Plato quote
Kunne regelmæssig faste gøre dig smartere? Mennesker, der følger kostplaner som 5:2 diæten, gør det sædvanligvis for at gå ned i vægt, men nogle, som prøver det, siger, at det også gør dem mentalt skarpere.

Hvis det er sandt, så kan eksperimenter med mus tilbyde en forklaring. I disse dyr har tvungen faste vist sig at skabe ændringer i hjernen, som sandsynligvis giver neuronerne mere energi og sætter dem i stand til at skabe flere forbindelser.

Mark Mattson fra National Institute on Aging i Maryland og hans hold så på 40 mus, som forbrugte det samme totale antal kalorier, men som enten spiste hver dag eller, som ingenting spiste hver anden dag.


Kommentar: Delvist oversat af Sott.net fra Fasting can boost brainpower and give more energy to neurons


The team found that fasting caused a 50 per cent increase in a brain chemical called BDNF. Previous studies have shown that such a rise is likely to boost the number of mitochondria, which provide a cell's energy, inside neurons by 20 per cent.

BDNF also promotes the growth of new connections - or synapses - between brain cells, which helps in learning and memory, says Mattson.

The finding makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, as animals that are hungry would benefit from more intellectual resources to find food, he says. "If human ancestors hadn't been able to find food, they had better be able to function at a high level to chase down some prey."

The team's results were presented at the Society for Neuroscience conference in Washington DC last month.

However, results in mice don't always translate to people. Other studies have found that living on a permanent low-calorie diet can allow mice to live as much as 50 per cent longer, although the effect seems smaller in primates.

Mattson is currently testing the 5:2 diet in obese older people in a randomized trial to see if it really does make them mentally sharper.