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05.04.2017

Delay aging without strict diet: supplement with ketones

When you fast, and also if you follow a strict low-carb slimming diet, and the body goes over to using fat as its main fuel, the concentration of ketones [structural formulas shown below] in the blood rises. One of these is beta-HG [also known as BHB]. The health-enhancing effects of fasting are partly due to the increase of BHB in the bloodstream, biologists at the University of South Florida suspect. In experiments with microscopic lab creatures they discovered that administering BHB extended life expectancy without rigorous dieting - and also that it may delay age-related diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Study
The researchers experimented with various types - or strains as scientists prefer to call them - of the minuscule nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. There's a photo of one below. Caenorhabditis elegans only lives for a few days and is a favourite lab animal for fundamental research on longevity.

Results
The figure below shows that the nematodes lived longer the more BHB they'd been given. The highest concentration of BHB extended life expectancy by 20 percent.

Nematodes die at a high temperature. BHB inhibited that process, as the figure above shows.

The researchers discovered that BHB supplementation has more or less the same effect at molecular level as calorie restriction does. Like calorie restriction, BHB activated pathways such as DAF-16/FOXO and SKN-1/Nrf, and longevity enzymes such as SIR-2.1 and the AMPK-sub unit AAK-2. [AMPK consists of three proteins or sub units.] BHB administration had no effect if the researchers blocked the pathways or the enzymes, nor did it add anything if the nematodes were already on a drastically reduced calorie intake.

BHB inhibited the accumulation of the protein alpha-synuclein in NL5901 nematodes. Alpha-synuclein is found mainly in the brain, and in people suffering from Parkinson's disease the concentration in the brain increases. That would suggest that BHB can inhibit the development of Parkinson's disease.

In another experiment the researchers gave the nematodes the toxic protein amyloid-beta [Abeta]. The amount of this protein in the brain accumulates in people with Alzheimer's. The nematodes stopped moving several hours after being given the protein. The amount of time this took was longer when the nematodes were also given BHB. That would suggest that BHB can inhibit the development of Alzheimer's.

Conclusion
"Beta-HB treatment extended lifespan and protected against metabolic, proteotoxic and thermal stress in Caenorhabditis elegans," the researchers summarised. "Our data support the hypothesis that beta-HB is a dietary restriction mimetic and that beta-HB treatment will likely be useful in the treatment of many human aging-associated disorders."

Source:
Aging (Albany NY). 2014 Aug;6(8):621-44.

More:
GHB's little brother makes low-carb diet enjoyable 13.08.2009

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Longevity

Training and a bit of a diet together keep ageing muscles strong If you're planning on living to a hundred and you want to retain your muscle mass without using hormone therapy, then according to the scientific literature, there's only one way that may work: by going continuously hungry. Scientists have found an alternative way which makes life a lot pleasanter.	How a low-carb diet helps against aging If humans resemble the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, they might live to a ripe old age by avoiding carbohydrates as much as possible.	Delay aging by eating fewer meals per day If you want to live longer, or reduce your chance of developing chronic diseases such as type-2 diabetes, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, then reduce the number of meals you eat daily.