7 ms·

I've read that keto diets cause brain fog. I searched it quickly and a bunch of results turned up, too. Is keto intended to be a long term diet?

liversage 5y ago
Some would say keto is a way of eating as opposed to a diet that can been seen as a temporary change of eating habits. I've never heard anybody say that keto causes brain fog. In fact a lot of people describes the opposite result which I would think most search results are about. There's also something called "keto flu" which some people experience for some time when they switch to a keto diet. These terms are pretty vague and the best way to get a better understanding is too try keto yourself. It's just a different way if eating. You don't have to cook fancy meals and you can stop at any time.
- wavesquid 5y ago
  I did keto for 5 months or so back in 2014. I found the brain fog description very apt. I couldn't think beyond a couple of moves ahead, which began affecting my work. Going back to a normal diet I was fine again.
  - Grimm1 5y ago
    I believe it's very much a person to person thing, I typically feel much clearer on a keto/low carb diet.
    - lvs 5y ago
      Or maybe none of this mumbo jumbo does anything and you're all fools?
      - Grimm1 5y ago
        If I'm foolish here, then I am to still be less foolish than someone who doesn't know when to simply keep their opinion to themselves.
      - astrange 5y ago
        It's more reasonable to believe it depends on the person, since why wouldn't it.
        411111111111111 5y ago
        Because saying "it depends on the person" is akin to saying "there are too many (possibly unknown) variables at play to actually figure out what causes what". Nutritional sciences have it hard. it's basically impossible to really isolate cause and effect while staying moral with complex organisms like humans
        astrange 5y ago
        Especially because it might not be up to the human, since our digestion relies on symbiotic gut bacteria, which we don’t have good ways to test what they even are.
  - Shorel 5y ago
    You do yourself. If "normal" diet works, keep on it. Cheers.
johnkpaul 5y ago
I’m 4 years into carbohydrate recovery and strict keto. I expect to live the rest of my life this way. I have not experienced brain fog after my first few weeks of withdrawal.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
Shorel 5y ago
The answer is: it depends. The first two weeks while the body adapts, can have worse things than brain fog, and they are known as the keto flu. Some people can suffer from it, others are just fine all the time. After your body adjusts, you can feel sharper for a longer time than in carb heavy diets. In my particular case: I used to work fine for about two or even three hours after lunch (getting my carbs to be able to work). Now, with a keto diet, I can work for eight hours straight. I am and feel sharper. I have been in Keto for years now.
drfrank 5y ago
If you're having trouble concentrating on a ketogenic diet it's likely that you're not eating enough vegetables, and might be eating too much protein. Too much protein can take you out of ketosis, but people think they can just eat lean hamburger three times a day. If the fat/protein ratio is right, the inability to focus can be a symptom of electrolyte deficiency, particularly sodium, potassium, and magnesium. You should be getting potassium and magnesium from vegetables, but supplements can be a useful diagnostic tool: If you take 400 mg of potassium and find, an hour later, that you're thinking more clearly, that's data. Don't overdo it with electrolyte supplements, though; too much sodium can increase the calcium in your blood enough to give you kidney stones, if you're lucky, and worse effects if you're unlucky. Too much potassium can mess with your heart.
- mjbeswick 5y ago
  Eating more protein doesn't take you out of ketosis, that's just a myth; it will just lower the amount of keytones that are being produced. If only are protein or nothing at all and you would still be in ketosis.
watermelon0 5y ago
Keto diets are usually (not always!) used to lose weight. Calorie restriction is a sure way to get brain fogs, and it's easy to inadvertently be in caloric deficit when on keto, because you have to give up many foods, and there are no sudden cravings for sugary/starchy food.
lambdaba 5y ago
The problem with keto is, just like with "normal" diets is the wildly different formulations. You can do keto with trash food or simply bad ingredients (e.g. vegetable oils for fat, various processed "keto snacks") and aside from maybe some weight loss you won't experience any of the real and sustainable benefits. This is why you can't go with people's testimonials, I can guarantee you that people who say keto didn't work for them simply didn't know how to formulate the diet properly.
shlant 5y ago
> Is keto intended to be a long term diet? According to the literature, I would definitely advise against it. Good summary: https://www.thepaleomom.com/adverse-reactions-to-ketogenic-diets-caution-advised/ https://www.thepaleomom.com/adverse-reactions-to-ketogenic-d... Higher all-cause mortality: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3555979/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3555979/ Growth retardation: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002822302900933 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00028... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002822303003638 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00028... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261561412001197 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S02615... https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12455855/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12455855/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18676520/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18676520/ Kidney Stones in children: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2852806/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2852806/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11095028/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11095028/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10893623/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10893623/ https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0883073807301926 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/088307380730192... Bone mineral loss and bone health markers: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19064531/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19064531/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6985427/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6985427/ Benefits not sustained longterm. No better than high carb: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4674467/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4674467/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4090010/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4090010/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26413954/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26413954/ “long-term consumption of an LC diet may increase the risk of development of gastrointestinal disorders.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19224658/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19224658/ Ketogenic diets inhibit mitochondrial biogenesis and induce cardiac fibrosis (in rats) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-020-00411-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-020-00411-4 Long-Term Ketogenic Diet Induces Metabolic Acidosis, Anemia, and Oxidative Stress (in rats) https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnme/2020/3642035/ https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnme/2020/3642035/

liversage 5y ago

Some would say keto is a way of eating as opposed to a diet that can been seen as a temporary change of eating habits. I've never heard anybody say that keto causes brain fog. In fact a lot of people describes the opposite result which I would think most search results are about. There's also something called "keto flu" which some people experience for some time when they switch to a keto diet. These terms are pretty vague and the best way to get a better understanding is too try keto yourself. It's just a different way if eating. You don't have to cook fancy meals and you can stop at any time.

wavesquid 5y ago
I did keto for 5 months or so back in 2014. I found the brain fog description very apt. I couldn't think beyond a couple of moves ahead, which began affecting my work. Going back to a normal diet I was fine again.
- Grimm1 5y ago
  I believe it's very much a person to person thing, I typically feel much clearer on a keto/low carb diet.
  - lvs 5y ago
    Or maybe none of this mumbo jumbo does anything and you're all fools?
    - Grimm1 5y ago
      If I'm foolish here, then I am to still be less foolish than someone who doesn't know when to simply keep their opinion to themselves.
    - astrange 5y ago
      It's more reasonable to believe it depends on the person, since why wouldn't it.
      - 411111111111111 5y ago
        Because saying "it depends on the person" is akin to saying "there are too many (possibly unknown) variables at play to actually figure out what causes what". Nutritional sciences have it hard. it's basically impossible to really isolate cause and effect while staying moral with complex organisms like humans
        astrange 5y ago
        Especially because it might not be up to the human, since our digestion relies on symbiotic gut bacteria, which we don’t have good ways to test what they even are.
- Shorel 5y ago
  You do yourself. If "normal" diet works, keep on it. Cheers.

johnkpaul 5y ago

I’m 4 years into carbohydrate recovery and strict keto. I expect to live the rest of my life this way. I have not experienced brain fog after my first few weeks of withdrawal.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

Shorel 5y ago

The answer is: it depends. The first two weeks while the body adapts, can have worse things than brain fog, and they are known as the keto flu. Some people can suffer from it, others are just fine all the time. After your body adjusts, you can feel sharper for a longer time than in carb heavy diets. In my particular case: I used to work fine for about two or even three hours after lunch (getting my carbs to be able to work). Now, with a keto diet, I can work for eight hours straight. I am and feel sharper. I have been in Keto for years now.

drfrank 5y ago

If you're having trouble concentrating on a ketogenic diet it's likely that you're not eating enough vegetables, and might be eating too much protein. Too much protein can take you out of ketosis, but people think they can just eat lean hamburger three times a day. If the fat/protein ratio is right, the inability to focus can be a symptom of electrolyte deficiency, particularly sodium, potassium, and magnesium. You should be getting potassium and magnesium from vegetables, but supplements can be a useful diagnostic tool: If you take 400 mg of potassium and find, an hour later, that you're thinking more clearly, that's data. Don't overdo it with electrolyte supplements, though; too much sodium can increase the calcium in your blood enough to give you kidney stones, if you're lucky, and worse effects if you're unlucky. Too much potassium can mess with your heart.

mjbeswick 5y ago
Eating more protein doesn't take you out of ketosis, that's just a myth; it will just lower the amount of keytones that are being produced. If only are protein or nothing at all and you would still be in ketosis.

watermelon0 5y ago

Keto diets are usually (not always!) used to lose weight. Calorie restriction is a sure way to get brain fogs, and it's easy to inadvertently be in caloric deficit when on keto, because you have to give up many foods, and there are no sudden cravings for sugary/starchy food.

lambdaba 5y ago

The problem with keto is, just like with "normal" diets is the wildly different formulations. You can do keto with trash food or simply bad ingredients (e.g. vegetable oils for fat, various processed "keto snacks") and aside from maybe some weight loss you won't experience any of the real and sustainable benefits. This is why you can't go with people's testimonials, I can guarantee you that people who say keto didn't work for them simply didn't know how to formulate the diet properly.

shlant 5y ago

> Is keto intended to be a long term diet? According to the literature, I would definitely advise against it. Good summary: https://www.thepaleomom.com/adverse-reactions-to-ketogenic-diets-caution-advised/ https://www.thepaleomom.com/adverse-reactions-to-ketogenic-d... Higher all-cause mortality: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3555979/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3555979/ Growth retardation: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002822302900933 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00028... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0002822303003638 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00028... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261561412001197 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S02615... https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12455855/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12455855/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18676520/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18676520/ Kidney Stones in children: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2852806/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2852806/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11095028/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11095028/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10893623/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10893623/ https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0883073807301926 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/088307380730192... Bone mineral loss and bone health markers: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19064531/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19064531/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6985427/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6985427/ Benefits not sustained longterm. No better than high carb: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4674467/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4674467/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4090010/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4090010/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26413954/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26413954/ “long-term consumption of an LC diet may increase the risk of development of gastrointestinal disorders.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19224658/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19224658/ Ketogenic diets inhibit mitochondrial biogenesis and induce cardiac fibrosis (in rats) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-020-00411-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-020-00411-4 Long-Term Ketogenic Diet Induces Metabolic Acidosis, Anemia, and Oxidative Stress (in rats) https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnme/2020/3642035/ https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jnme/2020/3642035/