The Benefits of Ketones

review by Jule Klotter

by Dr. Bruce Fife

Piccadilly Books Ltd., PO Box 25203, Colorado Springs, CO 80936

© 2014; softcover; $16.95; 316 pp.

by Dr. Bruce Fife.

Piccadilly Books Ltd., PO Box 25203, Colorado Springs, CO 80936

© 2012; softcover; $17.95; 302 pp.

A ketogenic diet, which consists of high amounts of fats, moderate protein, and minimal carbohydrates, has been used since the 1920s to treat epilepsy. The diet forces the body to use ketones (made from fatty acids) for fuel instead of glucose. Ketones are “superfuel for the brain,” according to NIH researcher Richard Veech, MD. In addition, ketones enhance heart function and reduce inflammation. Interest in the ketogenic diet has surged in recent years. Research and case reports indicate benefits for people with neurodegenerative illness, diabetes, and cancer.

In The Coconut Ketogenic Diet, Bruce Fife, ND, explains how a high-fat ketogenic diet, using primarily coconut oil, promotes excess weight loss and increases metabolism. Eat fat to lose weight? Fat has more calories, gram for gram, than either carbohydrates or protein – which has led many weight-conscious folk to avoid it. Fife explains, in lay-friendly language, that weight loss is not “simply a problem of calorie consumption.” The body needs dietary fat. Every cell membrane consists of fat. The brain is 60% fat and cholesterol. Fats are used to make hormones and prostaglandins that regulate bodily functions. Immune system function depends upon the availability of good fats. Whereas the body uses fat – high calories and all – for multiple purposes, carbohydrate is simply fuel. The body stores excess carbohydrate – particularly low-fiber carbohydrates that break down rapidly – as body fat and glycogen. “Carbohydrate is not an essential nutrient,” says Fife. “If there were no source of carbohydrate in your diet, your body would utilize fat and protein to satisfy all its energy needs.”

In addition to educating readers about fats, carbohydrates, and ketones, Fife provides specific instructions for using the ketogenic diet to lose weight and how to ease into diet changes. He recommends using coconut oil as the main dietary fat because of its high medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) content. MCTs are the easiest fat for the body to convert into ketones. In addition, coconut oil increases metabolism and appears to normalize low thyroid function, making it easier for the body to burn stored fat. Several patients have reported the need to reduce or discontinue thyroid medication after including coconut oil in their diet.

To achieve the desired state of mild ketosis, people who want to lose weight need to eat less than 50 grams from carbohydrates during the day, which means keeping track of carbohydrate calorie consumption. The book includes an extensive list that gives carbohydrate, fat, protein, and calorie content for various foods. In addition to restricting carbohydrates, Fife recommends gradually including 3 tablespoons or more of oil (primarily coconut oil) with each meal. Coconut oil consumption is cut to 1 tablespoon per meal when the weight loss goal is achieved. Fife also recommends a short list of supplements, drinking sufficient water, and regular exercise. The Coconut Ketogenic Diet provides an alternative to the low-fat paradigm for losing weight.

In another book, Stop Autism Now, Fife looks at the many factors that can contribute to autism spectrum disorders and provides prevention and treatment plans. He says, “When the brain is plagued with chronic inflammation, irritation, and immune over-activation, as is seen in all autistic children, brain cells have difficulty processing glucose. The lack of sufficient fuel causes the brain to downshift into a lower rate of performance. Normal growth and development are stifled and learned skills may become lost as the brain’s cells are starved for energy and struggle for survival.” He advocates a ketogenic eating plan that includes coconut oil as the foundation for helping the brain heal. In addition to being brain superfood, ketones activate brain-derived neurotrophic factors, proteins involved in brain cell maintenance, repair, and protection. Like The Coconut Ketogenic Diet, Stop Autism Now is packed with research-based information.

No clinical studies to evaluate the possible benefits of coconut oil and a ketogenic diet for treating children with autism have taken place at this point. Yet the benefits of medium-chain triglycerides MCTs on the brain have been known since the 1960s. Also, decades of use have asserted the effectiveness and safety of a low-carb, high-fat diet to treat epilepsy. Might it help children with autism? I found a recent case report of a child with autism and epilepsy that credits a gluten-free, casein-free ketogenic diet using MCTs (instead of butter and cream for fat) with resolving seizures, obesity, and autistic symptoms. The child’s autism rating scale fell from 49 points (severe autism) to 17 (nonautistic), and her IQ increased 70 points.¹ For parents and doctors looking for options, Stop Autism Now is well-worth reading.

Notes

1. Herbert MR, Buckley JA. Autism and dietary therapy case report & review of the literature. J Child Neurol. August 2013:28(8):975–982.

Quotes:

‘There are many overweight people who are gaining weight on starvation diets. Obviously, there is something very wrong with the calories in versus calories out formula.” Bruce Fife

“Ketones are a superfuel for the brain.” Richard Veech, MD, National Institutes of Health