Posted on 07/07/2024 6:59:57 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Researchers say their study of 40 older adults with obesity and insulin resistance offers important clues about the potential benefits of both eating plans on brain health.
The new study tested the effects of intermittent fasting on women and men at risk for cognitive impairment.
The results revealed that both types of diet plans had benefits regarding decreasing insulin resistance and improving cognition, with improvements in memory and executive function with both diets, but more strongly with the intermittent fasting diet, according to Mark Mattson, Ph.D.
To test the effects of the two diets on brain function biomarkers, participants in the new study were recruited from June 2015 and December 2022, and four in-person assessments were completed at facilities.
Among the participants, 40 completed their eight-week study. Also, 20 were assigned to an intermittent fasting diet that restricted calories to one-quarter of the recommended daily intake for two consecutive days per week, and they followed the USDA's healthy living diet—which consists of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products and limited added sugars, saturated fats and sodium—for the remaining five days. The USDA's healthy living diet was assigned to 20 other study participants each day of the week.
The average age of participants in both groups was 63. All were obese and had insulin resistance.
The researchers found that both diets had equally positive effects on reducing insulin resistance markers in extracellular vesicles, improving BrainAGE (a measurement of the brain's biological age using structural MRI data) and lowering glucose concentration in the brain. Reduced glucose concentration is a corollary of higher glucose use.
Both diets also improved customary measurements of metabolic health.
Executive function and memory improved approximately 20% more in the intermittent fasting group than in the healthy living diet group.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I bet ice cream ain’t on the list...
I don't think it's any more complicated than that.
“intermittent fasting gave a 20% edge in memory and executive memory “
How would Brandon fare with intermittent fasting?
How about frequent fasting?
How about continuous fasting?
Or, what if he went all the way to PERMANENT fasting?
Fasting activates the autophagy regenerative process and has been shown to have very beneficial neuroprotective effects on the brain and nervous system.
Fasting or a fasting mimicing diet can be a very effective treatment for epilepsy and Multiple Sclerosis and other auto immune diseases.
It is also very effective at preventing dementia and managing other degenerative brain and nervous system diseases
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6836141/
Prolonged fasting of 14+ days has been shown to reverse epilepsy symptoms and even provide a complete cure in some patients.
Periodic cycles of on /off fasting consisting of 5-7 days of fasting stage to induce autophagy followed by a regenerative period ranging from several days to 4-6 weeks with a well controlled , preferably ketogenic diet is very beneficial for managing Multiple Sclerosis and has even been shown to initiate and promote re mylination in lab testing - the holy grail of MS research.
Similar fasting cycles combined with a ketogenic diet can also be effective in managing other neuro degenerative conditions like dementia and Huntington's disease by scavenging amyloid and other toxic protein accumulations that damage brain and nerve tissues during the fasting cycle followed by neuroplastic healing and regeneration during the non fasting phase of the cycle.
Coming from the same folk who had the food pyramid upside down for generations.
Who paid for the study?
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