THE ESSENTIAL
- Researchers have found that the ketogenic diet may relieve symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) by modulating immunity.
- In mice, this diet helped reduce the activity of immune cells involved in MS. The rodents showed less inflammation and less severe signs of disease.
- If these results are confirmed in humans, βHB and Lactobacillus murinus supplements could one day become an alternative to strict diets, offering hope for patients with autoimmune diseases.
A sign of hope for people suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases. According to a recent study from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), the ketogenic diet could calm an overactive immune system and thus reduce the symptoms of the disease – at least in mice. This discovery opens the way to potential treatments based on dietary supplements, rather than strict diets.
The ketogenic diet soothes the immune system
The ketogenic diet, or “keto”, is distinguished by a severe restriction of carbohydrates, such as cereals, pasta, legumes and even fruits, while allowing a high consumption of fats (oils, cream, etc.). Without carbohydrates, the glucose stores melt quickly, the body will draw on fats to produce ketone bodies which will be used in its place to provide it with energy. However, one of these ketone bodies, β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB), appears to have a significant impact on the immune system.
As part of the study, published in the journal Cell Reportsmice with symptoms similar to MS saw their condition improve after being subjected to a diet rich in βHB: they had less inflammation and less severe signs of disease. “What’s really exciting is that we were able to protect these mice from inflammation by simply giving them a diet enriched with certain compounds”specifies Dr. Peter Turnbaugh, microbiome specialist, in a press release.
The researcher points out that βHB seems to act in collaboration with a particular intestinal microbe, called Lactobacillus murinus. The latter produces a metabolite called indole lactic acid (ILA) which limits the activation of certain immune cells, T helper cells 17, often involved in autoimmune diseases.
Food supplements for MS patients?
The study remains to be confirmed in humans but the results are promising. Indeed, when mice incapable of producing βHB naturally received supplements of this ketone body, their inflammation decreased. This could indicate that βHB supplements and probiotics based on Lactobacillus murinus could one day become an alternative to the complete ketogenic diet for people with MS or other autoimmune diseases.
“The big question is how well these effects will translate to real patients. But these results offer hope for a more tolerable alternative to the ketogenic diet.” Indeed, if clinical trials confirm this path, simple supplementation could, in the long term, offer the benefits of the keto diet without the constraints that accompany it, namely the sacrifices imposed by a very strict diet.
