Is Keto Right For You?
Have you ever wondered if a ketogenic diet is right for you? Have you tried it yet find that you struggle with it? If so, a particular gene variant could be the reason. However, there are some nutritional "cheat codes" that might help you make keto work better for you.
LIke everybody else, you have been inundated with messaging about keto and carbohydrates as if the keto diet is a panacea and carbohydrates are universally dangerous, but very little (or none) of this keto communication takes into account your bio-individuality.
Yet when it comes to ketogenic diets, taking bio-individuality into account is quite important for several reasons. Perhaps the most important reason is that eating a ketogenic diet may have very different effects on physiological stress and the aging process for different people.
Your Genes, Keto, and Aging
Although there are some studies that suggest that eating a ketogenic diet can improve markers of aging, potentially showing an anti-aging benefit, none of these studies controlled for genetic differences affecting the subjects' ability to produce ketone bodies. These studies did not compare results between people that are genetically predisposed to thrive on a keto diet and those that are not.
Several genes affect your ability to make ketone bodies and glucose when your carbohydrate intake is low. Some people do this well and gain benefits from restricting carbohydrates, while people that do not easily make ketones can generate a chronically elevated stress response to carbohydrate restriction, and feel lousy.
Research on DNA methylation "aging clocks" suggests that elevated stress hormone activity is one of the main contributors to epigenetic aging. So in people that struggle to make ketones when carbohydrates are restriced (i.e. in a ketogenic diet), trying to go keto might speed up their aging process.
One of the genes affecting your ability to produce ketones when carbohydrates are restricted is PPAR-alpha / PPARA. The PPAR-alpha / PPARA gene (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha) plays a major role in fatty acid metabolism, apolipoproteins, HDL, LDL and ketone body production during fasting.
Some PPAR-alpha / PPARA gene variants may cause a lower production of ketone bodies during fasting. And its function may be impaired by saturated fat intake.
Many people with variants in this gene can often experience rapid drops in blood sugar, have issues with high saturated fat intake (except coconut oil), and may do best on consistent feedings with three meals and multiple snacks throughout the day.
So if you ever wondered whether it would be healthier for you to eat only one or two meals a day, or to eat three meals a day without snacking, or to eat three meals with snacks in between, your version of the PPARA gene may hold the answer.
The PPARA Gene "Cheat Codes"
Fortunately, this gene has some "cheat codes".
PPAR-alpha / PPARA can be stimulated by omega-3 fatty acids and healthy omega-6 fatty acids. This is why some people guzzle fish oil while on a ketogenic diet. They are trying to goose their PPAR-alpha with omega-3 fatty acids in order to produce ketones.
PPAR-alpha / PPARA is also stimulated by astaxanthin (wild salmon, crab, shrimp, krill), pterostilbene (blueberries, mulberries, cranberries, raw almonds), zinc (high in seafood, red meat, pumpkin seeds), tomatoes, Lion’s Mane mushroom, fermented soy, and Gynostemma tea.
The Mediterranean Diet, Ketosis, and Cancer
Variants in this gene may have evolved in coastal cultures that adapted to a more consistent food supply that did not require frequently going into ketosis, as well as a higher intake of omega-3 fats and foods common in temperate climates. Think "Mediterranean Diet".
Stimulating PPAR-alpha / PPARA has been shown to inhibit tumor growth and angiogenesis (new blood vessels for cancer cells). Although fasting and ketosis are ways to stimulate PPAR-alpha / PPARA and have therefore been linked with reducing cancer risk, that approach doesn't work so well in people with certain variants of this this gene,
But perhaps the "cheat codes" mentioned above that enable people with these variants of PPARA to stimulate PPARA without fasting were Nature's response to the consistent food intake and short fasting times prevalent in food-abundant climates (e.g. Mediterannean climates). Perhaps Nature evolved these "cheat codes" as another way for these people to prevent cancer growth (i.e. enabling the PPAR-alpha / PPARA gene to be stimulated by the foods prevalent in a coastal, Mediterannean-style diet).
Because people with these variants in PPAR-alpha / PPARA do not as easily go into ketosis with restriction of calories or carbohydrates, fasting and ketogenic diets may be too much of a stressor for them and might actually age them faster.
For these folks, shifting to lower fasting times and consistent intake of foods that stimulate the PPAR-alpha / PPARA gene may be a better approach to optimal health for these people than the ketogenic diet.
Then again, strategic use of the Mediterranean cheat codes could help people with these gene variants to foray, at least temporarily, into keto territory.
Personalizing Your Diet
Considerations like these are part of the process of personalizing your diet in accordance with your bio-individuality. This is something we do in the second of the nine steps of the Bio-Individual Blueprint system.
If you would like to learn how to maximize your energy, resolve many types of wellness issues, and even become biologically younger, download the Bio-Individual Blueprint Roadmap, watch the walkthrough video, and then if you would like to have a conversation, book a time to meet with me to ...
- Go over your situation
- Review what you've done so far
- Identify some potential next steps for you to take
- Discuss whether the Bio-Individual Blueprint system might be a fit for you