Beginning in the 1920s, the ketogenic diet, or “keto” diet, has been adopted by many for weight reduction and to aid people with diabetes or epilepsy. It consists of consuming predominantly fat and protein as an energy source with a minimal consumption of carbs. But there’s another, less-publicized advantage of this diet: ketosis for mental performance.

Ketosis may be the answer if you’re suffering from brain fog, a lack of productivity, or poor mental performance. We’ll go through some ways ketosis can improve cognition and help you be more productive throughout the day.

KETOSIS FOR MENTAL PERFORMANCE

First, let’s go over the basics about ketosis and energy.

The ketogenic diet is based on precisely adjusted macronutrient balance to elicit a specific reaction from the body. The keto diet consists of eating regular protein levels, more significant amounts of fat than average, and limiting carbohydrate intake to fewer than 50 grams daily.

When carbohydrate intake is thus low, the body reacts similarly to how it would respond during famine. Instead of using glucose as the primary energy source, the brain uses fat as an alternate energy source. However, before the body can utilize lipids, they must first be converted to ketone bodies by the liver. When there is a lack of glucose, these ketone bodies are used as energy for the body and brain.

This is how the ketosis process works. Now that we’ve established let’s look at how ketosis benefits your mental health and productivity.

KETONES IMPROVE BRAIN FUNCTION

The Western diet is deficient in numerous areas, including vital fatty acids. This harms our health because we require them for appropriate body and brain function.

Ketones have long been recognized to help those suffering from neurodegenerative disorders such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and aging-related cognitive impairments. Ketone body synthesis can aid in these circumstances since persons with these issues’ brains can’t utilize enough glucose to handle cognition and perception. A ketogenic diet can then help by acting as a backup energy source.

Low-carb and keto diets’ higher fat consumption has also been demonstrated to benefit brain function in particular ways. As an example:

• People with type 1 diabetes observed enhanced cognitive performance. They retained brain function during hypoglycemia after taking medium chain triglycerides (produced from coconut oil) in a research released by the American Diabetes Association.
• Those with Alzheimer’s have reported improved memory scores, possibly related to the quantity of ketones present.
• Ketones derived from a very low-carb diet have also been found to treat moderate cognitive impairment in older adults.

The question is whether a ketogenic diet provides a genuine cognitive benefit for healthy people. And may ketosis promote more excellent brain health in the average person?

A large part of how a ketogenic diet can help healthy people’s brain function is due to its neuroprotective characteristics. That brings us to the essential fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6, which are critical for brain health and function.

Because fatty acids make up most of human brain tissue, it stands to reason that they are essential for overall brain health and critical processes like learning and sensory execution.

Because the human body cannot produce necessary fatty acids on its own, we must receive them from the diet; therefore, a healthy ketogenic diet might be high in them. Furthermore, the proper omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, between 1:1 and 1:4, is essential for brain function. In a typical Western diet, the ratio is closer to 1:20 to 1:40, a formula for oxidation and inflammation that isn’t good for mental health.

The ketogenic diet’s usage of fats that assist in maintaining the right balance of omega-3s to omega-6s, such as:

• coconut oil
• olive oil
• butter
• avocados
• animal fats
• fish
• eggs

In addition, while in a ketogenic state, the brain uses ketones to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the chemical responsible for transporting energy to where it is needed for metabolism inside the cells. And, while glucose remains the body’s primary energy source when it is present, many people are unaware that ketones are a more efficient energy source than glucose and can minimize the number of harmful free radicals created. And energy is everything in the brain. This protects the brain – and the rest of the body – from oxidative stress, which harms mental function and brain aging.

KETOSIS HELPS YOU FOCUS

An imbalanced diet can cause a loss of mental clarity, manifesting as foggy head, difficulty remembering essential facts, or difficulty focusing on activities. Two factors often cause these symptoms:

Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that stimulates the body and is essential for brain function and learning.

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is the body’s principal neurotransmitter that decreases stimulation.

Glutamate is present whenever you talk, think, or process information. As intelligence rises, so do glutamate receptors in cells.

But, like with anything else, too much glutamate does not equal better. Glutamate should be able to convert into GABA. However, this does not always happen as smoothly as it should.

Because glutamate is responsible for more than 90% of the brain’s synaptic connections, the brain can over-process and won’t have GABA to help reduce stimulation. If your body has too much glutamate and insufficient GABA, you will likely feel brain fog, difficulty concentrating, diminished social behavior, and increased anxiety.

Ketones give the brain another energy source and help it metabolize excess glutamate into GABA more efficiently.

So, by increasing GABA synthesis, ketones can help reduce the number of additional neurons activating in the brain and improve mental focus. This helps reduce worry and tension, which is helpful to everyone.

KETONES IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY

Ketone bodies may also lower free radicals in the brain by increasing the efficiency and energy levels of mitochondria, which provide energy for the body’s cells. Ketosis can also aid in forming new mitochondria and the growth of ATP in memory cells in the brain. A rat research showed that animals fed a diet high in ketones performed better in physical and cognitive tests than those on a high-carbohydrate or standard Western diet.

The Bottom Line

With this in mind, it’s simple to understand why a ketogenic diet may be a smart next step for people trying to improve mental function and clarity.

It’s also worth noting that, in the first few weeks of starting a ketogenic diet, as your carb consumption is drastically decreased and your body burns up the remaining glucose, you may feel some brain fog or headaches. This is mainly due to your body draining away electrolytes due to the diuretic impact of ketosis.

To counteract these adverse effects until your body adjusts, increase your water intake significantly – drink, drink, drink. Then, you’ll be well on your way to reaping the mental performance benefits of ketosis.

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