Today I was out with my family shopping, and we were looking for some low-carb options for fast food. They asked me to look up offerings from Chick-fil-a, so I did. After a lot of digging, I found some nutritional information on their web site. They had a section for a "healthful lifestyle" where low fat, low calorie, and low carb items were featured. Naturally, I clicked on low carb. If their site allowed copy and paste, I'd do that here, but it doesn't. (Here is the link at least: http://www.chickfila.com/?#healthylifestyle )

So, if carbohydrates are the main source of fuel for the body and brain, where on earth has my brain been getting fuel for the last month? Shouldn't I be symptomatic or something? Of carb deficiency? 'Cause I'm not.

Somehow, despite all the scientific evidence to the contrary, I have remained conscious, keen, and healthy without all the needless carbs.

Anyone else?

Same here! My grades have gotten higher ever since I started this diet, and I rarely ever have homework because I'm so efficient in class these days. And that's a big deal to me, considering that my grades used to be in the 60s and below.

I don't think carbs have anything to do with it.

Actually, my instructor for Fitness and Wellness in university said that our brains need at least 130g (don't quote me on that number) of carbs a day to function properly...not sure how accurate that is.

lol...good point! I was just stating what my instructor who has a masters in nutrition taught us in class. I know most of the information they learn is based on the old-fashioned way of thinking.

I actually feel more alert and less sluggish on low carb. When I eat carbs I tend to feel foggy headed....probably an insulin reaction...

The thing is, no cell in the human body actually uses carbs in its original form. The brain can only use glucose which is most efficiently made from carbs but all food is broken down into glucose at varying rates. Saying our brains eat carbs is like saying our cars run on oil when in fact both carbs (and all food for that matter) and oil are the merely raw materials from which the final fuel is extracted.

honeybjones is right. Your brain still uses glucose for energy. If your body doesn't have any carbs to break down into glucose, it'll just make it from proteins and fats instead. It's called gluconeogenesis - making glucose from non-carbohydrate sources.

You've probably heard how it can be bad for your body if you don't consume enough calories.. that's because to get the fuel you need, your body will start breaking down the proteins in your muscles to use as energy sources.

Basically, you're gonna make glucose from something.. preferably fat

Yes, what all of you have said! It is exasperating that more people don't understand how the body feeds the brain its glucose -- and I give most people that, because I can't expect them to know really.

But a major franchise like Chick-fil-a prefacing its low-carb choices with misleading information is .... I suppose it would be funny if it weren't so ignorant.

If it's deliberate, then maybe there's a conspiracy between Chick-fil-a and some bread company, perhaps a signing of some sort of pact for mutual support that involves an anti-low-carb campaign.

(or maybe my imagination is just a little intense today. Probably the full moon)

I dunno, the closer I look at things, the weirder it gets. For example, wheat is what--the 2nd most common allergen in the U.S.? And yet our USDA recommends we base our entire diet on it? Someone is definitely in bed with someone else. Hold on, there are men in jackboots kicking down my door. Be right back...