Will your cognitive function be affected?
How much sugar is too much sugar?
In an extended fasting state, when blood sugar falls, and your body detects that insulin is low and glucagon is high, your liver will start manufacturing “ketone bodies”, specifically beta-hydroxybutyrate, acetoaldehyde, and acetone, from fatty acids. Although the brain requires glucose (a type of sugar) to function, it will preferentially use these ketones instead of glucose for energy. Ketones can replace about 60-70% of the brain’s energy demands this way. Cognition is not affected in any major way.
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The ketones themselves, in combination with glucose and glycogen (long chains of glucose) deprivation, signal to your tissues that glucose is scarce. Your entire body will change its metabolism to preferentially burn things other than glucose, like fatty acids. It also has a process called “gluconeogenesis” (“genesis” of new glucose) it will upregulate, which is used to generate glucose from non-glucose sources, like certain amino acids, and glycerol. Over time as you get deeper into a fast, your body will increase whole-body insulin resistance to further decrease glucose utilization, sparing it for the brain. Ketone body and glucose utilization further decreases in nearly all peripheral tissues. Mitochondria enter a “coupled” state where they fuse together to more efficiently create energy directly from fat.
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In this way, the body is able to keep itself fully functional even in the complete absence of food. These are only a few of the incredible adaptations it makes to survive.
My wife and I did keto for about 6 months. I went hard I didn’t even do the dirty keto with alcohol sugars. The micro nutrient management was crazy in month 5-ish. If I didn’t eat exactly right I couldn’t concentrate at all. My wife didn’t have this problem but she was the one doing all the research and it turns out some people just don’t function well with out brain sugar.
There are a few brain regions that only run on glucose but your liver will make the glucose you brain needs from fat or protein. You’re body will turn fats into ketones. Many parts of your brain actually run better on ketones than sugar. Most of your other tissues run well on ketones too. Carbs are actually not an essential nutrient. You can live just fine without them and many people do, such as myself.
Is this for sugar found naturally like in fruits or dates or are we talking added sugar? I cut out all added sugar at the start of the month and weirdly, I find myself craving more and more salty foods
Most people are answering this question as if you would cut carbs altogether. And rightly so, as you could probably not cut all sources of sugar without cutting carbs outright. So they’re right about that, but since your question was only about sugar this is the hypothetical answer. Your blood sugar levels would be kept at the same levels mainly through the digestion of the other carbs in your diet such as starch. If digestion is slow or your intake irregular, the process of glycogenolysis (breakdown of glycogen stores) would certainly start, followed by gluconeogenesis (using non carb substrates to create glucose). Only if your body relies on fat to create glucose for a prolonged period of time, will your body go into ketosis, so if you’re still eating carbs (only not sugar, which isn’t at all needed) this wouldn’t happen.
i mean i feel like kinda depending on your body chemistry, for me, if i’m cutting out carbs or really just cutting calories in general, my brain cannot function nearly as well as when im eating sufficient carbs. i think it can take becoming completely adapted to keto to really function good enough off of ketones to not need carbs anymore. this can take weeks for a lot of people.
“Sugar” apparently is one of the biggest reasons for a variety of health problems. When the USDA came out with their ridiculous food pyramid overall health in the USA deteriorated at a ridiculous pace. Their recommendations were and are horrible, their fight against high “fat” foods while not addressing sugar intake was wrong. There’s nothing wrong with sugar in moderation, or most things in moderation, the problem is the type of sugar intake. Look for low glycemic or natural sugar sources. “It’s not the apple it’s the juice”. High fiber, natural energy producing sugars. If you’re eating natural whole foods you’re most likely going to get enough carbohydrates (sugar) for proper healthy brain function. Macronitrients along with micronutrients are vital for overall health, don’t fall into the notion that fat or carbs or proteins are “bad” or should be avoided. Let them work together for overall health!
Try it out! You definitely notice when youre bonking. Its as easy as drinking a soda or something to fix that. Obviously fruits are the healthiest fix for sugar. Your blood needs it for your body to function well. You feel sluggish, foggy, and tired for no real good reason. You’ll think youre depressed or something. Feels like you just forget how to do things.
Sugar is good for you.
In moderation that is.
When I was in my early teens I hardly had any snacks or ‘food on time’ by the traditional means. I was diagnosed with RA at a very young age and due to the meds my appetite was impacted. Had no taste what so ever. So my routine was early morning I’ll have a glass of milk. Then no food till 1. Have lunch consisting of wheat bread /rice and veggies. Then I’ll be having dinner around 7. I never ate sugar much either. My mother used to add a tsp of sugar in my milk. I was healthy in the sense that I never got fever or cold as frequently as my peers at that age. I was strong some how. I was lean as well. I used to eat variety of veggies and less fruits. Hardly had chocolates either. So in short one can survive without sugar or limited sugar.
Monosaccharides require no insulin right? Fruit sugars…from whole foods can never be too much sugar especially with correct food combining. You wouldn’t want to eat a ton of fruit and cause fermentation in the gut with meats, and grains ect. Its best its eaten alone and grouped correctly…