How Regulating Blood Sugar, Ditching Ultra-Processed Food, and Using Keto + Fasting Tools Can Protect Your Brain, Heart, and Metabolism — A Deep Dive on the Science
Quick Overview
The core message is simple and powerful: frequent blood sugar spikes — and the engineered foods that cause them — are major drivers of chronic disease.
Reducing those spikes by cutting ultra-processed foods, lowering added sugar and refined carbs, increasing fiber and whole foods, and using metabolic tools like ketogenic eating or time-restricted feeding when appropriate can dramatically lower risk for Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cognitive decline.
The evidence supporting these connections is substantial, although absolute claims like “preventing 80% of disease” should be understood as aspirational rather than guaranteed.
Why This Matters
Modern grocery aisles are flooded with ultra-processed, hyper-engineered foods that spike glucose, blunt insulin sensitivity, fuel chronic inflammation, and hijack appetite.
Over time, these changes increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, dementia, diabetes, obesity, and many downstream illnesses.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9857155/
What the Research Says
1. Ultra-Processed Foods Are Quietly Wrecking the Brain and Metabolism
A large share of supermarket products are designed to keep you eating more and to produce repeated glucose and insulin surges.
Observational and cohort studies link high intake of ultra-processed foods with faster cognitive decline and higher dementia risk.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36469335/
A study published in Neurology also found that diets high in ultra-processed foods increase the risk of stroke and cognitive impairment.
Source: https://www.neurology.org/doi/10.1212/WNL.0000000000209432
These foods are low in fiber and micronutrients, compounding their metabolic burden.
2. High Blood Sugar Is a Top Driver of Long-Term Health Problems
Elevated glucose and glycemic variability — those big, repeated post-meal spikes — promote oxidative stress, vascular damage, and systemic inflammation.
Both fasting hyperglycemia and postprandial glucose excursions are linked to higher cardiovascular risk.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10421332/
Reducing glucose load is one of the most direct levers we have to reduce those mechanistic harms.
3. Keto + Fasting Can “Reset” Metabolism in Clinically Meaningful Ways
Ketogenic or low-carbohydrate eating and intermittent fasting lower circulating glucose and insulin exposure, increase reliance on fat and ketones for fuel, and improve key metabolic markers such as HbA1c, fasting insulin, and triglycerides.
Meta-analyses and reviews confirm that ketogenic diets improve cardiovascular and metabolic health.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10421332/
For cognitive decline and early Alzheimer’s, pilot trials show that ketone-raising diets can improve cognitive scores in people with mild cognitive impairment.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7666893/
Additional research from NIH’s NCATS shows similar cognitive improvements in small Alzheimer’s and MCI studies.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7883774/
4. Exogenous Ketones: Potential Benefits but Mixed Evidence
Exogenous ketone supplements can acutely raise circulating beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), an efficient brain fuel with anti-inflammatory and gene-regulating properties.
Some studies report short-term cognitive or performance benefits, while others show limited effects.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9728807/
They may be useful as adjuncts in certain clinical settings, but long-term safety and efficacy data remain limited.
5. Keto + Resistance Training: Muscle Gain Is Possible but Nuanced
A ketogenic diet can support fat loss while preserving — and sometimes increasing — lean mass when protein and energy intake are adequate and resistance training is performed.
Results vary depending on study design, adaptation time, and training status.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31505573/
Practical, Evidence-Backed Plan: What to Do Tomorrow
1. Audit Your Groceries
If an item has a long ingredient list with added sugars, industrial oils, emulsifiers, or “flavors,” consider tossing it.
Aim to get most of your calories from whole foods — vegetables, fatty fish, eggs, nuts, quality pasture raised or grass-fed and grass-fed finished meats, Extra Virgin olive oil, and avocados.
Roughly 70% of packaged foods in grocery stores are ultra-processed and linked to higher metabolic risk.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9857155/
2. Lower Refined Carbs and Added Sugar First
Cut sugary drinks, sweets, and white-flour snacks. Replace them with high-fiber carbohydrates like non-starchy vegetables, legumes, and minimal whole grains like chia seeds, quinoa, flax seeds, and sour dough un-bromated bread..
This reduces post-meal glucose spikes and improves insulin sensitivity.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10421332/
3. Try Time-Restricted Eating (TRE)
An 8–12-hour daily eating window — for example, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. — can lower insulin exposure and improve glycemic control.
Clinical reviews show time-restricted eating improves insulin sensitivity and reduces adiposity.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520897/
4. Consider a Targeted Ketogenic Phase
For people with metabolic syndrome, obesity, or insulin resistance, a well-formulated ketogenic diet (with adequate protein, micronutrients, and fiber-rich vegetables) can reduce HbA1c, fasting insulin, and body fat.
Long-term use appears safe under professional guidance.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11234288/
5. Move — Especially Resistance Train
Muscle is a metabolic powerhouse. It improves glucose disposal, enhances mitochondrial function, and raises resting metabolism.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31505573/
6. Don’t Forget Sleep, Stress, and Social Context
Poor sleep and chronic stress raise glucose and insulin, making any diet harder to maintain. Managing these factors is part of overall metabolic hygiene.
Realistic Expectations & Important Cautions
That “prevent 80% of disease” claim is aspirational. Improving metabolic health dramatically reduces risk, but genetics, environment, and other factors also matter.
Fasting and ketogenic diets aren’t for everyone. Pregnancy, eating-disorder history, endocrine disorders, or certain medications require medical oversight.
Sustainability matters more than perfection. Radical short-term fixes rarely work long-term.
Supplements or exogenous ketones may have niche uses, but they aren’t universal solutions.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9728807/
Key Takeaways
“Ultra-processed foods aren’t just empty calories — they’re engineered to spike glucose and keep your insulin high, rewiring appetite and brain reward.”
“Lowering glycemic variability — not just fasting glucose — is a key target for preventing vascular and brain disease.”
“Keto and time-restricted eating are tools, not dogma — they reduce insulin exposure and provide ketone fuel that the brain can use when glucose regulation is impaired.”
Selected Research Sources
Gonçalves NG et al. Association Between Consumption of Ultraprocessed Foods and Cognitive Decline. JAMA Neurology.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36469335/
Poznyak AV et al. Effect of Glucose Levels on Cardiovascular Risk.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10421332/
NIH / NCATS. Ketogenic Interventions and Cognitive Outcomes in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7883774/
Vasim I. Intermittent Fasting and Metabolic Health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6520897/
Meta-Analyses on Ketogenic Diets and Resistance Training.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31505573/
