Author(s): CANNATARO, R., CIONE, E., ZOTTOLA, D., LEVI-MICHELI, M., GRIMALDI, A., KREIDER, R.B., BONILLA, D.A., Institution: UNIVERSITY OF CALABRIA, Country: ITALY, Abstract-ID: 1288

INTRODUCTION:
The ketogenic diet (a nutritional program that provides for a minimal carbohydrate intake, i.e., <30g or 5% of caloric intake per day) is now used not only with the aim of weight loss but also to support the management of various pathologies (headaches, GLUT1 deficiency, epilepsy, PCOS, lipedema even cancer), therefore also used for medium-long periods and not in caloric restriction¸ our idea is to be able to prove that it is possible (even if it is probably not the best way) to obtain positive results in terms of strength training even in a ketogenic regime.
METHODS:
12 subjects, six males and six females, with training experience of at least two years, aged between 20 and 50, followed a high-calorie ketogenic diet protocol (set based on a food diary) combined with weight training based on cluster sets of bioelectric parameters (bioimpedance) and fat percentage (ultrasound) were evaluated; strength assessment (1RM, CMJ tight pull on force deck); blood tests with biochemical and hormonal profiles at the beginning of the study and after five weeks; ketonemia was measured every five days at the fingertip; training and nutritional plans were constantly supervised.
RESULTS:
Subjects reported, on average, a 2.3% weight decrease (most likely due to glycogen and associated water depletion), a 5% increase in phase angle, and 3.6% in LMI (bioelectric parameters positively correlated with fitness and muscle mass); a 7.7% decrease in fat percentage; an increase in the 1RM of squat, deadlift, and bench press, respectively of 8.7%, 29.7%, and 11.1%, while the CMJ is practically unchanged and there is a 3% improvement in the tight isometric pull; there is a marked increase in total cholesterol of 17.6% cos+ as well as in TGA and GOT (+29 2 and +22%); GH shows an increase of 162%, testosterone increases in men by 6% while decreases in women by 22%; insulin and cortisol show a decrease of 1.5 and 2.1%; finally the reticulocyte shows an increase of 14%; the TSH decreases by 3%; miR-206 showed an upregulation.
CONCLUSION:
It can be concluded that the proposed scheme allowed the subjects to report significant improvements in terms of strength and body composition; in our opinion, the most interesting data concerns the increase in GH (recorded for both sexes) and testosterone (only in males) which could explain the effectiveness of the program even in the almost complete lack of carbohydrates; another interesting finding is the upregulation of miR-206 confirming a positive action on myogenesis, myofusion, and satellite cells differentiation; the only point to re-evaluate is the increase in cholesterol (even with a ratio with HDL still within the norm), but this occurred mainly in males, as the caloric intake exceeded 3000kcal of which at least half was fat.