Does eating less carbs really make you stupid?

Does eating less carbs make you stupid?

It is the brain that does not adapt due to switching energy sources

Eating less carbs will not become silly for healthy adults or will not reduce the IQ of healthy adults, so why is there such a statement? Mainly because the practice of eating less carbs and eating less staple foods mainly comes from a clinical medicine method used to treat epilepsy and severe obesity, called the ketogenic diet
.

The ketogenic diet requires that people who use this method consume carbohydrates per day to be less than 25% of the energy supply ratio, in this case, the body will automatically switch to a ketogenic state, using their body fat and food fat to supply energy, this method can make severely obese people lose weight quickly, but because of switching the source of energy, our brain will have a short period of discomfort, so there will be some people such as emotional anxiety, slow response, There will be a sense of blockade and other uncomfortable situations in thinking, so these people will default to the feeling that I have become stupid after not eating carbs or eating less carbs and staple foods
.

Do I need to intervene after feeling unwell?

Generally speaking, temporary

The main component of carbohydrates is starch-derived glucose, which is more efficient than ketones produced by fats (which also require additional energy expenditure).

Our brain is a big energy consumer, every day needs to consume a huge amount of energy, so glucose energy supply efficiency is relatively high, our body has been adapted to this situation for a long time, suddenly transferred to a low energy supply efficiency fat or ketone body mode, our body will produce some unadaptable situations
.
This discomfort is generally temporary, but for many people, this discomfort often forces them to withdraw from this method
.

Is the ketogenic diet recommended for weight loss in general?

Long-term adoption is not recommended

The ketogenic diet without professional guidance, if it is applied for a long time, will be harmful
to our body.
Like the liver in our body, as well as the immune system, they are completely dependent on glucose for energy, such as ketone bodies, fats and other energy sources, they can not be used, so our body in order to maintain the normal operation of these organs and tissues, we have to disassemble our body like muscles and other protein-rich tissues, with protein decomposition of some glycemic amino acids to produce glucose, maintain normal glucose levels in our blood, that time after a long time, It will inevitably cause certain damage to our muscles and these protein-rich tissues, so the ketogenic diet is a weight loss method that is not suitable for long-term
use.

Text/Xing Qingbin (Assistant Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention)

(Edited by Li Chuang)