Increased mental clarity from ketones

nvmomketo

Is anyone else a bit disturbed by their cognitive function becoming stronger while in ketosis? This has me a bit freaked. My thinking processes became noticeably sharper after being in ketosis about a month to the point where even my husband noticed it. I just became quicker: stopped mixing up the occasional word, don't forget what I went up the stairs for, remember where things were left more often, can multitask better, am absorbing new knowledge more thoroughly. It is very noticeable to me.

Over the past few years, I have not felt quite as on the ball as I used to be but I blamed it on getting older and being with my noisy boys all the time. To now know that I may have had a cognitive decline that was partially caused by diet is disturbing.

And now I am even more disturbed because I have been reading about the link between IR and dementia, and I wonder if I was started down that path? Yikes! It's enough to scare me away from carbs for a long time.

Anyone else notice a fair sized difference like I did? Eek. Is it normal experience or do you think I should mention this to a doctor?

monikker

What does IR mean? Also, this is precisely the reason why I began this diet this week as I don't need to lose more than about 5 pounds. Hoping it comes soon...

nvmomketo

monikker wrote: »

What does IR mean? Also, this is precisely the reason why I began this diet this week as I don't need to lose more than about 5 pounds. Hoping it comes soon...

Oops. Sorry. IR is insulin resistance. I have prediabetes but eating vLCHF has mostly fixed that.

So you were looking for improved cognitive function? I had heard it could happen but I thought it was just because people had lost weight and had more energy. To actually become more aware or brighter has been a shocker for me.

auntstephie321

I haven't experienced this yet. I did keto aggressively for a couple months then low carb. Never got the mental clarity though

wabmester

I think it's the same thing that keeps epileptics from having seizures. It's a brain-calming thing. Increased focus.

I did a little reaction-time experiment while in ketosis like this one:
http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/reaction-stick.htm

I don't remember how quick I was, but I was quick.

GaleHawkins

I read the amount of mental clarity that can be regained depends on the level of brain damage due to being insulin resistant so I guess it is a time factor involved. In my case with the huge drop in arthritis pain it helped me to focus better quickly and make some needed changes at work that I had been putting off of years.

I think leaving off all grains is what saved me the most after having read about half of Wheat Belly Total Health by William Davis MD.

nvmomketo

wabmester wrote: »

I think it's the same thing that keeps epileptics from having seizures. It's a brain-calming thing. Increased focus.

I did a little reaction-time experiment while in ketosis like this one:
http://www.topendsports.com/testing/tests/reaction-stick.htm

I don't remember how quick I was, but I was quick.

I hope it was to be expected. The fact that I DID improve is a bit crazy.

GaleHawkins wrote: »

I read the amount of mental clarity that can be regained depends on the level of brain damage due to being insulin resistant so I guess it is a time factor involved. In my case with the huge drop in arthritis pain it helped me to focus better quickly and make some needed changes at work that I had been putting off of years.

I think leaving off all grains is what saved me the most after having read about half of Wheat Belly Total Health by William Davis MD.

I enjoyed reading Wheat Belly. It's a bit disturbing that I may have some brain damage from IR.

For me it was sugar. I could skip most grains, and largely did, but the sugar got me.... Dysfunctional relationship, me and sugar.

Kitnthecat

I read Wheat Belly, but the book that prompted me to try Keto was Grain Brain. I work in a geriatric home, and Alzheimer's is almost the norm for many in our population. When I heard what a kerogen in diet could do for brain function, I was sold. I hadn't noticed a decline in my mental function before Keto, but I do feel like my kind is working better while Keto, and I certainly don't want to end up living in the facility where I work as I age!

nvmomketo

Agreed! I hope to stay me as long as possible.

nicintime

Experiencing my Mom's cognitive decline caring for her the last 9 years of her life is one of my strongest motivations for staying keto adapted.

Yes, it scares me. And it should.

And finding out that Alzheimers has been called Type 3 Diabetes in some of the literature seals the deal.

For me this WOE is not about looking good in a bathing suit. It's about life.

Oh, and FWIW I do notice improved mental clarity 3.5 months in.

nvmomketo

Type 3... Yikes. Thanks for your response. That is exactly how I feel about this WOE too.

Azuriaz

I don't have increased mental function that I've noticed, but I definitely have less anxiety and I'm usually in a better mood, too. More mellow and sociable. It's weird.

nvmomketo

Mellow is good.

Sunny_Bunny_

I have ADHD and I told my doctor that on my next 3 month check up that I want to cut my Adderall back because I don't feel like I need the dosage I currently take right now. I don't feel "normal" when I don't take it, but I think I may be able to wean off of it over the next year or at least significantly decrease my dosage. I'm definitely not misdiagnosed, so I have a noticeable increase in focus and ability to complete tasks when medicated that does not exist without it. But since I've become adapted, I feel sometimes like I'm running on rocket fuel and can do anything. I think I can cut the med some and maintain a "normal" focus and level of productiveness.

nvmomketo

Wow. That's a great positive change! I hope it works, I bet it will.

GaleHawkins

On a serious note I expect most logging in here have not had serious brain damage because the lack of glucose being pushed into one's brain.

A decrease in pain levels, more energy, less digestive track issues, etc can appear to give a mental boost just to our improving health. The gains after one year seem huge in my case but I expect to see gains for the next 5 years as more systems heal.

Just stopping eating junk and start eating the way that makes our bodies work best should help reduce the rate aging to some degree. Nutritional ketosis seems to help protect all systems from normal aging issues so our rate of aging should slow compared to our old way of eating.

nvmomketo

You're probably right.

mlinton_mesapark

Great thread! I haven't noticed the amazing clarity others have reported, either, but my overall mood and emotional stability has improved greatly. I'm more patient, especially with family members. I'm sure feeling like I'm in better control of my health, and feeling less pain and fewer nuisance symptoms like allergies, helps my mood.

totaloblivia

Azuriaz wrote: »

I don't have increased mental function that I've noticed, but I definitely have less anxiety and I'm usually in a better mood, too. More mellow and sociable. It's weird.

That's me too. not sure about whether mental function is better, but definitely more positive and optimistic, more stable moods, less anxious. Which is pretty fantastic!

cindytw

I don't notice clarity as much as I do the fog...I feel clarity should be normal so I notice when it isn't. There may be different things that help or hurt for each person, but by and large, gluten, grains, and sugar are the major players.

inspirationstation

I too felt like I had increased trouble finding the right word or would mangle a word on occasion, which is not me at all. Keto allows me to talk effortlessly without searching for the right word again and I am often impressed by my own quick and clever response. Just joking, but I have noticed a significant improvement.

nvmomketo

Thanks all. It's reassuring to know others have experienced a similar thing. You all are great.

KnitOrMiss

Okay, I just had a total shock when thinking through this post and it's various responses.

Several years ago, I was having problems with my ears. I thought it was the "inner ear imbalance" I've always been told I had, because I'd get car sick, and that made sense. Well, several tests later, I've discovered that I do not in fact have an inner ear imbalance. I do have malformed sinuses (long story there - my younger brother has the same thing, but in a mirror reflection of my own...odd, no?) which likely contributes. But, a specialist tested me, and I scored off the charts for balance and all that. So, her diagnosis? The laymen's version is that essentially my brain is on a different iteration of the same "operating system" as the input devices - being my feet, my eyes, and my ears. Somehow, the signals would get confused or unclear between the physical point of data gathering and how it was translated to my brain. Yes, we made lots of jokes around my house about brain damage.

Results of this were clumsiness, loss of balance, car/motion sickness, constant ear popping from pressurizing, and many other things.

Since I have gone to a low carb diet, I have not noticed any of these issues occurring with any regularity. A little periodically, but I think that is my nature. But not daily, life-inhibiting responses. Could my brain really have only been "damaged" by the carb effects of my insulin resistance? That idea is positively terrifying.

But, in answer to the original question, yes, I've had a huge boost in mental clarity, function, and speed. I'm only 39. and I've always enjoyed the challenges of keeping up with my more intelligent friends and colleagues - including goofy games like "Brain Game" and "Trivia Crack" and such. However, in the previous 5 years, my performance at work suffered greatly, to the point where I had spent 2 years "on formal notice" for failing performance, falling asleep, and other things. My personal life fell apart to the point where I could barely function in my own home.

I am more insightful regarding others, more considerate, more patient. I can start to see problems to long term concerns, such as a good decluttering of my home (I'm a crafty packrat, more than anything!), and long term career goals. Things that always seemed overwhelming and beyond comprehension are now seeming possible and I'm starting to create plans and strategies.

I think my brain developed the ability to move past the odd depression fog and to start working on repairing my "give a damn" button about pretty much everything. Does that make any sense at all?

There are a million more little things - my typing has improved, in fact so much so that sometimes I mistype simply because I'm thinking so quickly...

I think for all these reasons here, which frankly have me shaking and terrified a little at the realization, I will continue on the low carb path for life - including the fabulous (yet disgusting) discovery of what coconut oil means in my life!

nicintime

This is a powerful thread.

And speaking of coconut oil, I find myself 'craving' my bulletproof coffee with coconut oil and butter in the morning. And I wish for one at night though I don't do so for the obvious sleep reasons.

Perhaps the brain "knows", eh?!

Lillith32

Sometimes makes you wonder what would the world look like if Ancel Keys and his low fat theory didn't gain traction, but a low carb and low sugar approach did.

totaloblivia

@KnitOrMiss goodness - really powerful reasons to stay low carb as you say.

Sabine_Stroehm

This is a great thread, and fits nicely with the notions of hypoglycemia as well. It's logical that if your sugars are more stable, the foggy thinking would lift. Perhaps it's a combination of keto clarity and lack of hypoglycemia...

Lillith32

Related to mental clarity, another 'side effect' of keto, at least for me, is mental stability. I was reading somewhere that research has shown a connection between sugar/grain consumption and depression. My family had a history of depression, anxiety and such, and when I was on SAD, I was beginning to go down the same road. I notice that when I am in ketosis, my mood is remarkably stable and positive. I wish I could convince my Mother and Grandmother to go keto, I think it would help them go off so many medications, but they don't listen to me when it comes to health.

Azuriaz

Lillith32 wrote: »

Related to mental clarity, another 'side effect' of keto, at least for me, is mental stability. I was reading somewhere that research has shown a connection between sugar/grain consumption and depression. My family had a history of depression, anxiety and such, and when I was on SAD, I was beginning to go down the same road. I notice that when I am in ketosis, my mood is remarkably stable and positive. I wish I could convince my Mother and Grandmother to go keto, I think it would help them go off so many medications, but they don't listen to me when it comes to health.

Ha! My Mom is the same way. I told her for two years that if she wanted less joint pain she should at least try giving up bread.

Five months ago she saw something on Wheat Belly and Grain Brain and gave up bread. Lo and behold, her joint problems are greatly reduced, even though the poor woman still hasn't learned to scrutinize every label so ends up with small amounts of wheat in her food. She found out that wheat was even in her ice cream!

GaleHawkins

After a year of research reading and learning it was Wheat Belly Total Health that pulled it all together into one book. The kids turned 18 today and this week she asked for her only copy of Dr. William David book.

Someone said a prophet has no honor in his own house or something like that one time. I think that is true if it is info about the diet of family members usually.

Azuriaz

GaleHawkins wrote: »

After a year of research reading and learning it was Wheat Belly Total Health that pulled it all together into one book. The kids turned 18 today and this week she asked for her only copy of Dr. William David book.

Someone said a prophet has no honor in his own house or something like that one time. I think that is true if it is info about the diet of family members usually.

Well, at least I got to say, "I told you so!" One of her favorite phrases, too, because of course it's my job not to listen to her most of the time, either, and has been since I was a teenager. Guess that's fair.