Are carbs brain energy or health foe?

I weighed in on this article for Well+Good about carbs and how they affect your brain health:

While many keto fans claim that their increased mental clarity is the result of carbohydrate restriction, Dr. Khambatta disagrees. “It’s because they’ve replaced low-nutrient foods like breads, pasta, and cookies with higher-nutrient foods. It’s not that they’ve cut carbs,” argues Dr. Khambatta. “If you replace the same low-nutrient foods with nutrient-rich complex carb sources, you’ll likely experience the same benefits.”

Plus, the jury’s out on any definitive long-term benefits of keto for brain health. “The ketogenic diet was originally recommended to people with epilepsy who experienced seizures and it was successful in treating that. But as far as longterm brain health for the average healthy person, we just don’t know yet,” says registered dietitian Maya Feller, RD. “When people tell me they’re cutting carbs, the big question I ask them is, ‘Okay, but what are you replacing them with?’ Because while we don’t know how eliminating carbs completely affects brain health longterm, we do know certain foods that are linked to good brain health—like leafy greens—and foods that aren’t.”