Is Obesity making your brain age faster? Add this new super-green drink to your diet to slow down brain aging better – just one cup is enough.
Multiple studies have revealed that obesity has the potential to accelerate the aging of the brain beyond what would typically be anticipated.
Adopting a healthy lifestyle, which entails reducing the intake of processed foods, sweets, and beverages, can play a significant role in preserving the health of our brains.
According to recent research conducted by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, adopting a Green Mediterranean Diet can have a positive impact on brain health. A sub-study of the DIRECT-PLUS trial further revealed that weight loss can help slow down brain aging. These findings indicate the potential benefits of incorporating a Green Mediterranean Diet into one’s lifestyle for improved cognitive well-being.
DIRECT PLUS, a comprehensive and extensive clinical trial conducted over a span of 18 months, involved 300 participants. The sub-study, overseen by Prof. Galia Avidan from the Department of Psychology, in collaboration with Dr. Gidon Levakov, a former graduate student from the Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, recently published their findings in the esteemed journal eLife.
The main study, spearheaded by Prof. Iris Shai, an adjunct Professor from the Harvard School of Public Health and an honorary professor at the University of Leipzig, Germany, along with her former graduate student Dr. Alon Kaplan and colleagues from Harvard and Leipzig Universities, focused on investigating the impact of obesity on accelerated brain aging. This relationship between obesity and expedited brain aging has significant implications for health.
One way the researchers assessed this phenomenon was by calculating individuals’ “brain age” using detailed scans, regardless of their chronological age. This innovative approach allows for the identification of how various factors, such as lifestyle choices, can influence the aging of the brain over relatively short periods of time. By capturing and analyzing this process, researchers gain valuable insights into the effects of specific factors on brain health.
In a study conducted by Levakov, Kaplan, Shai, and Avidan, the health of 102 individuals who met the criteria for obesity was examined. The researchers utilized brain scans taken at the beginning and end of the program, along with additional tests and measurements, to capture the impact of obesity on various biological processes, including liver health.
By analyzing the brain scans taken at both time points, the researchers investigated how a lifestyle intervention influenced the aging trajectory. The findings demonstrated that even a modest reduction in body weight by 1% resulted in the participants’ brain age being approximately 9 months younger than the anticipated brain age after 18 months.
This remarkable effect on aging was associated with notable changes in other biological markers, such as reduced liver fat and liver enzymes. Prior studies have established that elevated liver fat levels and the production of specific liver enzymes can detrimentally impact brain health, particularly in relation to Alzheimer’s disease.
The findings of the study highlight “the importance of a healthy lifestyle, including lower consumption of processed food, sweets, and beverages, in maintaining brain health,” remarks Dr. Levakov.
“We were encouraged to find,” adds Prof. Avidan, “that even a weight loss of 1% was sufficient to affect brain health and lead to a 9-month reduction in brain age.”
The study findings reveal that lifestyle interventions aimed at weight loss can significantly improve the aging process of the brain in individuals with obesity. This highlights the potential benefits of addressing obesity-related brain aging through targeted lifestyle changes. Further research will focus on determining whether slowing down the aging process of the brain, driven by obesity, leads to better clinical outcomes for patients. Additionally, this study suggests a promising approach to evaluate the effectiveness of lifestyle modifications in promoting brain health.
Given the increasing global prevalence of obesity, it is crucial to identify interventions that positively impact brain health. Such interventions could have significant implications for clinical practice, education, and society as a whole.
Notably, the DIRECT-PLUS trial research team pioneered the concept of the green-Mediterranean diet, which is characterized by its high content of polyphenols. These polyphenols are phytochemicals, secondary metabolites derived from plant compounds that offer a wide range of health benefits. It is important to distinguish this modified Mediterranean diet from the traditional Mediterranean diet due to its emphasis on abundant dietary polyphenols and reduced consumption of red and processed meat.
But what else can be added to enhance the Mediterranean diet?
According to the study, on top of a daily intake of walnuts (28 grams), the green-Mediterranean dieters consumed 3-4 cups of green tea and 1 cup of Wolffia-globosa (Mankai) plant green shake of duckweed per day over 18 months. The aquatic green plant Mankai is high in bioavailable iron, B12, 200 kinds of polyphenols and protein, and is, therefore, a good substitute for meat.
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