Low-carb, fasting, and euphoria

[Steve Shafley]

Somehow I missed this one.

Med Hypotheses. 2007;68(2):268-71. Epub 2006 Oct 2. Links
Low-carb diets, fasting and euphoria: Is there a link between ketosis and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB)?

* Brown AJ.

School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia.

Anecdotal evidence links the initial phase of fasting or a low-carbohydrate diet with feelings of well-being and mild euphoria. These feelings have often been attributed to ketosis, the production of ketone bodies which can replace glucose as an energy source for the brain. One of these ketone bodies, beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), is an isomer of the notorious drug of abuse, GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate). GHB is also of interest in relation to its potential as a treatment for alcohol and opiate dependence and narcolepsy-associated cataplexy. Here I hypothesize that, the mild euphoria often noted with fasting or low-carbohydrate diets may be due to shared actions of BHB and GHB on the brain. Specifically, I propose that BHB, like GHB, induces mild euphoria by being a weak partial agonist for GABA(B) receptors. I outline several approaches that would test the hypothesis, including receptor binding studies in cultured cells, perception studies in trained rodents, and psychometric testing and functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans. These and other studies investigating whether BHB and GHB share common effects on brain chemistry and mood are timely and warranted, especially when considering their structural similarities and the popularity of ketogenic diets and GHB as a drug of abuse.

[Neal Winkler]

*rubs chin thoughtfully* I knew y'all were hippies...

[Steve Liberati]

Kid you not but I was planning to write a post on this very same topic. Tried the 12-6pm eating window over the last few weeks and recently went back to the 7-8pm to 5pm (overnight) fast that I was doing all along. My mood and energy levels jumped off the charts. Seriosily. Feel like I've been walking around high on life all week long. It's great! Who needs prozac???

[Greg Davis]

Steve S.- do you have a web link to the study??

I can definitely attest to what theyre referring to. For anyone that has tried drugs like ecstacy or amphetamines in your younger days (i said tried not abused! - im not advocating drug use, just think the connection here is interesting) youll know that when you really tap in to high energy you can feel it through your jaw.. kind of hard to explain but a sure way to tell if someone is hopped up on drugs is they clinch their jaw cuz they can barely hold back their energy.

I can honestly say that when im in a fasting state I get a minor version of this sometimes, where I feel hungry, alive, and I it manifests itself through a bit of a jaw clench (helps me get psyched up to try a hard bouldering problem!). To a lot lesser degree but there is something goin on there..

Steve L.- Can you explain those hours?

7-8pm to 5pm (overnight) fast

Are you doing this intermittently or every day? Doesn't that only leave a few hours each day for eating?

[Steve Liberati]

Originally Posted by Greg Davis

Steve L.- Can you explain those hours?

Are you doing this intermittently or every day? Doesn't that only leave a few hours each day for eating?

It's every other day. After a day of eating 3-5 meals (# of meals depending) I'll stop eating around 7pm in the evening...fast throughout the night of course...until around 5pm the following day (+~20hrs). Workout around 4:30-5 that day in a fasted state, wait like a half hr before eating 2-3 meals (# of meals depending) before calling it a day and going to bed. Next day will be a feed day where I'll eat anywhere from 4-5 smaller meals to 3 decent size meals. All protein and fat macros with exception to veggies and an occasional apple.

Doing this for about last 6-7 months and absolutely loving the results. Improvements across the board!

[Greg Davis]

Steve L.- I like that sounds of that!

I love how IF is so flexible, depending on what comes up during the week you can always skip meals or have have less on a feed day.. only thing that can be tricky is making sure to get enough cals in if you fly by the seat of yer pants. But the more you play with it you start to get a feel for what you need. Great to hear how people are evolving their take on IF.

[Robb Wolf]

Originally Posted by Greg Davis

Steve S.- do you have a web link to the study??

I can definitely attest to what theyre referring to. For anyone that has tried drugs like ecstacy or amphetamines in your younger days (i said tried not abused! - im not advocating drug use, just think the connection here is interesting) youll know that when you really tap in to high energy you can feel it through your jaw.. kind of hard to explain but a sure way to tell if someone is hopped up on drugs is they clinch their jaw cuz they can barely hold back their energy.

I can honestly say that when im in a fasting state I get a minor version of this sometimes, where I feel hungry, alive, and I it manifests itself through a bit of a jaw clench (helps me get psyched up to try a hard bouldering problem!). To a lot lesser degree but there is something goin on there..

Steve L.- Can you explain those hours?

Are you doing this intermittently or every day? Doesn't that only leave a few hours each day for eating?

Greg-

I know exactly what you mean about the jaw clench. Quite a number of people, from Lights Out authors to Devany, Seyfried and Mattson have conjectured that ketosis is THE default metabolism in humans. It kinda makes sense in light of intermittent fasting and the likely composition of the ancestral diet.

[Greg Davis]

Very interesting Robb! Is this study Steve has posted available online?

[Steve Shafley]

I'll see if I can get a copy of it.

[kevin mckay]

Hey I think I posted this before but guess it is so relevant I will risk redundancy, when I was in college I fasted for a week and it was a real mind bender. Toward the end things took on a strange crystalline quality and I was well beyond euphoric.