Can weight age your brain?
June 23rd 2008 22:21
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According to: "Thinner Times"
According to a recent study, abdominal fat (sometimes described as having an apple shaped body rather than a pear shape) has been linked to boost your risk of getting Alzheimer's disease or dementia down the road in addition to already being linked as a higher risk of developing diabetes, stroke and heart disease. As for our advice? Trim the fat, seriously. "Any deposition of fat is essentially added stress on the body," notes Dr. Coleman.
The study: Led by Dr. Stefan Gazdzinski, the researchers examined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans from 50 healthy middle-aged men and women, measuring amounts of a variety of chemicals in the white and gray matter of the brain, reports Reuters. Bodies of nerve cells make up the gray matter, while connections between these cells make up the white matter. Of the 50 participants, five were obese, 15 were overweight and 30 were of normal weight.
The results: The higher a person's body mass index (BMI), the ratio of body height to weight, the lower the concentration of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), a brain chemical that serves several functions and also acts as a marker for overall brain health, in the white matter of the brain's frontal, temporal and parietal regions, reports Reuters. In addition, overweight and obese people had less NAA in their frontal gray matter, as well as smaller concentrations of choline-containing metabolite, which are substances that are key to the formation of cell membranes, in their frontal white matter.
The strongest relationship between BMI and brain chemistry was seen in the white matter of the frontal region, which is believed to be particularly vulnerable to aging-related damage, reports Reuters.
So this is further good reason to get walking and watch your nutrition, as, apparently, weight can age your brain and put up your chances of Alzheimer's
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Comment by Clint Emry
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I cut 50 pounds last yea, it was hard but well worth it. The secret was diet and hard work. Yoga, Kenpo Karate, weight lifting, plyometrics, running and more!
Also I can solve a Rubiks cube now in less than 1 minute, often around 30 sec. I also play blindfold chess. That all started after i lost the weight. I am not sure if they are connected but i sure feel better.
Comment by Miswanderlust
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Very interesting post. Congrats Clint!
Mis
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