Fiber as part of a well-formulated ketogenic diet | Dominic D'Agostino
Get the full length version of this episode as a podcast.
This episode will make a great companion for a long drive.
The Omega-3 Supplementation Guide
A blueprint for choosing the right fish oil supplement — filled with specific recommendations, guidelines for interpreting testing data, and dosage protocols.
Typically a ketogenic diet is low in carbohydrates; however, there can be benefits to incorporating fiber. The gut microbiome uses fiber to generate short-chain fatty acids that regulate the immune system. Fiber can also slow protein digestion, and vegetables can serve as a carrier for the extra fat that is consumed in the diet. In this clip, Dr. Dominic D'Agostino describes the benefits of including fiber from diverse vegetable sources, both cooked and raw, within a ketogenic diet plan.
Dom: Your gut microbiome has an appetite for whatever you're feeding it and that probably influences profoundly your own appetite. So I think if you have sugar-eating gut microbes, you're probably going to be craving sugar if you go a few hours without having sugar. And I think I would be very interested in not only, like, shifting someone from a high-carb diet to two or three different types of ketogenic diets, I think, would be important with specific fatty acid compositions and fiber compositions. And I think it's the diversity of the fiber that's incorporated.
Rhonda: Diversity, yes, it is very important. There have been there's lots of different types of bacteria and they're eating different precursors to generate a lot of these other signaling molecules, short chain fatty acids and things like that that are regulating your immune system, that are regulating literally hematopoiesis, Tregs, natural killer cells lots of...and this is a whole blooming field of research. That's also another reason I've been a little hesitant to experiment with this because I'm so, fiber is so important for me, fiber from vegetables. You know, I'm not adverse to fiber from fruits, so fiber from fruits, legumes, beans, like, I like to get a lot of fiber in my diet, and so I don't know if that, is that compatible with it?
Dom: I get more fiber on a ketogenic diet. You know, and we're talking about a well-formulated ketogenic diet, as Jeff Volek likes to... And because that is really important because you talk to people that you eat ketogenic diets and it's all over the board. But I think a well-formulated ketogenic diet would have an abundance of fiber sources, everything from green vegetables, of course, but would include a salad, and I think it's really important from a gut microbiome perspective to get in raw vegetables, I think, from what I've known and a half-dozen individuals that I talk to that are, kind of experts in this field. They think that that has a pretty profound effect, and I have always done that and I would say my gut health has not... It may be due to what I eliminated in my diet. I grew up in an Italian family eating a lot of pasta, bread, so they were the staple foods, and I gravitated toward a Paleo diet mid-90s, early 2000s and then the ketogenic diet, and I have never had better gut health than when on a ketogenic diet, but my diet is, like I said, more of a modified Atkins and has a pretty liberal amount of vegetables in it. And I think the benefit to including the vegetables, they're just carriers for the fat and they also slow protein digestion, which helps minimize the insulin spike that you can get from protein and helps keep me in ketosis.
A molecule composed of carboxylic acid with a long hydrocarbon chain that is either saturated or unsaturated. Fatty acids are important components of cell membranes and are key sources of fuel because they yield large quantities of ATP when metabolized. Most cells can use either glucose or fatty acids for this purpose.
The production of red bloods cells, white blood cells, and platelets from hematopoietic stem cells, which occurs in the bone marrow. Also called hematogenesis, or hematopoiesis.
A peptide hormone secreted by the beta cells of the pancreatic islets cells. Insulin maintains normal blood glucose levels by facilitating the uptake of glucose into cells; regulating carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism; and promoting cell division and growth. Insulin resistance, a characteristic of type 2 diabetes, is a condition in which normal insulin levels do not produce a biological response, which can lead to high blood glucose levels.
A diet that causes the body to oxidize fat to produce ketones for energy. A ketogenic diet is low in carbohydrates and high in proteins and fats. For many years, the ketogenic diet has been used in the clinical setting to reduce seizures in children. It is currently being investigated for the treatment of traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, weight loss, and cancer.
The collection of genomes of the microorganisms in a given niche. The human microbiome plays key roles in development, immunity, and nutrition. Microbiome dysfunction is associated with the pathology of several conditions, including obesity, depression, and autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, and fibromyalgia.
A change to the traditional "classic" ketogenic diet to make it less restrictive. One of the biggest differences is it doesn't have the same stringent restrictions on protein intake. It has been used to successfully treat drug-resistant epilepsy in adults.
A diet based mainly on foods presumed to be available to paleolithic humans. It includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, roots, meat, and organ meats while excluding foods such as dairy products, grains, refined sugar, legumes, and other processed foods.
Fatty acids that contain fewer than six carbons in their chemical structure. SCFAs are produced by the gut microbiota during the fermentation of dietary fiber. They provide energy to colonic cells and are crucial to gut health. In addition, SCFAs may play roles in the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome, inflammatory bowel disorders, and certain types of cancer. Some evidence suggests SCFAs can cross the blood-brain barrier to affect brain function. The principal SCFAs produced in the human gut are acetate, propionate, and butyrate.
A molecule that allows cells to perceive and correctly respond to their microenvironment, which enables normal cellular function, tissue repair, immunity, cognition, and more. Hormones and neurotransmitters are examples of signaling molecules. There are many types of signaling molecules, however, including cAMP, nitric oxide, estrogen, norepinephrine, and even reactive oxygen species (ROS).
Member only extras:
Learn more about the advantages of a premium membership by clicking below.
Get email updates with the latest curated healthspan research
Support our work
Every other week premium members receive a special edition newsletter that summarizes all of the latest healthspan research.
Ketosis News
- Time-restricted eating, a ketogenic diet, and exercise improved cognitive function and markers of metabolism in a woman with ApoE4 and Alzheimer's .
- A ketogenic diet and caloric restriction significantly increased cerebral blood flow to the brain and improved cognitive function in young & old mice
- Beta-hydroxybutyrate production from fasting or a ketogenic diet may reduce the production of senescent cells associated with vascular aging
- The ketogenic diet was shown to increase two species of gut bacteria that protected against seizures by increased brain levels of the neurotransmitter
- Ketone salts enhance fat burning but may impair high-intensity exercise performance.
