Keto diet improves health span and memory in new trial
18th June 2024

The keto diet, arguably one of the most popular diets, has scientifically shown that it impacts memory in mice. However, new research from the University of Chile helps explain why and how the diet benefits brain health and ageing.

A keto diet follows the principles of eating high-fat, low-carbohydrate foods. It is widely debated and has a keen following. Previously research has shown its impact on memory in mice. Still, during further investigations, a team of scientists identified a molecular signalling pathway that improves synapse function and explains the diet’s benefit on brain health and ageing.

“Our work indicates that the effects of the ketogenic diet benefit brain function broadly, and we provide a mechanism of action that offers a strategy for the maintenance and improvement of this function during ageing,” said the study’s senior author, Christian González-Billault, PhD, who is a professor at the Universidad de Chile and director of their Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism, and adjunct professor at the Buck Institute.