Australasian Science - May 2016

coma therapy to drive down circulating

glucose in the hope that this would improve

the symptoms of patients with a variety of

mental illnesses. They found that patients

with schizophrenia required much more

insulin to achieve the same effect. This

supports the notion that some sort of

insulin resistance is involved in schizo-

phrenia.

One hundred years later, researchers

using modern analytical tools and diag-

nostic criteria have reported that unmed-

icated patients experiencing their irst

episode of schizophrenia showed resistance

to the effects of insulin. This also suggests

that there might be a problem with glucose

metabolism in and beyond the brain.

This all makes a lot of sense. The brain

is an extremely energy-hungry organ that

uses a disproportionately high amount of

glucose compared with other parts of the

body, such as the heart and the muscles.

Glucose in the brain is converted into

chemical energy in the form of adenosine-

triphosphate (ATP) molecules in order to:

• maintain communication between nerve
  cells;


• synthesise the main excitatory neuro-
  transmitter, glutamate;


• synthesise the main inhibitory neuro-
  transmitter, gamma-amino-butyric acid
  (GABA); and


• synthesise molecules that deal with toxic
  free radicals produced by normal
  neuronal activity.
  If the utilisation and processing of
  glucose is abnormal, neurons cannot func-
  tion properly, will not communicate ei-
  ciently and their connections may get
  damaged due to high levels of toxic free
  radicals. If these changes occur in brain
  areas that underlie key cognitive functions
  such as the prefrontal cortex, the symp-
  toms of schizophrenia may emerge. These
  include hallucinations, delusions, impaired
  attentional and other cognitive functions.

Here Comes the Diet

If schizophrenia is driven, at least partly,

by abnormal glucose metabolism, we

hypothesised that we might be able to

normalise the disease process if we provide

energy sources in a way that circumvents

glucose metabolism. If this energy supply is

adequate, nerve cells would be able to

communicate properly through the synapse

and remove harmful free radicals more ei-

ciently.

One such roundabout way of feeding

nerve cells with molecules that can be used

for the production of energy and the key

neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA

is the use of fatty acids instead of glucose.

In the absence of glucose and other carbo-

16 | MAY 2016

The ketogenic diet is preferred by

bodybuilders who need a high energy

intake that doesn’t promote the

conversion of fat from excess

carbohydrates. Credit: tankist276/adobe

DO

Dairy:

✓ butter

✓ mayonnaise

✓ heavy whipping cream

✓ cheese

✓ eggs

Oils:

✓ olive oil

✓ canola oil

Meat:

✓ bacon

✓ chicken

✓ ground beef

✓ tuna

✓ frankfurts

✓ sausages, salami

Fruit & Veg:

✓ green vegetables

✓ lettuce

✓ spring onions

✓ mushrooms

✓ celeriac

✓ strawberries

✓ blueberries

✓ avocado

✓ macadamia nuts

✓ almonds

Artificial sweeteners

DON’T

Sugar and high-sugar content

products:


malt sugar


corn syrup


chocolate, lollies, etc.


ice cream, etc.


tropical fruits


grape and grape juice


fruit extracts and juices


carrot

Flour and high-starch content

products:


bread and related products


pasta


potato, fries, chips


rice

A Ketogenic Diet