Flax Oil & increased blood ketones?

(Ethan) #21

It can also use glutamine

(Bob M) #22

Supposedly, PUFAs (flaxseed) cause more ketones. Not sure how.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #23

One of the possible mechanisms of action of KD could be related to omega-3 PUFAs which have been reported to be elevated in the plasma of children on the KD [3]. In vivo studies suggest that this is possibly due to a selective mobilization of PUFAs from adipose tissue or liver, with subsequent incorporation into the brain [4].

PS: An actual clinical trial, albeit with a small number of subjects (50). But the results look very interesting to say the least. If I may interpret simplistically: reduced seizures resulted from increased ketones getting to the brain. Increased ketones resulted from adding PUFA to the KD, main source being flaxseed oil. Or maybe I missed something.

(Vic) #24

Iā€™m avoiding all seed oils.

Did I miss something? Or are they still bad?

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #25

I think thatā€™s what weā€™re about to determine. Or at least try to determine and see some evidence.

(Ethan) #26

Iā€™m with you on this. I think they could be beneficial for somebody trying to keep a very high level of ketones it seems. If you are using this diet to treat epilepsy, you have different requirements.

(Marti ) #27

Yes :slight_smile:

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #28

The issues are we really donā€™t know what is the ā€˜optimalā€™ level of ketone concentration for nutritional ketosis only what concentrations are optimal for some diseases. Nor do we understand very well how the concentration changes over time and being in consistent ketosis for months/years. Or being ā€˜fat adaptedā€™ and utilizing more fatty acids directly rather than converted to ketones.

I think if one has a fairly healthy metabolism that ketones will take care of themselves and you donā€™t have to worry about it. Theyā€™ll be what you need to retain health, as long as you continue to eat a well formulated keto diet.

But how exactly do you know if youā€™re one of the fortunate ones with a ā€˜healthy metabolismā€™? Absence of serious metabolic issues is certainly one clue. But what about more subtle problems? For example, if you consume exogenous ketones and you then feel more alert, more mentally acute, does that mean your brain needs more ketones because thereā€™s something wrong and it needs more energy to resolve it? And if you gave it more ketones purposely for a while (months/years?) would that indicate something had been ā€˜healedā€™? Just how acutely ā€˜alert/clearā€™ is a ā€˜normal brainā€™. I donā€™t know.

I find it very interesting that PUFAs, or at least PUFAs from flaxseed oil, seem to increase ketone concentration similarly to ingesting exogenous ketones. There may be other issues to be discovered, of course. Still, interesting.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #29

One thing Iā€™ve read is that it is possible for glucose metabolism in the brain to be damaged, or to be inhibited by insulin resistance, and yet for ketone metabolism to continue to work just fine. This is possible because the metabolic pathways are different.