Most diets are about losing weight - high protein, low-carb, low-fat, Mediterranean, South Beach, etc. Most diets also emphasize balance and variety, regardless of what they discourage people from eating. There is a new diet that is not about losing weight, balance or variety, though it may have other health benefits. Researchers at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York have conducted a trial in which patients ate an ultra-high fat diet - over 90% fat - to see if a diet "devoid of protein and carbohydrates might temper symptoms of several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's disease." The results of the original study, published last year in Neurology, were encouraging. Patients with Parkinsons reported a decrease in their symptoms. Since then, additional studies have been done that have shown positive results, as well.
The success of the regimen is credited to the high numbers of ketone bodies that are produced when the body is taking in next to no carbs or protein. Even a very strict Atkins wouldn't produce enough keytones to have a measurable benefit, according to the doctors. A typical diet, which did allow up to 8% protein, for a study participant included butter, cream cheese and heavy cream, with small bits of fish or egg added for flavoring.
The results of all trials are not firmly conclusive, but are promising enough to have prompted another round of testing to see if doctors can devise a diet that is easier to follow. The problems with the diet are obviously things like heart problems, so the next round of testing involves a combination of the ultra-fat diet and the Atkins diet.
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