The Role of the Gut Microbiota on the Beneficial Effects of Ketogenic Diets.

Ilias Attaye,Moritz V Warmbrunn,Max Nieuwdorp,Sophie Van Oppenraaij

doi:10.3390/nu14010191

Ilias Attaye, Moritz V Warmbrunn + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14010191

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Abstract

The ketogenic diet is a dietary regime focused on strongly reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing fat intake; leading to a state of ketosis. The ketogenic diet has gained much popularity over the years due to its effects on promoting weight loss, increasing insulin sensitivity and reducing dyslipidaemia. All these factors play a crucial role in the development of cardio-metabolic diseases; one of the greatest health challenges of the time. Moreover, the ketogenic diet has been known to reduce (epileptic) seizure activity. It is still poorly understood how following a ketogenic diet can lead to these beneficial metabolic effects. However, in recent years it has become clear that diet and the gut microbiota interact with one another and thus influence host health. The goal of this review is to summarize the current state of knowledge regarding the beneficial metabolic effects of the ketogenic diet and the role of gut microbiota in these effects.

Highlights

The Role of the Gut Microbiota on theThe ketogenic diet is a form of diet focusing on reduced intake of carbohydrates and increased intake of fat leading to a state of ketosis [1]
The finding that a ketogenic diet can increase A. muciniphila is in contrast with a previous study, which shows that following a very low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) resulted in lower alpha diversity and
Multiple studies show that a ketogenic diet is effective in reducing seizures in patients that suffer from refractory epilepsy [16,21]

Summary

Introduction

The ketogenic diet is a form of diet focusing on reduced intake of carbohydrates and increased intake of fat leading to a state of ketosis [1]. There are variations of this diet in which this fat to protein and carbohydrate ratio differs (e.g., modified Atkins diet, low glycemic index treatment, and medium-chain triglyceride diet) [2,3] Another variation is the very low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) has been recently proposed as an appealing nutritional strategy for obesity management. In diabetes, increased animal protein, but not plant protein intake has been associated with insulin resistance and increased morbidity [8,9]. Mechanisms of these results are largely unknown. The exact mechanism by which a ketogenic diet promotes its beneficial metabolic effects regarding seizure activity, obesity, dyslipidaemia, and insulin resistance remains unknown, but recent evidence points towards a crucial role for the gut microbiota [16–18]. Throughout this review we describe the dietary composition of the studied diets by defining the fat: protein + carbohydrate ratio

The Gut Microbiota and Ketogenic Diet

Summary and and Future

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Conclusions

Findings

Diabetes