Mental work lowers the level of blood glucose and stimulates the appetite, as shown by study at Universite Laval, Quebec.
"Mental work "destabilizes" the levels of insulin and glucose, two critical components in the body's regulatory and energy machinery, thus stimulating the appetite, said Jean-Philippe Chaput, lead author of the study."
It's an interesting study but hardly something that we, the migraine people, have not known already. With our overactive brains, we burn through blood glucose as if we are on a sugar-drip IV.
However, here's a statement made by the leader of this study, Jean-Philippe Chaput, PhD, that yours truly finds erroneous:
"The brain uses only glucose for energy; unlike the muscles, which use fat and glucose."
This is not exactly true. While the brain would use glucose when it's abundantly available, there are other sources of energy it can use. Namely ketones and lactate.
Another omission in this study is that they have not looked at the composition of the snacks in question. While it is a "natural" reflex for humans to reach for something sweet when we are hungry - high calorie means high energy, right? - what we usually get is basically white bread (with whatever we put in between the ban) and high-fructose syrup. It's a so called high-glycemic food. Better known as junk food.
This is where we, humans, migraine people or normals, go against our own nature.
High-glycemic food spikes the blood glucose for a very short time, just long enough for insulin to kick in and start storing it into our fat reserves. A short time later - we need to top up our glucose levels again. And again. And very little of it goes to the brain, which is starving since we don't eat enough fat to produce ketones that would provide a sustainable, long lasting power.
Thus, some people involved in intense mental work get fat, some get migraines and some get both.
But not because we think. It's because of what we eat.
link: Does Thinking Make Us Fatter?
link: Glycemic Instability and Spontaneous Energy Intake: Association With Knowledge-Based Work
Sunday
Can Thinking Make You Fat?
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2 comments:
"But not because we think. It's because of what we eat." Oh, good one! I was getting scared at the start of your piece there Rain, that I would have to stop thinking to a) reduce my Migraines and b) lose any weight, but thank goodness it all comes back to the same thing, hi-glycemic bad, lo-glycemic good, go feed my brain some whole grains and fruit and nuts and veggies, yes?
Actually, more fat and some protein. Less sugar in any form is better. Whole grain is better than refined but still not that great for you. It's OK in moderation but it still becomes sugar at the end of the digestive process, just not as fast. Can't say nothing against nuts though, them's good :P
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