Could ketosis prolong life? A new critical review argues that this may be the case.
A severe restriction of calories has been shown to increase the lifespan in animals. The cause of this is still unclear, but it could be because of a reduction in insulin and insulin-like growth factor levels.
One of the results of this is the state of ketosis and production of ketone bodies. The researchers believe that those could be part of the answer:
We hypothesize that increasing the levels of ketone bodies will also extend the life span of humans and that calorie restriction extends life span at least in part through increasing the levels of ketone bodies.
Whether the theory is true of not, it's an interesting paper to read for keto nerds:
IUBMB Journals: Ketone Bodies Mimic the Life Span Extending Properties of Caloric RestrictionNote, however, that the lead author owns a number of patents on the production of exogenous ketones. So there's a certain bias involved.
If ketosis actually can prolong life, it's almost certainly more effective to reach it via a ketogenic diet. That's how to get the hormonal effects too, not just the ketones.
