

"Many of the things we've observed are not very different from humans," Ramsey says. "We follow similar changes and we experience a decrease in the general function of the organs during the aging", emphasizes the expert.

"A ketogenic diet can have a major impact on life and health without a significant weight loss or restriction of intake, which opens a new path for possible dietary interventions that have an impact on aging," concludes the scientific.