Ketogenic Diet Case Study

Register to read the introduction… The researchers used two groups of rats: one fed the ketogenic diet regimen and the other a control diet. They found that chronic ketosis resulted in the increased production of mitochondrial proteins as well as proteins associated with oxidative phosphorylation, the cells primary mechanism for producing ATP. The researchers used electron micrographs from the dentate-hilar region of the hippocampus, and visually analyzed the micrographs from ketogenic diet fed rats and control diet fed rats. Figure 1.A. shows the density mitochondrial profiles in rats fed a control diet (left) and rats fed the ketogenic diet (right). Graph 1.B. compares the number of mitochondrial profiles per 100 micrometers squared in the denate gyrus of ketogenic diet fed rats versus the mitochondrial profiles in control diet fed rats. They found that rats fed the ketogenic diet had significantly more mitochondrial profiles (46% more) than control diet fed rats3. The increased production of mitochondria, in conjunction with an increase in proteins associated with the process of cellular respiration, allowed for hippocampal cells to produce more …show more content…
However, I believe the ketogenic diet has so much potential and promise in the future of medicine for the reason that it does not come in a pill or a liquid medicine bottle. There is no long list of side effects, risk of overdose, or prescription needed with the ketogenic diet. We have become so attached to the idea that any sort of sickness of disease can be cured with a drug, when this is clearly not the case. I propose that the future of medicine is one with fewer drugs; one where people realize that disease is treated with a change of lifestyle, and not a change in prescription. Perhaps the next frontiers in medical treatments are those we have known about for decades or centuries, but just have not understood. As I stated previously, the ketogenic diet is no miracle treatment. Though, I have hunch it will be seen as a viable treatment for more and more diseases in the coming years, as physicians and patients alike will begin to appreciate the power of food in …show more content…
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