I was always fascinated by Peat's remark that injecting glucose into a chicken egg during the growth process makes the resulting hatchling way more intelligent. Overcoming glucose deficiency during pregnancy and the first years of life is the key to reach our human potential.
Now with the new focus on glucose, his statement that glucose is the limiting factor for brain growth has a bit more practical meaning. I was thinking about how taking glucose feels to me. I am realizing that I had misunderstood the way the brain works throughout my entire life.
I always considered the brain as some kind of passive organ that gets taken care of by the other organs and the blood.
But on dextrose, I suddenly started to feel my brain pulling out as much as glucose from the blood as it can. It's starving and wants more. The brain can be hungry for sugar. I can feel it soak in every single molecule of the extra blood sugar that comes in via dextrose.
And I started looking for some evidence in this direction and immediately I came across a source that actually confirms my subjective experience:
Translation from a german article:
"To secure its supply, the brain acts like an egomaniacal despot. It allocates the lion's share of the total amount of sugar available to itself without any scruples. To do this, it uses a mechanism that Achim Peters, a professor of medicine from Lübeck, first described in 1998 as brain pull and has since researched in ever greater detail. The pull principle he discovered literally turns the previous functional models of sugar distribution on their head. Peters and his research team discovered that the brain cannot be fobbed off with a passive glucose allocation. It gets what it needs. The brain triggers a pull and actively draws the acutely required amount of glucose from the energy stores in the liver, muscles and blood.
What looks like a nefarious ego trip is sheer necessity: the brain cannot store energy reserves and is dependent on a constant supply of fresh glucose. Even the smallest interruptions in the cerebral sugar supply have dramatic consequences: After ten seconds there is a loss of function, followed by the threat of fainting and coma, and irreversible brain damage occurs after just a few minutes.
So the brain can't help itself: in the interests of the system as a whole, it absolutely must maintain its uninterrupted and needs-based preferential supply of sugar. This is ensured by the brain pull. The active glucose demand mechanism is triggered and regulated with the help of a sophisticated, hormone-controlled triple strategy. If the brain's glucose level drops, it first stimulates the release of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. The agents of the stress system immediately block the entire insulin production of the pancreas. Due to the insulin blockade, organs, muscles and cells can no longer absorb glucose. At the same time, the liver is stimulated by an increased release of glucagon to release more stored sugar (glycogen). Finally, the blood flow to the head is increased at the same time.
This means that the emergency supply is running at full speed. All of the increased glucose produced and supplied is now solely available to the central organ. As soon as the cerebral glucose sensors register a sufficient sugar level again, the brain deactivates the brain pull and dampens the stress system. The concentration of cortisol and adrenaline drops, the pancreas produces insulin again unchecked and the remaining body organs and cells can absorb and burn glucose again."
View: https://youtu.be/928y8BiL_yc?si=JtKWZzKG9xwaE7vO&t=563
Ray Peat agrees:
"Neuroglycopenia (or neuroglucopenia) or intracellular glycopenia refers to the deficit of glucose in cells. When the brain senses a lack of glucose, nerves are activated to increase the amount of glucose in the blood, to correct the problem. As long as the brain senses the need for more glucose, the regulatory systems will make the adjustments to the blood glucose level."
- Glucose and sucrose for diabetes
Dr. David Stephens describes the long-term consequences of this system.
Just add the logical consequence that the brain has to permanently limit it's glucose uptake during a chronic shortage of glucose supply to not kill the body and the result is exactly what Dr. Stephens describes. The brain, throughout life, slowly goes from 100% function before birth, to 70%, 60%, 50% function and so on until it's at almost zero (dementia). That is, if this process is not interrupted by a continuous supply of large amounts of pure glucose.
It is this "brain pull" that needs to be activated for healing. Regeneration takes a large surplus of energy, more than is required for simply running the necessary body functions. And the only way to activate it is by ingesting large amounts of glucose so that the brain feels safe doing so. The cerebral glucose sensors need to register an excess glucose level so that the brain can feed on it, without releasing adrenaline and cortisol, which just catabolize the body.
Here's a quote from Dr. Stephens' book that explains the glucose limitation:
"There are a number of glucose transporters (eight have been identified so far) (Shah, K., DeSilva, S., & Abbruscato, T. (2012) that ensure glucose is getting to the brain. Two of them transport glucose from the digestive system via the blood to the brain. This is the most common way the brain receives glucose and is where the glucose limitations occur – in the glucose the brain receives from the digestive system.
The brain can receive glucose almost immediately via the non-digestive glucose transporter(s).
What this means is that you can raise your glucose levels, which results in full brain functioning when you have gotten enough glucose, by taking glucose in a way that by-passes the digestive transport mechanisms and avoids the limitation caused by injuries.
When you have taken enough glucose to be fully fueled, you will no longer have any of the physical, mental, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, relational, or spiritual symptoms that have developed and appeared due to glucose limitations.
It takes about 6 months of taking glucose on a very consistent basis to eliminate the glucose limitations the brain has imposed on the digestive glucose transport mechanisms and pathway."
Now with the new focus on glucose, his statement that glucose is the limiting factor for brain growth has a bit more practical meaning. I was thinking about how taking glucose feels to me. I am realizing that I had misunderstood the way the brain works throughout my entire life.
I always considered the brain as some kind of passive organ that gets taken care of by the other organs and the blood.
But on dextrose, I suddenly started to feel my brain pulling out as much as glucose from the blood as it can. It's starving and wants more. The brain can be hungry for sugar. I can feel it soak in every single molecule of the extra blood sugar that comes in via dextrose.
And I started looking for some evidence in this direction and immediately I came across a source that actually confirms my subjective experience:
Translation from a german article:
"To secure its supply, the brain acts like an egomaniacal despot. It allocates the lion's share of the total amount of sugar available to itself without any scruples. To do this, it uses a mechanism that Achim Peters, a professor of medicine from Lübeck, first described in 1998 as brain pull and has since researched in ever greater detail. The pull principle he discovered literally turns the previous functional models of sugar distribution on their head. Peters and his research team discovered that the brain cannot be fobbed off with a passive glucose allocation. It gets what it needs. The brain triggers a pull and actively draws the acutely required amount of glucose from the energy stores in the liver, muscles and blood.
What looks like a nefarious ego trip is sheer necessity: the brain cannot store energy reserves and is dependent on a constant supply of fresh glucose. Even the smallest interruptions in the cerebral sugar supply have dramatic consequences: After ten seconds there is a loss of function, followed by the threat of fainting and coma, and irreversible brain damage occurs after just a few minutes.
So the brain can't help itself: in the interests of the system as a whole, it absolutely must maintain its uninterrupted and needs-based preferential supply of sugar. This is ensured by the brain pull. The active glucose demand mechanism is triggered and regulated with the help of a sophisticated, hormone-controlled triple strategy. If the brain's glucose level drops, it first stimulates the release of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. The agents of the stress system immediately block the entire insulin production of the pancreas. Due to the insulin blockade, organs, muscles and cells can no longer absorb glucose. At the same time, the liver is stimulated by an increased release of glucagon to release more stored sugar (glycogen). Finally, the blood flow to the head is increased at the same time.
This means that the emergency supply is running at full speed. All of the increased glucose produced and supplied is now solely available to the central organ. As soon as the cerebral glucose sensors register a sufficient sugar level again, the brain deactivates the brain pull and dampens the stress system. The concentration of cortisol and adrenaline drops, the pancreas produces insulin again unchecked and the remaining body organs and cells can absorb and burn glucose again."
View: https://youtu.be/928y8BiL_yc?si=JtKWZzKG9xwaE7vO&t=563
Ray Peat agrees:
"Neuroglycopenia (or neuroglucopenia) or intracellular glycopenia refers to the deficit of glucose in cells. When the brain senses a lack of glucose, nerves are activated to increase the amount of glucose in the blood, to correct the problem. As long as the brain senses the need for more glucose, the regulatory systems will make the adjustments to the blood glucose level."
- Glucose and sucrose for diabetes
Dr. David Stephens describes the long-term consequences of this system.
Just add the logical consequence that the brain has to permanently limit it's glucose uptake during a chronic shortage of glucose supply to not kill the body and the result is exactly what Dr. Stephens describes. The brain, throughout life, slowly goes from 100% function before birth, to 70%, 60%, 50% function and so on until it's at almost zero (dementia). That is, if this process is not interrupted by a continuous supply of large amounts of pure glucose.
It is this "brain pull" that needs to be activated for healing. Regeneration takes a large surplus of energy, more than is required for simply running the necessary body functions. And the only way to activate it is by ingesting large amounts of glucose so that the brain feels safe doing so. The cerebral glucose sensors need to register an excess glucose level so that the brain can feed on it, without releasing adrenaline and cortisol, which just catabolize the body.
Here's a quote from Dr. Stephens' book that explains the glucose limitation:
"There are a number of glucose transporters (eight have been identified so far) (Shah, K., DeSilva, S., & Abbruscato, T. (2012) that ensure glucose is getting to the brain. Two of them transport glucose from the digestive system via the blood to the brain. This is the most common way the brain receives glucose and is where the glucose limitations occur – in the glucose the brain receives from the digestive system.
The brain can receive glucose almost immediately via the non-digestive glucose transporter(s).
What this means is that you can raise your glucose levels, which results in full brain functioning when you have gotten enough glucose, by taking glucose in a way that by-passes the digestive transport mechanisms and avoids the limitation caused by injuries.
When you have taken enough glucose to be fully fueled, you will no longer have any of the physical, mental, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, relational, or spiritual symptoms that have developed and appeared due to glucose limitations.
It takes about 6 months of taking glucose on a very consistent basis to eliminate the glucose limitations the brain has imposed on the digestive glucose transport mechanisms and pathway."
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