Spotlight on Nutrition Research

March is Nutrition Month in Canada, and this year's theme, "Nourish to Flourish," highlights the role that nutrition plays in supporting overall health and well-being. 

Meet Dr. Fernando González Ibáñez, an IALH Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, studying the potential impact of the ketogenic diet on the brain.   

“ Diet has a direct impact on cells in our brain, and therefore, our mood. A ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. This diet forces the body to obtain energy mainly from ketones, a product of lipid breakdown, instead of glucose. Microglia are the resident immune cells in the brain and have direct interactions with synapses, the basic physical unit of learning and memory. 

In our research, we observed that mice that followed a ketogenic diet during a period of psychological stress were more resilient to psychological stress. Microglia of susceptible mice made less contact with synapses, whereas the microglia of the ketogenic mice had less signs of cellular stress. Additionally, when conducting a lipid composition study of the brain, we observed that a ketogenic diet changes the brain’s lipid composition.

I am passionate about this field because it’s fascinating how lifestyle habits affect our brain. Not only can some habits damage it, but other habits can help protect it! ”