Self-Control Relies on Glucose as a Limited Energy Source (2007)

Re:Self-Control Relies on Glucose as a Limited Energy Source... by mtw on Tuesday October 24, 2017 @05:42PM (#15545489)

This is simplistic. When I am on a low carb diet but for whatever reason decide to eat a doughnut or anything loaded with simple sugars, then I begin to be irritable, have cravings and generally less focused on work. The findings applies only for people who are stuck on high-carb diet

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Re:Self-Control Relies on Glucose as a Limited Energy Source... by zzalpha on Tuesday October 24, 2017 @05:50PM (#15545537)

Your reading is simplistic.

This is talking about blood glucose levels, which is influenced by many factors, including glucose production in the liver.

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Re:Self-Control Relies on Glucose as a Limited Energy Source... by leovonl on Tuesday October 24, 2017 @08:48PM (#15546475)

His reading is simplistic, but so is the article: there is no mention about different metabolic states, for instance.

The brain depends on a very small quantity of glucose to function - it arguably is more efficient with ketone bodies, for instance [1] - so covering not only glycolysis seems like an incomplete research.

[1] https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/the-fat...

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Re:Self-Control Relies on Glucose as a Limited Energy Source... by wastra on Tuesday October 24, 2017 @10:36PM (#15546975)

Yes, this is another flaw, but there are much bigger flaws in their work!

Also, they only fasted people for 3h. I've sucked a lot of junk out of peoples' stomachs who have had longer fasts, so this is not even a glycogenolisis phase: they could easily have been digesting food still. The participants were students, so maybe some had drunk alcohol, which, like a ketone is a two-carbon molecule...

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Re:Self-Control Relies on Glucose as a Limited Energy Source... by nazgul17 on Tuesday October 24, 2017 @06:10PM (#15545663)

Also, if your glucose level increases too much, your body deals with it by taking it all away, being you into a sugar low. Afair ;)

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Re:Self-Control Relies on Glucose as a Limited Energy Source... by darpa_escapee on Tuesday October 24, 2017 @06:33PM (#15545781)

A spike in blood sugar is not the same as not having depleted your normal blood sugar concentration.

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Re:Self-Control Relies on Glucose as a Limited Energy Source... by Chronicwhy on Wednesday October 25, 2017 @03:44AM (#15548250)

Fructose causes cravings not glucose. Glucose is barely sweet, and gives you a instant energy.

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