Brain Specialist:

The brain performs many functions for the human organism. Most are of a cognitive nature or concern the regulation of the motor system. A previously lesser investigated aspect of brain activity was the regulation of energy metabolism. The "Selfish Brain" theory shed new light on this function. This theory states that the brain behaves selfishly by controlling energy fluxes in such a way that it allocates energy to itself before the needs of the other organs are satisfied.
The internal energy consumption of the brain is very high. Although its mass constitutes only 2% of the entire body weight, it consumes 50% of the carbohydrates ingested over a 24 hour period. This corresponds to 100 g of glucose per day, or half the daily requirement for a human being. A 30 year-old office worker with a body weight of 75 kg and a height of 1.85 m consumes approx. 200 g glucose per day.
Before now the scientific community assumed that the energy needs of the brain, the muscles and the organs were all met in parallel. The hypothalamus, an area of the upper brainstem, was thought to play a central role in regulating two feedback loops within narrow limits.
The "lipostatic theory" established by Gordon C Kennedy in 1953 describes the fat deposition feedback system[1]. The hypothalamus receives signals from circulating metabolic products or hormones about how much adipose tissue there is in the body as well as its prevailing metabolic status. Using these signals the hypothalamus can adapt the absorption of nutrients so that the body’s fat depots remain constant, i.e. a "lipostasis" is achieved.