The human brain is an energy guzzler compared to other organs: although it only accounts for about two percent of body mass, it is responsible for almost 20 percent of total energy consumption.
Your brain needs around 50 percent more energy than your heart. One problem is that the brain isn't able to keep enough energy in reserve for peak loads.
Table of contents
1. What our brain needs the most energy for
The human brain not only regulates many of your bodily functions , but also your emotional feelings and your ability to concentrate .
Your brain requires a large amount of energy for these highly complex processes . Although the brain only makes up 2-3% of your body weight , it requires an above-average amount of energy.
Strictly speaking, your brain requires 20% of your total available energy —regardless of your body weight. If you're in stressful situations, it's even more.
Humans can intervene in this process, for example by regulating the food they eat, from which the brain obtains energy.
A study from the University of Lübeck examined in detail what your brain uses the food you eat. [1]
It turned out that only about 5 percent of the energy consumption of your brain is used for its supreme discipline, conscious thinking .
The vast remainder is needed for its basic activity , the constantly running, self-contained internal communication . However, this shouldn't be considered a simple idle time.
Rather, according to Jan Born, a neuroscientist at the University of Lübeck, the brain in "offline mode" resembles an intelligent computer whose connections to the outside world have been cut off and which, in the meantime, views and sorts the data on its hard drive.
These basic activities also include life-sustaining functions of the brain, such as the regulation of breathing , pulse , maintaining balance , etc.
Take-Home Message #1: The human brain has an incredibly high energy consumption, using up to 20% of your available energy. Science has discovered that a smaller portion of this is used for thinking, while the majority is used to maintain life-sustaining functions such as breathing, heart rate, and balance.
BRAINEFFECT HACK : In addition to sugar, your brain can also use fat as an energy source. And it can do so even more effectively than sugar. However, this only happens if you eat a low-carb diet and give your body the appropriate fuel.
This is how your body enters a state of ketosis by converting fat into so-called ketone bodies, which can be used particularly quickly in your brain. Our high-quality MCT oil ROCKET C8 is your rocket launch into ketosis.
2. If necessary, the brain saves thinking
For the brain to produce energy , it needs two things. First, the substrate in the form of glucose/ketone bodies and oxygen . The substrate crosses the blood-brain barrier and enters your brain from the bloodstream.
Specifically, into the nerve cells. Oxygen travels from the brain capillaries into the nerve cells and, together with the substrate, can produce energy.
This process is called brain metabolism. Did you know that 20% of the total oxygen consumed is consumed during this process? Adequate oxygen supply to your brain is therefore essential for your mental performance !
Are you interested in your brain's oxygen supply? Then you can read the article " How to Improve Blood Flow in Your Brain ."
To ensure your brain is adequately supplied with energy, it requires a constant supply of substrate and oxygen. A cessation of blood flow, and thus a cessation of oxygen supply, leads to unconsciousness within seconds.
If the brain were cut off from the glucose supply , it would only be able to maintain its functions for 5 minutes , which shows how small the brain's glucose stores are.
But that doesn't usually happen. That's why proper breathing is essential for the brain , as are breathing exercises that you can easily integrate into your daily routine.
What can happen, however, is that your brain isn't getting enough energy, for example, if you're eating too little or not eating the right foods. The more work you demand of your brain, the higher the energy consumption.
That sounds logical. But your brain doesn't only require a lot of energy during periods of maximum concentration. Basic brain processes, in particular, consume a lot of energy, and additional tasks like thinking, calculating, reading, exercising, and the like also require a lot of energy.
For this, the brain needs additional fuel. A study from the University of Bristol examined the connection between energy supply and mental performance. [2]
The results showed that the functions of the hippocampus decline when energy supply deteriorates. The reason for this is quite simple.
The hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory. These are not functions essential for survival and are therefore the first to be shut down.
When energy shortages occur, the brain's first priority is to maintain its basic functions and saves on conscious processes such as thinking and the ability to concentrate.
For example, when we are hungry, the brain needs almost all of the available energy to maintain its basic activity.
This leaves little energy for mental performance . The consequence is a decline in cognitive performance and concentration .
Take-Home Message #2: If your brain isn't sufficiently supplied with energy, it will initially maintain basic functions. Your mental performance, which is the last thing to be supplied with energy, will collapse as a result.
BRAINEFFECT HACK : Your body can produce ketone bodies from fat more effectively than glucose (sugar) and use them as an energy source. However, this only happens when your body no longer receives carbohydrates that it can convert into glucose. Once you're at that point, our high-quality ROCKET C8 MCT oil is your rocket launch into ketosis.
3. Fuel for the memory
In all the considerations regarding the correct energy supply to the brain, we have now discovered that oxygen and energy in the form of food play an important role.
You can absorb the nutrients through BRAINFOOD , and your body regulates the oxygen supply to your brain on its own . As a result, malfunctions rarely occur.
The second crucial factor is the substrate . The brain can obtain energy from either glucose or ketone bodies . The question now is which is the better energy source for optimal mental performance.
To understand this, you need to understand the differences in the metabolism of ketones and glucose . Either glucose or fat is burned as fuel.
The energy produced from fats is called ketone bodies , and they are generally a better energy source , something few people realize. Ketones actually provide you with faster and more consistent energy .
This prevents any drop in mental performance. The reason for this is that ketones require fewer metabolic processes than glucose .
In comparison, ketone bodies , which are formed in ketosis, can be converted to energy in 3-5 steps . Glucose requires 26 steps . The second advantage of ketone bodies is that they are water-soluble and can therefore easily cross the blood-brain barrier without having to be bound to substances and transported via the blood.
Ketone bodies are therefore a better source of energy. But why not everyone gets their energy from this source is easy to answer.
The " challenge " lies in nutrition, as carbohydrates and sugar must be almost completely eliminated from the diet. However, the benefits for mental performance are so significant that changing your diet should definitely be considered.
Want to know more about how to get started in ketosis? Check out this article about ketosis .
It contains all the important information, tips, and even a nutrition plan! A study by the National Institute of Neuroscience in Tokyo examined the benefits of a ketogenic diet for mental performance. [3]
The study found that an MCT-rich diet increased ketone levels in blood plasma . Subjects received either a placebo or a ketogenic diet.
The results were clear: The test subjects who followed the ketogenic diet achieved better results in cognitive performance tests .
Another study from the School of Nutrition and Food Sciences at Louisiana State University examined the brain, which is supplied with ketone bodies as an energy source. [4]
The study found that MCT oil can improve memory and thus counteract cognitive decline . Subjects over 50 years of age were examined in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
They received 56g of MCT oil daily for 24 weeks. In many mental illnesses, the brain is no longer able to adequately convert glucose into energy.
Instead, ketone bodies could serve as a replacement , thus providing the brain with sufficient energy . Ketone bodies are therefore not only a better and more stable energy source , but can also compensate for deficits in mental performance caused by glucose!
BRAINEFFECT HACK : Interested in improving your mental performance with MCT oil? Then check out ROCKET C8 ! C8 stands for caprylic acid, the highest-quality form of MCT acids.
Our ROCKET C8 therefore contains 100% of the high-quality fats that form ketones. Conventional MCT oils contain a mix of different MCT acids, which are simply not metabolized as quickly and therefore don't provide you with as optimal energy. Alternatively, you can also get ROCKET C8 with the powerful antioxidant astaxanthin or with added Omega 7.
Take-Home Message #3: The definitely best fuel for your memory is ketone bodies. They are synthesized from dietary fats and, unlike glucose, are a fast and, above all, stable energy source for your mental performance!
4. Conclusion
Although the brain only makes up 2 to 3% of your body weight, it consumes almost 20% of the energy you get from your diet. Your brain normally uses glucose as its energy source, which requires carbohydrates.
If your body lacks carbohydrates, it begins to produce fat as an energy source in the form of so-called ketones. These ketone bodies actually have two advantages over sugar.
Firstly, they are available to your brain as an energy source much more quickly. Secondly, they don't affect your insulin levels and therefore provide much more consistent energy than glucose.
5. Sources
[1] https://www.bdsi.de/fileadmin/redaktion/Wissenschaftlicher_Pressedienst/BDSI_WPD_2009-02.pdf
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25527036
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27568199
[4] http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC4669977/pdf/main.pdf
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