A high-fat diet is often associated with an unhealthy lifestyle. The cliché is that fats are bad for your health and make you fat. But that's not true. There are healthy fats, such as those found in the "keto diet," that are good for your brain and help it function better. Learn all about the different fats and energy sources for your brain in this article.
Table of contents
1. The bad reputation of fat
Fat still has a very bad reputation , and many diets eliminate it almost entirely from their diet. Carbohydrates, on the other hand, are considered good energy sources that you just need to consume in the right amounts to stay in shape.
The so-called keto diet is currently experiencing a lot of hype , especially because of its effect on mental performance . This is primarily because fat, or rather the ketones formed from it, are the most stable and fastest energy source for your brain and can therefore, for example, improve concentration.
The so-called medium-chain triglycerides, which the body produces in ketosis , don't require as much effort to metabolize as glucose, but can be converted directly into energy in fewer steps . For you, this means super-fast energy! It's important to note that not all fats are created equal .
Bad fats include, in particular, trans fatty acids from fried foods like French fries, chips, and the like, which the body stores as fat. Good fats, on the other hand, are an ideal energy source for the body and can be converted into ketones. You can find them in fish, nuts, and avocados, for example.
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Take-Home Message #1: Fats as an energy source have a very bad reputation, supposedly because they make you fat and sick. But that's not true. Fat, especially in the form of the keto diet, is healthy in many ways and can have a tremendously positive effect on mental performance.
2. Ketones vs. carbohydrates - which energy source is better?
Fat (or ketones) or carbohydrates (or glucose) are the two energy sources that supply the brain. The human brain has an extremely high energy requirement to maintain the transmission of stimuli and information. For this, sodium, for example, must be constantly expelled from the cells and potassium transported into them.
All of these processes require only one thing: energy. The brain , which makes up only 2% of our body weight , requires 20% of our oxygen and 10% of our glucose stores just to keep running. During periods of high concentration, your brain burns even more energy!
Opinions differ on the question of which is the better energy source. Ketones have the major advantage over glucose in that they provide a faster and more stable energy source . In fact, your brain and heart function at least 25% more efficiently when they rely on ketones as their energy source.
First, it's important to know that there are indeed small parts of the brain that can only burn glucose. Researchers have now demonstrated in a study that the brain is partially dependent on glucose. A study from the University of Lübeck found that the brain needs approximately 50 grams of glucose per day. [1]
While your brain needs this small amount, you'll always meet this requirement because every meal you eat contains a small amount of glucose. This means your brain's needs will be met even on a purely fat-based keto diet.
But what exactly are the benefits of a keto diet? For example, the ketones produced are excreted in the urine when not needed and are not stored as fat . This way, you won't gain weight. Another advantage: since the ketones aren't stored, your insulin levels won't be affected by the high-fat diet.
Take-Home Message #2: The advantages of ketones as an energy source over glucose are numerous! First, they provide your body and brain with energy faster and more consistently. Even better: They can't be stored as fat in your body. So, you won't even gain weight from ketones!
3. What effect does the keto diet have on your brain?
Recent studies have found that the keto diet is not only an optimal energy source for the brain, but can even reduce potential overstimulation of your nerve cells . Here's how it works: The two neurotransmitters glutamate and gama-aminobutyric acid (GABA) play a crucial role in the brain's energy production processes.
"Transmitter" simply means "messenger substance ." Neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers that transmit information in the brain. GABA is the most important inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. It, in turn, is formed from glutamate, the most important excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain. Through their interactive function, they regulate the activity of your nerve cells.
Your brain needs both in equal amounts, but if there's too much glutamate, for example, the brain becomes "overstimulated." This condition is called neurotoxic, and in the long term, it can lead to damage to nerve cells. This, in turn, leads to impaired transmission of stimuli and information.
A study from Stanford University Medical Center has now established a link between the neurotransmitter glutamate and numerous neurological disorders. Migraines, concentration difficulties, and even illnesses such as dementia have been linked to this neurotoxic "overstimulation." [2]
Back to the culprit, glutamate, because that's where the keto diet comes in. The Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine in Philadelphia is currently researching this topic and found that the keto diet promotes its conversion to the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. [3]
This is good because when the level of inhibitory GABA in the brain is higher , the nerve cells are less overstimulated . A keto diet ensures that your nerve cells are less overloaded, allowing you to concentrate optimally!
Take-Home Message #3: The keto diet has a positive impact on the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain. This can prevent potential overstimulation of nerve cells. The second benefit: The keto diet supplies your brain with energy faster and more consistently!
4. Talking Brains PODCAST: Episode 11 | How to Become a Fat-Burning Beast with Ketosis
Julia Tulipan is a walking keto encyclopedia. An absolute expert in the field of evolutionary nutrition! The deeper you delve into this megatrend, the more exciting it becomes, and we've already gotten excited about keto just by talking with her.
But not all ketosis is created equal, and you should know a lot more about it than just that it's a high-fat, low-carb diet. Because there's actually a lot you can do wrong. Julia explains what's important and what you need to pay particular attention to in order to fully reap the benefits of ketosis. But beware: It might get a little geeky!
5. Conclusion
Not all fats are created equal, and therefore not as bad as their reputation suggests. Avoid fried foods containing harmful trans fats. Instead, eat healthy fats from oily fish, avocados, nuts, and seeds. For advanced nutritionists, the ketogenic diet is interesting. It involves deliberately putting yourself into a state of ketosis by eating almost exclusively fat, less protein, and a maximum of 50g of carbohydrates per day.
6. Sources
[1] https://www.uni-luebeck.de/aktuelles/pressemitteilung/artikel/uebergewicht-und-gehirn-energieverwaltung-falsch-programmiert.html
[2] http://www.cell.com/neuron/pdf/0896-6273(88)90162-6.pdf
[3] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2722878/
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