Carbs and the Brain plus more

[boonie stomper]

Glycemic Index list. What sugar does to you. About complex carbs. Insulin. This article is a MUST READ!

http://www.fi.edu/brain/carbs.htm

Carbohydrate Topics:
Brain Energy Demand
Complex vs. Simple Carbohydrates
Brain Power – The Energy of Thought and Memory
Too Much Blood Sugar – Too Little Brain Sugar
Soft Drinks are Hard on Your Brain
Sugar, Diabetes and The Brain
How to Control Blood Sugar Swings
Check the Glycemic Index

[Miss Phode]

Re: Carbs and the Brain plus more

Boonie, how'd you get so smart?

[boonie stomper]

Re: Carbs and the Brain plus more

I can't figure out what to think about that, coming from you...

[Miss Phode]

Re: Carbs and the Brain plus more

What are you trying to say?

[boonie stomper]

Re: Carbs and the Brain plus more

Which way did you mean that, MP? Are you being sarcastic?

Are you calling me smart because I make so many wise cracks, or smart because I'm blonde and was able to decide which forum to post this topic in?

[Miss Phode]

Re: Carbs and the Brain plus more

Hey, it was a compliment. Don't make me take it back.

[boonie stomper]

Re: Carbs and the Brain plus more

(((( Miss Phode ))))) You flatter me! I hop it doesn't mean I'm eating too many carbs, though....

[Ragtime Gal]

Re: Carbs and the Brain plus more

Some of the logic in this article seems faulty. For instance, take this paragraph:
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When Dr. Carol Greenwood tested the memory of older adults after they ate a breakfast of mashed potatoes or barley, she found that "eating carbohydrate foods can improve memory within an hour after ingestion in healthy elderly people with relatively poor memories."

In another study, Greenwood and her colleagues at the University of Toronto gave a group of healthy senior citizens a bowl of cereal and milk, along with white grape juice for breakfast. Another group only drank water. When tested twenty minutes later, the cereal-eaters had a better memory – able to remember 25% more facts.

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Anyone who **eats** is bound to do better on a test than someone who just has water! How does this prove that carbohydrates improve memory? What if they gave the first group eggs and bacon?


Sharon

[boonie stomper]

Re: Carbs and the Brain plus more

So, if the brain normally uses +/- 10% of the total day's intake of calories in the form of only carbs eaten by a non-low carber, is it safe to assume that a person on induction who only takes in only 5% of total intake in the form of carbs, will do just fine because the muscles will forego using any carbs in favor of reserving all of them for the brain?


You do have a good point, Ragtime gal. The experiments mentioned in this paragraph are inconclusive as presented in summary in this document. I would agree that as a standalone, all one summaries can show is like you said; the other doesn't even mention any control group. I guess more closely examining the details of Greenwood's work might offer supporting info, or might not.