The Brain Bible by John Arden

Author:John Arden
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
Published: 2014-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

Lose the Belly Fat

Excess body fat can have a destructive effective on the brain. The larger the body mass index (BMI), the greater the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a 24-year follow-up study conducted in Sweden.12 A Korean study found that increases in BMI have an inverse relationship to cognitive ability as measured by the Mini Mental State Examination.13 In other words, as fat increases, cognitive ability decreases.

If you are overweight, it makes a big difference where the extra fat is situated. A large belly is not only very bad for your health but toxic for your brain. Rachel Whitmer, a research scientist at the Division of Research of Kaiser Permanente, led a study that found that people who had large bellies during their fortes had a significantly higher risk of dementia in their seventies. The study involved over 6,000 people and showed that having more fat, principally in the gut, in their early to middle forties increased their chances of becoming forgetful and confused, which are symptoms of dementia, as they aged. The bottom line was that those with the largest guts faced more than twice the risk for dementia compared with the leanest people.

Abdominal fat (gut fat) is much more dangerous than gluteal fat (fat around the buttocks and thighs). People with increased abdominal fat have been found to have high levels of inflammatory cytokines. Abdominal fat leaches out these inflammatory proteins. Inflammation is destructive not only to the organ systems in the abdominal cavity but also to the brain. One of the major risk factors for dementias, including Alzheimer’s disease, is inflammation.

The link between a large belly and poor brain health includes multiple health problems. Fat cells are not dormant and inactive storage units. Belly fat generates inflammation. A large gut leaches out toxic chemicals that increase the risk for inflammation, constricts blood vessels, and leads to the breakdown of cell integrity. Fat cells release the same inflammatory chemicals that are released when you have an infection or have been traumatized by an injury. Elevated cytokines are associated not only with inflammation but also with depression through what has been called sickness behavior. Cytokines lower the level of BDNF (Miracle-Gro), a protector of nerve cells and promoter of neuroplasticity and neurogenesis. Accordingly, inflammation is associated with cognitive deficits.

One of the best ways to burn off excess cortisol is to exercise in the late afternoon. While burning off the excess cortisol, you can also slow the atrophy of the key part of your brain for memory—the hippocampus—and even reverse it. You can add new neurons to your hippocampus through the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, as was discussed in Chapter 2.

Some of my patients complain that they have stressful jobs and that when they get home, it is difficult to unwind. I always ask them to take a brisk walk or some other form of aerobic exercise after or before dinner. I tell them that if they do this, by bedtime they will be much better able to go to and stay asleep.

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