For people with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, psychotic disorders, bulimia, dementia,  or  other psychiatric disorders who prefer not to take medication, don’t improve with medication, can’t tolerate or, only partially benefit from medication, or have bothersome side effects from medication, trying a simple, low-carbohydrate diet is worth a go.

This statement is based on my study of science in combination with my experience with people in the real world.

Low-carbohydrate diets are safe for almost everyone and can lead in many cases to significant improvements in a wide variety of  symptoms. There are many potential benefits. If side effects do occur, they are generally harmless and temporary.

While dietary changes can’t always completely replace medications, they can improve overall health and make good sense as a viable alternative to medication in some cases, or as a complement to conventional care in other cases.

Here are seven reasons to try a low-carb or ketogenic diet for mental health:

1. Reduce inflammation.

High-sugar diets promote excessive, unnecessary inflammation inside the brain, triggering the release of various inflammatory cytokines—tiny SOS signals that recruit first-responder cells to the scene. Inflammation of this type is well established as a root cause of most psychiatric and neurological diseases. Low-carbohydrate diets have been shown to reduce markers of inflammation.

2. Improve blood glucose control.

The higher your blood sugar, the higher your brain sugar . . . each time your blood sugar spikes to unhealthy highs, you’re flooding your brain tissue with excess glucose. There are many ways that high glucose levels are toxic to brain cells, including the formation of sticky, dysfunctional proteins called “Advanced Glycation End products” or AGEs. Low-carbohydrate diets are very effective at lowering blood glucose levels. Protect your precious neurons from glucotoxicity.

3. Lower blood insulin levels.

Persistently or repeatedly high insulin levels can cause the insulin receptors on the surface of the blood-brain barrier to become insulin-resistant, meaning they can become damaged, desensitized, and decrease  in number. With fewer healthy, responsive insulin receptors on the surface of the blood-brain barrier to escort insulin into the brain, insulin levels inside the brain will fall.

Low brain insulin is dangerous, because brain cells require insulin to process glucose and turn it into energy. This sluggish glucose-processing problem is called “cerebral glucose hypometabolism,” and it is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Low-carbohydrate diets can be very helpful in lowering blood insulin levels.

4. Boost antioxidant defenses.

High-sugar diets cause excessive, unnecessary oxidative damage. Flooding cells with too much glucose all at once leads to a flood of oxygen free radicals, which are normally mopped up by our own natural, internal antioxidant molecules (such as glutathione).

There extra free radicals wreak havoc in the brain, damaging proteins, lipids, DNA, and other important cell components. They can even damage the blood-brain barrier, allowing unwanted substances from your blood  into the brain. Low-carbohydrate diets naturally help improve your internal antioxidant capacity.

5. Energise mitochondria.

High-sugar diets damage mitochondria, the energy-generating organelles inside brain cells. As a highly metabolically active, electrical organ, the brain is an energy hog, demanding about 20- 25 percent of the body’s energy. Mitochondria must be healthy to provide cells with a steady supply of energy. Low-carbohydrate diets—particularly ketogenic diets—have been shown to improve the health and vitality of mitochondria.

6. Stabilise stress hormones and appetite.

Refined carbohydrates, like sugar, flour, fruit juice, and processed cereals, place your hormones on an invisible, internal roller coaster. Every time your blood sugar and insulin spike to unnaturally high levels, they soon crash back down, triggering the release of stress hormones, including adrenaline.

Adrenaline surges, which can occur four to five hours after consuming too much sugar, can contribute to panicky, “hypoglycemic” symptoms, like anxiety, sweating, irritability, shaking, difficulty concentrating, and carbohydrate cravings. Low-carbohydrate diets help smooth out the highs and lows in blood sugar that lead to hormonal instability in the first place.

7. Raise BDNF levels.

High-sugar diets can reduce levels of an important molecule called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor. BDNF is a key player in neuroplasticity—in other words, BDNF helps the brain cope with, respond to, and recover from stress. Healthy BDNF levels contribute to resilience—something we all need, as stress is a normal part of life. Low-carbohydrate diets—particularly ketogenic dietshave been shown to raise BDNF levels.

Note: A low-carbohydrate diet is not the only nutritional strategy worth considering; improving overall dietary quality with a whole-foods pre-agricultural diet (aka “paleo-style” diet) or a whole-foods post-agricultural diet (aka “Mediterranean” diet) may be helpful for some, especially for those without a significant degree of insulin resistance. However, neither of these approaches typically lower insulin and blood glucose levels as reliably as low-carbohydrate diets do.

Word of caution

People currently taking psychiatric medication (or medication of any kind) or who have a history of serious mental health symptoms, such as suicidal ideation, mania, or psychosis, should not embark on a low-carbohydrate diet without additional information and professional support, as medication levels can be affected, and some symptoms may temporarily worsen during the initial weeks of adaptation.

Take home message 

Most of us have been feeding our brains incorrectly for our entire lives and have no idea how much better we could feel if we ate differently.

A whole-foods, low-carbohydrate diet is a safe and healthy option for most people that can help improve brain metabolism, mental health symptoms, and overall health.

Thank you for reading

The post 7 Reasons To Try A Low Carb Diet appeared first on Sara Pugh Pilates Hypnosis Nervous System Biochemistry Leeds.

Ketosis is a perfectly safe metabolic state where the body has shifted from using glucose as the primary fuel source to ketone bodies (ketones). Ketone bodies are made from fat in the liver.

This happens when the liver glycogen (sugar)  stores are used up. The liver stores between 100 and 150g of glycogen or about 2000 kcal of ‘sugar’ energy .

Both carbohydrates (starch and sugar) and fats can be used as fuel. The body will preferentially use carbohydrates because of its easy access and fast absorption, although burning fat is less inflammatory.

When switching to use fat as fuel, a period of adaptation needs to take place. This is called becoming ‘fat adapted’ or ‘keto adapted’ as the body has to break down fat, make ketone bodies and use the ketone bodies. The length of it takes to become fat adapted depends on how dependent a person previously was on glucose and how well their body accepts this new fuel source.

Ketosis occurs either over a prolonged period of fasting or by restricting carbohydrate intake significantly to 20g or less a day (about 5% of daily calories from carbohydrates). Ketosis means your body is using ketone bodies as fuel so there are different levels of ketosis. A mild state of ketosis can be obtained during exercise, sleep (body is in a fasted state) and calorie restriction.

Is Ketosis Safe?

It’s important to not confuse ketosis with medical ketoacidosis, like with untreated Type 1 diabetes which causes the pH levels in the blood to drop and become acidic.

Nutritional ketosis is perfectly safe and a great metabolic state to be in. This process is perfectly normal and is an adaptive response. During periods of famine, going into ketosis enabled humans  to survive and maintain vitality. Instead of relying on glucose for fuel we can to use our own body fat and thrive instead of starving to death.

Ketone bodies have the following properties;

• Suppress appetite
• Are muscle sparing
• Are great brain fuel
• Possess anti-inflammatory properties.

Is it Unnatural To Be On a Ketogenic Diet?

The Inuit in Northern America have no available source of glucose in their habitat and their diet is consists of  mainly fatty fish and meat. The Masai tribe in Africa live on pasture lands and drink raw milk and eat the animals they farm. There is a very low occurrence of disease, obesity and cancer in these indigenous people and they live on ketogenic diet. Fat in of itself is actually a lot better for us, as long as it is not eaten at the same time as carbohydrates, due to something called the ‘Randle Cycle’.

The indigenous people with their unprocessed high animal product diets were perfectly healthy until hey came in contact with refined sugars/starches and processed seed oils from the West. After that cases of tooth decay, obesity, heart disease and diabetes sky rocketed.

In summary there are many benefits to being in ketosis and this is why there are some many benefits associated with fasting and a ketogenic or low carb diet.

Thank you for reading

The post What is Ketosis? Is Ketosis Safe? appeared first on Sara Pugh Pilates Hypnosis Nervous System Biochemistry Leeds.

Should older women do intermittent fasting with the same eating windows and macros as men? Do women need the same macro nutrients as men on a  low carb or ketogenic  diet?

Women in general as well as those who are approaching the menopause, going through it or have been through it have different hormonal circadian rhythms to men and younger women. Many women find a cyclical ketogenic/low carb diet works well to manage cortisol levels and thyroid hormones. This would be a period of following a low carb/ketogenic diet then having a break and eat meals containing protein and carbohydrates for a day. The length of the low carb window can vary from several weeks to five to six days and trying out different variations is the only way to find what works for you. 

Anecdotal data and emerging studies suggest that older women struggling with weight loss do better when they eat in the morning / earlier in the day, then fast until the next day, rather than fasting for the morning / early afternoon then having the eating window later in the day. This traditional method of OMAD, 16/8 or 20/4 (fasting in morning, eating in early evening) works well for men but not for all women. Particularly if the woman is not insulin resistant. 

In addition for women who are not insulin resistant and are  fat adapted, eating more protein and less fat (appx 30% of calories from protein, 60-65% fat ) find that this can also kick start weight loss that has plateaued on a keto / fasting way of eating. 

Because they are not insulin resistant and not carb burners, the insulinogenic effect of protein is less pronounced so they don’t need to worry about protein and gluconeogenesis as a carb burning insulin resistant woman. 

With anything we all vary slightly but I am going to try reversing my eating window, lowering fat and prioritizing protein to see what happens in my n=1 experiment 

The post Fasting & Low Carb Diets For Women appeared first on Sara Pugh Pilates Hypnosis Nervous System Biochemistry Leeds.