What is the physiological mechanism of losing weight through ketogenic diet? Is its weight loss effect really better than the traditional low-fat diet? For those who are eager to try ketogenic diet but are afraid to try it rashly, what should they pay attention to and consider the potential risks? In this issue of Taiwan Province column, Associate Professor Lu from the Institute of Biochemical and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Taiwan Province Provincial University was invited to write an article to analyze the real appearance behind the ketogenic diet craze for you.
What is "ketogenic"? Formation mechanism of ketone body
Ketogenic diet is a hot topic recently, and some people use it to lose weight or regulate blood sugar. "Ketogenesis" refers to the production of ketone bodies. When glucose or insulin is lacking in blood, it will lead to the decomposition of triglycerides in adipose tissue and release free fatty acids, which will be transported to the liver through blood. The liver oxidizes a large number of fatty acids, and besides A (acetyl coenzyme A), it also produces ketone bodies, including acetoacetate, β-hydroxybutyrate and acetone. This situation usually occurs in diabetic patients with poor blood sugar control (insulin deficiency or insulin resistance), because the lack of insulin leads to a large number of free fatty acids being sent to the liver for oxidation, which makes the ketone bodies in the blood increase obviously.
Ordinary people do not eat for a long time or deliberately adopt a sugar-free diet, which leads to the lack of glucose to provide energy for the body, and the change of lipids to provide energy for metabolism will also lead to a significant increase in ketone bodies. Ketone produced by liver is transported to other organs through blood for oxidation to produce energy, which is an alternative energy source. Most ketone bodies will be excreted through urine, which will cause blood acidification for a long time, which is called ketoacidosis. In addition, acetone will be excreted when breathing, and the exhaled gas will have the taste of acetone.
Can ketogenic diet inhibit epilepsy and cancer cell growth? More research is needed to clarify.
Ketogenic diet is mainly used in children with intractable epilepsy, which can relieve frequent seizures, but its mechanism is unknown. Because it may cause ketoacidosis, hypoglycemia, gastrointestinal distress, dehydration, lethargy and dyslipidemia, it needs to be implemented under the guidance of doctors and nutritionists. In addition, ketogenic diet is also considered as an adjuvant therapy for cancer treatment, because most cancer cells mainly get energy by decomposing glucose, and some cancer cells have poor ability to metabolize ketone bodies to generate energy. Therefore, reducing blood sugar, insulin and insulin-like growth factors through ketogenic diet can promote the growth of cancer cells and may inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
Some clinical studies have found that ketogenic diet has anti-tumor effect, especially in some brain tumors. This news can be said to ignite a glimmer of hope for many cancer patients, but don't rashly use ketogenic diet to fight cancer without proper treatment! Because cancer is diverse and changeable, and studies have shown that ketogenic diet can promote tumors, the existing evidence is still insufficient to support ketogenic diet as an adjuvant therapy for cancer treatment, and more large-scale clinical studies are expected to clarify doubts in the future.