Brain Fog After A Meal? 3 Reasons You Feel Drained
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by Agne V.
- Last update on October 26, 2022
Picture this scenario.
The alarm clock buzzed at 1 PM. Time for lunch.
Your stomach, empty for hours, growls in protest as if it could consume an entire elephant. The hunger pangs intensify, you crave not just any meal, but a feast fit for a king.
Yep
As you stand in a seemingly never-ending line at the lunch spot, your colleague makes a sensible choice, opting for a healthy egg omelet cooked with fresh herbs. But not you. In a haze of reckless indulgence, you order a mound of golden fries and a mouthwatering bacon cheddar cheeseburger. And what better way to wash it all down than with a can of sparkling, sugar-laden Coke?
Unsurprisingly, your ravenous hunger leads to overeating, causing your body to struggle under the weight of excessive food. Instead of feeling energized, you find yourself trapped in a mental fog, unable to concentrate. Fatigue creeps up on you, making it a battle to keep your eyes open. You yearn for the sweet escape of sleep, but responsibility at work forces you to push on. In desperation, you consider the only lifeline left – a cup of coffee that could potentially jolt you back to life.
What really happens to you?
Meat Mr. Sugar Crash
Right.
Here the undeniable truth of a reactive sugar crash starts. Once you indulge in a multitude of carbohydrates, brace yourself for the inevitable plunge in energy levels that follows. From the mouthwatering burger dripping with deliciousness, to the heavenly pasta twirled around your fork, and even that irresistible slice of cheesy pizza – all these culinary delights, alongside the tantalizingly warm bread and delectable starchy vegetables, join forces to bring about an abrupt decrease in your energy levels.
That’s not fair!
This can be incredibly frustrating. After a hearty meal, you should be feeling sharp, motivated, and ready to conquer any task that comes your way. Instead, you yearn for a nap instead of seizing the moment. However, there are steps you can take to change this scenario and conquer the brain fog that often comes with it.
Let’s gain a deeper understanding of the foods you consume and the 3 key reasons why they may be causing you to feel drained after a meal. By addressing these underlying causes and making informed dietary choices, you can power through your day with clarity and focus, rather than succumbing to the post-meal crash that leaves you reaching for that afternoon cup of coffee.
So, let’s change the game, shall we?
Your Brain Needs Constant Energy
Despite weighing just 2% of your body weight, your brain is a voracious energy consumer. Impressing upon us its unparalleled importance, neurologist Daniel Drubach M.D. reveals that this powerhouse organ devours 20% of the body’s energy. These figures alone highlight the astonishing productivity of the brain, making it undeniably the most active and essential organ in your body.
Feeling lethargic and drained after a meal could very well indicate an insufficient energy supply to your brain.
Could it be that the issue lies not only in the quantity but also in the quality of the energy supplied to your brain?
1. Glucose For Your Brain Is Like A Diesel For Your Car
Just like filling up your car with regular diesel fuel might give you power in the short term but ultimately leads to pollution and damage to the environment. Feeding your brain with excess glucose from refined carbohydrates and sugary foods may give you a temporary boost but can have harmful long-term effects on your brain health.
Choosing a diesel car is the same as choosing to feed your brain glucose. It’s cheaper than other fuel forms (well, it was), but it’s detrimental to the environment. Similarly, glucose is harmful to your brain.
Why?
Neurons (brain cells) need glucose more than any other cell in the body. But when insulin absorbs glucose from the bloodstream, there is nothing left for the neurons. Now you experience a temporary shortage of blood and nutrients for your brain that brushes your focus away and leaves you lightheaded. A functional medicine healthcare provider and research scientist Datis Kharrazian explains that in his book, “Why Isn’t My Brain Working?”
Wait.
“Glucose is harmful to your brain”… AND… “Neurons need glucose more than any cell in the body.”
You’re caught up in the swirling confusion.
Let’s bring clarity to that.
EXCESS glucose is harmful!
But I don’t eat only sweets!
When you hear: “Excess glucose is harmful,” the claim doesn’t go only about sugary desserts. But also about any food containing refined carbohydrates, such as pasta (even whole grain), donuts, bagels (even whole grain), bread, candy, beer, soda drinks, juice, and more. These carbs travel down your esophagus to your stomach. There, acids and enzymes break it down into tiny pieces, called glucose. So carbs equal glucose.
The same glucose consumed in high doses causes inflammation in the brain leading to cloudy brain and memory difficulties. A Behavioral Brain Research Study in 2016 confirms it.
What’s more harmful here?
Sugar is addictive, similar to heroin or cocaine. Who says that? According to neurologist David Perlmutter and author of “Grain Brain,” glucose stimulates specific brain areas that are linked to addiction. These areas are the same ones that light up in brain imaging studies when subjects are given cocaine.
Is it hard to imagine what sugar does to your brain?
Then watch an animated video prepared by neuroscientist Nicole Avena
You eat sugar. You activate your brain’s reward center. And, as a result, you start craving more sugar.
What a contradiction: your brain runs on glucose but consuming it slightly more than recommended brings you to smoky brain fog. Similarly, a diesel car without regular maintenance pollutes the environment with black smoke.
Are you still with me? Or maybe you are having a dream vacation in your nap?
If you want to prevent post-meal drowsiness, then you need to reconsider a different type of fuel.
Don’t let your brain become a big rig spewing black smoke. Choose fuel that supports your brain’s health and function, like a clean-burning alternative to diesel. Opt for a diet rich in nutrient-dense foods, including vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and healthy fats. These will give your brain the necessary nutrients to thrive without causing harmful inflammation.
A hint for you: 60% of your brain is made of fats, which craves high-quality fatty foods. If you eat a low-fat diet long-term, you starve your smart head apparatus of its optimal fuel, denying access to the brain’s peak performance. And who doesn’t want to use his/her brain productively?
2. Check The Glycemic Index
What would you choose for an unexpected craving moment?
A “Snickers” bar, a slice of whole-wheat bread, a banana or a tablespoon of pure white sugar?
Whole-wheat foods sound pretty healthy. But did you consider the greatest surge in blood sugar after eating a slice of bread?
What about a banana? Or “Snickers”? Or pure sugar?
4 different snacks.
4 different carbohydrates that your body doesn’t treat identically. The faster your body breaks down carbs into glucose, the higher the insulin response. A scale called the glycemic index (GI contains a scale of 0 to 100) measures this spike of sugar in the blood. Low glycemic foods release glucose into the bloodstream slowly and steadily without dramatic peaks and drops.
- Low GI foods have a value of 55 or less.
- Medium GI foods have a value of 56-69.
- High GI foods have a value of 70 or above.
Let’s assume you chose bread as the healthiest option. But here, you should know that whole-wheat bread glycemic index corresponds to GI=71, while sugar has a lower GI=68. Eating bread causes your blood insulin level to skyrocket. Your highly energetic state suddenly drops to a lethargic state, which you really can’t control.
So what kind of carbs should you eat to stay awake and keep your mind sharp?
What about leafy green vegetables such as broccoli and spinach? They contain fiber, which slows down the digestive process that causes a slow-moving funnel of glucose into the bloodstream.
If you want to know the GI of each meal you consume, check out this international table of the glycemic index.
3. What If Your Brain Is Sensitive To Gluten?
You read right – I meant brain, not your intestine.
“One of the most inflammatory foods for the brain is gluten,” – says neurologist Datis Kharrazian.
You read right – I meant brain, not your intestine.
“One of the most inflammatory foods for the brain is gluten,” – says neurologist Datis Kharrazian.
Increasing numbers of studies are confirming the link between gluten sensitivity and neurological dysfunction. More precisely, let’s dig into one of those case studies.
According to neurologist Dr. Marios Hadjivassiliou, his patient had no problems digesting gluten but suffered continuous hallucinations. Eliminating gluten wiped out the hallucinations and improved her concentration.
When the topic comes of hallucinations, I get frozen. Can you imagine living with that every day? And finally, to learn that all your mental problems were related to gluten?
What if your brain becomes sluggish only due to gluten?
Check this video out to learn about the possible gluten sensitivity of the non-celiac form. It might be an answer for your depression, brain fog, or other mental disorders.
Pay Attention To What You Eat
Feeling excellent and productive raises your quality of life. You feel happy to serve the world.
But if brain fog interferes with those productive tasks, how will you grow as a person?
Pay attention. How do you feel after eating spaghetti or bread versus fish and veggies?
Please study, which of your daily foods has the highest glycemic index. Then, make replacements. I swap whole wheat bread (GI-71) for low-carb bread made of almond flour (GI-1).
Challenge your menu and try a gluten-free diet for 4-6 weeks.
Your brain will pay off with mental clarity to focus on your most important tasks every day.
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Agne Valu-e
After Agne started the low-carb diet in 2019, she felt lighter, energetic and experienced sharp mental clarity. Therefore, sustaining the Keto diet became a powerful health tool she uses today to hack her biology. Agne’s mission is to inspire you to turn a temporary Keto diet into an entertaining Keto Lifestyle.
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