Influenza: high in fat, low in carbohydrates

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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The flu is approaching - or has it already struck? Then you should probably eliminate sugar, bread and other carbohydrates from the menu as much as possible and instead focus on high-fat foods. Because, according to a recent study, you feed the viruses with the former, while the latter strategy calls on helpful immune cells.

Plenty of meat and fish, plus only low-carbohydrate plant foods - such a diet is known as ketogenic. Apparently, the nutritional principle can put flu viruses on the run. Mice fed according to this diet survived a flu infection as part of an experiment than conspecifics fed high in carbohydrates.

Ketogenic Diet Stops Flu Viruses

Researchers working with Akiko Iwasaki found that a ketogenic diet increases the presence of certain white blood cells in the lung tissue: the so-called gamma-delta-T cells have so far not been associated with the defense against influenza pathogens. But they increase the production of mucus in the lung epithelial cells. The mucus, in turn, can effectively encapsulate the viruses and thus render them harmless.

In animals whose gamma delta T cells were genetically deactivated, a ketogenic diet had no effect on the chances of survival. "That was a completely unexpected result," says study director Iwasaki.

Low in carbohydrates, plenty of fat

With a strictly ketogenic diet, the proportion of carbohydrates in the total daily energy consumed is around four percent instead of around 50 percent, as is usually recommended. Proteins make up around 20 percent, the rest is absorbed in the form of fats.

In order to gain energy, the body then burns fat instead of sugar. The lack of sugar forces the liver to convert fatty acids into so-called ketone bodies, which provide energy instead of glucose. In this way, the body switches to what is known as ketosis.

Chicken soup against viruses

The study cannot prove whether a ketogenic diet actually protects people from the flu. However, it goes well with a tried and tested home remedy that generations of grandmothers have given their malevolent loved ones for flu and colds: chicken soup. It is high in fat and protein, but low in carbohydrates.

Many people who want to lose weight also rely on a ketogenic diet. However, an extremely low carbohydrate diet is usually not recommended in the long term. Extremely few carbohydrates also mean extremely little fiber, also few secondary plant substances that can have neurological, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects and vitamins that have a protective effect as antioxidants, among other things.

Exceptions are children who suffer from certain forms of epilepsy, glucose transport disorder or pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency. A ketogenic diet is necessary for them.

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