Scientists are investigating whether an interesting effect in mice is also present in humans, and represents an interesting survival optimization. NewScientist (16 December 2017) has the report:
Mark Mattson of the National Institute on Aging in Maryland and his team looked at 40 mice that consumed the same total calories, but either ate normally every day or ate nothing every other day.
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.”
If you feel like you’re slowing down mentally, try some fasting. Interesting thought. A related study might be to survey scientists to see how many are overweight. I don’t personally know enough scientists to make for a good survey – but the three that I can think of offhand are all slender.
