Hi all, excited to try this diet out! Just been a few days since starting, but have been feeling good, and surprisingly not hungry either, which is a small miracle for me, WOW!

My main concern, though, is what this type of low-carb diet will do to cognition (i.e. ability to concentrate, think clearly, do mental work without getting overly tired, etc.)? I don’t know if it’s the diet these first 3-4 days or attributable to something else, but I have actually felt surprisingly more clear-minded, at least so far. I just wanted to ask people for their experiences, what I can expect going into the future (next few weeks, months, and longer-term beyond) in terms of mental effects? Do folks find this type of diet impairs cognition/helps it/doesn’t affect, etc? I did come across some relatively dated and perhaps questionable research studies stating cognition weakened on a super low carb (<15 grams/day of carbs) diet for 3 weeks?

Hi,
Welcome, I have felt no loss of alertness etc and the reality is that this plan is not a super low carb diet. We cut out the refined carbs but still get carbs in veggies and pulses. People who watch and count carbs on this plan talk about staying under 50g of carb a day for the 8 weeks – way more than the study that you refer to. (And lots of us don’t manage that level but still keep to principles).

So the water is fine, carry on dive right in.

Hi, if you mean long term damage to brain cells or memory you can stop worrying. When you tell ‘experts’ you are on 50 grams (around) of carbs they freak out and say your brain needs carbs, well it is getting carbs, good carbs, not carbs that turn straight to sugar and give you highs and lows. Some people might find it impairs mental agility in the first week or so, that is simply because you are on a diet, any diet, all you can think about is what you are going to eat next, your brain is taken up with the important job of seeking out the right foods. It is a bit like having a new hobby and becoming a bit obsessed with it. It calms down eventually. Glad you have not had any bad effects and remember, most of the research on diets and their effects on the human body were carried out 40 or 50 years ago, and have not bothered to be updated. I’m sure you can find some more modern thinking in the annals of google.

Good luck with the regime and enjoy the benefits.

There’s a New England Journal of Medicine research paper on their website on the effects of carbs and diets in general on brain function and healthy cell maintenance. They found very little evidence of the impact of low carb on brain function, even in people with long-term lower-carb diets, e.g. Inuit/Eskimo/Canadian First Nations.

I personally feel much more alert but frankly I put that down to sleeping a lot better.

Thanks to everyone who’s responded so far, much appreciated! To repeat, I have felt quite a significant, notable benefit in clarity of thought and ability to concentrate in these first 4 days or so, and it’s caught me quite by surprise — if this mental sharpness continues, it will be a huge boon for me! Again, that benefit might not be because of this diet and rather something else, but I’d love to hear from others about any of their experiences (the good, the bad, and the ugly!) in terms of cognitive changes observed with this diet?

One additional question I’d like to ask is, does anyone know of diets that are known to IMPROVE cognitive function, in terms of things like short-term memory, attention, or long-term memory, etc.? While my main goal with this BSD is to lower my risk for diabetes, I’m very keen to try also things that’ll help with particularly attention or short-term memory.

Thanks again guys, this is a wonderful community!

I saw a TV show recently where they had twin brothers on opposite diets and tested various things. The one on super-low carb did much worse on both physical and mental tests than the one on super low fat. BUT it was almost zero carb, we eat a lot more than that here, AND he wouldn’t have been used to that diet yet, maybe he would have improved once his body adjusted.

I think any diet that replaces all the processed junk most of us used to eat with real food is going to improve mental function. Don’t know how the number of calories will affect it though. Probably depends how efficiently our bodies are processing our fat stores. I’ve tested myself with ketostix and I’m burning fat very nicely (there is some dispute about whether you can use ketostix for this purpose).