Women who cut out carbohydrates 'could lose their

[TunnelRat]

Women who cut out carbohydrates 'could lose their memory' DailyMail [UK]

Cutting out the carbs may help you lose weight - but it can also help you lose your memory.

A study has found that dieters who avoid starchy foods do worse in mental tests than those who are allowed some pasta, bread and potatoes.

Carbohydrates are such an important source of energy for the brain that mental performance drops after just a week on an Atkins-style diet, the scientists found.

Dr Holly Taylor, who led the research, said: 'The study demonstrates that the food you eat can have an immediate impact on cognitive behaviour.

'The popular low-carb and no-carb diets have the strongest potential for negative impact on thinking and cognition.'

The most famous low-carb regime is the Atkins diet, which peaked in popularity in the early 2000s.

It bans carbohydrates such as flour, sugar and potatoes, but allows protein and fat. Some fruit and vegetables are also restricted.

The new study, carried out by scientists at Tufts University in Boston, America, looked at the impact of low-carb diets on the brain power of 19 women aged 22 to 55. The volunteers were put on either a low-calorie balanced diet or a low-carb diet.

Within a week, the ten women taking the low-carbohydrate diet were far worse at mental tests than those on the conventional low-calorie diet.

The tests looked at attention, long-term and short-term memory, visual attention and spatial memory.

The low-carb dieters showed a gradual decline in memory tasks compared with the low-calorie dieters.

Their reaction time was more sluggish, while their visual memory was not as good. However, they did do better on short-term attention tests.

There was no difference in the hunger levels of the two groups of women, the researchers report in the journal Appetite.

They believe that low-carb diets reduce the amount of glucose, or blood sugar, which is carried to the brain and used by nerve cells for energy. A low-carbohydrate diet means less fuel to power the brain cells.

'Although this study only tracked participants for three weeks, the data suggest that diets can affect more than just weight,' Dr Taylor explained.

'The brain needs glucose for energy and diets low in carbohydrates can be detrimental to learning, memory, and thinking.'

 

[EL_VIEJO]

TR,
I'm going to have to talk my wife into going on a low carb diet. She remembers (and always reminds me) of stupid things I did over 30 years ago. Thanks for the tip.

 

[DairyGuy]

In Atkin's book, he states: Dr. George Cahill, the Harvard professor considered to be the preeminent teacher of metabolic-pathway research, after noting that brain tissue utilizes ketones more readily than glucose, announced that ketone bodies were a "preferred fuel" for the brain.

Interesting...

 

[pete69]

well, considering it's a known fact that it takes 3-4 weeks for the brain to fully adapt to ketosis, this isn't a very telling study. These people who have been fueling their brains primarily w/ glucose their whole life need to go through this well researched adaptation phase before they can benefit from the alternative energy for brain metablism, ketones. Dr. Veech has done research and stated evidence suggest ketones may be a better fuel for the brain.

Not that ketones are necessarily better, but a study like this provides no solid evidence either way except that some people don't feel great or think great when they initially go on a low carb diet.

Now a month or two on a ketogenic diet, perhaps supplement MCT oil for a steady source of ketones, and then testing them would give a better indication of how these 2 diets affect memory.

 

[mikeynov]

<div>
(pete69 @ Nov. 25 2009,4:01)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">well, considering it's a known fact that it takes 3-4 weeks for the brain to fully adapt to ketosis, this isn't a very telling study. These people who have been fueling their brains primarily w/ glucose their whole life need to go through this well researched adaptation phase before they can benefit from the alternative energy for brain metablism, ketones. Dr. Veech has done research and stated evidence suggest ketones may be a better fuel for the brain.

Not that ketones are necessarily better, but a study like this provides no solid evidence either way except that some people don't feel great or think great when they initially go on a low carb diet.

Now a month or two on a ketogenic diet, perhaps supplement MCT oil for a steady source of ketones, and then testing them would give a better indication of how these 2 diets affect memory.</div>
Indeed. Studies like these are transparent in their intent, imho.