Can fasting help brain health?

Many people are aware of the benefits of fasting on weight, metabolic health, and longevity - and its gaining increasing attention and awareness as more research comes out.

But did you know fasting can also potentially directly boost our brain function, independent of our diet and lifestyle?

Fasting has long been a part of many cultures, as a way to help cognition and brain function.

Ancient Greeks would regularly fast to improve mental agility, and great 'thinkers' would often fast when struggling with a problem.

Egyptians, Babylonians, and Mongolian cultures also used fasting as a way to purify the mind.

Many cultures still practice ritualistic fasting for this reason among others, such as Ramadan, lent, yom kippur,  jain, and Buddhist fasting 

Scientists believe that humans have evolved to go without food for extended periods of time (when resources were scarce), and preserving and protecting brain function became the bodies priority.

This means our brain and body have the ability to change between using glucose for energy to fat, and our brains do this particularly well.

When we fast, it triggers our body to start using fat for energy (ketosis) instead of glucose. 

And when fasts are broken, the 'metabolic switch' that occurs triggers off a process that can build brain function and damage resilience.

Fasting:

✔️Stimulates autophagy (killing off old damaged cells, allowing new brain growth)

✔️Improves insulin levels and blood sugar (there is a direct correlation between lower insulin levels and improved memory - think of the 'brain fog' that occurs after a sugary snack)

✔️Increases BDNF ( a protein that stimulates brain growth and function)

✔️Reduces inflammation levels, (linked with cognitive impairment and neurological disease)

✔️It may even help prevent alzheimers disease, via increasing levels of a protein called hsp-70, which clears away the amyloid plaques/tau proteins responsible for alzheimers

Many people report a calmer clearer mind and better sleep, with fasting/ time restricted eating, with studies confirming this

In animal trials, mice that were deprived of food for 12-14h/day (ie time restricted eating) showed evidence of

✔️new brain cell formation

✔️  increased levels of ghrelin (hunger hormone), which triggered brain growth

✔️ more active brains

Early research also shows fasting/intermittent ketosis may help with parkinsons disease, and with recovery from stroke and head injury, and trials looking into this are ongoing.

While ketogenic diets can be restrictive and difficult to maintain longterm (also also tricky to manage things like saturated fat and fibre intake); time restricted eating tends to be fairly easy for most people to follow and maintain, and is what we usually recommend as a result.

This involves simply avoiding calorie intake for at least 12 hours overnight - usually 14-16 hours.

It's also generally very safe for most people to do, including those on medication, and has additional benefits on gut health, metabolism, and potentially even camcer prevention and recovery. Plus its so simple to do 😊

(Fasting isn't recommended for everyone however - if you have a history of disordered eating; are underweight; and are pregnant then it's not recommended you fast. Also if you have any significant medical conditions, in particular if you are on immunosuppressive medication, are undergoing cancer treatment, or are taking blood sugar lowering medicines, then check with your doctor if it's safe for you to try. Children should also not fast or go on ketogenic diets without specialised medical supervision.)