Intermittent fasting and healthy eating improve memory in adults

Mark
Written By Mark

Insulin resistance is the hallmark of type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance, also known as poor insulin sensitivity, occurs when cells in your muscles, fat and liver don’t respond as they should to insulin, a hormone made by your pancreas that regulates blood sugar levels.

Insulin resistance is common in people who are obese. Studies suggest that people with insulin resistance are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. As a result, various weight loss regimens are emerging as ways to reduce the risk of these metabolic and brain disorders.

A recent study found that “intermittent fasting” and a “healthy diet” improved insulin resistance and cognitive function in obese older adults.

The study was conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, and its results were published in the journal Cell Metabolism on June 19, and the EurekAlert website wrote about it.

5:2 diet

According to the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, the 5:2 diet, also known as the “Fast Diet,” is an intermittent fasting plan that aims to promote weight loss and overall health.

The program is simple, in which the person eats a healthy diet for five days, including lots of vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, fish, and fruits for dessert, and on the remaining two days he greatly reduces his calorie intake.

Unlike traditional diets that focus on restricting daily calories, the 5:2 diet allows for a more flexible approach to eating.

Intermittent fasting vs healthy diet

To test the effect of the two diets (intermittent fasting and a healthy diet) on vital brain function indicators, volunteers participated in the new study from June 2015 to December 2022. Forty people completed the eight-week study.

Participants were divided into two groups: The first followed an intermittent fasting regimen, which restricts calories to a quarter of the recommended daily amount for two consecutive days a week, and followed the USDA’s healthy eating plan—which consists of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, low-fat dairy products, and limits on added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium—for the remaining five days.

The second group followed the USDA’s healthy diet for the remaining 20 participants every day of the week.

Results

According to Mark Mattson, an assistant professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and former chief of the Laboratory of Neuroscience at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, the findings revealed that both types of diet plans—intermittent fasting and a healthy diet—have benefits in terms of reducing insulin resistance and improving cognition, with improvements in memory and executive function.

The improvement was even greater with the intermittent fasting regimen, with memory and executive function (a set of mental skills that help with planning and achieving goals) improving by about 20% in the intermittent fasting group compared to the healthy diet group.

Johns Hopkins researchers caution people interested in intermittent fasting without consulting a doctor because it may be harmful for some people, including those with type 1 diabetes and eating disorders.