The effect and benefits of fasting have always extended to include various organs of the body, according to confirmations based on many studies that have examined fasting through scrutiny and research.
In this regard, attention is drawn to the findings of a group of researchers who studied the relationship of fasting to brain health, by monitoring the performance and levels of neurotransmitters and neurotrophic factors that contribute greatly to the formation of neurons and their performance of their functions for a longer period.
How does fasting help the brain perform its functions?
A group of researchers from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran conducted a study, the results of which were published in 2017 in the International Journal of Neuroscience. In their method of finding facts and drawing conclusions, the researchers relied on measuring the level of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, and neurotrophic factors that include neurogrowth factors and brain-derived neurotrophic factors, each of which has an important and essential role in brain health and enabling it to perform its multiple functions.
The researchers tracked its levels in blood plasma through samples they took from the 29 healthy participants, and to accurately compare the results, they collected blood samples from the participants three times: the first two days before Ramadan and the start of fasting, the second on the 14th day of Ramadan/June, and the third on the 29th day (it is reported that the duration of Ramadan is 29 or 30 days).
The results showed an increase in the level of (BDNF) with fasting by 25% on day 14 and by 47% on day 29 compared to the control group that was not subjected to fasting. As for the levels of nerve growth factors (NGF), they showed an increase by 10% on day 14, and on day 29 their increase reached 23.2%. The effect extended to include serotonin levels, so it rose on day 14 to reach 33%, and jumped to 43.1% in Day 29 compared to the control group, while there was no significant increase in dopamine level.
These readings indicate that fasting throughout Ramadan and the accompanying reduction in the rate of calories acquired raises the level of (BDNF), (NGF), and serotonin, which play a role in improving brain health and increasing the efficiency of neural functions for sensing nerve signals (this process is known as signaling). This increases the readiness of the nervous system to resist neurological diseases and to deal with the damage caused by them.
The role of trophic factors and neurotransmitters in the brain
Neurotrophic factors (BDNF) and (NGF) represent one of the most important substrates on which nerve cells depend to differentiate and function efficiently for a longer period of time and avoid damage that they may be exposed to as a result of various diseases. They therefore form an impenetrable dam that protects the nervous system from neurodegenerative diseases that, if they gain control of it, damage and weaken it, so that it is no longer able to perform its tasks as it should. As for serotonin, it is primarily responsible for controlling many processes and activities in the body, such as mood, sleep, memory, behavior, and intestinal homeostasis. Stomach, appetite, etc.
BDNF protein is the most prominent biomarker that detects brain health. In addition to supporting the differentiation and maturation of neurons, it contributes to the formation of new neurons, controls them and regulates their work, and has preventive functions against neurological diseases. Therefore, laboratory tests often reveal low levels of BDNF in patients with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, bipolar disorder, multiple sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease.
Fasting may protect the brain from disease damage
In this context, an experimental study was previously published in 2001 in the Journal of Molecular Neuroscience under the supervision of a team specialized in neurological and molecular sciences to determine the effect of restricting the intake of meals during the day – as a simulation of fasting – on the level of (BDNF) using a group of rats.
The results showed a significant increase in the level of (BDNF) after fasting in various parts of the brain, specifically the hippocampus, the cerebral cortex, and the striatum of the brain, which in turn increased the brain’s ability to adapt and be flexible in facing problems and diseases that it may encounter, and made it less susceptible to damage, when compared to the performance of mice that were left to eat freely without restriction.
To confirm the results, the researchers followed the effect of fasting on the amount of damage caused by epileptic seizures in the neurons of the hippocampus of the brain, which was clearly reduced. Then they injected the rats with antibodies to inhibit the action of brain-derived trophic factors (BDNF), which led to a weakening of the extent of this effect, which confirms the pivotal role that fasting may play by stimulating the production of BDNF and enhancing the neuroprotective effect of the brain against neurological diseases associated with aging.
Does fasting replace nerve medications?
Together, these results support the benefit of fasting for the brain as one of the methods that can be relied upon to enhance brain health and confront neurodegenerative diseases that have begun to invade our bodies and remain in them for a short period of time, forcing us to take handfuls of medication pills that we may be able to avoid if we follow simple advice that includes, for example, health programs enhanced with diets accompanied by exercise and others, which can be consulted with the responsible specialist before applying them, in order to avoid any setback that may occur, as the studies are still in the infancy of the experiment. More research is needed to prove the definitive benefit of fasting for patients specifically.