That old saying “you are what you eat” just keeps gaining more and more traction these days, doesn’t it?
According to a recent study out of the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, good nutrition leads to better brain function. This specific study looked at biomarkers in the blood to determine the effect different levels of different vitamins had on brain health. The article I read mentioned biomarkers, but didn’t clarify what they were (true also of the reputable sources of Google and Wikipedia.) I was a bit confused as to what exactly they are, but after much research, suffice to say they are one of many forms of protein in the bloodstream that can reflect a person’s state of wellness. In this case, they would be the way by which the scientists studied the change from vitamin levels.
Previous studies in this vein have focused mainly on personal reports of subjects’ diets to judge the correlation between brain function and nutrition which tends towards unreliable and subjective evidence. What makes this study notable is that its methods are more objective.
Researchers studied the vitamin levels of 104 participants and had them take cognitive tests to measure their thinking and memory. They also performed MRIs on 42 participants to measure their brain volume. They found that those with higher levels of B family vitamins, as well as omega-3s and vitamins C, D, and E, performed better on these cognitive tests than those with lower levels.
Credit: http://uliwestphal.de/expanded.html
On the other side of things, participants with high levels of trans fats (a favorite of processed foods) in their blood had poorer performances. Their MRIs also revealed more brain shrinkage than those with low levels of trans fats in the blood.
It should, however, be noted that variances in nutrient levels did not account for 100% of the differences in scores: nutrient measurements accounted for 17%, whereas age, education, high blood pressure, and brain volume accounted for 83% of variance. 17% isn’t a big slice, but still surprisingly substantial!
This study still needs to be confirmed, but author Dr. Gene Bowman is very excited about the potential of the results. He says, “it is very exciting to think that people could potentially stop their brains from shrinking and keep them sharp by adjusting their diet”.
Source: http://blog.heartland.org/2012/01/humility-and-skepticism-in-scientific-debate/
Exciting indeed!
Yet more evidence for the importance of eating right, not just for physical health but also for your brain. Happy thinking!
