Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I have been thinking about going into ketosis to try to combat my brain fog issues (cognition problems, trouble forming new memories, and a general feeling of being in an altered state of consciousness). Has anyone had experience either with ketosis and brain fog or just feeling better mentally when in ketosis?

flag	asked Aug 5 at 23:48 College 734●2●14

Zym · Answer 1 · 2012-08-06 00:09:19Z UTC

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From my research, a lot of psychological symptoms can come from digestive issues (leaky gut and undigested proteins in the bloodstream). I have definitely had improvement in brain fog as well as other health problems from following the GAPS Diet ( http://www.gapsdiet.com/ ), which is generally high fat, and can be altered to your specific needs. Another important aspect of that diet is the incorporation of fermented foods and bone broths.

I am not sure specifically if ketosis would help brain fog, but I would wager it would.

I would definitely recommend buying the book Gut and Psychology Syndrome, but the web site has tons of information freely available as well: http://www.gapsdiet.com/

answered Aug 6 at 0:09

Zym
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	I actually did the GAPS diet for about three months. I think it helped me, but it is quite hard to tell. Can you tell me a bit more about your experience with it? – College Aug 6 at 23:16
	Did you do the intro diet? – College Aug 6 at 23:16
	Also, what other health problems have you had? What was your diet like before GAPS? Do you have any other resources about the GAPS diet and brain fog? I was diagnosed with celiac disease about a year ago so it stands that I have quite a few digestive issues. Perhaps I need to go back to GAPS. – College Aug 6 at 23:18
	(Note - I don't have any lingering digestive issues except for the occasional uncomfortable intestine, I simply mean that it would make sense for my digestive system to still be out of whack, given the gluten damage done to it.) – College Aug 6 at 23:19
	Hi, I have had chronic lyme disease for about three years now and I think the wide variety of probiotics I take with gaps (the commercial products and homemade ferments) have been key to bringing me to my state of health today. I still have digestive pain and some other lingering problems, but I have a lot more energy and much less psychological symptoms (anxiety, panic, mild brain fog). (The only diet I recommend that isn't GAPS is Raw Paleo, but most people including myself don't really want to commit to it, although it is very healing.) – Jared 0 secs ago – Zym Aug 7 at 5:33

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Ambimorph · Answer 2 · 2012-08-06 15:14:55Z UTC

I definitely feel better mentally in ketosis, and I think it would be worth an experiment. However, it can take a few days to get into ketosis, and you might actually feel worse before you feel better. So if you are going to try it, you should commit to staying at VLC levels for at least a couple of weeks before making a judgement. My website has an article on keto-adaptation that you might find helpful during the transition.

raydawg · Answer 3 · 2012-08-06 10:14:49Z UTC

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Sounds like you may well be sleep deprived, and/or nutrient deprived. Julia Ross's Mood Cure book will point out which aminos may help.

Going 100% paleo (i.e. removing wheat and other grains, and legumes) may improve the brain fog.

Ketosis could help, but it might not.

answered Aug 6 at 10:14

raydawg
14.5k●8●32

I am 100% strict paleo (note - I'm a celiac). I have read Ross's Mood Cure and tried her aminos. – College Aug 6 at 22:40

Snauzoo · Answer 4 · 2012-10-01 21:03:44Z UTC

My experience has been that it helps. I have been eating relatively low carb Paleo for about a year and recently added a lot more fat to my diet, reduced my carbs to essentially Atkins induction levels, and added full fat dairy to replace some of the starcher carb calories as well as some of the leaner proteins I was eating. Since I had been sugar and grain free but using low fat dairy and lean meats when I went Paleo it was not a huge jolt. No carb flu or feeling like crap like I did 10 yrs ago when I first cut out the grains and sugars.

I just woke up one day last week and went Wow! I feel so focused. I wish I could quantify it but it's just a feeling of well being and lightness.

All other things being equal my sleep and activity are unchanged. Everyone is different though. The only way to know for sure is do it. Just make sure you don't get into that horrible no mans land of not being low carb enough for ketosis but not high enough in consumption to be constantly going to the well for sugar. Meaning do not spike your cortisol and go down that sugar burning route. Robb Wolf podcast 149 I think, last question addresses this issue.

For me chugging coconut oil made no difference but eating a shitton of cream and raw milk cheese worked. And yes I am hungry. No appetite blunting for extraordinarily long periods. I can skip lunch but need to eat at 3 if I do and that messes up dinner and sleep. I have a family so I try to have normal meal times around a normal schedule of arising at 6 and lights out at 10. Dinner the old Midwest way...at 5 and breakfast as soon as we are up and dressed.

It's not good for me to get too hungry and what I am doing seems to work.

Ketosis to combat brain fog

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