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The Ketogenic Diet

Interactions With Brain Amino Acid Handling

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Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

Abstract

The energy requirements of the human brain are enormous. Cerebral oxygen consumption is 35 mL/min/kg or approx 50 mL/min in the adult brain. The rate of wholebody O2 consumption is 250 mL/min, indicating that approx 20% of oxygen utilization is directed toward the needs of the brain, which occupies only 2% of body weight. Virtually no oxygen is stored in the brain, implying that to maintain the integrity of this vital organ, cerebral blood flow (approx 800 mL/min), which constitutes about 15% of cardiac output, must proceed in an uninterrupted manner. If flow is completely shut down, a state of unconsciousness would ensue within 10s.

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Yudkoff, M., Daikhin, Y., Nissim, I., Nissim, I. (2004). The Ketogenic Diet. In: Stafstrom, C.E., Rho, J.M. (eds) Epilepsy and the Ketogenic Diet. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-808-3_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59259-808-3_15

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

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