The keto diet can age the organs

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A ketogenic diet increases the number of senescent and damaged cells in mice, especially in the rodents’ hearts and kidneys, a new study suggests. These abnormalities can increase the risk of heart disease and cancer, according to the researchers behind the study.

Given their findings, researchers have encouraged people following the ketogenic diet to take intermittent breaks.

The results were published in Advances in science.

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Millions around the world use the ketogenic diet to help lose weight and manage health conditions.

The diet excludes common high-carbohydrate foods such as bread, pasta and cereals and promotes high-fat foods such as cheese. In the medical world, it is sometimes recommended for people with epilepsy, as brain neurons fed by ketones (a byproduct of fat) seem to fire less than neurons fed by glucose (a byproduct of carbohydrates).

But over a long period of time, following the diet can lead to complications such as kidney stones and, according to the new study, to accelerated tissue aging.

Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio placed mice of various ages (16, 24 and 52 weeks) on a ketogenic diet for 3 weeks.

The caloric content of the mice’s keto pellets consisted of 90.5% calories from fat, 9.2% from protein, and 0.3% from carbohydrates. Mice fed the control diet consumed 17% of their calories from fat, 25% from protein, and 58% from carbohydrates.

After the rodents were euthanized, the researchers studied tissue samples taken from their hearts, kidneys, livers and brains. Significant levels of cellular senescence were observed in samples taken from mice fed a ketogenic diet.

However, prolonged cellular aging can be harmful and actually contribute to the development of cancer and age-related diseases.

By injecting mice with various enzyme inhibitors, the researchers determined that this cellular aging process is mediated through the enzyme adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the inactivation of murine double minute protein 2 (MDM2) by the enzyme caspase-2, leading thus. in p53 protein accumulation.

The researchers were able to reverse this increase in p53, however, by returning the mice to their regular diet for a week.

Therefore, the team hypothesizes that people living off the ketogenic diet may also benefit from intermittent breaks in their routine.

To put that in perspective, 13 million Americans use a ketogenic diet, and we’re saying you need to take a break from this diet or there could be long-term consequences, said David Gius, an assistant dean of research and professor at UT Health. San Antonio Department of Radiation Oncology.

Since cellular senescence has been implicated in the pathology of organ disease, our results have important clinical implications for understanding the use of a ketogenic diet, added Gius. As with other nutritional interventions, you should take a keto break.

This article is a reworking of a press release issued by UT Health San Antonio. The material has been edited for length and content.

Reference: Wei SJ, Schell JR, Chocron ES, et al. Ketogenic diet induces p53-dependent cellular senescence in multiple organs. Sci Adv. 2024. doi:10.1126/sciadv.ado1463