Food on Mood and Cognitive Performance
What do we know about food?
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Food is essential to life-but are we eating the right thing?
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Over the course of time, food has been severely modified from its original form
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The Standard American Diet (SAD) has significantly impacted both physical and mental well-being
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We are seeing significant increases in mood-related disorders and stress levels-is our dietary intake and lifestyle have some fault?
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Food can either be POISON or MEDICINE
What about food on the brain?
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Food impacts numerous neurotransmitters-either for good or detriment. The primary neurotransmitters:
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Serotonin
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Norepinephrine
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Dopamine
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Acetylcholine
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Food impacts mitochondria
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biogenesis (creation)
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cellular respiration
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energy creation
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Ketogenic Diet on
Brain Functioning
What is a Ketogenic Diet?
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Low carbohydrate (5-10%), moderate protein (20-25%), high fat (75-80% or higher)
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Significant reduction/elimination of processed sugars and carbohydrates
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Having the body run on ketone bodies instead of glucose.
What are Ketones?
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Source of fuel produced by the liver from fat
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Another source of fuel for the brain!
Ketones and the Brain
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Okay....it's true...the brain does need glucose...HOWEVER
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We create glucose via a process called gluconeogenesis
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This process does not require us to eat carbohydrates!
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Ketones are responsible for increased efficiency in ATP production within mitochondria
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Ketones can result in increased energy for brain functioning
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Because there is a lot more fat than glucose available in our body, we can tap into these reserves and have increased and sustained cognitive effects
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You can enter into ketosis via fasting or eating a low-carb, moderate protein, high fat diet.
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Your brain neurons are protected by myelin (which is composed of fat)
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This is responsible for faster neuronal processing
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