<p class="title">A ketogenic diet containing high fat and low carbohydrates is linked to a better ability to fight off flu virus infections in mice, than food rich only in carbohydrates, according to a study.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The researchers, including Indian origin scientist Vishwa Deep Dixit from Yale University in the US, said the keto diet -- which includes meat, fish, poultry, and non-starchy vegetables -- activates a subset of the immune system's T cells in the lungs.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The study, published in the journal Science Immunology, said these cells -- which were previously not associated with the immune system's response to influenza -- enhance mucus production from airway cells to effectively trap the flu virus.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The researchers had earlier found that immune system activators -- called inflammasomes -- can cause harmful immune system responses in their host.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In earlier studies, they had also found that a ketogenic diet blocked the formation of inflammasomes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The findings of the current study revealed that mice fed a ketogenic diet, and infected with the influenza virus, had a higher survival rate than mice on a high-carb normal diet.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The researchers said the ketogenic diet triggered the release of gamma delta T cells -- the immune system's cells which produce mucus in the cell linings of the lung -- while the high-carbohydrate diet did not generate this effect.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They added that the ketogenic diet did not provide protection against the influenza virus in mice that were bred without the gene for gamma delta T cells.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This study shows that the way the body burns fat to produce ketone bodies from the food we eat can fuel the immune system to fight flu infection," said Dixit.</p>
<p class="title">A ketogenic diet containing high fat and low carbohydrates is linked to a better ability to fight off flu virus infections in mice, than food rich only in carbohydrates, according to a study.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The researchers, including Indian origin scientist Vishwa Deep Dixit from Yale University in the US, said the keto diet -- which includes meat, fish, poultry, and non-starchy vegetables -- activates a subset of the immune system's T cells in the lungs.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The study, published in the journal Science Immunology, said these cells -- which were previously not associated with the immune system's response to influenza -- enhance mucus production from airway cells to effectively trap the flu virus.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The researchers had earlier found that immune system activators -- called inflammasomes -- can cause harmful immune system responses in their host.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In earlier studies, they had also found that a ketogenic diet blocked the formation of inflammasomes.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The findings of the current study revealed that mice fed a ketogenic diet, and infected with the influenza virus, had a higher survival rate than mice on a high-carb normal diet.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The researchers said the ketogenic diet triggered the release of gamma delta T cells -- the immune system's cells which produce mucus in the cell linings of the lung -- while the high-carbohydrate diet did not generate this effect.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They added that the ketogenic diet did not provide protection against the influenza virus in mice that were bred without the gene for gamma delta T cells.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This study shows that the way the body burns fat to produce ketone bodies from the food we eat can fuel the immune system to fight flu infection," said Dixit.</p>