There has been a lot of hype about fasting recently—fueled, in part, by recent studies showing that maintaining a regular diet improves brain function and may help ward off diseases like Alzheimer’s.
The brain is one of the most important organs in the body, and we’ve all heard of brain-boosting foods, but what about fasting? According to one of the leading researchers of neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to learn and change in response to new experiences), neuroscientist and fasting expert Dr. Valter Longo, fasting improves brain function and may improve cognitive performance by as much as 30 percent.
What’s more, fasting has been demonstrated to have beneficial effects on a range of brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain injury, and Parkinson’s disease. According to a multitude of sources, fasting seems to be the best way to promote health and well-being.
There are numerous health benefits that are ascribed to this practice, such as increased levels of concentration and self-control, as well as mood enhancement and weight-loss. However, there are also some negative effects associated with this practice, such as an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. Read more about fasting brain fog and let us know what you think.
Food restriction, contrary to common perception, may have extremely positive impacts on many brain processes. The stimulation of autophagy, the mechanism by which cells are eliminated, is perhaps the most unexpected effect. The 2016 Nobel Prize in Medicine was recently given to one of the pioneers of autophagy research, indicating the pathway’s increasing importance. Fasting is also known to have anticonvulsant properties.
Mammals, on the other hand, react to extreme caloric restriction by shrinking the size of all their organs, with the exception of the brain and male testes. Maintaining the size of our testicles is also beneficial when it comes to passing on our DNA to future generations. The preservation of cognitive processes is critical for the species’ survival. Assume we’re cavemen, it’s the dead of winter, and food is limited.
The mental fog makes it much more difficult to locate food when your brain slows down. Our intellect, which is one of our greatest natural assets, would be squandered. Each day we go without food, our mental abilities deteriorate until we’re drooling fools unable to operate their bladder, much alone seek for nourishment. Higher cognitive functions are preserved or even enhanced while fasting.
This has been known from the dawn of time. Great intellectuals in ancient Greece fasted for many days, not to reduce weight, but because they thought (correctly) that fasting would enhance their mental skills. Ancient Greek philosophers and mathematicians are still admired today.
Many people have highlighted the extraordinary clarity of thinking that frequently accompanies starvation in the tales of Japanese prisoners of war during World War II (Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken). The main character in this novel talks of a prisoner who could memorize whole books and another who mastered Norwegian in a matter of weeks. As unbelievable as it may seem, these advantages were so prevalent among the inmates that they just took it as truth that hunger enhances cognitive skills.
During fasting, mental acuity improves
Mental attentiveness in animals rises when they are hungry and diminishes when they are full. Food coma is something we’ve all experienced. Consider a large turkey and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. What does it feel like to have such a large lunch? Or as uninteresting as a slab of concrete? And what about the other way around? Consider a moment when you were very hungry.
Were you groggy and tired? I really doubt it. Your senses were undoubtedly heightened, and your intellect was razor-sharp. The notion that eating improves concentration is totally untrue. In times of food shortage, animals with high cognitive abilities and physical agility have a significant survival advantage.
Studies have also demonstrated that hunger has little effect on mental sharpness. In one research, participants completed cognitive activities before and after a 24-hour fasting interval.
Any of the tests, including sustained attention, attention concentration, basic response speed, and immediate memory, showed no signs of degradation. Even after numerous assessments of cognitive function, activity, sleep, and mood, no detrimental effects were identified in another double-blind research that included two days of virtually no calories.
Is it true that if we declare we want anything (power, attention), it means we’re lazy and uninteresting? No, it just implies we’re extremely aware and active. As a result, fasting and starvation plainly motivate us to accomplish our objectives. Fasting is often misunderstood as dulling the senses, but it really has the opposite effect, causing inflammation.
Similar testing may easily be seen in animal studies. Intermittent fasting improved the performance of aged rats on coordination and cognitive tests significantly. After IF, learning and memory scores increased as well. Surprisingly, stem cell therapy boosted brain connections and new neuron development.
This is believed to be mediated in part by the protein BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). Both exercise and food restriction substantially boost BDNF expression in several brain areas in animal models. BDNF signaling is also involved in hunger, activity, glucose metabolism, and cardiovascular and gastrointestinal autonomic regulation.
Neurodegenerative disorders and fasting
Mouse models for neurodegenerative disorders are also extremely intriguing. In models of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease, mice maintained on IF exhibited less age-related neuronal degeneration and less severe symptoms than normal mice.
Both fasting and calorie restriction (CR) have positive effects on the brain in humans. Synaptic and electrical activity in the brain increase during exercise and CR. Memory tests improved substantially after 3 months of CR in a study of 50 healthy older individuals (30 percent calorie restriction).
Neurogenesis is the transformation of neural stem cells into neurons capable of growing and forming connections with other neurons. Both training and CR seem to promote neurogenesis through BDNF-dependent pathways.
Even more intriguing is the fact that fasting insulin levels are directly inversely related to memory. To put it another way, the lower your rapid insulin levels, the better your memory will be.
A rise in body fat (as assessed by the BMI) is likewise linked to a drop in mental function. The researchers discovered a connection between a high BMI and decreased blood flow in regions of the brain involved in attention, thinking, and cognitive functioning, using precise measurements of blood flow in the brain. Intermittent fasting is a calorie-restricted technique of decreasing insulin levels.
Alzheimer’s disease may be prevented by fasting
An aberrant buildup of proteins is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary globules are the two major types (tau protein). The buildup of these plaques and glomeruli is strongly linked to the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. These aberrant proteins are thought to impair synaptic connections in regions of the brain involved in memory and cognition.
Certain proteins (HSP-70) protect tau and amyloid proteins against damage and incorrect development. Alternating daily fasting raised HSP-70 levels in mouse models. When tau and amyloid proteins are broken beyond repair, autophagy eliminates them. Famine stimulates this process as well.
Obesity is linked to an increased risk of diabetes, according to many studies. Weight increase in middle age predisposes to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, according to new population-based twin research.
All in all, this is an interesting possibility for the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, and this number is likely to rise rapidly as the population ages. MD is a heavy burden for families who have to care for their sick family members.
Fasting has undeniable benefits for weight reduction, type 2 diabetes, and associated consequences such as eye impairment, renal disease, nerve damage, heart attack, stroke, and cancer. It is conceivable, however, that it will prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.
Autophagy, a cellular self-cleaning mechanism that may help eliminate damaged proteins from the body and brain, might be linked to this form of defense. Because an aberrant buildup of tau or amyloid protein may cause Alzheimer’s disease, food restriction may provide a unique chance to clear the body of these abnormal proteins.
Jason Fung, Ph.D.
For thousands of years, humans have turned to the body’s reserves of glucose, or glycogen, when food was scarce. But over the last hundred years, mankind has become less reliant on the stored glucose that used to be the only source of fuel for our bodies.
Nowadays, with the advent of better foods, and more convenient fast food outlets, we spend less of our energy budget on eating and more on processed foods, and less on exercise and less on sleep. In the early stages of fasting, our bodies use the stored glucose for energy, but as the days progress, our bodies begin to store fat instead.. Read more about intermittent fasting and cognitive function and let us know what you think.
Fasting is a process that involves abstaining from food and drink. It has been used in many religions, cultures, and traditions as a means of spiritual purification or self-discipline. There are various health benefits associated with fasting including weight loss, detoxification, and improved cardiovascular fitness. However, there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that fasting can heal the brain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can fasting heal the brain?
Fasting is a process that involves abstaining from food and drink. It has been used in many religions, cultures, and traditions as a means of spiritual purification or self-discipline.
There are various health benefits associated with fasting including weight loss, detoxification, and improved cardiovascular fitness. However, there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that fasting can heal the brain.
What happens to the brain during fasting?
During fasting, the brain is deprived of glucose, which it needs to function. This causes a decrease in cognitive performance and an increase in anxiety.
Why does fasting improve brain?
Fasting is a practice that has been around for centuries and it can have many benefits. The most important one being the improvement of brain function.
