Ketones, Influenza and Corona

The world is up-side down. Not surprisingly, we’ve frequently received the question, “Is there a links between ketones and coronavirus?”

The pandemic is developing too quickly for research to keep pace; however, we can speculate. Several months ago, in the prestigious journal Science, a paper was published showing that a ketogenic diet protected mice against influenza.

Why is this important?

Influenza virus has similarities to corona virus. And, importantly, the mechanism by which ketogenic diets protect against influenza could eventually generalize to coronavirus. For those who like jargon, this mechanism involved a ketogenic diet-induced expansion of “gamma-delta-T-cell” populations and enhancement of lung barrier function.

In fact, it is this very mechanism that usually protects newborn human babies against influenza. This is interesting because newborns spend most of their time in ketosis and seems to be resistant to corona virus. Therefore, one could hypothesize that the babies’ ketones are activating this anti-viral response (mediated by gamma-delta-T-cells).

Given the state of knowledge, this piece is certainly speculative and not to be interpreted as medical advice.

References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31732517

https://www.aao.org/headline/alert-important-coronavirus-context

https://journals.lww.com/ajg/Documents/COVID_Digestive_Symptoms_AJG_Preproof.pdf

No medical advice

The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.