Less Meal Useful to Keep Your Brain Young

A recent research shows, less meals (low-calorie diet) was very useful to keep the brain young. Conversely, excessive eating it will cause the brain to get old.

Recent research was conducted by researchers from the Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Rome, led by Giovambattista Pani, and work closely with a number of scientists from the Institute of Human Physiology. Research results published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS).

In his research, researchers conducted tests on rats given low-calorie foods. Caloric restriction turned out to have a positive effect on the brain and can enable molecules called CREB1. These molecules have important roles related to age and brain function.

"Our hope is to find a way to activate CREB1, for example through the new drug. Thus, we do not need a strict diet to keep the brain young," said Dr. Pani.

Researchers said that, in mice fed calorie restriction tended not fat and not get sick with diabetes. In fact, these mice also have cognitive and memory performance is much better.

This finding is in line with previous research showing that obesity can have adverse effect on the brain and cause premature aging of the brain so vulnerable to diseases, like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. In contrast, calorie restriction would make the young brain.

From this research, the researchers concluded that the activity of CREB1 could be dramatically increased by simply reducing caloric intake. Thus, it is important to limit one's intake of calories in the brain.

"This discovery has important implications for developing therapies in the future, especially in keeping the brain stay young and prevent degeneration and aging brain. In addition, our study describes the correlation between metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity to the decline in cognitive function," he concluded.