Your diet impacts your smarts! Bec Trattos explains.
As February begins we now realise January was the trial month of our New Year’s resolution. Huffington Post, using a “…commonly cited statistic” claims a mere 8 percent of people keep their resolutions. Nevertheless, about 40 percent of Americans still make a New Year’s resolution, with the highest pledge being to lose weight. Every year countless people tell themselves “this year I will eat healthier, join a gym, lose weight”. But by February most have already had too many pieces of cake, and by the year’s end, 92% of us will be telling ourselves again that next year we will be more successful at sticking to our resolution.
I know what it is like to be three days into the New Year to realise I have failed. Big deal, I had a glass of wine, I ate the chocolates left over from Christmas and Nanna has invited us over for dinner and dessert…
Weight loss and a healthier lifestyle needed a new approach in my head, not just an annual fad that I knew I would fail at anyway. I began researching.
I read some books, not by “lifestyle bloggers” (although their food porn is inspirational).
I read books by doctors and articles published in medical journals and came across the motivation I needed to change. The fact that what I put into my body not only effects my physical health, it is also effecting my mental health. Yes, my diet can impair my cognitive function and influence my mood!
More and more studies are proving the link between
gut bacteria and mental health. The bacteria in your gut needs to contain a rich and varied range of microbes which become limited when we eat too much junk food. Dr Michael Mosley explains how the microbes in your gut influence your mood, your weight and how effective your immune system is. Another study provides evidence to support the view that your gut bacteria “…can influence brain chemistry and consequently behaviour”. If this isn’t enough to convince you to stick to that New Year’s resolution, then keep reading!
A longitudinal study of 5189 participants over a ten-year period seems to have found a connection between high blood sugar and cognitive decline. The role of insulin in the brain is significant as an enzyme produced by insulin breaks down particular proteins in the brain. These proteins clump together and lead to Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, those who can’t produce insulin can’t break down the clumps, leaving them susceptible to the disease. Conversely, those with too much insulin, i.e. type two diabetics, as Khazan explains have a “…surplus of insulin, most of this enzyme gets used up breaking that insulin down, leaving not enough enzyme to address those amyloid brain clumps.” It seems that what we put into our bodies at a young age has a last effect on our cognitive function in our later years. With no cure for Alzheimer’s yet, this study is significant as it points to ways we can aid in prevention.
Perhaps this is the motivation needed to put aside the trail month of January and get serious about lifestyle choices in February.
Comments