On this Living to 100 Club podcast, we discuss the topic of ketogenic diets. Specifically, we discuss the beneficial effect they have on reducing or “rescuing” cognitive decline in older adults. Our guest is Nicole Laurent, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified in Nutrition and Integrative Health. We explore the type of diet to produce ketones, and the effect ketones have as a fuel to create “brain health” through the increase of healthy mitochondria in our cells and reduction of inflammation in our brains. This inflammation in our brain is neuroinflammation. Ketogenic diets are used in a number of medical conditions, in addition to cognitive impairment, including insulin resistance and mental disorders. Join us in this important conversation about the long-term benefits of ketones in our diet.

Mini Bio

Nicole Laurent has been a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Washington state for the last 15 years. For the last five years, she has integrated nutritional therapies into her practice with patients. Her education includes an MA in Clinical Psychology from Argosy University and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Nutrition and Integrative Health from Maryland University of Integrative Health. She has additional medical training in helping patients use ketogenic dietary therapy as a treatment for mental illness and neurological issues. Nicole was recently one of seven recipients of the 2022 Metabolic Mind Award given by The Baszucki Brain Research Fund and the Milken Institute. The award was for her past work and commitment to supporting the study and use of these interventions in brain health. She works in private practice and assists people through an online program to increase accessibility to these treatments.

For Our Listeners

Nicole's Website: Mental Health Keto

Ketones as brain energy rescue in Alzheimer's Disease - Stephen Cunnane, PhD - https://youtu.be/EifPhQeJbRc

To Keto or Not to Keto? A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials Assessing the Effects of Ketogenic Therapy on Alzheimer Disease - https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmaa073 

Nutritional metabolism and cerebral bioenergetics in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias - https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.12845

Effects of Ketogenic Diet on Neuroinflammation in Neurodegenerative Diseases - http://dx.doi.org/10.14336/AD.2021.1217

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