Ketosis and Alzheimer's: A Metabolic Neuroscience Journey With Dr. Stephen Cunnane

My dad, who was not overweight, didn't have Alzheimer's but he was diagnosed with T2 diabetes in his 70s. He was given Metformin and he thought he was doing fine. However, in 2016, at age 85, he had some serious falls resulting from numbness in one leg. His neurologist informed him that his T2DM was poorly controlled. Dad knew I had recently changed my diet (at that time we called it "LCHF" rather than "keto") and he asked for my help. Dr. Cunnane is so right about older folks not being motivated to change their diet -- but here I was, being asked for advice, so I taught him how to cut carbohydrates and what to eat instead. (Dad: "Can I eat butter?" Me: "You can eat a whole stick of it, if you want.") He did amazingly well for about a year -- until his next annual checkup with is G.P. Recently I found notes from that doctor's visit in 2017. His A1C was 6.0, so they actually advised him to STOP the low-carb diet because his diabetes was "so very well controlled." WTF?! He was still very much in the prediabetic range, even after a year of improvement! Nobody will be surprised to know that, because his doctor said so, he resumed eating rice, ice cream, and his neighbor's homemade break, and his favorite frozen waffles with syrup every morning. And no one will be surprised to hear that his neuropathy and fainting spells resumed. I encouraged him to cut those things out of his diet again, but people in that generation truly believe their doctor knows best. He died recently at age 92 after several hospitalizations and his ultimate death from heart failure. I respected his wishes and let him live his final few years the way he wanted to, but it could have been so much less unpleasant for him. Conventional doctors need to pull their heads out of their a$$es about the benefits of reducing carbohydrates. Research like Dr. Cunnane's should be earth-shattering, but because there's no money to be made from it, it'll continue being ignored.

This is mind blowing research 😅 thank you for making it available. Priceless information. My 88 year old mom has been on 3 tablespoons of MCT oil everyday, clean moderately low carb keto with 14 hours of daily fasting. She recovered so much cognitive function...this interview just made my day!

The real good study will be of us who have been on a ketogenic for years before passing middle age. I lost my mom and my mother-in-law to Alzheimer's so it's an issue for me. My sister was a total boss over my mom's care. She stepped in on my mom's diet as much as she could, being on the keto diet herself. It made an obvious, my mom did much much better than my mother in law. She died in that home a couple months after the lockdown. My mom was a total fast food junkie. My mother in law went extremely low fat during the 80 misinformation and beyond. They had her on statins too. Our standard American diet is killing us in more ways than one.

Dr Scerr. Watching this today and feel like I am a study of 1. Having lost 3 siblings and my mother in past 6 years from dementia, you can imagine my strong desire to not be a family stat. I am almost 80 now. After studying so much YouTube with yourself and other physicians, I lost almost 50 lbs in 3 years on Keto protocol, swim a minimum of 4 hours weekly and start my day everyday with a good tablespoon of MCT C8 that is the best to reach the brain, in my coffee. Things are going well so far and In fact I have put my moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis into remission. Brought CRP down to under 5. Ranges normally 8 to 12. Am a firm believer in keto, MCT 8 and exercise. I think thus far, I am outrunning my family history that is so frightening as you can imagine. Sorry to ramble but wanted to share my experience with the subject of this discussion. Janet Viewer from Canada

I have several generations on my mother's side that have passed away with Alzheimer's. All the kids in my family are currently on keto to help prevent passing this on to us.

"... what risk does that person take for prescribing that treatment..." I don't know, but I can tell you what it looks like going to war with doctors for 12+ years as a caregiver who has used the ketogenic diet with his mother since nearly the begining of her Alzheimer's "diagnosis". A rhino's hide isn't even as thick as my skin is now. I divorced 2 complete medical teams before I final pieced together one that would somewhat listen to me. More importantly, they were the few mainstream doctors within a major metro area that would even work with anyone trying to do this. To be brutally honest, it's standard of care and hubris that are the two most dangerous things inside the walls of our medical-industrial complex (allusion intentended).

Cunnane's work is so important. Can someone get this man the $5,000,000 required to do an MCT study with 300+ in each arm!?

I’ve had hypertension, ibs and depression since I was 16. I’m 66 now and have been in ketosis for a year. I keep between 3 and 5 millimolars. All issues have gone.. no meds now for anything and feel fully alive. It seems to work for me. My A1c was 36( UK) when I started. Now it’s below 28 and falling. The drug companies will hate this.

I,m 77 years old and started using mct 8-10 . Five years ago. I noticed the clarity in my brain change within half an hour. After that i searched the internet and started the ketogenic diet . I lost 25 kilos but after that none more. I,m still 10 kilograms to heavy. I feel so much healther i have been in 20 years!!. For me i stay in ketosis to feel my upper best. I start the week with on Monday eating only lunch and on Tuesday eating only dinner. The rest of the week i eat 18/6 or 20/4. I feel the difference in thinking, when I slip out of keto. I know I can stay clearer in my head by keeping my carbs low!

This 78 year old woman is doing great on a ketogenic way of eating!!! Family history of Alzheimer’s disease so I am very motivated.

The reason to not let go of SAD. Carbs/sugar is addictive. You ever tried to get an addict to change? I've been keto over 2 years. Always learning

My Mom was a big fan of a low fat diet. I'd say she ate that way for 20-30 years, and later in her life she died of the consequences of dementia. This video is important information, I think.

In medicine it takes a lot of evidence to change the way things are done even if there is no evidence to support the way things are currently done.

Please note, Dr. Cunnane is a professor at the University of Sherbrooke, not Ohio State. We apologize for the error in the video

Great podcast. Most people are not active in seeking out health solutions that come from nature- sunshine, real food, excercise and good sleep.

Epilepsy, thank you for talking about that. It has absolutely helped me! Thank you Bret for talking about therapeutic ketosis. It is not an option it is a therapy!

Hello Dr. Bret Scher glad c u back and concentrating on keto/carnivore. We need more people like you, Dr. Shawn Baker, Dr. Kay,,,,and few more to study this topic more and educate more common people. As a country we r getting destroyed. It is easy just walk on street in the morning and c how many fat people u c. I have been doing keto/carnivore for last 5 yrs. Lost a lot of weight, no CPAP machine. Work almost 12 hrs a day at age of 64, knee pain gone,,,,,. Hardly eat any vegetables, i eat, meat, fat, zero carb cheese, eggs. Please continue with ur good work. Thank you x 100

My mother is now full time now with me....was bad bad into de.etia etc...I am ketovore and she has changed diet...omgoodness has improved markedly

Thanks for having Prof. Stephen Cunnane. His scientific work is very influential. I've read a number of his studies and studies where he collaborated on and found them enlightening.

such an interesting interview - thank you!