The food-mood connection
The scientist claimed that eating low carbohydrates improves many health conditions.
But does this LCHF nutritional strategy works for the brain as well?
Let’s see what science suggest and scientist is claiming to be?
In today’s time, mental health problems like depression, anxiety, ADHD are rising rapidly. These conditions are caused due to chemical imbalances. Medications are important for severe cases, but we can argue that food affects our brain the most and it is the most powerful way to change brain chemistry.
LCHF has proven to improve mood by improving blood sugar levels.
Blood sugar levels have a dramatic effect on mood – both very low and very high blood sugar frequently come along with unpleasant mood changes. There is plenty of research that proves that improving blood sugar control improves mood and reduces fatigue.
The current surge in mental health problems around the world in recent times closely linked to the pattern of many other so-called diseases of civilization. Many organizations are trying to blame animal protein and fat for our predicament, meat is not a food of concern it is an ancient, nutritious whole food that has been available since time immemorial.
There is research that compared keto to low fat or high carb diet in 119 overweight subjects. As a result, they found that keto reduced a cluster of different symptoms that the researchers called “negative affect” like:
- Depression
- Fearfulness
- Inability to concentrate
- Memory problems
- Insecurity
- Crying easily
- Inability to work well under pressure
Keto reduced negative effect to a much greater degree than the low-fat diet, indicating the benefits of keto over low fat, high carb diet for improving mood.
ANXIETY DISORDERS
Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder (excessive worry), panic disorder, post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social phobia. There are various anecdotal reports which state that peoples are achieving significant relief from anxiety on LCHF and ketogenic diets. Anxiety reduction is one of the most common benefits of LCHF diets.
REBALANCE NEUROTRANSMITTERS
It is a known fact that high sugar consumption can mess with neurotransmitter levels in many ways. Diets too high in refined carbohydrates promote inflammation and oxidation, which shifts the brain into emergency mode.
Keto/LCHF diets have been shown to regulate neurotransmitter levels.
DEPRESSION
Medicines that reduce inflammation and improve insulin resistance can effectively treat depression symptoms, suggesting that inflammation and insulin resistance may play an important role in the development or severity of depressive disorders.
In 2017, the world’s first study of dietary intervention for clinical depression found that a Mediterranean style diet eased depression symptoms to a modest degree as compared to the typical modern diet, and the second study of a similar diet supplemented with fish oil noted benefits as well.
These important studies demonstrate that dietary quality matters to mental health.
BIPOLAR DISORDERS
Bipolar disorders used to be called manic depression. They come in many forms, including bipolar type 1, bipolar type 2, and some common milder forms that don’t fit neatly into either category. All of these disorders are characterized by unstable mood patterns that include periods of increased intensity such as mania, irritability, or severe anxiety, usually alternating with periods of depression.
A study of 121 people with bipolar mood disorders found that those who also have insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes face a harder road than those who don’t. Those with insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes were more likely to have chronic and rapidly cycling mood symptoms and were less likely to respond to the moos stabilizing medication lithium.
Psychosis, Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), Alzheimer’s disease, and eating disorders. All disorders or diseases may be cured or prevented by LCHF or keto diet.
Keto acts indirectly on the brain by improving blood sugar regulation and directly by protecting against oxidative stress, increasing blood flow to certain areas of the brain, and changing brain energy metabolism. The research shows that this does have big benefits for mood, mental health, energy, and brain health during aging.
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