Why am I thinking more clearly?!

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petri

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Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
I have been in a fog for about 2 years. I've had no motivation, haven't been able to get my work done, and I've just been...sluggish. I've cut way back on carbs/sugar and, though it's only been just over a week, I feel much more able to think clearly.

Could it be related?! Does anyone know what might be going on?

Thanks!
 
petri said:
I have been in a fog for about 2 years. I've had no motivation, haven't been able to get my work done, and I've just been...sluggish. I've cut way back on carbs/sugar and, though it's only been just over a week, I feel much more able to think clearly.

Could it be related?! Does anyone know what might be going on?

Thanks!
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High blood sugar can cause 'brain fog'.

It went low carb when I was diagnosed and started to feel great after a few weeks - so good I got back to doing things I enjoyed (Writing short stories) and sorting out my music collection (A task I abandoned as I was struggling to do it.)

It was causing me issues at work, as well, as I have quite a technical job that requires a fair amount of thinking.
 
That's amazing.
 
petri said:
I have been in a fog for about 2 years. I've had no motivation, haven't been able to get my work done, and I've just been...sluggish. I've cut way back on carbs/sugar and, though it's only been just over a week, I feel much more able to think clearly.

Could it be related?! Does anyone know what might be going on?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Our brains function better using ketones as fuel, so perhaps that is coming into play
 
petri said:
I've cut way back on carbs/sugar and, though it's only been just over a week, I feel much more able to think clearly.

Could it be related?! Does anyone know what might be going on?
Click to expand...
Highly likely.. excess carb consumption has been linked to various mental issues and cutting way back on them has anecdotally been shown to give great improvements.

Dr Georgia Ede has written about and has videos about diet and mental health


www.diagnosisdiet.com

About Dr. Ede - Diagnosis Diet

Dr. Georgia Ede's biography. Background, education, credentials, and employment history.
www.diagnosisdiet.com www.diagnosisdiet.com
 
Drummer said:
Our brains function better using ketones as fuel, so perhaps that is coming into play
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Highly doubtful it 'functions better', and it will be using glucose from gluconeogenesis anyway.

Low blood sugar causes problems with brain function and can be fatal. It's actually pretty important to maintain glucose levels for brain function.
 
harbottle said:
Highly doubtful it 'functions better', and it will be using glucose from gluconeogenesis anyway.

Low blood sugar causes problems with brain function and can be fatal. It's actually pretty important to maintain glucose levels for brain function.
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I rather suspect that you are out of date with your understanding of brain nutrition and upkeep - the information was around in the 1970s when I was doing my CNAA Biology degree at Portsmouth Polytechnic as it was back then.

You could be confusing it with the effects of overdoing the injected insulin and DKA which can be dangerous, but ketosis from a low carb diet for type 2s in particular is such a relief for many of us.
 
If someone on insulin has a severe hypo it can cause brain damage and/or can be fatal - there's someone on the forum (can't remember who, sorry) who has brain damage as a result of a hypo.

DKA is caused by high blood sugar, not low (I know you know that, @Drummer but your post puts it together with overdoing the injected insulin so just clarifying for others reading). It's usually a result of being type 1 with no insulin, and never a result of too much insulin.

For those of you not on insulin and not at risk of hypos for any other reason, I should have thought cutting back on sugar would be a good thing and might well improve brain function - and also gut function! I wish I could cut back on it myself, have had far more sugary stuff since being on insulin (to treat hypos) than I ever had before I was diabetic!
 
PS congratulations @petri on managing to cut down on carbs/sugar, lose weight, and improve your brain function all at once - sounds as though you are doing well so far!
 
petri said:
That's amazing.
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I have never had particularly strong symptoms of high blood glucose in the short term (even up into the 20s when I has some site failures in my first year on an insulin pump before I worked out which sorts of cannulas suited me).

After a few days of high-ish BG though, I definitely get grumpy, irritable, lethargic, and it seems to have a direct effect on lowering my mood (along with the psychological hit of reminders that whatever I am trying for my BG management isn’t working well).

So yes, I can well believe that if your new menu has moved your glucose levels from being ‘generally too high’ to being ‘more in range’ I can well believe that you would feel clearer-headed, more calm and more energised.

And personally I don’t need to be in ketosis for this to happen in my experience - simply spending a higher proportion of time 4-9 is enough 🙂
 
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