Top Strategy to Protect Brain Health

Our body’s main energy source is glucose which we get from eating carbohydrates. Insulin helps our cells to use glucose as an immediate energy source, or to store energy for later use.

When our glucose supply is low, our body switches to ketones for fuel. Ketones serve as our backup energy supply when glucose is depleted. Ketosis is a normal process that takes place in the liver, where the body breaks down fats, releasing ketones to provide energy. Ketones eventually exit the body when we urinate. Ketosis occurs when we sleep, fast, exercise, or consume a low-carb diet.

Normally, glucose fuels the brain. When glucose is low, ketones take over and provide energy for cognition and memory. When liver function is impaired, and the body can’t produce ketones, memory and learning are diminished.

A new mouse study demonstrates that exercise can compensate for a ketone deficiency. This study established a liver-brain link and demonstrated that endurance exercise can overcome the neuropathology that normally accompanies insufficient ketones. It adds to the literature that shows that regular exercise is neuroprotective against aging, and helps to maintain memory and cognitive function.

Takeaway: Exercise is a top strategy to maintain brain health and cognitive capacity, and to protect against neurodegenerative disease risk.

Sources

Cleveland Clinice, Ketones: What They Are, Function, Tests & Normal Levels, Aug. 8, 2023.

Brian Consiglio, When the Brain Lacks Fuel, Exercise Still Protects Memory - Neuroscience News, Apr. 24, 2025.

Taylor J. Kelty, Cognitive impairment caused by compromised hepatic ketogenesis is prevented by endurance exercise - Kelty - The Journal of Physiology - Wiley Online Library, Jan. 14, 2925.