New Interview Series - Ketones and Alzheimer's

I had the opportunity to give an interview for Scott Peters of iHealth Tube Video while at a conference where I was speaking. Here are links to the various segments:

#1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFYLtFglXHg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqcxVbVTuXg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dfux-5Z4COo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DfZnS4hYBs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkkY4NH8SiU

#6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKshbKPB2gM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSIWqXBh-cA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5npwXlT0ccc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snCIzrzO7_4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAnWX1DQ5-g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0zKamdNaek

#12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkDB6UFnI_0

New Important Article on Ketone Ester from Dr. Richard Veech NIH

A groundbreaking research study of a ketone ester in an Alzheimer's mouse model was released for publication January 4, 2012 in Neurobiology of Aging by Yoshira Kashiwaya, M.D. and others in the laboratory of Dr. Richard L. Veech at the NIH in Rockville, Maryland. This study showed that, compared to animals fed a normal control diet, the Alzheimer's model mice who were fed the ketone ester (D-beta-hydroxybutyrate-(R)-1,3-butanediol) had significantly less amyloid and tau protein that form the plaques and tangles in the Alzheimer's brain, and the animals showed reduced anxiety, and improved learning and memory compared to the mice fed the control diet.

The Alzheimer brain in people becomes resistant to insulin beginning at least ten to twenty years before symptoms appear and this affects the ability of the brain cells to use glucose causing them to malfunction and die. It was discovered in the late 1960's in the laboratory of George Cahill, M.D. (now deceased) that the brain easily switches over to using ketone bodies as an alternative fuel during starvation when glucose supplies are used up. This new research is the culmination of decades of research that followed, and, for the first time, shows that ketones could lessen the changes that occur in the brain and also improve cognitive function in this disease. In addition to acting as an alternative fuel, ketones mimic some of the effects of insulin and are also anti-inflammatory. Inflammation is another key feature affecting the Alzheimer's brain.

Toxicity studies have already been conducted of the ketone ester in people showing there are no adverse effects and it has been approved by the FDA as "Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS)". Funding is now urgently needed to mass produce this ketone ester and conduct human clinical trials.

A copy of the entire article may be obtained on my website at the top of the first page www.coconutketones.com.

The 700 Club in the USA and the Daily Mail in London

The 700 Club aired a wonderful follow-up story today about coconut oil and Alzheimer's but this time featuring a man with Parkinson's and another man with ALS (Lou Gehrig's) who have also seen improvement with coconut oil.

Coincidentally, the Daily Mail in London is publishing a story by reporter Jerome Byrne on the subject of Alzheimer's disease and coconut oil on January 8, 2013.  This article will feature Kal Parmar a filmmaker whose father responded to coconut oil rather dramatically.  Mr. Parmar has volunteered to help others in the UK who want further information (kparmar81@gmail.com).

Information about how to use coconut oil is in Diet Guidelines that can be printed from my website at www.coconutketones.com. There are many other materials that can also be printed out there.



The 700 Club story from Jan 7, 2013

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2013/January/Alzheimers-Doctors-Taking-Note-of-Coconut-Oil-/

Daily Mail Article:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2258665/Alzeimers-Can-coconut-oil-ease-Families-whove-given-loved-ones-swear-it.html

Ketogenic Diet for Cancer - Clinical Trial

The University of Pittsburgh will be conducting a clinical trial of the ketogenic diet to treat cancer.  Here is a link with more information about the trial.

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01716468?term=NCT01716468&rank=1
The concept here is that cancer cells use glucose or the amino acid glutamine as their source of energy but cannot use ketones.  On a ketogenic diet with caloric restriction, there is very little glucose for the cancer cells to feed off of and they die, causing the tumor to shrink.  This could allow for more easily removing the tumor by surgery, or weaken it so that it is more susceptible to chemotherapy, for example.  Small metastases could outright die.

Normal cells can use glucose or ketones as fuel and so, while cancer cells are deprived of their energy source with the ketogenic diet, normal cells can readily switch over to using ketones and are not affected.

This concept is discussed in detail in the book Cancer as a Metabolic Disease by Dr. Thomas Seyfried of Boston College, who has done extensive work studying this in glioblastoma.  Animal studies conducted at University of South Florida by Dr. Dominic D'Agostino and others have shown tremendous promise.  They have been looking at various combinations of ketogenic diet with other treatments, such as ketone esters and 1,3 - butanediol to raise ketone levels, other agents to lower blood sugar, and also use of hyperbaric oxygen.  The results with shrinking cancerous tumors in mice have been quite dramatic for several of these combinations.  A number of cancer patients are now trying this treatment with success as well.

This treatment was featured on The 700 Club recently. The video can be seen here:

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/healthscience/2012/december/starving-cancer-ketogenic-diet-a-key-to-recovery/

The 700 Club

The 700 club will air a follow up story on coconut oil and neurodegenerative diseases on Monday, January 7, 2013.

The 700 Club - Upcoming Shows on Coconut Oil, Ketogenic Diets and Diseases

On Thursday morning, November 29, 2012, The 700 Club on CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) will begin a series of three stories from health reporter Lorie Johnson that relate to the use of ketones as an alternative fuel to treat disease.  The original story on The 700 Club can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZOR-Qd3QSg.

The first story will feature Dr. Vince Tedone, a retired orthopedic surgeon, and his daughter Deanna in Tampa, Florida, USA who have developed what he calls "The Deanna Protocol" for ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).  His daughter, Deanna, who is in her mid thirties has responded well (improvement and then minimal deterioration over a year) to taking an over the counter supplement called alpha-ketoglutyrate, 18 to 20 grams per day.  They are also massaging her with coconut oil and she is taking some coconut oil at present.  Alpha-ketoglutyrate is several metabolic steps down the pathway in the Kreb's cycle from where ketones enter the cycle.  Another man with ALS who has responded very well is also featured in this story.  Dr. Tedone has a website www.winningthefight.net where more information can be found about The Deanna Protocol.

The second story will feature Dr. Dominic D'Agostino, a researcher at University of South Florida in Tampa who is working with Dr. Tom Seyfried of Boston College to study the use of ketogenic diets, ketone esters alone and in combination with hyperbaric oxygen, and other substances that lower blood sugar to treat cancers (he also is involved with studies of ketones and Alzheimer's, ALS, wound healing, oxygen toxicity and epilepsy).  The concept here is that nearly all cancers require glucose, or the amino acid glutamine to make glucose, to survive and cannot use ketones, however normal cells can use ketones.  Potentially, if a person undertakes a strict ketogenic diet and calories are also restricted to reduce the blood sugar as much as possible, the tumor will shrink over a matter of weeks and metastases may outright die, while the brain and other normal tissues survive.   A large tumor, therefore, could become smaller and more amenable to surgery. This dietary approach can be used in conjunction with other treatments and can be enhanced by starting with a period of fasting (water is still consumed to avoid dehydration, and other supplements can be taken to ensure adwquate electrolytes, minerals and vitamins, for example, are provided).  They have had considerable success with animals and some people have now tested this strategy with success.  Hopefully, more organized studies will follow quickly.

The third story will be a follow-up to our story on coconut oil and Alzheimer's that aired on The 700 Club on January 5, 2012.  This story will feature Butch Machlan, a man with familial ALS (Lou Gehrig's) who has been stable for three years taking 9 tablespoons per day of coconut oil and magnesium chloride, and will also feature a man from Connecticut with Parkinson's who has had considerable improvement since shortly after the first story aired, taking a mixture of coconut oil and MCT oil (new product coming out Fuel for Thought from www.cognatenutritionals.com).


I am thrilled that Lorie Johnson and the Reverend Pat Robertson of The 700 Club have picked up the gauntlet to help spread this important message about ketones.

When I have specific dates for the second and third stories, I will add them to this post.

Story on Ketone Ester in UK Daily Mail

Here is a story that ran November 26, 2012 in the Daily Mail, a UK newspaper.  This is about the same ketone ester developed by Dr. Richard Veech at the NIH in the USA - he and Dr. Kieran Clarke are associates in developing and testing this ketone ester.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2238842/Could-elixir-hold-key-weight-loss-Experts-hope-itll-treat-diabetes-epilepsy-Alzheimers.html