Memory Side Effects of Low Carb Diets

By WLR Guest Writer, Cara Frost-Sharratt

New scientific research has concluded that diets limiting the intake of carbohydrates can have a detrimental effect on memory.

The results of the study appeared in Appetite (a nutrition research journal) and were based on a survey of women who embarked on either a low-fat or low-carb diet. Those following the low-carb version found it difficult to complete a set of memory-based tasks after just one week following the diet.

Link Between Low Carb Diets and Short Term Memory Loss

It appears that there is a definite link between carbohydrate deficiency in the body and certain memory-focused functions in the brain. Scientists believe that this could be due to the fact that carbohydrates contain essential energy in the form of glucose. In the same way that a car needs petrol to fuel it, our brains use glucose as energy to keep them performing well: take that energy away and they begin to deteriorate.

WLR says . . .

It seems that low-carb diets could result in both weight loss and memory loss. It’s hardly surprising that making a drastic change to your diet can have an impact on other areas of your well-being. A balanced diet consists of a combination of essential components that your body requires in order to stay fit and healthy. If you deprive it of one of these components then it’s obviously going to react in some way. Any sensible weight loss programme like Weight Loss Resources, will advocate a regime of healthy eating, rather than faddy crash diets, or those that ban certain types of foods.

Memory Restored with Healthy Diet

This particular study found that by reintroducing carbohydrates, regular memory function was restored immediately. However, many people follow similar diet plans for months. The obvious example is the Atkins diet, which took the diet world by storm in the mid-eighties. The theory behind Atkins is that by severely limiting carbohydrates, the body will start burning excess fat for fuel instead. The diet had a phenomenal following and a big celebrity endorsement. But its strict limitation of carbohydrates has since come under attack as more studies reveal the importance of a nutritionally balanced diet that includes all the major food groups.

Healthy Eating and Exercise the Way Forward

If weight loss is a long-term goal then a highly restrictive diet is not the answer. Although crash diets are often used as a short, sharp route to weight loss, there can be no positive outcome from depriving your body of the foods it genuinely requires. Far better to follow a sensible weight loss programme and breath a new lease of life into your eating and exercise regime. A healthy attitude results in a healthy body.