Most people are at least dimly aware that regular exercise generally produces health benefits. But not everyone knows that those benefits extend beyond the body and into the human brain.
The bottom line: Exercisers learn faster, remember more, think clearer and bounce back more easily from brain injuries such as a stroke. They are also less prone to depression and age-related cognitive decline.
But why should a mindless half-hour on a treadmill affect your brain?
Exercise, like hunger, is a stress on your body. “And sometimes,” said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla of UCLA, “stress can be good.”
Exercise alone, however, isn’t the complete prescription for an extended and healthful life.
“Diet, exercise and sleep have the potential to alter our brain health and mental function,” he said. “This raises the exciting possibility that changes in diet are a viable strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities, protecting the brain from damage, and counteracting the effects of aging.”
Gómez-Pinilla analyzed more than 160 studies about food’s affect on the brain, an analysis published in the July issue of the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
If you’re wondering why it is so hard to get off the couch and get outdoors, maybe it’s that bag of Cheetos you’ve been masticating for the last hour. Try skipping those next time you sit down to watch Paris Hilton acting retarded in reruns of The Simple Life.
Calorie restriction
Controlled meal skipping or intermittent caloric restriction might provide health benefits, he said.
Excess calories can reduce the flexibility of synapses and increase the vulnerability of cells to damage by causing the formation of free-radicals. Moderate caloric restriction could protect the brain by reducing oxidative damage to cellular proteins, lipids and nucleic acids, Gómez-Pinilla said.
The brain is highly susceptible to oxidative damage. Blueberries have been shown to have strong antioxidant capacity, he noted. And smaller food portions with the appropriate nutrients seem to be beneficial for the brain’s molecules, he said.
Junk food, junk brain
In contrast to the healthy effects of diets that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, diets with high contents of trans fats and saturated fats adversely affect cognition, studies indicate.
“Junk food” and fast food negatively affect the brain’s synapses, said Gómez-Pinilla, who eats fast food less often since conducting this research.
Brain synapses and several molecules related to learning and memory are adversely affected by unhealthy diets, said Gómez-Pinilla.