A New Reason to Go Keto: Fight the Flu

It seems like there are always new reasons cropping up to either join or eschew the latest fad diet. A recently published study gives some major points in favor of the Keto diet. The researchers found that mice fed a ketogenic diet demonstrated improved ability to fight off a potentially lethal dose of influenza virus over mice fed a carbohydrate-filled diet. They propose that the high fat diet promoted increased γδ T cell concentration. This often overlook T cell is responsible for producing mucus in the cell linings of the lungs, adding an extra barrier of protection between the virus and the epithelial cells it infects. The researchers further proved this hypothesis by generating a mouse model deficient in γδ T cells, and in these mice, the ketogenic diet provided no protection. Before we all start going Keto, as usual, researchers need to find more information such as the mechanism by which ketone bodies promote γδ T cell proliferation and potential negative side effects on the immune system of depriving our bodies of other key nutrients, especially carbohydrates. Nevertheless, it is exciting and interesting to think that we can impact how our immune system functions simply by changing the composition of what we eat!

~ Avi Kaye

Article: Goldberg, E., Molony, R., Kudo, E. et al. Ketogenic diet activates protective γδ T cell responses against influenza virus infection. Science Immunology, 2019; 4(47). 

https://immunology.sciencemag.org/content/4/41/eaav2026