Another Reason to Cut your Calories!

A study conducted in Germany suggests that cutting your daily calorie intake may boost your memory. Dr. Agnes Floel and her colleagues from the University of Munster took 50 women, ages 50 to 80, who were either of average weight or slightly overweight and divided them into 3 groups. Twenty were assigned to a diet that reduced their calorie intake by 30%, another group of twenty increased their intake of unsaturated fatty acids, and ten remained on a normal diet. The women who were put on a reduced calorie diet improved their scores on verbal memory tests by 20%. However, the other two groups showed no improvement. Researchers have shown that those who cut calories increase their sensitivity to insulin (a blood sugar regulating hormone) and reduce the amount of molecule C-reactive protein which is linked to inflammation. Both of these factors are linked to improved brain function. This may help explain why type 2 diabetes and obesity are linked to a greater risk in Alzheimer's disease and worse mental performance.

Although this study has provided further evidence of how a reduced calorie diet can give great benefits other than weight loss, it is not recommended for older people who are already at a low weight to go on this diet. This might increase their risk of falls and fractures. It is also mentioned that people should not eat less than 1,200 calories a day. As Dr. Floel states, "It's not really a crash diet".

Other studies have also shown that a low calorie diet can extend lifespan and slow aging. Researchers have come up with two theories as to why this may be possible: eating less slows down metabolism which in turn reduces the number of free radicals the body produces, or that it keeps cells at a constant low level of stress which makes them better able to cope with high stress.

Dr. Floel and her colleagues plan on furthering their research on calorie restriction and mental function. Their plan is to perform MRI brain scans on a larger group of participants before and after their food intake to better understand what is happening in the gray matter of the brain.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/26/health.calories.memory/index.html