Contents:
- Medical Video: The 10 Best Foods To Boost Brain Power and Improve Memory
- Carbohydrates as an energy source for the brain
- Fat as an energy source for the brain
- Which nutrients are better for brain health?
Medical Video: The 10 Best Foods To Boost Brain Power and Improve Memory
During this time you know that maybe only sugar or glucose is the main energy source of the brain. It is true, glucose obtained from carbohydrates is a good source of energy for the brain and also the entire human body. However, it turns out ketones obtained from fat can also be used as an energy source for the brain. Well, it means that between glucose from carbohydrates and ketones from fat, which is more needed as an energy source for the brain?
Carbohydrates as an energy source for the brain
The brain needs a lot of energy, just like other limbs. In fact, the brain can consume as much energy as a quarter of the body's total energy intake. This is not surprising, because more than 80 billion neurons (nerve cells) send and receive signals to think and regulate emotions 24 hours without stopping every day. Even when you are sleeping.
Most of the energy for the brain is taken from glucose derived from carbohydrates. About 50% of glucose intake that enters the body can be used by the brain as energy. Quite a lot, isn't it, to supply energy to the brain?
Therefore, you may feel dizzy and less focused when feeling hungry. The problem is, when hungry the brain doesn't get enough glucose to be converted into energy. Then the brain also experiences a lack of energy.
Fat as an energy source for the brain
Although the brain's main energy is glucose, in certain circumstances the brain also uses energy from other sources outside of carbohydrates. This happens when the carbohydrate reserves in your body are almost gone. The brain becomes the first organ to realize that there is a lack of energy from glucose in your body.
At this time, the brain will use ketones from fat as energy. Ketones themselves are substances that are produced when the body converts fat into energy. Now, ketones can provide more energy and longer than glucose, even for weeks, months, and years. This special substance can also provide energy for the brain up to 60% of the need.
Ketones may be the energy that the brain likes. Besides because ketones can provide more energy for the brain, their use is more efficient than glucose. Not only that, ketones are also digested faster by the body than glucose. So, ketones can also supply energy faster.
Not only that, the use of ketones as energy for the brain can also increase mental acuity while protecting the brain from nerve disorders and inflammation in the brain. Ketones can be a carbon source for glutamate so they can balance the glutamate ratio in the brain. This can then help prevent nerve disorders in the brain, as quoted from Ketogenic.com.
The brain may get energy from this ketone when you are fasting, after carrying out strenuous exercise, after sleeping, or on a ketogenic diet. At this time, your body may reduce the lack of glucose as energy for the brain.
Which nutrients are better for brain health?
Both glucose and ketones can both be energy sources for the brain. Both can be used interchangeably. The human brain can regulate when it will use glucose or ketones as its energy.
Well, ketones can be better than glucose under certain conditions. For example in people with epilepsy who are advised to apply the ketogenic diet. This diet allows the brain to use ketones as energy because of more fat intake and less carbohydrate intake on the ketogenic diet.
Although the use of ketones may be more efficient and beneficial for the brain than glucose as energy. However, the long-term effects of using ketones as energy for the brain are unknown. So, you still have to consume glucose wisely to provide energy for the brain and also for the body as a whole.
Glucose itself can be obtained from complex carbohydrates. For example whole wheat, fruits, and vegetables. While fats that are good for the brain can be obtained from fish, beans, avocados, and seeds such as cucumber.
