#230 (Keto): Megan Roberts (née Hall)

Megan Roberts (née Hall) is the Scientific Director of Nourish Balance Thrive. In September, 2017, she co-authored a paper that was published in the prestigious journal Cell Metabolism entitled A Ketogenic Diet Extends Longevity and Healthspan in Adult Mice that was widely commended in the scientific community. In this podcast, Megan sits down with host Lindsay Taylor to discuss her program of research and the most important and exciting findings from that study. They talk about the difference between lifespan and healthspan (hint: you want both) and the evidence for how a low-carb ketogenic diet can contribute to both.

Taking a step back, Megan gives a brief lesson in Research Methods 101: What are the benefits and limitations of non-human research (e.g., studies conducted on mice)? Where can we and where should we not extrapolate from this type of research to human interventions? What do we know and what do we not know at this point about the ketogenic diet? Finally, Megan tells us what advice she gives people who are interested in adopting a ketogenic lifestyle and why it doesn’t work to try to micromanage your diet.