Ketogenic and Modified Mediterranean Diet as a Tool to Counteract Neuroinflammation in Multiple Sclerosis: Nutritional Suggestions

Nutrients. 2022 Jun 8;14(12):2384. doi: 10.3390/nu14122384.

Abstract

Ketogenic Diet is a nutritional pattern often used as dietotherapy in inflammatory diseases, including neurological disorders. Applied on epileptic children since 1920, in recent years it has been taken into account again as a tool to both reduce inflammatory burdens and ameliorate the nutritional status of patients affected by different pathologies. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is considered an immune-mediated neuro-inflammatory disease and diet is a possible factor in its pathogenesis. The aim of this work is to investigate the main potential targets of MS-related impairments, in particular the cognitive deficits, focusing on the alteration of biomarkers such as the Brain Derived-Neurotrophic Factor and the Tryptophan/Kynurenine ratio that could play a role on neuroprotection and thus on MS progression. Furthermore, we here propose nutritional suggestions which are useful in the development of a ketogenic diet protocol that takes advantage of the anti-inflammatory properties of low-carbohydrate foods from the Mediterranean diet to be applied to subjects with MS. In conclusion, this approach will allow one to develop the ketogenic diet combined with a modified Mediterranean diet as a possible tool to improve neuroinflammation in multiple sclerosis.

Keywords: Mediterranean; Tryptophan/Kynurenine ratio; brain derived neurotrophic factor; diet; ketogenic; multiple sclerosis; neuroinflammation.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biomarkers
  • Child
  • Diet, Ketogenic* / methods
  • Diet, Mediterranean*
  • Humans
  • Multiple Sclerosis*
  • Neuroinflammatory Diseases

Substances

  • Biomarkers

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.