I read the following quote today in a www.msnbc.com report on the Institute of Medicine's new dietary guidelines:

"The report also calls for limiting added sugars but says everyone should get at least 130 grams of carbohydrates daily to maintain brain function."

I've read quite a few books on low-carb eating, including Atkins, Thin for Good, Life Without Bread, and Your Fat Can Make You Thin. Nowhere in any of them did I remember reading you need that level of carbs for brain function.

Can anyone shed some light on this?

May, yes, there is a minimum amount of carbs your body needs daily because certain organs will not run on ketones/fatty acids. That number is around 20g a day and it is to keep red blood cells and part of the mid brain functioning.

Any extra glucose that your body needs at any given time it can manufacture from protein - a process called de novo gluconeogensis that is part of glucose homeostasis (i.e., it is constantly going on)

Nat

So, I guess what you are saying is that our body can manufacturer the carbs we need from the protein we eat. So, that statement from the IOM is not entirely accurate. I am sure it might scare a lot of people away from low-carb diets, however, which is maybe the intent.

I'll be interested to hear Dr. Atkins' reaction to these new guidelines.

Atkin's probably won't care. The new guidelines are being introduced because they are catching so much heat for us being unhealthy and over weight. All the studies coming out are in Dr Atkin's favor.

Which I find very ironic considering the past 20 years of ridicule he has had to put up with.

130g of carbs is 540 calories. Based on a 2000 calorie daily diet that's 25% - a far cry from the 55% carbs that's been pushed for decades. While they may be saying 130g is the minimum, it looks like they are also saying 55% ain't that great an idea.

130g on many plans is Maintenance level (and pre-maintenance), just to put it into perspective.

Nat

Atkins cites research from Harvard Medical School in DANDR Showing that brain tissue prefers ketones to glucose for fuel.
I think he'd laugh and shake his head at that statement. Think about it, lots of people fast for different reasons and their brains continue to function on ketones just fine.
The body can convert protein to glucose, whether ingested or taken from muscle tissue. But it is slower and less efficient than insulin-glucose.
This is not the first time something idiotic has shown up on MSNBC