Doctors, researchers, and other health care practitioners have always known and taught that a low carb, high fat diet is healthier than the opposite for humans, thereby reducing age related disorders and conditions. Up until now the how and why this was true seemed elusive. Scientists now believe that metabolites are heavily involved in this process.
Announced on the front cover of the journal Cell Chemical Biology, a Danish Aarhus University research team discovered some of the complex natures of metabolite interactions. They discovered that detoxification occurs at the same time as cellular fat-metabolism, thereby reducing harmful substances in blood sugar; and thus reducing damage. These toxins could lead to many severe disorders seen in and around old age such as: Alzheimer’s, cancer, and diabetes.
One metabolite in particular, the ketone acetoacetate comes from fat-metabolism; it captures and inhibits methylglyoxal (another metabolite), which comes from sugar metabolism. Methylglyoxal is reactive, that is it’s a cellular toxin, and therefore plays a big part in age-related diseases. Diabetic patients have increased levels of sugar and ketones in their blood and therefore they have an increased amount of the methylglyoxal toxin.
However, these researchers discovered that when acetoacetate and methylglyoxal get together another metabolite – 3-HDD – is formed, which is not toxic. The Danish research team at the Department of Forensic Medicine at Aarhus University were the first to find 3-HHD in blood from fasting diabetic patients who were in a state of ketosis.
When acetoacetate and methylglyoxal get together another metabolite – 3-HDD – is formed, which is not toxic. The Danish research team at the Department of Forensic Medicine at Aarhus University.
Their study began using previous research with mice and monkeys that revealed diets with less sugar and more fat seemed to protect them against age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, and diabetes. There they found that methylglyoxal was toxic and caused these disorders.
They found that ketones can create this damaging sugar metabolite methylglyoxal, and that there is a delicate balance between these two elements and the detoxification thereof. Johannsen was pleased to be able to work with two departments in the process of taking a chemistry reaction and relate to human biological process with potentially major benefits. He believes this is a big leap into the life of ketones and reactive metabolites in biological aging. His work may minimize the toxic effects of methylglyoxal in humans and the complications of diabetes and other diseases in the elderly
