Abstract
Central Nervous System Oxygen Toxicity (CNS-OT) is one of the most harmful effects of Enriched Air Nitrox (EAN) diving. Protective factors of the Ketogenic Diet (KD) are antioxidant activity, the prevention of mitochondrial damage and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. We aimed to investigate if a short-term KD may reduce oxidative stress and inflammation during an hyperoxic dive. Samples from six overweight divers (mean ± SD, age: 55.2 ± 4.96 years; BMI: 26.7 ± 0.86 kg/m2) were obtained a) before and after a dive breathing Enriched Air Nitrox and performing 20-minute mild underwater exercise, b) after a dive (same conditions) performed after 7 days of KD. We measured urinary 8-isoprostane and 8-OH-2-deoxyguanosine and plasmatic IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α levels. The KD was successful in causing weight loss (3.20 ± 1.31 Kgs, p < 0.01) and in limiting lipid peroxidation (3.63 ± 1.16 vs. 1.11 ± 0.22; p < 0.01) and inflammatory response (IL-1β = 105.7 ± 25.52 vs. 57.03 ± 16.32, p < 0.05; IL-6 = 28.91 ± 4.351 vs. 14.08 ± 1.74, p < 0.001; TNF-α = 78.01 ± 7.69 vs. 64.68 ± 14.56, p < 0.05). A short-term KD seems to be effective in weight loss, in decreasing inflammation and protective towards lipid peroxidation during hyperoxic diving.
Highlights
Central Nervous System Oxygen Toxicity (CNS-OT) is one of the most harmful effects of Enriched Air Nitrox (EAN) diving and it is related to oxidative stress and inflammation[1,2]
The Ketogenic Diet (KD) is a nutritional approach where carbohydrate is limited to 20–30 grams per day or, in general, less than 5% of total daily calories
There were no apparent aftermaths deriving from implementation of KD
Summary
Central Nervous System Oxygen Toxicity (CNS-OT) is one of the most harmful effects of Enriched Air Nitrox (EAN) diving and it is related to oxidative stress and inflammation[1,2]. Scuba diving is a highly demanding physical activity due to the weight of diving equipment, the increased resistance to movement and the extreme environmental condition[12,13] It has been reported by Perovic et al, that cold temperature, hyperoxia and the physical activity lead to an increased oxidative stress[14]. One advantage of the KD is a reduction of potential side effects and impaired physical and cognitive performance associated with AEDs. The first experiment on human subjects undertaken by Valadao et al tested the KD in high partial pressure oxygen diving, obtained good outcomes in terms of tolerance of the KD and no seizures or sign of CNS-OT during immersions[31]. The aim of our pilot study was to evaluate if a ketogenic state induced by a specific dietary regime, may help divers to balance the negative effects of an excessive oxidative stress damage and inflammatory status during diving activities
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