Source:-newscientist.com<\/p>\n
Ditching carbohydrates and eating lots of fat may give some protection against the flu. Feeding mice the so-called keto diet seems to boost certain immune cells, which may be responsible for the effect.<\/p>\n
The keto diet forces the body to burn fat for energy, which can help with weight loss, and people may get flu-like symptoms known as the \u201cketo flu\u201d as their body adapts to so little carbohydrate. The keto diet has also been linked to improved\u00a0heart health and control of blood sugar in diabetes, but much of the evidence is conflicting.<\/p>\n
Akiko Iwasaki at Yale School of Medicine and colleagues previously found that the keto diet reduced inflammation in mice with gout. Because inflammation is common to both gout and flu, the team thought the keto diet could similarly deal with flu-related inflammation, which can severely damage the lungs.<\/p>\n
To put this theory to the test, the team fed mice infected with influenza A \u2013 the most serious type of the virus \u2013 either a keto or standard diet for a week before infection. After four days, all seven of the mice fed a standard diet succumbed to the infection, compared to only five out of the 10 mice on the keto diet. These\u00a0keto diet mice also didn\u2019t lose as much weight, which is usually a clear sign of flu infection in animals.<\/p>\n
The team found that the keto diet amped up the numbers of a specific type of T cell \u2013 key players in the body\u2019s immune response \u2013 found in the lungs. Boosting these T cells dampened the sensitivity of cells lining the lungs to infection and increased mucus production.<\/p>\n
It seems that this extra mucus is important for protecting the mice, says Iwasaki, because it traps the flu virus to stop it spreading. It still isn\u2019t clear what these T cells do outside of this study though, she says.<\/p>\n
Although mouse and human metabolisms differ, the finding could mean that people get a similar protection from influenza when on the keto diet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already knew of a link between diet and immunity,\u201d says John Tregoning at Imperial College London, who wasn\u2019t involved in the work. Eating foods rich in vitamin C, for example, is known to strengthen our immune system. Switching to a keto diet may help boost the immune system so that it is better programmed to fight off the infection, says Tregoning.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1967,1104,306,1722,2413,139],"class_list":["post-2866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weight-loss-gain","tag-blood-sugar","tag-carbohydrates","tag-fat","tag-flu","tag-health-plan","tag-keto-diet"],"yoast_head":"\n