Why the Brain Needs Carbohydrates While the brain's primary source of fuel is glucose, the brain cannot store it. So once carbs are broken down into glucose by the body, the glucose is then carried to the brain by the bloodstream where it is used immediately as energy by nerve cells. The brain uses glucose to perform many functions including thinking, short-term and long-term memory, and communication with other parts of the body. It stands to reason that when carbohydrates in the diet are restricted, the glucose that's available for the brain to use as energy is reduced. Read more at Suite101: How Low-Carb Diets Can Affect the Brain: The Effects of Carbohydrate Restriction on Memory and Learning | Suite101.com http://suite101.com/article/how-lowcarb-diets-can-affect-the-brain-a86847#ixzz1xbrY28u0
I’ve seen that assertion about carbs being necessary for the brain in many places, often verbatum. What I have not seen are primary sources of this assertion. I have also seen assertions that the brain can be fueled without carbs.
Where are the long term studies on the effects of low carb diets? And what about the Inuits? Their diets are almost completely devoid of anything other than animal products. Do their brains not function properly? Then there is lawdave. Has his five months of carbohydrate deprivation rendered him stupid? (He seems coherent to me, but who knows, maybe his caretaker is typing for him.)
Again, I’m not trying be a controversial. I would like to nail this stuff down.